What camera has the best color accuracy?

[tbcass]

Thanks for sharing some new points on this ancient thread! Your requirements for color accuracy appear much more stringent than most, and you have the printing problem as well. It's obvious you've put a lot of thought into this.

In my case the pictures weren't printed, only viewed on other computers over the internet. That means 100% accuracy is impossible, the best you can do is make it look right on your own screen and hope that your screen is not too far off the average.

No camera, monitor, or print is 100% accurate, not even close.

I know that if you have the money for the tools and professional software, it's possible to set up a color managed workflow that really helps to maintain consistency. Your friend from Bloomingdales probably had such a setup.

Color management is needed for consistency for publication. It does not guarantee accuracy.

 

[PerTulip]

... file to a DNG and using the Color Checker software ?

Don Cox

No need to convert the files. There is a Lightroom plugin from X-Rite and it's pretty straightforward. You essentially:

- take a photo of the profiling target in the desired lighti

- use the plugin or the stand-alone software to create a profile

- apply this profile to all photos you want

 

[Mark Ransom]

Thanks for sharing some new points on this ancient thread! Your requirements for color accuracy appear much more stringent than most, and you have the printing problem as well. It's obvious you've put a lot of thought into this.

In my case the pictures weren't printed, only viewed on other computers over the internet. That means 100% accuracy is impossible, the best you can do is make it look right on your own screen and hope that your screen is not too far off the average.

No camera, monitor, or print is 100% accurate, not even close.

You're right, but when the problem can range from blindingly obvious to barely noticeable it makes sense to try to minimize it.

I know that if you have the money for the tools and professional software, it's possible to set up a color managed workflow that really helps to maintain consistency. Your friend from Bloomingdales probably had such a setup.

Color management is needed for consistency for publication. It does not guarantee accuracy.

You can't have accuracy without consistency. And the goal of color management really is accuracy, even if it can't fully realize the goal.

 

[Ellis Vener]

i know i'm late, but can i speak as an artist(painter) with little on familiarity with the photo nomenclature?

there is no way for me to be satisfied with ANY camera. there are several obstacles and they all depend on who is viewing and how. there is what i see on my easel under my lighting which renders very well for me(i use a combo of solux and incandescent flourescent with a 94 cri). there is MY photo setup, there is what i see on my computer, what my galleries and their clients see on their computers, the gallery lighting, the lighting of the client in their home, the printer and what he sees on his computer and what he does with my png file, and there's the actual printing.

as a result i go for a broad balance and a tonal range that represents my paintings optimally. my biggest problem has always been light colors that get bleached out.

i use "dirty" and muted colors and my palette is largely secondary not primary. as a result i have to be picky because my color differences are subtle. in fact in the early days printers had to get to KNOW my work because their eyeballs saw my work as not fitting their "idea of color"

my camera of choice hands down is sony. nikon is too loud and it's color has too much chroma. canon is just,,,,off.

i realize my needs are different than a person who shoots product. i had a friend who shot for bloomingdales years ago. he had a hasselblad witha mac computer that was connected to and set up EXACTLY like the bloomies ad and bloomies' printer, so they all effectively saw the exact same thing,,,,,,if you want to go that route. but that's what it takes if your that concerned with accuracy

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats...essions/story/livestream-2-and-3d-photography

 

[D Cox]

... file to a DNG and using the Color Checker software ?

Don Cox

No need to convert the files. There is a Lightroom plugin from X-Rite and it's pretty straightforward. You essentially:

- take a photo of the profiling target in the desired lighti

- use the plugin or the stand-alone software to create a profile

- apply this profile to all photos you want

I use Photoshop, not Lightroom, so I use the standalone X-Rite program to create the profiles. For this you have to load the raw file with the Color-Checker in the picture into ACR. You then save that file from ACR as a DNG, which you use in the standalone program.

Some cameras save DNG raw files directly.

I didn't know there was a Lightroom plugin.

Don

 

[supersargas]

You replied to a thread that has been dormant for two years. It was started in 2008, by the way.

 

[Redhenry]

You replied to a thread that has been dormant for two years. It was started in 2008, by the way.

Thanks! I assumed that because there was a very recent post, it was a recent thread. Didn't look at the dates!

