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The colors of Flagstaff

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well I ran away from the heat of Phoenix at 110 degrees with my family and headed for the high country 7000 ft in cool Flagstaff. Seems every time I get some new system I head up here. Actually kind of a neat place to goof off and shoot some images. Anyway I continue to be impressed with this system for one but theses Mamiya lenses are really great with color , saturation , contrast and there resolving power.Heading home in a few hours but hard to leave 85 degree temps. Here are some 55mm shots. Just put camera on daylight and let it rip no adjustments to WB. This is at 6 am
 

Dale Allyn

New member
Guy, I appreciate you posting these, with all of the colors and contrasty light, etc. I'm finding my P25+ and AFD II very funky and inconsistent for colors when the files are first viewed in ACR/Bridge and what little I've looked at them in C-1 DB. I can correct the white point of course, but some are off by huge amounts. Are you seeing good color right out of the camera in C-1?

Edit to add: After just now looking at some files from yesterday, C-1 DB did a much better job with colors, but there are still several frames that are really off. Is this normal behavior for this system? I'm still learning the ropes here. I've never experienced this with my Canon gear. I can understand that the profiles aren't great in ACR for the PhaseOne back, but I expected better of C-1. Maybe I'm setup wrong and need to find a profile or setting to improve things. I'm sure I'm the weak link here as I have no experience with C-1. I've invested a lot of time in learning CS3/ACR for my needs, and I'm certainly at the bottom of the curve, looking up, with C-1.
 
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harmsr

Workshop Member
Dale in the third tool icon (the one that looks like a Q) make sure that you start out by selecting the correct ICC profile for the light you were under. You can also experiment with selecting a base curve, such as film standard or linear.

That makes a big difference and should be done prior to anything else.

Best,

Ray
 

Dale Allyn

New member
Ray, Thank you for this tip. I'll check it out. I had left the profile at default.

The files will adjust or "normalize", but some where just wacky. I'm also learning that my exposure practices for Canon gear are not ideal for this system.

Thanks again.

Correction: After looking at the tool, I had adjusted the profile, at least in some sessions. I forgot in another, but it made no difference in this case. Most of the weird color issues occurred at high elevation (around 7,500' above sea level) and seemed inconsistent. I have a lot to learn with both C-1 and the Phase back. The images taken around my home/patio (low elevation) look great in terms of exposure and color balance, but the mountain stuff was way off. Some way off in color temp, others off in tint – not slightly, but quite a lot. Hmm... learning.
 
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Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Dale just walked in the door . Try 4.1 from Phase Also. May have to download it. Not sure i would use Bridge, it maybe selecting some tag or something. Dale you may have a AWB issue also. This morning all of this was set on Daylight on the back. More consistent all the way around. AWB can get fooled very easy with any system too
 

Dale Allyn

New member
Guy, thanks for the tip. I was wondering about AWB on this system. I've had good luck with it on the Canon gear (more so than some other systems), but often use custom WB for critical stuff. I've read that AWB might not be ideal for the Mamiya/Phaso combo and I should have tested both settings this weekend. I'll shoot outdoor stuff on the daylight setting and see it that makes for less work.

I'll download 4.1 also. I had not done that yet because I read of complaints when using it on a PPC Mac. I'm using a PowerMac G5 dual processor for most of my stuff since the P25+ and Mamiya stuff kinda bruised my MacPro budget. LOL. I have lots of RAM so maybe 4.1 will be OK. I don't know if I can sneak a new MacPro in until my wife goes out of town. The UPS guy has been showing up everyday as it is. LOL
 
S

Samuel Axelsson

Guest
I strongly recommend trying out the profiles in C1. They change colors in very different ways. I find LR and ACR very good for after-processing the files but they don't read phase files right IMO. Specially, reds are usually way off to magenta.
If you are shooting landscapes is not a big deal but with people and cloths I always go throught C1 first.

This is from a test I did a few months ago:

/Samuel
 
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Dale Allyn

New member
Samuel, thanks for the info and comparison shots. After doing some more "test" shots today I think that AWB was severely tricked in my shooting this weekend. I've never experienced white balance issues this severe. I used the profiles in C-1 DB and there's no improvement, so I'm guessing that AWB is the source of my difficulties.

I'll install C-1 v4.1 and see how that goes.

Best,

Dale
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Depends on what your shooting Dale . Just stick on daylight and try that just for reference to see what is going on. I do recommend C1 for these Phase backs , it does a nice job.
 

Dale Allyn

New member
Thanks, Guy. I've just never shot a system that was all over the place with white balance. Some files are great, some are way too blue, others off in some other direction. Some of the white balance swings were during the same several frames, but with slight compositional adjustments. I'll learn what's needed, but was caught off guard because I generally shoot AWB with success, or shoot custom WB. I find that with my Canon and other gear the "tungsten" and "fluorescent" settings are much worse then AWB, so just avoid them. Now I'm learning a new way, with the help of members here. :)

I'll stick with "daylight" for outdoor stuff with this back and maybe I won't get such a surprise when I download a CF card full of images.

Thanks for sharing your great colors of flagstaff, and thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge of the Phase One products.
 

Dale Allyn

New member
Thanks, Mammy645. I was thinking about that as well. I'll try C-1 v4.1 first though, since Phase should be in the best place to know how to process the files. I'm sure that the fault is mine, in that I assumed the AWB would render the same results I've gotten with my other gear. If an ACR calibration will render equal results then my workflow could remain more convenient. I'll try both.

And, Guy, sorry about hogging your thread. Your images are great and the varied palette made me think what a nightmare it would have been to process if the white balance results were like mine. Your thread has helped me to better understand the back and it's workings.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
No need to apologize ever. That is what this place is about is learning how to get the best results. I like us to keep a eye on this and make sure nothing is wrong either. I have had a few bounce around files but nothing major.
 

woodyspedden

New member
guy

Love the Flagstaff shots. Great series to show off the P25+ and worth every look.

I do have a question though..........is it me or is there a pervasive blue cast throughout the images. I can see that the sky is intense and it may just be the sky reflections are everywhere and this is what I am seeing. Kind of like Antelope Canyon where you pick up sky light on one wall and direct light on another ending up with almost purple shadows and intense orange high tones.

Anyway, just a curiosity.

Woody
 
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