Color banding in shadows? - DPChallenge Forums

03/18/2010 09:53:38 PM · #1

Hey guys, long time no see! You were always so helpful with technical questions, so I'm fielding one to you now.

I've always had a thing for low key images, and now I'm noticing (maybe it's always happened, maybe it's new) an odd color issue in the shadows of my photos. Take a look:

//drop.io/colorbanding#

There are two files there, one should look normal, that's a jpeg save from Photoshop, where the file looks weird (Lightroom is the same). The second (Capture2) is a screengrab of what it looks like in Photoshop--it should be more evident.

It's especially noticeable on the cheek, her eyelashes/hair, and the bit of posterization on her eye. It's even worse when I'm editing in ProPhoto RGB, so my guess is it's a gamut reproduction problem. So I guess my question is, how do I get Photoshop to simplify out-of-monitor-gamut colors to something more normal looking?

I'm running on two ASUS 24" monitors that have been calibrated with the X-Rite Eye-One.

Thanks!

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/18/2010 09:56:01 PM · #2

Oh yeah, one more thing--in Lightroom, when zoomed out, colors look normal, but zoomed in the problem returns.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

03/18/2010 11:27:39 PM · #3

Originally posted by zackdezon:

Oh yeah, one more thing--in Lightroom, when zoomed out, colors look normal, but zoomed in the problem returns.

Try it zoomed in or out only in exact multiples (200%, 300%, 25%, 50%, etc.) and see if the image improves. Sometimes the "mismatch" between the monitor's physical pixels and the "fractional pixels" you get at odd zoom ratios can cause all kinds of display effects/artifacts.

03/18/2010 11:45:58 PM · #4

Thanks, but no dice. I realize now I actually had a similar problem like a year ago, but the old solution doesn't work anymore....

Okay, so here's what more I can say:

The photo looks posterized in the shadows and desaturated all over when viewed in Lightroom (raw), Photoshop (psd), and Windows 7 Preview (jpg). It looks normal when viewed on the internet and when set as wallpaper (jpg). The same problem happens whether it's ProPhotoRGB, AdobeRGB, or sRGB. It seems something in Windows has decided to show the same image data differently depending on what program it uses. It just seems odd to me that the problem arises only with color-managed programs, and not vice-versa.

Blerg...