 

[gaul]

Canon had good colours accuracy back in 2008.. stil in 2021..



Not sure about other brands or models

 

[Mark Ransom]

You replied to a thread that has been dormant for two years. It was started in 2008, by the way.

Apparently people are still interested in the subject. I'm as surprised as anybody.

 

[Phil A Martin]

You replied to a thread that has been dormant for two years. It was started in 2008, by the way.

Apparently people are still interested in the subject. I'm as surprised as anybody.

Given the changes in camera technology since 2008, surely it would have been better to start with a fresh OP, instead of warmed up leftovers long past their use by date?

 

[supersargas]

I remember reading about a test where someone compared a bunch of cameras of all common brands (this was a couple years ago), and the technical best were the Sonys. Those obviously still need at the very least a CLUT to look decent, so there's that.

 

[MrBrightSide]

It would be educational to go back and read early color management white papers to see what the engineers were thinking about how to strike a balance between accuracy and consistency. Did they favor one over the other? Are they even mutually exclusive?

And yes you want accuracy but in magazines and gallery shows it’s important that the colors be consistent or the whole thing looks haphazard and amateurish.

Mark

the goal of color management really is accuracy, even if it can't fully realize the goal.

 

[miltk]

since my reply i have switched over to fuji. i find them more accurate. a little too much saturation but i can cut back on that in post

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

As all cameras capture a representation of reality your opinion determines which approach is best and not necessarily most accurate. Kodak and Olympus camera lines have reputations for nice color.

Take a trip to a photo store and tryout some cameras to see which ones you like and then buy one.

REd

What’s a photo store?

 

[PerTulip]

As all cameras capture a representation of reality your opinion determines which approach is best and not necessarily most accurate. Kodak and Olympus camera lines have reputations for nice color.

Take a trip to a photo store and tryout some cameras to see which ones you like and then buy one.

REd

What’s a photo store?

A store that sells camera equipment. ;-) My "regular" store knows me for 30 years, I have another store I frequent for film stuff, another one that specializes in printing/paper/accessories.

But I am aware many people don't have access to good stores locally anymore.

 

[Bob A L]

As all cameras capture a representation of reality your opinion determines which approach is best and not necessarily most accurate. Kodak and Olympus camera lines have reputations for nice color.

Take a trip to a photo store and tryout some cameras to see which ones you like and then buy one.

REd

What’s a photo store?

Walmart, Best Buy ?? But even these are going away for rural USA. Really really miss local camera and hobby shops - it's a shame their isn't a way for them to survive. Our little ole town used to have at least two of each. Now only one of each within 100 miles and they are struggling.

 

[Overrank]

As all cameras capture a representation of reality your opinion determines which approach is best and not necessarily most accurate. Kodak and Olympus camera lines have reputations for nice color.

Take a trip to a photo store and tryout some cameras to see which ones you like and then buy one.

REd

What’s a photo store?

Walmart, Best Buy ?? But even these are going away for rural USA. Really really miss local camera and hobby shops - it's a shame their isn't a way for them to survive. Our little ole town used to have at least two of each. Now only one of each within 100 miles and they are struggling.

We’ve had a few open over the last couple of years in the UK e.g. Real Camera Company in Liverpool, but they’re mostly selling secondhand film cameras. Traditional new camera shops are struggling - phones on the one hand and the internet on the other are squeezing the number of customers.

 

[robgendreau]

Interesting that this zombie thread is like one of those horror movies where the Beast or Demon only arises periodically, in cycles like Jupiter Saturn conjunctions or something.

Maybe we should have a DPR Archaeology thread, where intrepid explorers dive deep into our past to relieve embarrassing predictions like how CMOS will never replace CCD, or that mirrorless is just a fad, or that smartphones will never replace P&S cameras....

And I'm not being snarky (well, some). It's kind of fun. Like some of the 2008 posts here; some links still work with websites where every link is underlined. And tiny images.

 

[tbcass]

Canon had good colours accuracy back in 2008.. stil in 2021..

Not sure about other brands or models

Not unless you consider an orange cast accurate. Personally, I do not. I think Canon has the worst colors but that is just my opinion.

 

[Bob A L]

I have to chuckle here. Above when I responded about camera shops initially had not noticed the date stamp - but the response still stands and is relevant tody.