How to get Lightroom to render JPEG photos the same as on the 60D LCD?

Question

I really like the way my photos appear on my Canon 60D LCD screen. However, when I import them into my computer using EOS Utility 2 and then into Lightroom 3, they are not the same. For example, the reds are not as vibrant. I have recently been shooting exclusively in JPEG. Is there anything to be done at some stage of the process (EOS Utility 2 or Lightroom 3) that can get me photos on my computer screen that look the same as on the LCD? Note that I simply don't have RAW photos for the images I would like to do this to.

Answer 1

Since both the camera and your computer are displaying the same file, the problem likely isn't in the way your applications, EOS Utility 2 and Lightroom 3, are handling the files. The issue is most likely in the way the camera's display system and the computer's display system are handling the files.

You can't do much about the camera's display system, other than increasing/decreasing overall brightness. I've often said that a camera's LCD will "lie like a politician!" The manufacturers seem to be most concerned with making photos taken under very poor conditions in retail outlets (when you're shopping for a camera) look as good as they can make them look, so they tend to set the displays to over saturate colors, push the contrast, and apply a lot of sharpening. It is also the case that almost any photo will look better when downsized to about 1MP and displayed on a 3" screen than when displayed at higher resolution on a larger monitor.

On the other hand, you can have much more control over how your computers Graphics Processing Unit (video card), the software that drives the GPU, and your monitor display that file. Please see What are Color Profiles and where would I find information on using them properly? for more about how to manage your computer's display.