Canon SX710HS Indoor used with flash photo print results: Needs guide

[newsense52]

What seen in camera LCD is not the same as in digital printout. Used vivid colors - little dark in LCD is darker in print, used light skin color  tone - brown skin is little whiter in print. LCD views looks good but  will not agree with printouts.

I need correct color set up that will produce a correct exposure in printouts at Target or CVS that is in between darker and lighter skin color tone and the camera adjustment if needed with the ff. No filter, ISO Auto, AWB, Exposure ( flash ) plus/minus zero, metering - center, compression image - superfine,  and max. resolution in the largest size of picture, no zooming, normal room lighting. P AE mode.

Any bodys' opinion is welcome.

[diverhank · Accepted solution]

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@newsense52 wrote:

What seen in camera LCD is not the same as in digital printout. Used vivid colors - little dark in LCD is darker in print, used light skin color  tone - brown skin is little whiter in print. LCD views looks good but  will not agree with printouts.

I need correct color set up that will produce a correct exposure in printouts at Target or CVS that is in between darker and lighter skin color tone and the camera adjustment if needed with the ff. No filter, ISO Auto, AWB, Exposure ( flash ) plus/minus zero, metering - center, compression image - superfine,  and max. resolution in the largest size of picture, no zooming, normal room lighting. P AE mode.

Any bodys' opinion is welcome.

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@newsense52 wrote:

What seen in camera LCD is not the same as in digital printout. Used vivid colors - little dark in LCD is darker in print, used light skin color  tone - brown skin is little whiter in print. LCD views looks good but  will not agree with printouts.

I need correct color set up that will produce a correct exposure in printouts at Target or CVS that is in between darker and lighter skin color tone and the camera adjustment if needed with the ff. No filter, ISO Auto, AWB, Exposure ( flash ) plus/minus zero, metering - center, compression image - superfine,  and max. resolution in the largest size of picture, no zooming, normal room lighting. P AE mode.

Any bodys' opinion is welcome.

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This is the most common problem where prints don't match the digital display.  Not sure how much you can change the camera LCD but try to adjust what it looks like compared with the actual printout.

If you want to match better, it is advisable to download your pictures to the computer.  Adjust the computer display colors and gamma to closely match a good print.  That way, you can change a digital picture, by using one of the photo editors, to the way you like and be reasonably sure that it will print the same.

I have gone through all of the things you're going through now so I feel your pain.  I'm at a point now that I purchased a reputable brand color calibrator and calibrate my monitor with it.  I also download the printer profiles for the printers that are used to print the pictures (not sure about Target or CVS, but most places have the printer profiles for you to download).  

[kvbarkley]

Get an SLR - even a Rebel- that allows more control over the colors. Profile your monitor and use that for color grading. Get your own printer and profile it.

You are asking too much from consumer grade workflow.

[newsense52]

Thanks but printer give a headache on color cartidge cost and easily dried if not used everyday.

[Waddizzle]

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@newsense52 wrote:

Thanks but printer give a headache on color cartidge cost and easily dried if not used everyday.

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There are two basic types of inks used in most consumer printers.

There is the first type that comes in very small cartridiges, in order to fit inside of compact printers.  Your average printer will need four of these cartridges.  These are the ones that always dry out in 2-8 weeks.  The inks cost as much, if not more, than the printer.  You're lucky if you can print two dozen 8x11 prints with some machines, before they run dry.  I believe this are water based, which is why they dry out so quickly.

There is a second type that comes in larger cartridges [which means MORE prints] that are used in mid-priced printers.  This second type is more oil based, which is why these do not dry out.  These are used in Pixma Pro printers, BTW.

Finally, there are laserjets.  I use a B&W laserjet, which is till on the same toner cartridge from when I bought it a few years ago.  The cartridge is rated for several thousand 8x11 pages, and the printer cost all of $250.

Basically, you can pay more money up front for a printer.  Or, you can pay EVEN MORE money down the road on cartridges.

[newsense52]

Right, cartridges is not advisable if you print once in a while and leave it until next printing, waste of money.

I go to CVS or Target once or twice a month only for my photo hobby and no worries.

[BurnUnit · Accepted solution]

It's going to be difficult to near impossible to judge proper exposure from the camera's LCD screen. It can be adjusted to too many different brightness levels and is viewed under too many different ambient lighting conditions.

What you might try is taking a sample photo outdoors with the camera in automatic mode on a well lit day. Then make the assumption that the image is properly exposed, or nearly so, regardless of how it looks on the LCD screen or monitor. Have the file printed at your favorite lab without doing any editing or adjustments (except resizing or cropping). Consider this print to be your baseline print and compare it the same image displayed on your monitor.

Now try to adjust your monitor's brightness, contrast and colors (as much as possible) to match the baseline print. Just don't expect to get everything to match perfectly. But see if you can get it look relatively close to how the print looks.

At least this way a properly exposed image file won't appear too dark or too light when viewed on your monitor. And you won't waste time taking a properly exposed image and making it too bright just because it looked too dark on your monitor. It's not a perfect solution but it should get you a lot closer than you are now.

[diverhank · Accepted solution]

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@newsense52 wrote:

What seen in camera LCD is not the same as in digital printout. Used vivid colors - little dark in LCD is darker in print, used light skin color  tone - brown skin is little whiter in print. LCD views looks good but  will not agree with printouts.

I need correct color set up that will produce a correct exposure in printouts at Target or CVS that is in between darker and lighter skin color tone and the camera adjustment if needed with the ff. No filter, ISO Auto, AWB, Exposure ( flash ) plus/minus zero, metering - center, compression image - superfine,  and max. resolution in the largest size of picture, no zooming, normal room lighting. P AE mode.

Any bodys' opinion is welcome.

---

---

@newsense52 wrote:

What seen in camera LCD is not the same as in digital printout. Used vivid colors - little dark in LCD is darker in print, used light skin color  tone - brown skin is little whiter in print. LCD views looks good but  will not agree with printouts.

I need correct color set up that will produce a correct exposure in printouts at Target or CVS that is in between darker and lighter skin color tone and the camera adjustment if needed with the ff. No filter, ISO Auto, AWB, Exposure ( flash ) plus/minus zero, metering - center, compression image - superfine,  and max. resolution in the largest size of picture, no zooming, normal room lighting. P AE mode.

Any bodys' opinion is welcome.

---

This is the most common problem where prints don't match the digital display.  Not sure how much you can change the camera LCD but try to adjust what it looks like compared with the actual printout.

If you want to match better, it is advisable to download your pictures to the computer.  Adjust the computer display colors and gamma to closely match a good print.  That way, you can change a digital picture, by using one of the photo editors, to the way you like and be reasonably sure that it will print the same.

I have gone through all of the things you're going through now so I feel your pain.  I'm at a point now that I purchased a reputable brand color calibrator and calibrate my monitor with it.  I also download the printer profiles for the printers that are used to print the pictures (not sure about Target or CVS, but most places have the printer profiles for you to download).  

[newsense52]

Good idea to edit the color in computer before uploading to Target, I will try if my computer can do it.

Color printer cartridge is only good if used everyday, if not easily dried, better go to Target/CVS.