Duane Pandorf
Top Veteran
- Location
- Western NC
I recently mentioned that I've created a "Dual Illuminate" custom camera profile for my Leica M-E using the x-Rite ColorChecker Passport and was asked if I'd explain a little bit more about it. Well here goes:
Thought I’d share my experience with taming my Leica M-E’s out of camera DNG color (colour) palette using the latest version Lightroom.
Before purchasing my Leica M-E, I had read through Thorsten Overgaard’s running commentary on his experiences shooting with his Leica M9. ("Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera” : Thorsten von Overgaard's Leica Pages - Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera Review - Page 1)
Thorsten provides a lot of valuable information that he’s learned over the course of his use of the camera and I have been using many of his suggestions and the way he shoots, especially the way he has configured his camera.
I have had my M-E for about a year and a half. My camera has over 20,000 shutter actuations yet I’m still learning new “tricks” so to speak in getting what I want out of the camera. One of the first things I did since reading Thorsten’s M9 info was to buy a WhiBal card (http://michaeltapesdesign.com/whibal.html). I have two versions the 3.5”x6” version and their credit card size as I keep that one in my wallet.
Its just recently after rereading some of Thorsten’s commentary that I’ve decided to use my WhiBal card religiously and am now running my M-E in Manual White Balance.
Early on after shooting with my M-E I searched for any info on “improving” the colors I was getting. In Thorsten’s info I tried using some of his Lightroom HSL color tweaks but found that to be hit and miss for my preference. By the way, I’ve been profiling my displays with a Spyder Express (Display Calibration Solutions | Datacolor). So I’m familiar with ensuring my display is properly calibrated to show the right colors.
In my research I found a Leica M9 custom camera profile made by Chromasoft (chromasoft - Reference Images) and used it for quite a while. I really did not care for the default Adobe Lightroom profile nor the embedded profile out of the camera. But Chromasoft’s profile still didn’t lend itself to the color pallete I was looking for.
Through time I began a new search and found the inexpensive HueLight Leica M9 profiles (Camera Profiles - Color Fidelity). I was very excited about the results I was getting from these three different profiles and made the standard profile my default. However, skin tones were still not up to par of what I thought the camera should be able to produce.
Recently Dave Powell (ShootTokyo) posted an older review of his of the x-Rite Color Checker on his Facebook page and how he has used it to improve his images. I have read about the x-Rite product in the past and kind of understood how it worked but was reluctant to spend over $80 for a couple panels of different colors. How is this really going to help me?
I then remember Thorsten had done some work with the x-Rite too and reread his stuff and after reading it again realized I was finally getting what this produce could do for me.
I changed some of my search parameters in my Google search window and finally hit on another blog that went into detail and how to get better skin tones out of the camera using the x-Rite Color Checker and the WhiBal card. A Dutchman by the name of Hans van Eijsden: (ColorChecker: How to get PERFECT skin colors with every camera • Hans van Eijsden Photography)
His in-depth discussion helped solidify my decision to buy the x-Rite. I purchased mine through Amazon, not that it matters and immediately applied Hans’s procedure in creating my own custom “Dual Illuminant” profile.
I had to take a few test shots to get the best working DNG files to create the profile but once I did I could immediately see an major improvement.
This first example below is using my new custom "Dual Illuminate" Camera Profile. I shot a manual balance using the WhiBal card before taking this photograph to ensure I had the right white balance for the existing light. We were sitting on the porch of our favorite restaurant in the town and the sky had a heavy overcast as it was actually thundering and some lightning going on at the time.
x-Rite Custom Profile and in-camera Manual White Balance | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Lightroom Embedded Camera Profile (Leica's Profile) | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Adobe's Leica M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
HueLight Standard M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Chromasoft Leica M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Thought I’d share my experience with taming my Leica M-E’s out of camera DNG color (colour) palette using the latest version Lightroom.
Before purchasing my Leica M-E, I had read through Thorsten Overgaard’s running commentary on his experiences shooting with his Leica M9. ("Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera” : Thorsten von Overgaard's Leica Pages - Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera Review - Page 1)
Thorsten provides a lot of valuable information that he’s learned over the course of his use of the camera and I have been using many of his suggestions and the way he shoots, especially the way he has configured his camera.
I have had my M-E for about a year and a half. My camera has over 20,000 shutter actuations yet I’m still learning new “tricks” so to speak in getting what I want out of the camera. One of the first things I did since reading Thorsten’s M9 info was to buy a WhiBal card (http://michaeltapesdesign.com/whibal.html). I have two versions the 3.5”x6” version and their credit card size as I keep that one in my wallet.
Its just recently after rereading some of Thorsten’s commentary that I’ve decided to use my WhiBal card religiously and am now running my M-E in Manual White Balance.
Early on after shooting with my M-E I searched for any info on “improving” the colors I was getting. In Thorsten’s info I tried using some of his Lightroom HSL color tweaks but found that to be hit and miss for my preference. By the way, I’ve been profiling my displays with a Spyder Express (Display Calibration Solutions | Datacolor). So I’m familiar with ensuring my display is properly calibrated to show the right colors.
In my research I found a Leica M9 custom camera profile made by Chromasoft (chromasoft - Reference Images) and used it for quite a while. I really did not care for the default Adobe Lightroom profile nor the embedded profile out of the camera. But Chromasoft’s profile still didn’t lend itself to the color pallete I was looking for.
Through time I began a new search and found the inexpensive HueLight Leica M9 profiles (Camera Profiles - Color Fidelity). I was very excited about the results I was getting from these three different profiles and made the standard profile my default. However, skin tones were still not up to par of what I thought the camera should be able to produce.
Recently Dave Powell (ShootTokyo) posted an older review of his of the x-Rite Color Checker on his Facebook page and how he has used it to improve his images. I have read about the x-Rite product in the past and kind of understood how it worked but was reluctant to spend over $80 for a couple panels of different colors. How is this really going to help me?
I then remember Thorsten had done some work with the x-Rite too and reread his stuff and after reading it again realized I was finally getting what this produce could do for me.
I changed some of my search parameters in my Google search window and finally hit on another blog that went into detail and how to get better skin tones out of the camera using the x-Rite Color Checker and the WhiBal card. A Dutchman by the name of Hans van Eijsden: (ColorChecker: How to get PERFECT skin colors with every camera • Hans van Eijsden Photography)
His in-depth discussion helped solidify my decision to buy the x-Rite. I purchased mine through Amazon, not that it matters and immediately applied Hans’s procedure in creating my own custom “Dual Illuminant” profile.
I had to take a few test shots to get the best working DNG files to create the profile but once I did I could immediately see an major improvement.
This first example below is using my new custom "Dual Illuminate" Camera Profile. I shot a manual balance using the WhiBal card before taking this photograph to ensure I had the right white balance for the existing light. We were sitting on the porch of our favorite restaurant in the town and the sky had a heavy overcast as it was actually thundering and some lightning going on at the time.
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x-Rite Custom Profile and in-camera Manual White Balance | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Lightroom Embedded Camera Profile (Leica's Profile) | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Adobe's Leica M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
HueLight Standard M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Chromasoft Leica M9 Profile | Leica M-E, Leica Summilux-M 35mm pre-ASPH f/2.0 1/60 ISO160