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Color Checker Passport Profile Instructions

1. The document describes how to make a digital camera profile (DCP) using a ColorChecker Mini target, X-Rite ColorChecker Passport software, and Adobe Photoshop. 2. It involves capturing a raw photo of the ColorChecker, generating a DNG file, and using the software to create a DCP that can be applied in Photoshop. 3. The document also discusses how applying the custom DCP can improve color matching between different cameras and make screen previews a better match to the original artwork compared to using the camera's standard profile.

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53 views4 pages

Color Checker Passport Profile Instructions

1. The document describes how to make a digital camera profile (DCP) using a ColorChecker Mini target, X-Rite ColorChecker Passport software, and Adobe Photoshop. 2. It involves capturing a raw photo of the ColorChecker, generating a DNG file, and using the software to create a DCP that can be applied in Photoshop. 3. The document also discusses how applying the custom DCP can improve color matching between different cameras and make screen previews a better match to the original artwork compared to using the camera's standard profile.

Uploaded by

oxs
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Graphic Communications Management version 1.1 R.

M
Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 10/09/17

Making a DCP Profile with


ColorChecker Passport

Making the DCP Profile


Items Needed
• Digital camera capable of saving images in camera raw format
• Macbeth ColorChecker Mini
• X-Rite ColorChecker Passport software (Mac/Win)
• Adobe Photoshop
Procedure
1. Set your camera to capture camera raw and with the correct exposure and
white balance for the scene and lighting.
2. Capture the ColorChecker Mini in raw format.
3. Convert the raw file to generic raw or Digital Negative Format (DNG) using
Photoshop or Adobe DNG Converter.
4. Launch ColorChecker Passport and drag the .dng file with the ColorChecker
into the profile window (Figure 1).
5. Make the profile. If the profile is generated successfully, you will get a
confirmation and can save the Digital Camera Profile (.dcp).
6. Name the profile something you will remember, such as
Camera_Lighting_Date, e.g., EOSM10_LED_100117.dcp.

Using the DCP Profile in Photoshop


1. Open the raw or DNG version of the ColorChecker Mini target and any other
images you would like to test (Figure 2) in Photoshop.
2. In the Camera Raw dialog box, go to Camera Calibration (8th tab from left)
and select the profile you made.
3. Compare the color rendering with other profiles, especially if your camera has
a “Camera Standard” profile.

Deciding if Camera Profiling is Worthwhile for Your Application


This example illustrates the use of a digital camera profile to copy an original
Chinese watercolour. To see if camera profiling is helpful:
1. Compare the screen preview with the original artwork, viewed in a standard
viewing booth with 5000-K lighting. Note the difference in the screen preview
with and without the camera profile. Does the preview match the artwork
more closely?
2. Compare the screen previews of the artwork taken with the Canon EOS M10
and Sony Alpha 5100 digital cameras. After the profile is applied, do the two
images match more closely (Figure 4)?
–2–

3. Note that the digital camera profile (.dcp) is not the same as an ICC profile
but is a type of rendering (Figure 4), an alternative to in-camera rendering or
default rendering in the camera raw plugin.

Figure 1. To make a Digital Camera Profile (DCP) in X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, drag-and-
drop a Digital Negative (DNG) file of the ColorChecker Mini target into the application window
(left). Save the profile with a name you will recognize when it pops up in Photoshop (top right),
in this case a Canon EOS M10 camera was profiled under LED lighting on October 1, 2017.

Figure 2. To use your digital camera profile, open a camera raw or DNG file in Photoshop. In
the Camera Raw dialog box (left), choose your profile from the Profile popup in the Camera
Calibration tab.
–3–

Canon EOS M10 Camera Standard Canon EOS M10 Custom Profile

Sony Alpha 5100 Camera Standard Sony Alpha 5100 Custom Profile
Figure 3. Unprofiled (left) and profiled (right) captures of a Sianxi papercut watercolor.
–4–

JPEG
Adobe RGB

In-camera
Rendering

Digital camera

JPEG/TIFF
default rendering Adobe RGB
RAW
Original scene user-created dcp

User-directed rendering in
Photoshop Camera Raw

Figure 4. Types of rendering that apply to digital camera profiles include manufacturers’
proprietary in-camera rendering (top) and default vs. custom rendering of raw files in the
camera raw plugin (bottom). (Courtesy of Abhay Sharma, Understanding Color Management,
2nd Ed.)

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