----- Original Message -----
From: Peter A. Klein <pklein@2alpha.net>
To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 7:33 PM
Subject: filmscanners: Photoshop 5 LE files darker than they look
<snip>
> I think PS 5 LE is using either a default gamma, or a default color
> space that you can't change. Or both. Regardless, PS 5 LE is
operating
> in a different universe than everything else on my system, which is
just
> sending RGB pixels to the monitor unadulterated. And unlike the full
> version, there are no obvious adjustments to make everything the same.
> There's no Adobe Gamma, and no File, Colors menu.
<snip>
Peter,
I recall a comment on another mailing list that Adobe PS5LE has a
working space with a gamma of 1.8, which you can't change. My limited
understanding is then as follows: as PS LE doesn't display using monitor
compensation (unlike full PS), the resulting gamma isn't what you'd
expect on a PC (2.2). Hence the need for the correction factor of 1.22
(=2.2/1.8).
Nowadays there is a cheaper alternative than buying the full version of
PhotoShop - namely the relatively new product Adobe PhotoShop Elements.
This includes colour management features and so should enable you do get
a lot further than PS LE (or any of it's price competitors) without
spending a lot of money. I believe it comes with Adobe Gamma tool which
enables some manual adjustment of your monitor.
For questions about the colour capabilities of PhotoShop programs, try
the Adobe Colour Management forum,
accessible from
and look for the heading 'color management'. There's a simple
registration procedure.
Unfortunately PS Elements was a year too late for me and I stumped up
the cash for PS 6 :-(
BTW you may be able to get a trade-in allowance for your copy of PS
5LE.
> At any rate, I really don't want to pony up $600 US for full Photoshop
> at the moment. I'd just like PS 5 LE to show things the way that they
> look in everything else on my system. If I really have to get the
> full-version Photoshop for things to be acceptable, I'd seriously
> consider Paint Shop Pro.
Buy PS Elements instead, it's the same price or cheaper.
> I know I can't expect everyone will see my pictures the same way
without
> universal color management of everything. But I should at least be
able
> to have consistency on my own system, which is adjusted so most Web
> pictures look fine.
Well, with a colour-management savvy program such as PS or PS E, you'd
be able to (a) give your pictures a well-defined source space and (b)
convert your pictures into the sRGB space to make them more
web-acceptable.
HTH
Alan Rew
