I can't decide...Color Mode I, II, III?

[sclamb]

fellas,
what happens to the mode 1, 2 or 3 if you open up in Phase One's
Capture One?
Kev

Good question. I shoot raw in aRGB mode II and Capture One seems to do a good job with this. Skin tones are good, and for lanscapes I add some saturation to boost the colours a bit. Not sure if C1 actually interprets the modes.

Simon

 

[poidog]

Sorry to disagree with David, but IE is not a color space aware application, hence the need to convert images to the sRBG color space before posting. You also need to be aware as other posters have mentioned that there is also color space to contend with along with color mode

Just to quote the manual:

Color mode I = Flat colors for portrait and other work - Color Space sRGB
Color mode II = Ehanced color gamut - Color Space Adobe
Color Mode III = Enhanced Green & Blue - Color Space sRGB

The manual is also pretty clear that Color Mode II and sRGB is not a valid combo. So unless you are doing some work that requires the increased color gamut(and even that has been debated) like landscapes or commercial work, Color Mode II is probably not a good option.

So given your workflow and subjects shooting in Color Mode I would work fine as your subjects really are the swimmers and you want to get those tones right and in an appropriate color space, sRGB, for people to post and email around.

 

[Alex Zetetic]

I = Portrait work usually. Gives good skin tones and a great
starting point...this is an sRGB color space and can reduce colors
that were origonally in the scene.

This is a misunderstanding I had for a long time, I now know that
the modes are not colour spaces and can be applied in any colour
space. You can do that in Nikon Capture when processing RAW by
adjusting the Default RGB Colour Space in tools/options/color
management and then selecting a colour mode in advanced RAW.

In fact, Nikon colour modes are applied in specific colour spaces, not in any colour space. What happens with RAW is that they can be processed to any colour space/colour mode because they only have raw data and can be re-processed anytime. They're not converted form one to the other.

aRGB has a wider gamut and can be converted to sRGB with minimal loss. Not the other way, because when you have lost information you cannot recover it.

This is why it's better to choose aRGB when sooting in JPEG if you're going to manipulte the images: JPEG are processed files and cannot be converted from sRGB to a wider gamut colour space (aRGB).

Rule of thumb when you process images is to select the widest range of everything: aRGB over sRGB, 48 bit over 24 bit and so on. Finally, convert to narrower ranges for the web, printing, etc.

To get the best quality possible, shoot raw (in any colour mode, you will be able to change it later) and, if you're going to work afterwards with PS, convert it to 48 bit TIFF with Nikon Capture.

Alex

 

[Pradipta Dutta]

Unlike D70, in D2X and D200, you can select either of the color spaces with either of the modes I and III while for Mode II you are required to select Adobe RGB only.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

 

[Pradipta Dutta]

I don't think Phase 1 Capture 1 reads any of the modes though Nikon Capture reads them differently.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

 

[David Rosser]

Sorry to disagree with David, but IE is not a color space aware
application, hence the need to convert images to the sRBG color
space before posting. You also need to be aware as other posters
have mentioned that there is also color space to contend with along
with color mode

Just what I said, IE is not colour space aware and you can quite clearly see the difference between pictures saved in different colour spaces in it. See
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=18650461
where I posted the same picture saved in Nikon Wide, AdobeRGB and sRGB.

Just to quote the manual:

Color mode I = Flat colors for portrait and other work - Color
Space sRGB
Color mode II = Ehanced color gamut - Color Space Adobe
Color Mode III = Enhanced Green & Blue - Color Space sRGB

The manual is also pretty clear that Color Mode II and sRGB is not
a valid combo. So unless you are doing some work that requires the
increased color gamut(and even that has been debated) like
landscapes or commercial work, Color Mode II is probably not a good
option.

So given your workflow and subjects shooting in Color Mode I would
work fine as your subjects really are the swimmers and you want to
get those tones right and in an appropriate color space, sRGB, for
people to post and email around.

