Curtis N wrote in post #15554304
Elie, thank you for the explanation. I think I understand it, sort of. The concept of camera profiles boggles my mind a bit.
Now, here are my questions:
1) Suppose I use the two cameras referred to above (both are Canon), both set at 5200K and shoot the same scene under the same conditions.
a) Will the camera-produced JPEGs look the same, in terms of color?
b) If I import RAW files into Lightroom and convert to JPEG without adjusting the white balance, will they look the same?
2) If I use two cameras, import both sets of RAW files into Lightroom and sync the white balance, will they look the same?
This is significant, since my wife and I often shoot theatre productions together. We would like to get consistent color with all of the images after conversion.
Just like monitors and printers, every camera has its unique "footprint", its way of rendering colors. Canon quality control tries to hold them within a pre-determined range, but they won't be identical, even two units of the same model. The first step in the processing workflow is the application of a camera profile that attempts to adjust the image data to a scene referred standard, i.e. to make the colors realistic, or to a viewer oriented standard, to make them pleasing (for instance Faithful vs. Landscape profiles), and it is largely successful in creating standardization across units and models. But the extent of that success (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder. The critical eye will see differences because the profile is "canned", i.e. generic. I once thought that a large firm like Adobe would test at least a dozen or so units when making the profiles, but in a recent interview Eric Chan revealed that often only a single unit is used. (I still think it likely that more care goes into the profiling of a 5D3 or D800 than a p&s.) In this respect Canon, having more units available, probably does a better job, both in-camera and in DPP. Nevertheless, just like a monitor or a printer, a custom profile will be more accurate and today LR/ACR users can easily produce a scene referred one with the Color Checker or QP Card references.
So for a.), to a large extent, yes, but not 100%.
And for b.), like a.) but it would be better if the cameras are profiled and WB is set using the eyedropper on a reliable grey target.
2.) I would expect better uniformity if each camera is WBed to the same grey target.
On a personal note - Knowing the propensity of lighting managers and directors to creatively use lighting to create an atmosphere that advances an artistic agenda as well as technical difficulties like LED lighting in venues with restricted budgets, I do not envy your job. But if you aim for a level of uniformity that will satisfy the man writing your check, I think you can achieve it.
