I’m starting to get into RAW editing with Darktable, and I’m achieving great results that I didn’t even think were possible.
However, I have some serious doubts about the color rendering of the post-processed RAW files. Using the JPEG generated by my camera (Nikon Z50-II) as a reference, I find its colors are more to my liking. While I’ve tried working with the Color Balance RGB, White Balance, and other modules to get results I’m pleased with, when I compare the edited image with the reference JPG, I still find the latter looks better in the color department.
Below is an example. On the left is the JPEG, on the right is the post-processed RAW:
The original is much closer to what I saw when I was taking the shot. From what I understand, a lot (if not all) of this comes down to the input color profile, which Nikon doesn’t make public. When I try to edit the same image with NX Studio, the color rendering perfectly matches the generated JPEG.
So I’m wondering: is it normal to lose the color “signature” that the camera’s processor provides? JPEG Reference
That’s the fun of it! And shortly you will have the same with colors too!
Colors are difficult to master. Firstly - as soon as you took the picture and walk on you have only a (vague?) recollection of what the actual colors were. Secondly - as soon as you’ve seen an jpeg representation of a picture it further ruins the already vague recollection. JPEG’s are notoriously overdoing the colors… That - by the way - does not matter, it is what people like to see.
So now it is up to you to learn to bring out a picture as you want it. That might be like a jpeg but it can be subtly but very different.
I’ve learned a lot from video’s about color calibration, channel mixer and color balance rgb (specifically the second 4 ways tab.
What you may do is express as good as you can what you want to achieve. And then offer your picture - or another example - in a Play Raw thread for us to play with and for you to learn how things may be done.
The first thing I notice is the exposure seems to be different, look at the blue and the face. Try adding about 1/3 of a stop more exposure to the RAW see if that doesn’t get you closer. There is a way to compare the exposure of two images don’t remember it off hand, check the exposure section of the manual.
The first thing I notice is the cat’s fur - SOOC JPEG is a bit more pink, so I’d try shifting the white balance towards magenta (not too much though), or also shifting the hue of the reds and oranges in Color equalizer.
Yes, it is normal and very often I feel the same. One time I just couldn’t replicate the smooth vibrant pink color of a rose I photographed either in Filmic RGB or Sigmoid – which brings me to the question: What modules do you use?
Mind sharing the RAW file plus the .xmp of your edits?
Btw. there’s a topic category on this forum called PlayRaw, where you make a thread with your RAW, .xmp under the CC-BY-SA license (you just add a text stating the license). You can select the preset when creating a topic to make it easier. People can then edit your photo and suggest their own edits sharing the .xmp files.
because Nikon knows how they do their in camera processing
You might use darktable user manual - using darktable-chart to mimic the nikon secret sauce …
but that’s no generic aproach since nikon might do different things in different illumination situations …
Thanks guys for the valuable advice!
I’ll gladly share the RAW and XMP files in the PlayRaw section.
Should I ask to have the current topic moved, or should I create a new topic and reference this one?
After a lot of fine-tuning, this is what I got. It’s about as close as I can get it without masks (and going a bit crazy). I think I got the oranges of the kitty’s cheeks more saturated, but overall I’m fairly satisfied.
EDIT: a few adjustments and a resize to 1080p
This is another tip for you; we post JPEGs that are 1MB or lower, which can be easily achieved by exporting with 1080px on the short edge. Big JPEG can be reconstructed with .xmp files and 1080p is enough for a fullscreen preview here.
Cool, very nice result, i like it!
Thank you for the work and for the tip about the JPEG exporting for the embeds.
I will study what you have done with your xmp.
I tried to match the JPEG with ART and after trying a few modes I think OpenDRT gives close results (though with a bit more saturation/contrast). I used to shoot Nikon and usually preferred camera colors.
Removed a bit of disturbances by cropping. Blurred with DorS the foreground a bit further. Wanted to do something on the ‘pillar’ above the ear as well but not yet good at that in darktable. Vignette with exposure. Bit warmer with color calibration. My nearly standard DorS’s. Color balance rgb more or less on the feel. And local contrast only on both eyes.
Hope I did not miss the color to much, colors aren’t my strongest …
Hope you like it, kind regards, Jetze
From what I remember of my D40, D5100, and D5500 from years ago, Nikon’s SOOC leans toward bright, high contrast, and WB is a little on the cooler side (not as cool as Sony, though).
Whereas this SOOC is a bit underexposed, and warm, giving a Fujifilm color instead (Fuji’s film sim is like a LUT trying to avoid clipped colors).
Here’s my try to make it looks like the Nikon in my memory from years back , just typical dt-nind-denoise workflow.
This is really cool! I like the denoise on the blurred bg. But I can’t find any denoise inyour xmp, are you sure you loaded the correct one? EDIT
Nevermind, I’ve looked at your link about nint-denoise and now it’s clear why I haven’t found it in XMP Very, very interesting!
All you guys are amazing. I’ve learnt a lot through your elaborations. I’ve finally found a profile that match almost perfectly with the JPEG processed by the Z50 II, and I really like the final results more than the “original” ones. I’ve tryied it with several images, with different exposures and colors and it fits very well. I just need to manually adjust the exposure sometime but I think this is normal.
I would like to contribute. I’ve read the guide of creating Noise reduction profile and I will take a look in the next days.
What about WB support? Is there a way we (Z50 II owners) can contribute?
, just typical 