Personally I stick to AdobeRGB/mode II and convert to sRGB for the web (I don't change mode though). Nikon's explanations of modes I, Ia, II, III, IIIa are less than clear.
This is what it has to say in the Nikon Capture help pages:-

Color Mode

Choose a color mode for fine control over chroma, brightness, and color gamut, much as you would choose different kinds of color film for different scenes. Choose from Unchanged, Mode I, Mode II, Mode III, Mode Ia, or Mode IIIa, or B&W. In the case of images taken with the D1, Unchanged is equivalent to D1 Mode (NTSC). Color mode selection is available only in the case of RAW images taken with D1-series, D2-series, D200, D100, D70s, D70, or D50 cameras.

It amplifies this as follows:-

If "Use this instead of an embedded profile when opening files" is selected for Default RGB color space in the “Color Management” tab of the “Options” (“Preferences”) dialog (Windows Detail, Macintosh Detail), the default RGB color profile will be used as the working color space for all images, regardless of the mode selected. If "Use this instead of an embedded profile when opening files" is not selected, Adobe RGB will automatically be chosen as the working color space for Mode II images. The working color space for Mode I, Ia, III, and IIIa images will either be the color space selected with the camera (D2X and D200 only) or sRGB (all other cameras). The working color space for NTSC images (D1 only) will be NTSC. Modes I and Ia, which are adapted to the sRGB color space, are suited to portraits that will be printed or used “as is” with little or no modification. Mode II is adapted to the Adobe RGB color space. This color space is capable of expressing a wider gamut of colors than sRGB, making it the preferred choice for pictures that will be extensively processed or retouched. Modes III and IIIa, which are adapted to the sRGB color space, are suited to nature or landscape shots that will be printed or used “as is” with little or no modification.

It is fairly clear that the modes are meant to be fine trims on the working colour space and you are right that modes I, Ia, III and IIIa are designed to trim the narrow sRGB gamut rather than the wider aRGB

--
Dave
http://www.rosser.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
http://www.pbase.com/dgrosser

 

[Mach Schnell]

It is very easy to oversaturate colors and clip the color channel in mode III. I avoid it completely now.
--
Steve

 

[RomanJohnston]

I = Portrait work usually. Gives good skin tones and a great
starting point...this is an sRGB color space and can reduce colors
that were origonally in the scene.

This is a misunderstanding I had for a long time, I now know that
the modes are not colour spaces and can be applied in any colour
space. You can do that in Nikon Capture when processing RAW by
adjusting the Default RGB Colour Space in tools/options/color
management and then selecting a colour mode in advanced RAW. As
you change mode you will see the effect on the screen and in the
curves histogram. (This is different than changing colour space
where you will not see any very noticable effect as long as you
have colour management set up properly - you only see the effect of
different colour spaces when you view in a non colour space aware
application like Internet Explorer)

II = aRGB color space and best used if your going to PP the shot.
The color space is considerably larger so colors are more
faithfully retained...but looks horrable for web sharing.....so
always remember to convert to sRGB before posting on the web or it
will look VERY flat and lifeless....but the value of colors
retained is worth the conversion step (which takes only a few
seconds)

III = Boosted reds and greens usually for landscape work you dont
(again) plan much editing in. Skin tones will usually look horrable.

Did you even read the part below?!?

I understand if you shoot raw the converter chooses the color space.

Now....type I and III ARE sRGB color space and II is aRGB if you shoot .jpg....or if you let your RAW converter default to however the RAW file is tagged (When you shoot RAW...it dumps straight to the card with a little attached file that says what the actual settings were in the camera so savvy programs like Nikon Capture can apply them as a default starting point for conversion)

I spent the last year digging pretty deep in understanding color managment and while I am not a guru, I have learned quite a bit throgh reading and research.

I shoot mostly landscape work so I shoot RAW+jpg in Mode III so my
small .jpg files will come out showing what I want....but my RAW
converter converts to ProPhotoRGB (an even larger color space so my
colors stay intact till I convert my finished product to sRGB for
web sharing...or whatever the lab needs for printing).

Roman
--
Schrodinger's cat is alive...no...dead...no...alive.....no, wait....
http://www.pbase.com/romansphotos/