sRGB vs Adobe RGB (T4i)

Will someone please share the difference between sRGB and Adobe RGB? I edit in LR4, and I'm hoping to figure out Elements at some point. My camera is defaulted to sRGB but I saw somewhere someone mentioned that they were suing sRGB by accident and it ruined all their vacation pictures. Looking for basic info as I'm a newbie! Thanks.

If you shoot in raw it doesn't matter. Are you shooting in raw or jpeg? sRGB is a smaller color gamut but it is the default colorspace for the web.

As Scatterbrained said - shoot in RAW and then you don't need to concern yourself with the camera setting. You have LR4 which has Adobe Camera Raw so make use of it. May need to use a larger card in your camera to capture your pictures, but RAW allows for so much more in processing.

Steve W.

Awesome. I do shoot in RAW. I learned that lesson quickly from the get go.

Thank you.

+1 to the above.
many in-camera settings have no baring on RAW files, they only affect in camera jpegs. This is what Adobe say about RAW files and colour space...

http://livedocs.adobe.​com …eb-B3D3-9D6256B8917D.html

Translation = you don't need to worry about colour space until you export of print your images. So, for example, the export dialogue allows you to select a colour space. If you want to post an image on the net you select sRGB in the export dialogue and away you go.

Adobe RGB: Used when the output destination is a wide gamut (7+ inks) inkjet printer or a lithographic press (magazines, brochures, etc.).
The entire gamut of Adobe RGB can only be viewed on a wide gamut monitor and through a color managed application.

sRGB: For general viewing on normal monitors, for internet, for sharing with anybody unless you are sure they use a wide gamut monitor and c.m. programs, for commercial print labs.

There is a widely held false belief that Adobe RGB contains more colors. It doesn't. Both spaces have the theoretical capacity to render exactly the same number of colors (which is determined by bit depth, not space), but Adobe RGB spreads those colors out over a wider range. In practice, if you convert the Raw to Adobe RGB first and then later to sRGB, you will end up with fewer colors than if you converted the Raw directly to sRGB.

tzalman wrote in post #15909690
Adobe RGB: Used when the output destination is a wide gamut (7+ inks) inkjet printer or a lithographic press (magazines, brochures, etc.).
The entire gamut of Adobe RGB can only be viewed on a wide gamut monitor and through a color managed application.

sRGB: For general viewing on normal monitors, for internet, for sharing with anybody unless you are sure they use a wide gamut monitor and c.m. programs, for commercial print labs.

There is a widely held false belief that Adobe RGB contains more colors. It doesn't. Both spaces have the theoretical capacity to render exactly the same number of colors (which is determined by bit depth, not space), but Adobe RGB spreads those colors out over a wider range. In practice, if you convert the Raw to Adobe RGB first and then later to sRGB, you will end up with fewer colors than if you converted the Raw directly to sRGB.

I import .cr2 files into Lightroom as .dng, add local keywords, work in ProPhoto RGB and then just (cntr+s) save. Is this OK? Is it efficient? I don't convert to other formats until I have a reason. I'll print directly from the saved .dng. If I need a sRGB for web, I'll create a sRGB .jpg size it & post it. Is this correct?

ScatterCr wrote in post #15909862
I import .cr2 files into Lightroom as .dng, add local keywords, work in ProPhoto RGB and then just (cntr+s) save. Is this OK? Is it efficient? I don't convert to other formats until I have a reason. I'll print directly from the saved .dng. If I need a sRGB for web, I'll create a sRGB .jpg size it & post it. Is this correct?

It's what I do (and, I believe, most experts) except that I convert to DNG only at the end of the year when the year's production is moved into an archive catalog and the decks are cleared for the new year.

tzalman wrote in post #15909690
Adobe RGB: Used when the output destination is a wide gamut (7+ inks) inkjet printer or a lithographic press (magazines, brochures, etc.).

IF one never outputs for to a wide output inkjet (which directly supports aRGB) nor for offset printing, but only plans to output for commercial photographic printing, aRGB is a wasted effort as there are very few commercial printers which will print directly (not converting aRGB to sRGB before printing) from an aRGB file!

Here's the easy answer: shoot RAW (which has no color space exactly), but change EVERY setting you can to sRgb. sRgb is the most widely used color space, and despite theoretical advantages of other color spaces someone who doesn't really understand color (ie have read a good book just on color) shouldn't mess with them. If you shoot RAW it makes no difference what color space your camera is set to.

sRgb everywere.

Besides flowers and some sunsets, there aren't many scenes where aRGB (in experienced hands) would do better than plain sRGB anyway.

Since you are editing RAW files in LR, you are editing using the Melissa RGB color space, which is the ProPhoto RGB color space with a modified gamma curve. Adobe made things pretty simple for you since unlike Photoshop CSx there is no way (and no need) to select your editing color space.

If you never use an external editor like PS CS6 and do everything with LR then he only time you need to think about color space is when you export an image. Since I only produce jpegs to share with friends or for on-line use I have my export dialog set up to create sRGB tagged files.