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F32 Color Mode

Custom Setting 32: Color Mode

Your Nikon digital camera offers you a choice of color modes for recording digital photographs. Choose a setting suited to your production work-flow and the task at hand. When open-

CUSTOM

ing photographs in an application that supports color man-

(sRGB) OK

(AdobeRGB)

agement, select a color profile that matches the color setting in effect at the time the photograph was taken. Note that if

you convert the image to a different color space when opening it, you will not achieve exactly the same colors as the original. If the image is converted to a color space with a narrower gamut, tonal discontinuities may be observed.

Option

 

No.

 

Description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This setting is adapted to the sRGB color space,

I (sRGB)

 

 

 

which reproduces colors as seen with little or no

(default)

 

 

 

editing. It is particularly suited to human portrait

 

 

 

 

subjects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images recorded in this mode are adapted to the

 

 

 

 

Adobe RGB color space. This color space is ca-

II (Adobe RGB)

 

 

 

pable of expressing a wider range colors than the

 

 

 

sRGB color space, making it the preferred choice in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

studio settings and commercial production work-

 

 

 

 

flows.

 

 

 

 

 

Color Mode II

Photographs taken in Mode II include an embedded ICC profile, ensuring that the correct color-space settings can be selected automatically when the images are opened in Adobe Photoshop or in other applications that support color management (see the documentation provided with the application for details). Note, however, that while the system for recording Mode II images is based on Exif and DCF, it is not in strict conformity with these standards. Mode I is recommended when taking photographs that will be viewed on other cameras or Exif/DCF-compatible devices, or that will be printed using ExifPrint, the direct printing option on some household printers, or kiosk printing or other commercial print services. For information on whether your printer or print service supports ExifPrint, refer to the documentation provided with your printer or speak to your photofinisher. For best results, use Nikon View or Nikon Capture 3, which make excellent additions to any imaging workflow. Nikon Capture 3 is unique in its ability to directly edit NEF files without affecting the image quality of the original, and belongs at the first stage of any production workflow involving image editing software.

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