Which color space to use in Lightroom?

[nemesis256]

I'm in the process of testing out Lightroom, and I'm seriously considering switching over to it from iPhoto. One question I have is about the color space to use. It defautlts to ProPhoto, but Adobe and sRGB are also options. My D5000 shoots RAW in Adobe RGB, so should I stick with that in Lightroom? Another thing to consider is outputting images to the web. For this reason, should I use sRGB instead? Does any of this really matter?

Another related question. Should I allow Lightroom to convert my .nef files into .dng files?

[sjlarue]

I have a script do it all for me in cs 3 and since I am a way from my computer, I THINK that it is Adobe for web and sRGB for prints. I keep my photographs in ProPhoto until exporting. Pro Photo has the largest color space...think of it as a 1 gallon bucket of different colors. AdobeRGB is about the size of a half a gallon and sRGB is about the size of a quart. sRGB is mainly for printing because that is all the colors that most of the older printers can handle. But I have found that some of the newer printers seem to print better in Adobe.

Basically, you want your files to retain as much color space as possible So save your main file as ProPhoto. Then change your screen output to Adobe which is found somewhere in Lightroom so that you can get the colors to look right.

When I get back to my computer tonight, I will send a link that is helpful in explaining color space.

As far as .nef to .dng....I haven't yet, but I am planning to. It would be a good habit to start. .nef is Nikon and in the future may not support or be supported by Adobe. .dng is a "generic" raw file that is supported by Adobe and others. So basically 10 years or so down the road, Nikon may fold or Adobe be bought out by Microsoft...(shudder to think) something like that and your RAW files would not be supported...get the picture?

Later

[navcom]

I may be backwards or just plain ignorant, but I use Adobe color space for everything, including printing, and I've never run into any problems. I have a calibrated monitor and my prints from my personal printer work great. My prints turn out fantastic from White House Custom Color as well. I've never had an issue with screw-ups or color-quality issues. It's a lot easier for my little brain than trying to remember which color space to use where.

Again...I'm not saying this is the best way. It's just the way I've always done it and it works great for me. I use CS4 and Lightroom 2 as well.

[Car2n]

Lightroom displays images using Prophoto. That's it and you cannot change it.
You can set your preferences to use another colour space for when you take the image into another application (again which you choose) such as Photoshop etc.
You are also given the choice of colour space when you export images to another format such as jpg or tiff in the export dialoge box.
Print at home = adobe rgb (better yet, print dirctly from Lightroom ie: no exporting)
Print at a lab = adobe rgb or srgb as a jpg or tiff depending on the labs requirements.
Exporting images to jpg for web use = srgb

[sjlarue]

Here is the link that I promised earlier.

This is part 1 of 4:
YouTube - Colour Space and ICC profiles explained Vol 1

Lots of great info.

[jdepould]

If you're exporting for web, use only sRGB. Most browsers are not color managed. MPix asks for sRGB too, but if you're printing yourself, Adobe RGB is good to use.

[ijbrewst]

Suggest go to Search - photo.net and read a set of tutorials on Colour Management by Jay Kinghorn - he specifically addresses Lightroom. I think if you shoot in RAW then there is no profile involved; you set that in post-processing?