Color settings in CS2

Could use a little advice on how to best set up my color settings in CS2. I have my settings set to Custom and my RGB to Adobe RGB 1998. From there on I'm a little lost. Any help appreciated. Regards, MM

You probably need to learn the basics of color management. There is good information on the web, just enter "color management" in google.

Thanks for the info but I'm looking for something a little more basic. Under Edit>Color settings there are multiple choices that I would like someone else's perspective on. For instance, what do you, or other members, have your settings at in this dialog box?
Regards MM
"bmoag" wrote in message

You probably need to learn the basics of color management. There is good information on the web, just enter "color management" in google.

If your camera or input file is tagged with Adobe RGB, then in edit/color settings, you should set it to US. PrePress Defaults. That will make your workspace Adobe RGB, 1998. If you are taking picures in sRGB then you should use Web Graphics Default which will give you sRGB.

However, what you do with your file after setting that depends on whether you are going to prints or the web for final output.

Bob

It is really a necessity to learn colormanagement workflow if you are going to use Photoshop and want properly rendered colors, so to that extent, I agree with the other poster.

"Murphy" wrote in message

Thanks for the info but I'm looking for something a little more basic.

Under

Edit>Color settings there are multiple choices that I would like someone else's perspective on. For instance, what do you, or other members, have your settings at in this dialog box?
Regards MM
"bmoag" wrote in message

You probably need to learn the basics of color management. There is good information on the web, just enter "color management" in google.

NewsEast Earthlink wrote:

If your camera or input file is tagged with Adobe RGB, then in edit/color settings, you should set it to US. PrePress Defaults. That will make your workspace Adobe RGB, 1998. If you are taking picures in sRGB then you should use Web Graphics Default which will give you sRGB.

Nonsense. That only defines your DEFAULT working space, i.e. the working space of new documents. If you set your color preferences to 'Preserve Embedded Profiles', you can use Prepress Defaults even if you happen to shoot in sRGB (or vice versa).

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Thank you all for your input but there are 4 option boxes to complete. I think that I understand the "Working Spaces" options but still have questions re the other 3. "Color management policies", "Conversion options" and "Advanced controls". My ultimate goal is to have enough resolution to be able to print crisp 8 X 10 photos if I wanted to. Sorry if I didn't explain my goals clearly enough.
Regards, MM

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message

NewsEast Earthlink wrote:

If your camera or input file is tagged with Adobe RGB, then in edit/color settings, you should set it to US. PrePress Defaults. That will make your
workspace Adobe RGB, 1998. If you are taking picures in sRGB then you should use Web Graphics Default which will give you sRGB.

Nonsense. That only defines your DEFAULT working space, i.e. the working space of new documents. If you set your color preferences to 'Preserve Embedded Profiles', you can use Prepress Defaults even if you happen to shoot in sRGB (or vice versa).

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Murphy wrote:

Thank you all for your input but there are 4 option boxes to complete. I think that I understand the "Working Spaces" options but still have questions re the other 3. "Color management policies", "Conversion options" and "Advanced controls". My ultimate goal is to have enough resolution to be able to print crisp 8 X 10 photos if I wanted to. Sorry if I didn't explain my goals clearly enough.

In that case, you looking at the wrong things. Resolution has nothing to do with color management. Your camera decides how much resolution you've got, so use it at its best settings and you will normally have enough resolution. Color management settings and policies are for getting the colors right, not the resolution.

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message

Murphy wrote:

Thank you all for your input but there are 4 option boxes to complete. I think that I understand the "Working Spaces" options but still have questions re the other 3. "Color management policies", "Conversion

options"

and "Advanced controls". My ultimate goal is to have enough resolution

to be

able to print crisp 8 X 10 photos if I wanted to. Sorry if I didn't

explain

my goals clearly enough.

In that case, you looking at the wrong things. Resolution has nothing to do with color management. Your camera decides how much resolution you've got, so use it at its best settings and you will normally have enough resolution. Color management settings and policies are for getting the colors right, not the resolution.
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size of a pic that
determines the quality?
Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam that has more pixels in the same sized picture?

"Scruff" wrote:

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size of a pic that determines the quality?

Yes, although the quality is also influenced by things like the lens quality and the size of the sensor. Bigger sensors have less noise, so even though the megapixels may be the same, the quality can still be better.

Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam that has more pixels in the same sized picture?

Correct. Ultimately it means that a 1 Mpixel image can only be printed with decent quality up to 3 x 4 inch or so, while an 8 Mpixel image can be printed with the same quality at 8 x 10 inch.

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Johan W. Elzenga wrote:

"Scruff" wrote:

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size of a pic that determines the quality?

Yes, although the quality is also influenced by things like the lens quality and the size of the sensor. Bigger sensors have less noise, so even though the megapixels may be the same, the quality can still be better.

Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam that has more pixels in the same sized picture?

Correct. Ultimately it means that a 1 Mpixel image can only be printed with decent quality up to 3 x 4 inch or so, while an 8 Mpixel image can be printed with the same quality at 8 x 10 inch.

