Color issues?

[bobbyross]

I am not sure how to start this or how to begin but I am wondering if anyone can give me advice or where to start to solve my problem.

I have been shooting for a few years now and with my first digital slr, a Canon 10D, I was happy with it until it just didn't seem to be getting the color right on about anything. It was always just a bit off, grass was not as green, sky not as blue etc etc... I tried with diff lenses, changed from manual settings and auto shots, shooting with a tripod..and they all came out the same. So I figured that maybe after 2 years and 2-3000 pictures it was tired.
I bought a Canon 30D which came with a new lens... it's been about a year, maybe around 1-1500 pictures, and recently I noticed while shooting blades of grass, that once again the color was off. I even went back outside to shoot them over again, tripod and all, and got the same results.
I have used the Canon software in the early days to edit the RAW files, and then Photoshop and or Photoshop Elements, and now Picassa for the most part, and but I never get the right colors anymore without manipulation.
I use a pair of blue eyes that I have had since I was born, and they seem to be fine and have good focus...

Any ideas... Have I left anything out that you might need to know?

[Jim Bryant]

Did you get a new color monitor? Maybe the color is off in the monitor or your settings.

[autofocus]

I hope you get some good answers on this Bobby as I share your frustration. We've shot mostly JPEGs over the years, outdoor shots, and mostly auto white balance, and often find this to be the case. We shoot mostly in open shade areas when it's sunny, and also shoot a lot on cloudy day conditions. I've tried adjusting the white balance for those conditions and the end results never seem to be quite right. I suspect white balance is the culprit. Recently, I/we (my wife and I) decided to start shooting RAW thinking that all necessary corrections to the white balance will be fixable in the conversion. I'm still a little frustrated with those results...you get the skin tones looking OK, but the grass is not quite green...you get the grass looking green, and the skin tones are off. Hopefully, you'll get some good answers here from the folks that will benefit all of us. I'd certainly welcome some comments.

[Professional]

What picture style do you use?
What white balance do you use?
Do you shoot RAW as you said or JPEG?
Are those colors off in all software or some? and do you use different monitors?
If you can upload a sample then we can see, but if the RAW file is having this colors issue then i am sure it is either the WB or the picture style [if available] or you need a calibrated monitor.
I am using many Canon Cameras since late 2005 until now and got over maybe 10,000 of each [i think my pro bodies is above 30,000 clicks] and they all give me accurate or say nice colors even my 350D and 30D, so i don't think your camera has a problem, mostly many problems i see can be user errors.

[Professional]

Also you have to know how to meter the exposure, not sure about that but with proper exposure you can get proper colors, with bad exposure certainly you get almost bad colors as well.
I advice you to use custom white balance when possible, also when you metering the shot try to focus on something gray or white as those 2 colors are mostly used in calibration and measuring or correcting the colors [and exposure], that's why there are gray cards and color checker where the white to black with gray grades are the most bottom to be used, and i recommend if you can get a mini gray card to calibrate your camera for proper white balance.

[Trader]

Can you post a sample of a picture that you took and the color is off on it. Do not correct the color with any software application and please include the complete EXIF data for the image.

[dcclark]

Yes -- a sample, please! I suspect that it's software and/or monitor, more than your camera. 2-3000 images is nothing for a modern camera (My D40 is at about 12000 in the last 2 years and chugging along happily). Something else is happening.

[bobbyross]

Thanks everyone!

Quick mention about my monitors... I have dual lcd monitors, same make and model and the drivers for them installed as well and although relatively new <1 year old, they don't seem to give me problems with other photo viewing etc... not that they have been calibrated...

I shot RAW images at first with the D10, but since they ate up HD space back then I switched to jpg's. Occassionally I will shoot RAW now that space is not an issue, but I have found that when "tweaking" the image in post production the color does not come through like I would expect either. I understand that the range of colors between jpg and RAW does affect the picture as a jpg, but jpg are less needy.

Pictures looked the same pretty much throughout any application, although I may try to find and re-install Photoshop Elements just to be sure..

I shoot AWB which is usually where it stays to be honest, setting it is low on the priority list and AWB does not usually let me down for the most part.

Picture Style is Standard.

I will post samples tomorrow night because I deleted the original pictures that started me thinking somethign was wrong. I will shoot jpg and RAW, and even try to keep WB in mind when doing so...

And my "picture count" was off by a bit... I am at 24,000, but split that over 3-4 cameras...

[LoveDSLR]

My two cents.

The ideal setup is to have a calibrated monitor so that you have a reference to judge your colors. The preferred method is by monitor calibration hardware. Otherwise, you should at least consider using monitor calibration and profiling software.

You can also calibrate your DSLR if you think its color is off. You will need a Macbeth Color Checker card to do this.Photograph the color card with proper exposure and WB, then check the image on your calibrated monitor.

Adjust the image with your editing software (compare with the Color Checker) and save the adjustment values for future editing.

If your camera has User Def. Picture Style then you can customize it to give you the best match of the Macbeth Color Checker card.

[EasternSierra]

I don't use Adobe products for processing, but a friend of mine does, and this is what he told me. So be warned...this is just word of mouth, not personal experience talking...

Since you are using Adobe products to process your RAW images...are you shooting in AdobeRGB format? Other programs read color in a different way. Using sRGB instead of AdobeRGB could cause issues...