Ricoh GR vs. Nikon Coolpix A - quick impressions

Try this, with finder window browse to MAC HD/Applications/, right click or ctrl+click on "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4", select "Show Package Contents"
From here, you should be able to browse to "/Contents/Resources/CameraProfiles/Adobe Standard/" and see a list of .dcp files including the coolpix A that is installed by default with LR 4.4.

Unless there is some specific program or security settings, it's weird that it didn't create a "CameraProfiles" folder under your [users] folder, but I think this will work,
Shutdown Lightroom, go ahead and create a "CameraProfiles" folder under MAC HD/Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/" and copy the ACR 8.1 Ricoh GR folder under there. Start Lightroom again and it should see it.

I managed to get access to a Mac system and just installed LR 4.4 and can verify the above works.

Update: Apparently, I don't think I can install ACR 8.1 beta without having photoshop/photoshop elements installed. It gives me an error saying the patch is not applicable. If I try to install ACR 7.4, it only installs the DNG Converter.

Also, I tried to install the Ricoh GR profile under "MAC HD/Applications/Contents/Resources/CameraProfiles/Adobe Standard/" location and LR did not detect the profile, meaning only "embedded" was available.

Yes, thanks, that's where the support files were hiding. But placing the file there didn't do any good. So it must be that ACR 8.1 doesn't work without Photoshop. Which I don't own or plan to buy. Makes me wonder if the LR 5 beta will see it without PHotoshop installed?

The funny thing is this whole process has made me better at manipulating the red, green, and blue sliders to get each image to look pretty close to right. Which I guess is a good thing, but not something I want to mess with on every shot. And it seems to be on every shot - it takes different combinations to make different ones look like they did in reality.

-Ray
 
So is this color profile issue happening for everyone? I just got my GR today but if I can't utilize the raw files with LR3 what is the point. I suppose I could get 5 beta. Also, it comes with Silkypix, does no one use that?
 
Yes, thanks, that's where the support files were hiding. But placing the file there didn't do any good. So it must be that ACR 8.1 doesn't work without Photoshop. Which I don't own or plan to buy. Makes me wonder if the LR 5 beta will see it without PHotoshop installed?

The funny thing is this whole process has made me better at manipulating the red, green, and blue sliders to get each image to look pretty close to right. Which I guess is a good thing, but not something I want to mess with on every shot. And it seems to be on every shot - it takes different combinations to make different ones look like they did in reality.

-Ray

LR will not read custom profile at it's default camera profile directory, I think it's related to security/permission. You need to put the profile in "Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/" if you don't have the folder, you can create it, make sure you match casing since I think it is case-sensitive.
 
LR will not read custom profile at it's default camera profile directory, I think it's related to security/permission. You need to put the profile in "Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/" if you don't have the folder, you can create it, make sure you match casing since I think it is case-sensitive.

Just tried. Evidently there IS a Library file in that folder, but its hidden. When I went to create a new folder with that name, I was informed it was taken and to choose another. I'm sick of trying workarounds. It'll be fixed someday and that will be great. And if I chose the Ricoh in the meantime I'll be anxiously awaiting that day. And if I choose the Nikon, I will have forgotten about it completely...

-Ray
 
Wow, am I seeing things? It works!

I was initially surprised that the users...cameraprofiles directory is empty except for the index.dat file, but I copied the dcp file to that anyway, and it works. Does that mean LR4.4 has been installing all those camera profiles files to directory that LR is not reading from?

strawhat20, thank you very much. Perhaps you can make a new thread with a simple instructions of where to download the file and where to put that file for windows and mac user, coz the above discussion have been pretty confusing. I have copied the dcp file to different location where other dcp files are located, but none of them seems to make any difference, except for the users folder.

Ray, hope this works for you too.

aleksanderphoto, Vista/Win7 —C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles\
 
Wow, am I seeing things? It works!

I was initially surprised that the users...cameraprofiles directory is empty except for the index.dat file, but I copied the dcp file to that anyway, and it works. Does that mean LR4.4 has been installing all those camera profiles files to directory that LR is not reading from?

strawhat20, thank you very much. Perhaps you can make a new thread with a simple instructions of where to download the file and where to put that file for windows and mac user, coz the above discussion have been pretty confusing. I have copied the dcp file to different location where other dcp files are located, but none of them seems to make any difference, except for the users folder.

Ray, hope this works for you too.
Was your "Library" folder hidden in your user directory? If so, how'd you get to it?

-Ray
 
The full path for me is:

C:\Users\[My user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles\

I think the "AppData" directory is hidden by default, but I have "shown hidden file" in my preference (don't remember where to set it though ;P) so I have no problem finding it. I am using Windows 7.

Was your "Library" folder hidden in your user directory? If so, how'd you get to it?

-Ray
 
I think strawhat20 said that the location for Mac is different:

Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles/

Not sure how to unhide it though if it is hidden... that's why I am not a Mac user :)
 
GOT IT!

