Color Space/Color Matrix in canon camera

Color Space determines the number of colors that will be recorded (the

“gamut”) when a picture is taken. Adobe RGB (1998) is a wide gamut,

recording a very large range of colors. Photographers who photograph

for mechanical reproduction on a press (books, catalogs, brochures)

should use the Adobe RGB color space so that, when those colors

are converted to the very small CMYK reproduction gamut the most

information possible will be retained.

For almost all other uses, weddings, portraits, snapshots and the like, the

smaller gamut sRGB is all you need. Some have decried the sRGB color

space as inadequate, which I don’t believe to be true for a number of

reasons. For instance, all labs use sRGB printers almost exclusively. From

the 1-hour photo kiosk at the mall to the large machines at your pro

lab, the sRGB color space is what the machines prefer (only a very few

printers, are able to make use of Adobe RGB color space). In fact, your lab

may add charges to your bill should you provide them with RGB fi les that

they will have to convert.

Additionally, the Internet is an sRGB environment and doesn’t treat

Adobe RGB images kindly. Putting an Adobe RGB image on the web will

fl atten some colors and make it look, well, bad.

Finally, your computer monitor, either CRT or LCD, is an sRGB device and,

as such, is incapable of seeing all the colors in the Adobe RGB space. At

the moment, there are very few monitors that even claim to be Adobe

RGB compatible, fewer still that can live up to the claim

EOS bodies off er your choice of Adobe RGB or sRGB but also off er a

second system, Picture Styles (described elsewhere) to change the visual

characteristics of the fi nal image.

Early EOS-1 bodies off er fi ve diff erent designations, similar to Picture

Styles but using older logarithms, found under Color Matrix. Four of the

fi ve are sRGB color spaces, engineered to render images that mimic a

number of classic fi lm emulsions. Newer EOS bodies, currently the Rebel

XTi, 30D, 5D and 1D Mark III, off er the aforementioned Picture Styles.

In the FIG

“”This three dimensional representation of three traditional color spaces clearly shows the size of

the Adobe RGB space (the largest envelope of color), sRGB (the graphed space), and CMYK, representing

mechanically reproduced color””

by

CANON DSLR
The Ultimate
Photographer’s Guide
Christopher Grey