Color toning options and Black and White

[TechXavAL]

There are several methods for color toning an image, but what is the difference between:

• Lab blending and RGB-Curves? As I can see, there's just a single difference between them (the chroma drop-down list), so how can be justified the duplicity? Wouldn't it be quite a bit more logical that RGB-Curves actually showed RGB curves (as in the standalone tool)?
• Lab color correction grid and Color correction regions? The later is way more complete than the former, and the only thing lacking is the second (black) control spot. Is it really necessary having both methods?

Specifically, when dealing with black and white images, after turning on the Black-and-White tool, the standalone RGB curves tool does nothing to tone the image, while it is invaluable to apply classical chemical tone formulas (sepia, selenium, prusian blue, ...) to the b&w image.

It can be done in current implementation, but it is convoluted and is impractical (requires about the same degree of work as sending the image to Gimp and doing it there).

And above all, the Opacity control present in Color toning > RGB-Curves would also prove invaluable and highly desirable to split-tone an image with a high degree of control over it (not possible in current implementation).

Would it be possible to simplify the options and at the same time introduce the RGB curves into the Color toning tool?

As an example, here is an image with classical toning formulas applied (all done with RT):

(left to right: original b&w image, sepia, selenium, prusian blue)

I think this would be interesting even for v.5.9 (and I know how much work you are doing...).

[Thanatomanic]

The Color Toning tool is definitely one of the weirder ones in RT. As you say, there is much overlap between the subtools, and I think there is very marginal use for most of them anyway. The Color correction regions is vastly more powerful than all the others and I always thought you could do everything in there that is also possible in the other subtools. But truth be told, I have never bothered with the other tools, so maybe I'm missing out. What do you mean by 'lacking the second (black) control spot'?

[TechXavAL]

The Color Toning tool is far more powerful and useful than I can tell in a couple paragraphs. It only needs proper documentation, and maybe a couple extra videos from Andy...

But, first of all it should be enhanced/re-checked/fixed/improved (whatever you wish to say) so there's no misleading options that (unless I'm told otherwise) doesn't add anything new, or give you something different than the title of the method suggests.

About the black dot, in Color correction regions you only have one spot to select a color:

while in Lab color correction grid you have two (the second one is the black spot):

When you move the first, white spot, the second one appears in the center of the grid.

Finally, if you consider how useful this tool is when it works alongside the Black and White tool, you will see it's really powerful too while creating custom toning or split-toning images: check the Lab blending method with the B&W tool turned on and you will see how easy it is to create custom split-toning images.

However, and to me this is a big-big however, with the B&W + Color Toning tools is almost impossible to mimic or recreate classic toning formulas (from the film+paper era), while using the RGB curves tool is (almost) a breeze. Well, not exactly, as you have to export your B&W image with sRGB profile, and then reload it in RT, and setting sRGB as the working profile. Then you can use the RGB tool and get almost perfect reproductions of those classic toning formulas.

What's the difference between RT and Gimp on this task? In RT you can tweak as much and as many times as you want the curves, while in Gimp you have to undo the toning and do it again with new curves.

That alone is a win situation, but if you mix it with the Opacity curve..., well the possibilities and level of control are unbelievable. That of course would be true if the RGB-Curves method was indeed something about RGB curves...