When might we be “caught-out” if NOT Soft Proofing with the new WCS … and why ?
Here’s a typical workflow scenario that we’d all be familiar with;
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We apply all our corrections and artistic-tweaks using PL on Monitor-A.
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We then export from PL with Export-to-Disk’s output ICC-Profile option set as follows;
… the default option, which adopts the Color Space setting from one’s camera.
– Typically, that will be sRGB … (If it’s Adobe RGB then you’d better have an Adobe RGB capable monitor too - else, the exported file will look very “flat” on an sRGB monitor !) -
Or, with
… for explicit output to the sRGB color-space. -
If it’s any of the other ICC Profile options then you probably know what you’re doing; in which case you will have set Soft Proofing = ON (Right ?!) - So, this “gotcha” shouldn’t be a problem for you
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Finally, we display the exported image on the same monitor (Monitor-A) - or, on a monitor with the same color-space capability as Monitor-A (whatever that may be; eg. sRGB, Adobe RGB, P3, etc)
On the basis of WYSIWYG, we’d reasonably expect that what we see within-PL (in its main preview area) to be exactly the same as we get when viewing the exported file on the same monitor - Right ?!
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That was always the reliable result, pre-PLv6 … If there were differences, they were so insignificant that we didn’t notice them.
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However, that’s no longer necessarily the result with PLv6, for WCS=Wide Gamut & SP=OFF
When I encountered an image where WYS(is not)WYG, I was flummoxed for a while, until @RicardoS explained it as follows;
That is to say;
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PLv6 applies an additional algorithm to Protect Saturated Colors (PSC) when exporting to disk.
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This algorithm is also applied, within PL, when Soft Proofing (SP) = ON … but not if SP=OFF.
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The reason given by DxO developers as to why this is so is that, with SP=OFF, PL does not know for which ICC Profile the PSC algorithm should be applied - (
… More on this later.)
Therefore, for an image containing highly saturated colours; what you see on PLv6’s preview (unless you have SP=ON) may not match with the exported result, even when viewed on the exact same monitor.
An example where WYS(is not)WYG … Note, especially, the rendering on the RHS of the crop.
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After applying DxO Standard preset; here’s what I see (within PL) with Soft Proofing = OFF … this is NOT the result I get from Export-to-disk.
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With unchanged settings; here’s what I see (within PL) with Soft Proofing = ON … now, this is exactly the same as the result I get from Export-to-disk (when viewed on the same monitor).
Tip : Click on one image and then use arrows < > to quickly compare SP = OFF versus SP=ON
If you’d like to test this for yourself, here’s my example “Saturated reds” RAW file (link).
John M