Sony A7Riii RAW import problem

[billwood3545]

I am using am Imac 27" with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4 GB graphics card (driver up to date).  Have had all versions of Photoshop since Version 2 and Lightroom since the beginning. 

Using Sony A7xxx cameras for 4 years.  Never any problems importing photos.  Since upgrading to Lightroom classic CC when importing from SD card, Lightroom darkens my photos 2-3 stops.  I am using the identical settings in Lightroom that I have used for years, no changes.  I then uninstalled LR without saving my preferences and re-installed with LR default settings.  Same problem.  Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

Thanks for your help.

[Just Shoot Me]

Are you applying any Preset on import?

This is the first time I have heard of this. I've heard other complaints about colors but not dropping the exposure by 3 stops.

[billwood3545]

No presets applied.  If I go to Develop module and hit reset or Shift Reset nothing happens.

Here's the full work-flow (It has not changed since LR first became available):  Remove SD card from camera.  Insert SD card into Lexar card reader, insert into USB slot in computer.  Open import in LR Classic CC.  Photos are displayed and are properly exposed.  Assign destination folder and press Import.  As photos are importing they become at least 2 to 3 stops darker.  I am using the same settings I haver always used in LR.  I have 175000 images and have never had this problem until I upgraded to LR Classic CC.  I cannot go back to an earlier version of LR because unbeknownst to me when upgrading to LR Classic CC, Lightroom removes all previous versions of LR by default without a warning that this new change has been made.

[Just Shoot Me]

That reset only works on new imports. Images that have already been imported will stay the way there were when imported. That is unless you change them individually or as a group by syncing settings between them.

So now that you have reset to Adobe defaults take a few shots and import them. Are they still showing a 2-3 stop drop in exposure?

If you view one of the ones that are showing this drop in exposure in the Develop module in the Basic section is the Exposure slider set to -2 or -3?

[JohanElzenga]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Just+Shoot+Me  wrote

That reset only works on new imports. Images that have already been imported will stay the way there were when imported. That is unless you change them individually or as a group by syncing settings between them.

Just so there is no confusion: The image that you view in Develop module will reset to the camera defaults when you press the Reset button (other selected images will indeed not change, unless you sync this) and it will reset to the Adobe defaults when you hold down the shift-key while clicking that button.

So if you shift-click this button on one of these dark images and nothing happens, then that is an indication that the problem is not with the camera default setting after all. Just clicking the button (without shift) won't do anything, because that just resets the image to the current settings and they were already applied on import.

[billwood3545]

However if the images open properly in Bridge, then the problem lies in LR Classic CC.

I have been running LR since it first came out and am very familiar with default settings. 

I have 2 variables, New camera (Sony A7RIII vs old A7RII and Lightroom Classic CC vs whatever they called the next previous version).

Import works fine in Bridge and does not work fine in LR Classic CC.  Lightroom Classic CC settings have not changed at all since upgrading to Sony A7RIII.

Therefore the only possible explanation is that for some reason LR C CC is effecting my RAW files in some manner that cannot be reversed as yet.

[JohanElzenga]

Try this: before importing an image, open it in Camera Raw. Make sure that Camera Raw saves its adjustments to XMP, not its central database. Make a small adjustment that has nothing to do with exposure, for example change the default sharpening slightly. That will save an XMP file next to the raw file. Now import this raw file in Lightroom. What happens now?

[billwood3545]

Great idea, JohanEL54.  The files open properly in Bridge.  When I double-click and open them in PS they are great.

Great results also...saved from both Bridge and PS and the files are fine.  Which leads me to believe that LR C CC has an issue with the A7RIII RAW files that Bridge and PS do not have.

I am "over-the-moon" with your suggestion, as I have over 1000 images from my Death Valley shoot of the Milky Way and its arch that I could do nothing with.

Thank you for the brilliant suggestion!

[JohanElzenga]

billwood3545  wrote

Great idea, JohanEL54.  The files open properly in Bridge.  When I double-click and open them in PS they are great.

Great results also...saved from both Bridge and PS and the files are fine.  Which leads me to believe that LR C CC has an issue with the A7RIII RAW files that Bridge and PS do not have.

I am "over-the-moon" with your suggestion, as I have over 1000 images from my Death Valley shoot of the Milky Way and its arch that I could do nothing with.

Thank you for the brilliant suggestion!

Thanks for the compliment, but my conclusion is that there must be something wrong with your Lightroom settings. As said, Lightroom Classic does not have any problems with my Sony A7R III raw files, and now we know that it does not have problems with your files either. As long as you override its defaults with an XMP file, that is.

[billwood3545]

Just tried same photos, opening them in Photoshop Bridge.  They open perfectly!!!  So I must assume that the problem lies in the new version of Lightroom Classic CC.

[JohanElzenga]

You can go back by pressing the small downward > sign of the Install button in the CC app. That will give you a menu with earlier versions as option. However, your catalog is not downwards compatible, so going back to Lightroom CC2015.14 (no idea if that version supports the Sony A7R III) is not easily possible anyway. You could try if going back to Lightroom Classic 7.1 solves it.

I have the same camera and I have no problem whatsoever with exposure on import, so it must be something you've changed.

[JohanElzenga]

You may have changed the camera defaults without realising it. Switch to the Develop module. Hold down the shift-key, that will change the reset button in the lower right corner to 'Reset (Adobe)'. If pressing it changes the exposure to normal, then it means that your current default settings caused this problem. In that case, press this button again while holding the Alt-key. That will give you a dialog asking if you want to update the defaults to the current settings.

[Jao vdL]

That simply means your defaults are set incorrectly in Lightroom. Just reset default develop settings in Lightroom's preferences (Preferences->Presets->Reset all Default Develop Settings)) and reset the develop settings on the already imported dark files. Lightroom does not have a problem with A7Riii files like you describe. ACR and Lightroom use exactly the same code to interpret the raw files. if they get the same settings they will render identical. It is very easy to accidentally change the default develop settings.