adobe rgb1998

when i open raw files in says in the workspace area adobe RGB1998....should i have that same setting in photoshop colour settings?

Saves having to change it everytime.

It makes things easier, sure. Why are you working in Adobe rgb? If you end up putting images on the web or printing with consumer labs you need sRgb so you might as well start with that in the first place.

The color space that is shown in that list box is going to be one of four color spaces -
ColorMatch RGB
Adobe RGB
sRGB
ProPhoto RGB

When you open a RAW file in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), the color space shown in that box is nothing more than the selection that was last used the last time you opened a RAW file in ACR. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the picture you just opened or with anything in your Color Settings.

However, when you Save an image (after leaving PSCS2, or when using the Save button in PSCS2), then the saved image will be converted to that profile.

The next time you open that saved file in Photoshop (which would not be a RAW file, but rather an RGB mode file saved as JPG, TIF, PSD, etc.), it will then be treated in accordance with your Color Settings. In other words, it might be converted to the working RGB color space, or it might not, depending upon the Color Management Policy settings.

So, the real answer as to what it should be set to in ACR is a question that cannot be answered without knowing your color management intents, policies, and issues.

As Tim suggests, if you know what your destination is for the images, that will indicate what color space you should be using as your working color space.

you might want to check this site out. It helped me wrap my mind around the issue. I stay in sRGB all the time.
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com …als/sRGB-AdobeRGB1998.htm

I am having difficulty in getting my head round this too.

I would really appreciate some clear, but not 'dummy' explanations

I produce A3 prints from my 20D, also smaller versions for the web and other things. But the emphasis is on printing for exhibition as large as possible in as good colour as possible.

Should the colour space I shoot in, be different if the images are ultimately going to be reproduced in magazines, than if the ulimtate end is for prints for exhibition?

I want to know what the best colour space to set my 20D in (for RAW shooting), to be able to produce A3 ( or larger) colour or B+W prints for exhibition.


From what I have read so far it would seem that ADOBE RGB is better than sRGB i.e. for the widest colour gamut for exhibition prints

Is that right?

(I also print from scans - from a NIKON colscan@4000dpi - of my older 35mm film. I occasionally produce A1 prints from the film scans)

I tried my best to learn this issue about a year ago. It very much depends on your PP software, and computer-printer. I chose to use Argb all the way through my workflow.
10D/20D>ACR>CS2>Dell 1905FP Ultrasharp>Epson 2200. All have "capabilities"/profile​s that support Argb, and I wanted to take advantage of 20D>Epson 2200. I "see" the difference in my prints. That said, if I had something in my workflow that didn't "support" Argb, I'd stick with srgb, especially if you are using "labs" for prints, or posting to web/e-mail, as this is the "standard". Don't forget to convert Argb>srgb, if this is the case, as it will make a percievable differance.