Simulate Nikon Color in Lightroom

Simulate Nikon Colors

Is there a way that can simulate Nikon's native colors more accurately in Lightroom? The answer is: Yes, by using PerfeFilm profiles for Nikon, you can accurately restore Nikon 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 Nikon cameras with PerfeFilm. Whether you're hesitant to buy a new Nikon camera or want to use Nikon's native colors for retouching, you can do it with PerfeFilm.

Nikon Z7 II v.s. Canon EOS R6 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm Z7 II Portrait profiles  

Test Environment

Cameras

• In this article, we will use several Canon cameras for testing which are Nikon D5, Nikon Z7 II, and Nikon D850. Each camera will be compared with three different color conversions for side-by-side comparison, which are

1. Nikon camera + Capture NX-D software conversion.
2. Nikon 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.

• Nikon D5 + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G  v.s. Sony A7S3 + Zeiss Batis 85mm/f1.8
• Nikon Z7 II + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G  v.s. Canon EOS R6 + Canon EF 85mm/1.8f USM
• Nikon D850 + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G v.s. Canon EOS 5D MARK III + Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G (adapted)

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.

Nikon Color Processing and Color Space

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

Nikon D5 aRGB v.s. sRGB Mode

• Different manufacturers have different color algorithms for color space. The comparison of the Nikon D5's aRGB and sRGB images shows that the Nikon D5 Landscape is warmer in sRGB mode and with blue-green tint in aRGB. If there were significant differences between the sRGB and aRGB colors, PerfeFilm would provide two separate color space profiles to give users the freedom to choose their own color system.

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 Nikon Review

The following are the tests of Nikon 5D, Nikon Z7 II, Nikon D850 with three different color processing methods to see if PerfeFilm can achieve cross-brand and cross-camera restoration of Nikon color. The comparison from left to right : Nikon camera + Capture NX-D, Nikon camera + PerfeFilm profile, and other camera models + PerfeFilm profile.

D5 Color Profile Review

Nikon D5 is Nikon's flagship camera for professional photojournalists who need to shoot at high speed and high iso, and the color mode is optimized for portraits and landscapes as well. Nikon D5 profiles are available for purchase here.

Portrait 

Nikon D5 v.s. Sony A7S3 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm D5 Portrait profiles  

Nikon D5 has a greenish-color tint in Portrait mode. This is very similar to the green tint of traditional color negatives. In the comparison, Sony's A7S3 with the original Zeiss Batis 85mm/f1.8 lens is almost identical to Nikon D5 with its original lens Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G. In particular, the color of the yellow-green tones of the grasses and the blue-tinted walls in the background can be restored very well.

MonoChrome

Nikon D5 v.s. Sony A7S3 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm D5 MonoChrome profiles  

The Nikon D5's MonoChrome works well for both landscape and portrait photography. In this comparison, both A7S3 and D5 are perfectly restored in terms of skin texture and clothing materials.

Z7 II Color Profile Review

Nikon Z7 II is the Nikon Z series mirrorless camera that has received high scores from users. In addition to the convenience and recording capabilities of a mirrorless camera, Z7 II also introduces new Creative Picture Control colors. PerfeFilm Z7 II color profiles are available for purchase here.

Morning

Nikon Z7 II v.s. Canon EOS R6 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm Z7 II Morning profiles  

Among Nikon's new Creative Picture Control, Morning is one of the new color modes I recommend. As you can see from the comparison, the greenish tones on the off-white clothes, the gray columns in the background, and the red tones on the portrait skin are almost identical on both Canon R6 and Nikon Z7 II.

Denim

Nikon Z7 II v.s. Canon EOS R6 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm Z7 II Denim profiles  

Denim color mode will give the photo a dark blue denim tone, which can be very good to highlight the warm tones of the subject. As you can see from the comparison, both Nikon Z7 II and Canon R6 can perfectly restore the colors of the dark green of the leaves, the gradual pink tones of the flowers, and the dark blue shadows in the background.

Portrait

Nikon Z7 II v.s. Canon EOS R6 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm Z7 II Portrait profiles  

Although the Nikon Portrait mode has been criticized for its yellowish tones, it also gives soft and warm colors on fair-skinned portraits. As you can see from the comparison, PerfeFilm's skin saturation is more saturated than the original profile, while the Canon R6's color is basically the same as Nikon Z7 II + PerfeFilm.

D850 Color Profile Review

The Nikon D850 is a professional-grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) produced by Nikon in 2017. In addition to continuing Nikon's classic camera body, it is also one of the last professional models with a mirror before Nikon entered the Z series. The PerfeFilm D850's Lightroom color profile is available for purchase here.

Landscape

Nikon D850 v.s. Canon EOS 5D3 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm D850  Landscape profiles  

Landscape is one of Nikon's most iconic color modes, allowing for high saturation and shadow details in landscapes and nature shots. From the comparison, Nikon D850 and Canon 5D3 are almost identical in the deep reds of flowers, peach, yellow, green of leaves and shadow details using NX-D and PerfeFilm color profiles.

Vivid

Nikon D850 v.s. Canon EOS 5D3 with Capture NX-D / PerfeFilm D850 Vivid profiles  

The Nikon Vivid color not only brings out the vitality and saturation of colors, but also shows good skin tones in portraits. As you can see from the comparison, the Nikon D850's skin color with PerfeFilm Vivid is slightly more reddish than the NX-D conversion, but the colors are generally the same. The Canon 5D3's Vivid profile using PerfeFilm is almost identical to that of the Nikon D850.

Summary