Exposure differences in Nikon's ViewNX and camera Raw 5.0 (photoshop)?

Question

I usually filter my images in ViewNX to decide what to edit. Then, in Photoshop I open Bridge, and from there, I open the NEF (raw) images in Camera Raw 5.0. But as soon as I do that, my images are overexposed. Camera Raw uses the default setting, and then the exposure is on 0.00. When I tap Auto, it changes to about -0.50. But then under exposed. Please help! I cant change every phot's exposure setting. In ViewNX (and on my camera) it is perfectly exposed...

Answer 1

By default Adobe Camera Raw will read the EXIF data and apply any in camera settings such as EV compensation, but you can alter the settings easily.



Open an image in the Raw Converter and adjust, then you can save these settings as the Default, then any NEF file will be opened with those settings applied. You may have done this with another image and saved settings that are not good for your present images.



You can even set it to recognise different cameras from their Serial Numbers and apply different settings.



Another possible cause is if you have been using Manual Exposure, then there will be a spread of exposures as the light level and the tones of the images changes with even a slightly different viewpoint, which is why I use Aperture Priority then the camera will reset exposure with every frame and the exposures between frames will be far more consistent.



I fully realise that metering from the camera position is not perfect which is why all camera manufacturers have EV compensation easily available.



The Adobe Raw converter by default will show you exactly what is in the Raw file, some software, and Nikon's View NX could be one of them, automatically applies corrections on opening the images and show you what the software expects you want. I much prefer the Adobe way of working.



Chris

Answer 2

When Photoshop opens a raw image in Adobe Camera RAW, the default camera settings from the EXIF data are applied. It shows the image exactly how it was shot. When you use Adobe Camera RAW you need to tweak the image yourself, the default image is unprocessed. It may look different in your viewer software, because it is merely processing it differently, and no doubt applying some sharpening, or contrast - which is hardly surprising when you consider that ViewNX is not made by Adobe. It's merely down to the differences in how the software works.



With respect, if you are shooting RAW and expecting fabulous automatic results, you are wasting your time. The whole point of shooting RAW is so that you can adjust each individual photo. If you are not up for that, you'd be as well shooting JPEG.



BTW you can batch process RAWs in Adobe Camera RAW if you want to apply the same settings to every shot. Tutorial here: http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/tips/phs7rbrawbatch/



Or if you don't want to watch a video tutorial, check this one out: http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/02/26/batch-processing-how-to-edit-multiple-photos-in-adobe-camera-raw/

Answer 3

Bridge and Camera RAW aren't altering anything in the RAW images -- but they're also not applying any of the in-camera settings you may have used (such as highlight tone priority). They're showing the actual, unaltered RAW images using a "default" development scheme. That development scheme might not show your images in the best light, and it's certainly not showing them like they would show up on your camera or in a Nikon app that *does* apply in-camera settings. But the photos aren't "over-exposed," either.



In Camera RAW, you can create "default profiles" for RAW images from specific cameras -- that changes how ACR does its default "development" of RAW images. Go in and modify the default profile for images from your camera so the exposure or brightness sliders are ticked down a bit, and then save that profile. Then when you open images from that camera, they'll look better.



Here's an article about it:



http://help.adobe.com/en_US/creativesuite/cs/using/WS438DC1E5-3DA4-49a2-A625-A87156D488A3.html