Simulate Canon Color in Lightroom 

Simulate Canon Colors

Is there a way that can simulate Canon's native colors more accurately in Lightroom? The answer is: Yes, by using PerfeFilm profiles for Canon, you can accurately restore Canon colors in Lightroom, and enjoy the freedom and richness of Lightroom's photo processing. Users of other camera brands can also emulate the colors of Canon cameras with PerfeFilm. Whether you're hesitant to buy a new Canon camera or want to use Canon's native colors for retouching, you can do it with PerfeFilm.

Canon EOS 5D3 v.s. Nikon D850 with DPP4 / PerfeFilm 5D3 Portrait profiles 

Test Environment

Cameras

• In this article, we will use several Canon cameras for testing which are Canon EOS R6 and Canon 5D Mark III. Each camera will be compared with three different color conversions for side-by-side comparison, which are

1. Canon camera + DPP4 (Digital Photo Professional 4) software conversion.
2. Canon camera + PerfeFilm profile + Lightroom
3. Different camera brands + PerfeFilm for cross-brand color comparison.

Lenses

• In order to make the camera's framing range, focal length and aperture consistent, we all use the 85mm lens for each camera respectively.

• Canon EOS R6 + Canon EF 85mm/1.8f USM  v.s. Nikon Z7 II + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G
• Canon EOS 5D MARK III + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G (adapted)  v.s. Nikon D850 + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G
• Canon EOS 5D MARK III + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G (adapted)  v.s. Sony A7S2 + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G (adapted)

Original lens v.s Sub-factory/adapted lens

• There is one thing that must be considered in the test: the effect of lens tint. Photographers know that the color is different while using different lenses. Therefore, we tested both the original lens and sub-factory/adapted lens in different scenes. The Canon 5D3 test used an adapted Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G, making it the same lens as the comparative Nikon camera. In another test, we used Canon R6 + original Canon EF 85mm/1.8f USM v.s. Nikon Z7 II + original Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G lens for comparison to see the color restoration performance using each original lens. The results of the test found that the use of the respective original lenses can achieve a pretty nice color restoration with PerfeFilm profiles. It is recommended that you can use the original lenses while shooting with across-brands cameras directly using PerfeFilm.

Basic settings

• White balance is fixed in daylight mode, iso: 100, aperture shutter and exposure are the same. Color space : sRGB, Adobe RGB. **All color modes are set to default.

Canon Color Processing and Color Space

• If you have a Canon camera, you can see the colors converted through the camera and DPP4 are rather consistent with the camera body. In order to keep the color conversion consistent, we use DPP4 + sRGB/aRGB color space as the standard for conversion.

Lightroom Settings

• All comparing cameras use the same PerfeFilm color profiles and presets. Each camera has different exposure and saturation even with the same basic settings due to CMOS differences and different color temperature calculations. For calibrating the mismatch of those fundamental differences, we only adjust the exposure, color temperature, and saturation to match colors in Lightroom, and not to adjust any single color settings.

PerfeFilm Color Simulation for Canon Review

The following are the tests of Canon EOS R6 and Canon 5D3 with three different color processing methods to see if PerfeFilm can achieve cross-brand and cross-camera restoration of Canon color. The comparison from left to right : Canon camera + DPP4, Canon camera + PerfeFilm profile, and other camera models + PerfeFilm profile.

R6 Color Profile Review

The Canon EOS R6 is a Canon mirrorless camera for both video and photography. In addition to its light-weight convenience and high ISO, its color mode is ideal for use as a basic color space for Canon's new generation of mirrorless cameras. Here, we use Canon EOS R6 v.s. Nikon Z7 II to see if the original Canon colors were well restored using the .CR3 raw file and if the Canon colors were well simulated on a cross-brand camera. PerfeFilm R6 profiles are available for purchase here.

Portrait 

 Canon EOS R6 v.s. Nikon Z7 II with DPP4 / PerfeFilm R6 Portrait profiles 

In this comparison, the light source on the model is fluorescent light, the blurred nature outside the window is raining daylight with a low color temperature, and the camera WB was set to daylight mode. As you can see from the comparison, the Canon camera produces almost identical colors with PerfeFilm and original DPP4 for both fluorescent light and daylight, while the Nikon Z7 II uses PerfeFilm that is quite close to the Canon colors for skin tones except the green in the background of Nikon is slightly cooler/blue, but the difference is minimal. It can be said that PerfeFilm for Canon presents a very good color restoration on Nikon's camera.

Landscape

 Canon EOS R6 v.s. Nikon Z7 II with DPP4 / PerfeFilm R6 Landscape profiles 

The variegated foliage is a good subject for testing the accuracy of hues. We can use the same plant to test a wide range of colors of reds, peach, dark greens, and yellows, as well as gradations and contrasts between hues. From the test images, it appears that Canon R6 and Nikon Z7 II are almost identical in terms of accuracy, contrast, and color gradation. Note that each original lens of Canon & Nikon were used : Canon EF 85mm/1.8f USM and Nikon 85mm/1.8f G lenses. The color reproduction across brands is quite good with each original lens.

Standard

Canon EOS R6 v.s. Nikon Z7 II with DPP4 / PerfeFilm R6 Standard profiles 

Standard colors are a good choice for complex light sources or environments that require standard colors. In the test image, the color temperature on the face is 5500k, and the background is warm yellow light. In this comparison, we can also see a high degree of restoration of Standard color mode in Nikon Z7 II with no particular difference from the original R6 color.

5D MARK III Color Profile Review

The PerfeFilm 5D3 color profile can be purchased here

Details

Canon EOS 5D3 v.s. Sony A7S2 with DPP4 / PerfeFilm 5D3 Details profiles 

Detail mode allows you to bring out the details and layers of an object in a higher contrast light source. From the comparison, the colors of green leaves, flowers, hair, and skin color are almost identical for both Sony A7S2 and Canon 5D3.

Portrait

Canon EOS 5D3 v.s. Nikon D850 with DPP4 / PerfeFilm 5D3 Portrait profiles 

Faithful

Canon EOS 5D3 v.s. Sony A7S2 with DPP4 / PerfeFilm 5D3 Portrait profiles 

Canon Faithful color mode comes in handy for scenes that require a high degree of color fidelity. As we can see in the comparison, the saturated yellow and peach tones of the flowers are well restored in the gradient of the flowers, and the shades and tones of the background bokeh are perfectly simulated in both the Canon camera and the Sony A7S2 using the PerfeFilm profile.

Summary