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Feb. 2, 2006
As I walked through one of the largest art supply stores in NY City recently, I chanced upon the massive colored-pencil section. I wasn't looking for colored pencils, since I can only draw using either a mouse or a pressure sensitive Wacom Tablet (www.wacom.com) attached to a computer. But I couldn't get over this section of the store, which seemed to hold every type of colored pencil in existence. There were kits for every level of artist, from boxes for kids containing just 8 colors, all the way up to the Van Gogh Special containing over 1,000 pencils.
 That's when it hit me. This is where the store sold color space! With 8 pencils, you get a tiny color space where you can draw the equivalent of a cartoon figure. Maybe you can mix some colors together to get a few extra shades in between the standard red, green, blue, yellow, brown, pink, orange, and purple pencils contained in the kit. But it will still look cartoonish. However, if you purchase the Van Gogh Special, your drawings could take on new life and 3D realism—once you figure out how to master the color choices within that 1,000-pencil palette.
If you understand the pencil analogy, you now have a conceptual understanding of the differences between the color space settings found on most new digital cameras and in several leading imaging programs. Only with color space, you're talking about the equivalent of millions of pencils. Overwhelming? Not really. All you have to do is select the number of digital color pencils (otherwise known as the color space) and let the computer do the hard part of assigning the right colors to the pixels in your photos. Color space choices in the camera typically include either sRGB or Adobe RGB (on more expensive EVF and DSLR models you may find several other choices). Of these two, the sRGB color space offers fewer colors (also known as smaller color gamut) than the Adobe RGB space.
 Now, you might be just as satisfied shooting in the sRGB space as a kid playing with his new set of 8 pencils. Photos will probably look fine on your monitor, which in most cases has a default color space that matches the sRGB space. And if you're planning to just view your images on your computer monitor, PSP, or big screen TV—or have them printed by an online photo-processor or local lab—the sRGB color space will serve you well. But sooner or later you could get a case of color gamut envy—especially when you see prints made on the latest 6 to 9 color ink jet printers that originated from digital cameras set to the Adobe RGB color space.
Before you rush over to your digital camera and change your color space setting, read your camera manual. As I mentioned, the Adobe RGB color space may not be the best choice if you don't have the equipment to take advantage of it. This includes a calibrated monitor and familiarity with the color management controls and settings in your imaging program and your printer driver. For more information on setting up your software and printer, see 48 Minutes to Perfect Prints… Forever.
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