RAW - ARW files and Lightroom 3 problem your help please

[TurnipFarmer]

I am starting to use RAW on my Sony A700 for the first time but when I imported the photos in Lightroom 3 they first of looked like what they did on the LCD on my camera but when the image updates, the brightness seems to change and look over exposed (this is without any adjustments made to image)

What it looks like in Lightroom looks completely different to what I had on my LCD screen on the camera, is this normal, could anybody clarify this?

 

[jon ryan]

The screen on your camera is showing you a small jpeg image, which will often be different from the RAW you get when you download to a screen.

Any pre-sets on the camera - saturation, sharpening, WB, whatever, can be stripped away when you open the RAW. But, with a bit of practice, you can soon put them back. This is a common observation - don't worry about it!

 

[nickshek]

Absolutely normal. Each camera manufacturer uses proprietary algorithms to process it's JPEGs, which can usually be changed via in camera picture style settings. Even when you shoot RAW, what you see on the LCD is a JPEG interpretation of your RAW file with those picture style settings applied. (This JPEG preview file is usually embedded in the RAW file and can be extracted with appropriate software - I know it applies to Nikon files but unsure with Sony although you could simply shoot RAW+JPEG if not)

When you import your RAW files into third party software such as LR, those picture style settings are not imported, hence the difference between what you see on your LCD and what LR shows you. LR attempts to replicate your standard in-camera settings with camera calibration profiles, which applies various Develop Module settings to your files on import. You can create your own profiles if you're not happy with the standard LR stuff.