Correction; this should have been 9 x 12 inch to be a bit more exact.

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 08:16:43 -0500, Scruff wrote:

In that case, you looking at the wrong things. Resolution has nothing to do with color management. Your camera decides how much resolution you've got, so use it at its best settings and you will normally have enough resolution.

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size of a pic that determines the quality?
Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam that has more pixels in the same sized picture?

There are three dimensions of color image quality:
Resolution -- the ability to capture detail.
Tone -- the ability to resolve shades of gray.
Color -- the ability to capture perceivable colors as separate entities.

Pixel depth sets a theoretical maximum resolution. A camera cannot resolve details, such as black lines against a white background, that are smaller than a pixel width. They may not be able to resolve details larger than a pixel either; light from the detail can bleed into adjacent pixels, causing a gradation where in fact there is a sudden transition. You have to test to find your actual maximum resolution; but it *can't* be smaller than a pixel.

In professional sales, resolution is important *only* until you make the detail needed for the print run; after that, additional detail is thrown away. For instance, a 3" x 4" print at 300 dots per inch is going to resolve about 1 megapixel of information, while a double page full bleed is going to chew through more than 14 megapixels of information.

Once you've supplied enough resolution, color and tone become important. This is frequently seen as a non-problem, as both digital sensors and film chemistry blow away CMYK lithographs in this department. But it's still something you can screw up to loose a sale. And other printing devices -- good laserjets, dye transfer chemistry (used by billboards and artists, last I heard) -- will need the extra tone and color info.

--
Jim Hargan
Freelance Photographer and Writer
www.harganonline.com

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message

Johan W. Elzenga wrote:

"Scruff" wrote:

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size

of a

pic that determines the quality?

Yes, although the quality is also influenced by things like the lens quality and the size of the sensor. Bigger sensors have less noise, so even though the megapixels may be the same, the quality can still be better.

Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam

that

has more pixels in the same sized picture?

Correct. Ultimately it means that a 1 Mpixel image can only be printed with decent quality up to 3 x 4 inch or so, while an 8 Mpixel image can be printed with the same quality at 8 x 10 inch.

Correction; this should have been 9 x 12 inch to be a bit more exact. Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Yes, I have a 5 megapixel camera that says it does 8 x 10. It pushes it for a full mag or ad bleed. I need to upgrade!

"Jim Hargan" wrote in message

On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 08:16:43 -0500, Scruff wrote:

In that case, you looking at the wrong things. Resolution has nothing

to

do with color management. Your camera decides how much resolution

you've

got, so use it at its best settings and you will normally have enough resolution.

SO is it the megapixels of the cam the that determines the file size of

a

pic that determines the quality?
Thus a 1 megapixel cam pic is such a small file vs. a 8 megapixel cam

that

has more pixels in the same sized picture?

There are three dimensions of color image quality:
Resolution -- the ability to capture detail.
Tone -- the ability to resolve shades of gray.
Color -- the ability to capture perceivable colors as separate entities.
Pixel depth sets a theoretical maximum resolution. A camera cannot resolve details, such as black lines against a white background, that are smaller than a pixel width. They may not be able to resolve details larger than a pixel either; light from the detail can bleed into adjacent pixels,

causing

a gradation where in fact there is a sudden transition. You have to test

to

find your actual maximum resolution; but it *can't* be smaller than a pixel.

In professional sales, resolution is important *only* until you make the detail needed for the print run; after that, additional detail is thrown away. For instance, a 3" x 4" print at 300 dots per inch is going to resolve about 1 megapixel of information, while a double page full bleed

is

going to chew through more than 14 megapixels of information.
Once you've supplied enough resolution, color and tone become important. This is frequently seen as a non-problem, as both digital sensors and film chemistry blow away CMYK lithographs in this department. But it's still something you can screw up to loose a sale. And other printing devices -- good laserjets, dye transfer chemistry (used by billboards and artists, last I heard) -- will need the extra tone and color info.

--
Jim Hargan
Freelance Photographer and Writer
www.harganonline.com

I noticed that when I take a picture on my 5.1 mpx camera on an automatic feature the file is about
1.5 meg, but when I use the manual aperture and speed settings it is a 2.5 file. Why would that be?

On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 11:33:07 -0500, Scruff wrote:

I noticed that when I take a picture on my 5.1 mpx camera on an automatic feature the file is about
1.5 meg, but when I use the manual aperture and speed settings it is a 2.5 file. Why would that be?

Sounds like different compression schemes. Compression bad, RAW good.

Don't know much about digital cameras. I still shoot trannies. Trannies give lots of bang for the buck -- 24 megapix of data capture, automatic color management, 70 to 300 years archival with no dead media problem, and cheap storage of gargantuan quantities of data. Oh, and top pro-quality equipment for under $500. I see digital cameras as superior in turnaround speed. I'm looking for an excuse to spring for hyper-expensive pro digital equipment, but (unlike most pros) fast turnaround just doesn't return that much money to my pocket. My pro-dig camera would go out of date before it paid for itself.

Jim H