VideoPic Blog: Discussing Olympus' Color Profile Function

Last Update:- 12th March 2025

We reviewed the Olympus Creative Color strategy in the first three articles of this six-part series. We learned that a complete version of the Creative Color package is available with the Pen E-P7, Pen F, OM-3, and Workspace. We studied the basic principles of color, the standard color wheel, and color harmonies. We also saw our Color Creator, Monochrome, and Adjust Color adjustments are part of the Enhanced Raw Format and available for raw conversions in Workspace. This is huge.

Olympus EM1 with Lumix 14-140mm MKII - ISO200, f9, 1/800 - Enhanced Raw converted in WS, Soft ART filter, Color Creator, Curves, Clarity, Contrast...

This article focuses on the Adjust Color function of the Pen F, E-P7, OM-3, and Workspace. You will learn more about these cameras, Color Profiles, and Workspace. The camera's TruePic ART Processor (Fig. 1) manages the creative color features of these cameras and Workspace.

See this article for more information.

Figure 1.

We can also create unique color profiles with camera settings like Picture Mode, Saturation, Contrast, WB shift, and Sharpness. The Pen-F, EP-7, and OM-3 are unique because the Adjust Color and Monochrome functions are designed to target specific colors. I don't know of any other digital camera that can adjust specific colors. They are all designed for global color adjustments.

The image below shows the raw file on the left and the converted photo on the right. The inserts show the camera settings on the left and the Workspace adjustments on the right. We can save these raw file adjustments as a "Color Profile" with the Workspace batch-processing option. We can apply these batch-processing files to other raw files or share them with friends and colleagues.

In other words, you can share your Workspace editing steps with a friend.

It's good to plan and experiment with these "color profiles." The Adjust Color function could be one of several variables in a batch-processing file. Batch-processing files can also be specific to JPEG, RAW, or Workspace. For example, I keep separate folders for my JPEG and RAW profiles.

The reasons are the following:

JPEG Profiles - JPEG Profiles are not compatible with RAW files.
RAW Profiles - RAW Profiles are not compatible with JPEG files.
Workspace Profiles - It has more options than the Pen F, E-P7, or OM-3.

For more information on saving Olympus' image settings in WorkSpace, see my how-to page (Tip 5). The Adjust Color function targets specific colors and not a selection of colors (global colors) like the Color Creator, WB compensation adjustments, or Workspace Color Filters. The Adjust Color function gives us more creative control over colors or color harmonies than the Color Creator.

I converted this OM-3 Enhanced Raw File with Workspace and the Color Creator.

The following features can be included in Color Profiles:-

Global Colors with the Color Creator (most OMD and Pen cameras),
Global Colors like WB settings, WB compensation, and Color Filters (WS),
Workspace Red, Green, and Blue (Tone Curve) adjustments (global colors),
Black and White and Monochrome profile functions (targeted & global colors),
The Adjust Color function (Pen F, E-P7, OM-3, and Workspace (target colors),
Basic camera editing settings like sharpness, contrast, and saturation (as others),
Tonal Adjustments (Gradation, highlight, mid-tone, shadow, and Tone Curve).

Workspace has more functions like dehaze and clarity that can be included in a batch processing file. The examples below are basic raw conversions with Workspace and the Color Adjust function.

Example 1. Saving my raw conversion as a batch-processing file.

The following profile is compatible with Pen, OMD, and OM cameras. One can also save these settings in one of the camera's Custom Modes. The key to creating color profiles is practice, patience, and small adjustments. The profile below can be saved in Workspace and applied to other raw files.

Example 2. Saving Monochrome and Adjust Color raw conversion settings

I converted the following enhanced raw file with Workspace. The first image is a camera JPEG, the second is an Adjust Color profile, and the third is a Monochrome profile. Workspace raw conversions are ideal for improving your Adjust Color and Monochrome skills with the Pen F, E-P7, and OM-3. My image results with these cameras improve with each raw conversion I do with Workspace.