Digital Photography Opinions, Observations, Articles, Insights, and Tutorials Having trouble with Canon D30 & D60 colors? Typical D30 & D60 pictures tend to be a little "off" on certain colors. In most cases, the casual observer won't even notice a problem. But it can drive perfectionists (and critics) crazy. Skin tones (especially Caucasian) occasionally have a somewhat greenish, sallow look. Reds tend to be rather dull & flat. Teal colors (all variations) nearly always go wacky and transform themselves into varying shades of blues. Blues (especially darker blues) can take on a purplish cast. Greens often take on a blue-green shade. Some purple shades can be a bit troubled. Yes, these things did drive me crazy... so much that I spent countless hours tinkering around with various combinations of software tweaks, and eventually came up with a simple fix to put everything back into balance. The best fix requires Adobe PhotoShop (full version). And with the full version, you can create a hot-key "action" to make the correction a single push button event. For those who don't have the full version of PhotoShop, scroll down the page and you'll find an alternate method you can use in PhotoShop LE. You can't create an "action" with PhotoShop LE, so you'll have to do it manually, step by step, for every picture that needs attention. If you don't have the full version, I strongly recommend buying it. Think about it this way... with a D30 (or any other serious digital camera), your investment certainly justifies having the best software to make your pictures the best that they can be. Once you learn how to use it, you won't regret the investment. Here's the Photoshop fix Screenshots from Adobe PhotoShop version 6.1 Go to the "Selective Color" adjustment section. Click on the drop-down arrow, and you'll see nine color spaces available. (You'll only be using the Reds and the Cyans.) First, choose "Reds". Enter "minus thirty" in the Cyan field.* *It's easier to type the number value in the box than it is to tediously slide the arrow to a specific point. Then, choose "Cyans". Enter "minus thity" in the Magenta field. That's it. Now click on "OK". Watch the changes... the effect is immediate. Done. This pretty much takes care of every problem listed in the opening paragraph. (Your mileage may vary.) Before & after samples of the Photoshop (full version) correction Before (Click for larger view) After (Click for larger view) Teal SUV Teal SUV Before (Click for larger view) After (Click for larger view) Green & red highway signs Green & red highway signs Here's the PhotoShop "LE" fix Screenshots from Adobe PhotoShop LE Go to the "Hue/Saturation" adjustment section. * Note: The Teal SUV from section one is pictured in these screenshots, with the full version Adobe PhotoShop corrected color image posted as a reference below the original picture. First, choose "R" (Reds). Enter "minus two" in the Hue field.* *It's easier to type the number value in the box than it is to tediously slide the arrow to a specific point. Not much difference can be seen yet. The only thing affected in this picture is a very minor change in the taillight redness. A significant change will be seen in pictures with more reds, and / or if there are greenish skin tones present. Then, choose "C" (Cyans). Enter "minus nine" in the Hue field. That's it. Now click on "OK". Watch the changes... the effect is immediate. The false blue disappears and the Teal color blossoms. Done. As you can see, the top picture done with PhotoShop LE is a near perfect match to the bottom picture done with the full version. Return to Top of Page