H22 Karma color shift compared to H21

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I have a water simulation scene that I originally created in Houdini 21.

After opening the same project in Houdini 22 and rendering the same frame with the same settings, the result has a very noticeable red/magenta tint.

I have already checked for missing textures, broken file paths, and issues with the HDRI, but everything appears to be loading correctly.

Has anyone encountered a similar color shift when moving a project from H21 to H22?

Attachments:
H21.jpg (373.2 KB)
H22.jpg (357.4 KB)

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Did you match OCIO settings? Maybe got to do something with that
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Hello chf,

I believe what you are seeing is the known "salmon effect" in ACES 2.0.

This happens because ACES 2.0 handles the path-to-white differently than version 1.x. It avoids harsh gamut clipping, but the trade-off is that highly saturated reds can skew into a salmon-pink hue under certain exposures. You might also notice a similar shift where Looking at an HDRI sun for example.

If this is the case, try to change the "View Transform" in OCIO from "ACES 2.0 - SDR 100 nits (Rec-709)" To "ACES 1.0 - SDR Video" <-- what Houdini 21 was using, If your colors are back and there's no shift then it's ACES 2.0 way to handle highlights.

Hope this helps you clean up the look.


Sincerely,
Ali Ali
Edited by Cinedge Media - July 26, 2026 04:15:12
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