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Consider the attached sample images. I took them circa 4:50 AM and 3:50 AM, respectively. On the Live View display of the Powershot G9X Mark II, they were full of light.

utility vessel enter image description here

The pictures were taken as JPEG (yes, I should've shot that in RAW and figured out the shadows later, but the screen told me the shadows were fine, so I didn't bother). IrfanView claims that the colorpace is sRGB, and there is no explicit setting for color space in the camera. The laptop screen is IPS 8-bit 1920x1080 14" (Lenovo Thinkpad L440). I do not "import" the pictures in any application, just copy the files using Explorer on 64-bit Windows 7 64-bit, which was preinstalled by Lenovo.

  • Consider the first picture. The shadows below the hull of the utility vessel did not blend with the color of the hull, which in turn was gray and the detail was easily visible. On the PC display, it's really dark in that area, all nearly black. Next, the trees in the background lose detail in the shadows as well on the PC.

  • Now consider the second picture. It's not as dramatic a change as with the first one, but still, the whole photo is just lighter on the camera screen, with seemingly better visibility in dark areas as well as slightly better contrast, and the water is more vivid, more blue than gray. I like the water more as displayed by the camera.

Hence the following questions.

  1. Does any hidden conversion take place inside the camera before the image is displayed on the Live View screen? Take into consideration that there is no RAW file to process and display. The problem manifests itself with JPEG-only shooting.

  2. Is the camera screen built with a 10-bit panel or using some other colorspace?

  3. Is adjusting photo settings for the next shot based on how the Live View screen displays the result of the previous shot the correct way of finding the right settings for a given shot?

  4. Can I see the same picture on the PC display and if yes, how?

P.S. The utility vessel is static in that location so I can go and re-take the picture as the discussion unfolds with corrections applied.

Edit: The answers to the linked question #1 don't mention correct shooting technique using the histogram, so it doesn't quite solve my problem. The question #2 is about viewing RAW files, hence it does not apply.

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  • "I do not "import" the pictures in any application." Perhaps not, but you did use something to display them on the laptop's screen. Even if built into the OS, it's still an app. – Michael C Jun 15 at 23:04
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Why does the imported JPEG from my Canon Powershot G9X Mark II on PC screen differ quite significantly from the camera display?

LCDs on different devices are different.

  • The camera LCD is much smaller with higher dpi than the laptop screen. It's more difficult to pixel peep. Noise is often not visible on tiny screens.

  • The brightness of the camera LCD is likely much greater than that of your laptop.

  • Wider gamut? More likely with cameras that have OLED displays. The specs don't look special (3.0-type TFT color liquid crystal), and I'd expect Canon to make a big deal about it if it were.

I should've shot that in RAW and figured out the shadows later

That's a controversial topic. For a daylight scene with good lighting, RAW is likely unnecessary. You can consider RAW+JPG to have the RAW as a backup when needed.

Is adjusting photo settings for the next shot based on how the Live View screen displays the result of the previous shot the correct way of finding the right settings for a given shot?

You cannot trust the way the image appears on LCD. You have to evaluate the histogram and how the images appear on your intended output devices.

Can I see the same picture on the PC display and if yes, how?

  1. Set your laptop monitor to full brightness.

  2. See other questions about

  3. Adjust camera settings to produce images that will look better on your laptop. They're usually labeled color, contrast, highlight, shadow, dynamic range, etc. There may also be different color profiles you can try.

  4. Adjust levels or curves to bring up the shadows.

    curves

image1-edited

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  • I think the most valuable bit of input is to use the histogram. I didn't know about that. There is no setting for dynamic range, nor are there several color profiles to choose from, the only implicit color profile appears to be sRGB (that's according to IrfanView, there is not a word in the camera menu). Full brightness is already set on the laptop. Among color settings, there are only conrast and saturation, and I'm reluctant to changing them. I guess I'm going to watch the histogram and shoot in RAW, and of course the camera has a limit. It's quite basic, after all. – iksemyonov Jun 18 at 8:41
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LCD screens on the back of cameras lie like politicians!

They're usually much brighter than a properly calibrated monitor. This will affect your perception of shadows, highlights, and overall brightness, particularly when you are in a darker environment such as around 4-5 a.m. in most locations.

They're usually more contrasty and the color is more saturated than a properly calibrated display. This is to add "punch" to images so that looking at images on the back of the camera makes a potential buyer think, "This camera takes good pictures." This is particularly a good strategy when a potential buyer is looking at sample images they just snapped unter the crappy lighting found in many camera stores.

Don't trust the way an image looks on the camera's rear LCD Screen. Instead, use the histogram!

Preferably a histogram that shows each color channel separately:

enter image description here

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