Best strategy with D30 & PS Elements?

[henrik]

Hi,

I understand that the way to maximize the quality of one's pictures is to shoot RAW and perform suitable actions but all actions require the full version of PS for a start. As I only have Elements, and cannot at this moment justify upgrading, I wonder what the best alteranative strategy would be?

I'm on a Mac/iViewPro/Elements2.

henrik

[David Lawson]

Are you sure? You have to convert RAW files before importing them, usually in TIF format, into PS full or elements. This is done with either Canons software or a third party software such as Breezebrowser.

[DaveF]

To process RAW files on the Mac using OS X, use the File Viewer Utility ver 1.2.1 available from http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/driverdown.html on Canon USA's website.

[DaveF]

Canon USA's File Viewer Utility 1.2.1 will also work on OS 9.

A quick check on Canon Europe's website shows a version 2.0.2 at http://ww2.canon-europe.com/support/driver_download/index.asp

I am only familiar with the Canon USA's version 1.2.1.

Sorry I cannot be of further help, as Canon's File Viewer Utility seems to be the only option for Mac and D30 users short of buying Photoshop.

[DaveF]

There is at least one other RAW processor for Mac if you are interested in Linear RAW conversions. One such application is dcRAW-X for Mac OS X 10.2 at http://www.frostyplace.com/CRW/

CRW-X is the old version that will work with OS X versions prior to 10.2. CRW-X and some discussion concerning Linear RAW conversions is available at http://www.frostyplace.com/CRW/#postprocessing (scroll down page for download link).

My 65 year-old memory just recalled that GraphicConverter 4.5.2 will also open RAW files for saving in another format such as JPEG or TIFF. Do not recall whether GraphicConverter does a Linear or Non-Linear conversion.

I might get to the end of my reply sooner or later :)

[henrik]

DaveF wrote:
There is at least one other RAW processor for Mac if you are interested in Linear RAW conversions. One such application is dcRAW-X for Mac OS X 10.2 at http://www.frostyplace.com/CRW/


OK. This, together with the DigiCam ICC profiles could be a possibility for those of us without the full PS version.

Am I getting this right?

-I would preview the RAW files in iViewPro.
-Select the ones I wish to keep and select the helper dcRAW.
-Open in Elements and assign the ICC profile.

However, I believe that Elements only work with 8 bits and that's no good. Right?

cheers,
henrik

[DaveF]

Not owning Elements, I was aware that it could not use Actions but was unaware that it could not handle 16-bit files. That makes sense however as Photoshop still does not have full support for 16-bit files.

Without Photoshop, your best bet is Canon's File Viewer Utility mentioned in my first post. It works with Mac OS X and OS 9, it can do Non-Linear or Linear conversions and it can convert and save directly to an 8-bit TIFF file or an 8-bit JPEG file to be used in Elements. EXIF info is retained in the 8-bit conversions. Probably best to convert RAW to TIFF for use in Elements and then save retouched photo in final format of choice (PSD, TIFF or JPEG).

File Viewer Utility is on the slow side, but it iseems to be your best (or only) choice when converting RAW files using the Mac and Elements combination. It permits setting White Balance (eyedropper or choice of six camera options), Color Saturation, Contrast and Sharpness during conversion.

If you have not worked with RAW files, I would recommend you start with the conventional Non-Linear conversion. After conversion, you need only apply familiar retouching steps in Elements.

[henrik]

DaveF wrote:
Not owning Elements, I was aware that it could not use Actions but was unaware that it could not handle 16-bit files. That makes sense however as Photoshop still does not have full support for 16-bit files.

Well, it does do actions but as it has a different feature set than the full version, the actions have to be tailored especially for it. And that is a bit tricky because one can't do it from inside Elements. Sort of a Catch 22.

[DaveF]

henrik,
You may wish to try the new and free Photo Companion app at:

http://www.wildcape.com/software.html

I know nothing about the app except what is in their FAQ. You need Photoshop to utilize some of its claimed ability, but the RAW conversion capability sounds interesting.

[DaveF]

henrik,
I became uncomfortable with having mentioned a program not personally used. So, I downloaded and tried Photo Companion. I was able to convert a RAW photo to TIFF, albeit slowly. I opened Canon's File Viewer Utility to compare its conversion with that achieved with Photo Companion. File Viewer Utility would not and still will not stay open. Do not know whether Photo Companion's installation is responsible, but I do not think much of coincidences.

If you decide to look at Photo Companion, please be wary, or better yet, forget about Photo Companion.