What are the Different Colour Spaces and Which is Best for My Field of Work?

Different colour spaces play crucial roles in photography, videography, design, and content editing. Cameras and monitors will market what percentage/average of the different colour spaces they cover because this will directly affect the ability to edit and adjust the content of your choice. But that begs the question, what are the different colour spaces, and which one do I need to utilise for my field of work? In this article, we will discuss what a colour space is, break down the four primary colour spaces, Adobe RGB, sRGB, DCI-P3, and Rec.709, and review which is best for photography, design, film, and video content. 

A colour space is defined as a specific organisation of colours that can be viewed and edited on different devices. Each colour space reaches a certain point of the primary colours, Red, Blue, and Green, on the colour space graph. These colour spaces support accurate colours for analog and digital representations of content, but when broken down they are sometimes referred to as colour gamuts. The concept of colour space was first introduced in the early 1800’s, and later developed as technology and science advanced. While there are multiple colour spaces available on the chart, the primary four that cameras and monitors advertise for are Adobe RGB, sRGB, DCI-P3, and Rec. 709. Let’s break down what professions each is the best option for. 

Adobe RGB is the most widely used colour space for photography. It utilises the RGB (red, green, blue) primary colours on a computer display while encompassing most of the colours achievable on CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, key black) colour printers. That means with Adobe RGB, the photos you edit on a monitor will be colour-accurate during the editing process and when printed. Each colour, R, G, and B, have values ranging between 0 and 1, which reference the white point and black point that help Adobe RGB achieve colour accuracy. As a larger colour space, Adobe RGB covers richer cyans and greens, and expands to areas of more intense orange, yellow, and magenta, providing more colours to utilise. 

From the scene captured on camera to the editing process on the monitor to the printed versions, maintaining colour accuracy is a necessity, and using the same colour space throughout the process will help maintain those colours. Adobe RGB is important because it is available in multiple cameras and monitors, is supported by major editing programs like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or Capture One, and will represent accurate colours for printing. The wider range of colours available will provide better-quality edits and is ideal for photography projects or printed works. 

sRGB is the most widely used colour space for websites and online content. It covers the RGB (red, green, blue) primaries that came from HDTV, which means the colours it represents match typical viewing conditions and every colour within the sRGB range is visible to the average human eye. It is also assumed to be the default working colour space of many digital cameras, scanners, and printers, but if they’re not calibrated it cannot be confirmed that the colours they represent are within the sRGB parameters. Checking for sRGB mode or settings on devices and calibrating them to this colour space will provide the best results when working with digital art and other creative works. 

sRGB is important because this colour space is available on the majority of monitors, is widely accepted as the default colour space that websites are created in, and covers all the colours you see in real life. When posting digital creations online or making content for a website, utilising the sRGB colour space for your work means everyone will see the content exactly as it was intended to be seen without the worry of variations. 

DCI-P3 is the most widely used colour space for the film industry, specifically in theaters. It covers the red and blue primaries equally but covers far more of the green primary. The exact specifications were designed for viewing in a fully darkened theater environment with a projector, but today the colours work well for video content editing or vibrant images. The Apple Inc. variant, Display P3, is similar to the original DCI-P3 colour space but uses a different white point which directly affects displays and devices. Certain cameras tag images with the Display P3 colour space while streaming services provide colour ranges closer to the original DCI-P3 colour space.

Every step of the creative process for content involves colour. For video content creation or professional film, having a larger spectrum of colours to use during the colour grading or video editing process is extremely beneficial. When entering the film industry, being familiar with DCI-P3 and having content that’s utilised the colour space before will greatly benefit a career in that field. 

Rec.709 is the standard colour space for high-definition television (HDTV). It has wide coverage for the red primary and general coverage for the blue and green primaries, fundamentally defining which R, G, and B will be used in the content. Rec.709 is specifically used in video production, editing, colour grading, and post-production, to support consistent colour representation from the start of production to the final product. It also ensures that colours will remain consistent across different HDTV systems and online streaming services. Despite technology changing and advancing, Rec.709 remains the strong baseline that is available on HDTV systems and video production technologies. 

Consistency across HDTV systems and streaming services allows for better experiences and content consumption. Rec.709 provides a colour baseline for all content being created for those formats to ensure consistency and representation. The majority of professional monitors will provide their Rec.709 specifications alongside the other colour space percentages. 

At BenQ, we strive to reproduce accurate colours in every one of our professional photography monitors. AQCOLOR, a proprietary technology developed by BenQ, is built on meeting industrial standards, emphasising display details, and providing an out-of-the-box guarantee. Monitor capabilities are backed by third-party qualifications such as a Pantone Validated Certificate and Calman certification. The goal is to create products that will deliver on the promise of “Always Accurate and Consistent Colours” and empower creative professionals in every aspect of their work.

With BenQ Proprietary software, Display ColorTalk and AQCOLOR Pilot, to ensure your colours are accurate and match across multiple screens. With creativity in mind, this software was designed to support your needs and elevate your creative processes.

Join the AQCOLOR Community and get the colour accuracy you need with BenQ PhotoVue Monitors and DesignVue Monitors, backed by AQCOLOR technology and Paper Color Sync, guaranteeing colour accuracy from screen to print. If you’re a student, take advantage of our special student offer here to get great quality for a great price. Additionally, SW and PD series purchasers and existing owners can get one FREE year of the new Pantone Connect Premium to bring the benefits of your smart device to your computer.