Figured out how to unhide that folder (actually all hidden files and folders), stuck the profile in there, closed and opened Lightroom, and Viola, Adobe Standard is now available under Profiles!

And, yeah, the results look frickin' perfect! Happy days. Now I can get on with just shooting with this damn thing instead of trying to figure it out. I just lost most of the day messing with this.

-Ray
 
Glad it work for you Ray, now you don't need to worry about the color when you are considering the two.

Maybe it will make the decision even harder ;)

And thanks again strawhat for the tip.
 
Yeah, so glad you guys got it working :bravo-009:

I'll start a separate thread later this evening with details instructions.

Now, on to more shooting and showing us some nice photos. I'm on the fence between the GR or x100s at the moment.
 
Wow, am I seeing things? It works!

I was initially surprised that the users...cameraprofiles directory is empty except for the index.dat file, but I copied the dcp file to that anyway, and it works. Does that mean LR4.4 has been installing all those camera profiles files to directory that LR is not reading from?

Yes, it is very confusing, Adobe decided to make it tougher on us. I spent lots of time trying to figure this out when I first got my Color Checker Passport and started creating my own custom camera profiles, so I'm more familiar with this now.

Just remember, there's 2 default location that Adobe places the camera profiles into during installation, one for ACR and one for LR4. These 2 locations I wouldn't mess with.

You should be placing your custom profiles or any additional profiles you are adding, under the respective [Username] CameraProfiles directory. This also applies if you are creating custom Lens profiles.
 
Kind of unbelievable to me that Adobe would have the color profile, would know that its got all of the issues worked out, actually released it to the public along with ACR to work with Photoshop, KNEW it worked just as well with Lightroom, but wouldn't release a simple little patch for Lightroom users to install it. What's up with THAT?!?!? I certainly understand that it can take time to work out the details of a color profile, but once they'd done that, not to offer it to the whole user base of people who just use Lightroom without Photoshop or ACR just doesn't make ANY sense to me. Are they just gonna hold out new camera profiles until LR 5 is released as an enticement to get people to upgrade?

After dealing with this for the better part of a day, and then seeing how easy it is once you finally know how to get it where it needs to go, it really ticks me off that they deliberately make it this hard for paying customers to get the most out of their product.

-Ray
 
Without the helpful tips and file I would have thought the only solution is to upgrade to LR5, which I think is what Adobe want its users to think.

I am sure the same raw color issue is going to pop up everywhere once someone open the raw with LR4 and notice the off color. Expecting a lot of fun dpr threads in the near future. ;)
 
You know, now that I have the corrected profile, I've gone back and applied it to a lot of the shots I've taken in the last couple of days. And it really doesn't have that big an effect on most files. The two I posted, of the orange bell peppers and tomatoes, represent kind of a perfect storm for the embedded profile. And it tripped badly on them. But on most of the files I actually liked enough to process, it made minimal difference, sometimes pretty hard to even notice. But boy, on the ones with a lot of bright reds, it REALLY matters.

-Ray
 
Ray, That is very odd that you resolved your issue but I was having the same issue as you originally had while I was using an entirely different app (Iridient Developer). But then again, ID is know for giving RAW as RAW. I wonder if LR is cooking the RAW file a bit.

Film used to be very predictable. Once you got to know it it worked the same forever. These damn digital cameras + digital post processing options provide an endless tail to chase. One can never know when done is done. Fine art photographers must stick with one camera and one version of a single app in order to make sure their work is consistent.
 
Ray, That is very odd that you resolved your issue but I was having the same issue as you originally had while I was using an entirely different app (Iridient Developer). But then again, ID is know for giving RAW as RAW. I wonder if LR is cooking the RAW file a bit.

Depends on how you define "cooking" I guess. I mean, every color profile that any way changes color balances is essentially cooking the raw, ostensibly to make it hew to reality. Lord knows the mayhem that would ensue if all color profiles were removed from all computers and we were left with just pure representations of every camera's rawest of raw looks!

Film used to be very predictable. Once you got to know it it worked the same forever. These damn digital cameras + digital post processing options provide an endless tail to chase. One can never know when done is done. Fine art photographers must stick with one camera and one version of a single app in order to make sure their work is consistent.

It's a VERY good thing that my "art" isn't all that fine then! I'd go crazy - sometimes it's nice to be something of a primitive on this kind of stuff. I like getting whatever file a camera gives me and then seeing if I can turn it into something that expresses what I saw and felt when I took it. Beyond that, I lose interest. Which is why trying to solve a problem that's obvious enough for even me to see (I usually gloss over at detailed talk of color balances and profiles) was not my idea of a nice way to have spent a Saturday! I'm just glad it's done and behind me...

Aside from these color issues, Andrew, how are you liking the camera? (In America, the joke that often accompanies such questions is "aside from THAT Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play"? :)

-Ray
 
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