[D30] Better results with JPEG quality than RAW processing ?

[Christophe]

Hi there,

I read carefully all the messages in the "Software" forum, but I'm certainly missing something...

This morning, I shot some images with my D30 in RAW mode.
Back home, I transfered these images with FileViewerUtility in linear - 16 bits "quality" (I understood this will give me the biggest amount of information in the image).
I processed the photos with PhotoRetouchPro to have lighter images (gamma correction, etc.)

But finally, when I compare so processed images and 8 bits-JPEG (or 8 bits-TIFF) images obtained directly from FVU with the original shot settings, the result is not good for me !

The images processed "by me" are like shooted during the night.
The images processed by FVU are coloured, luminous, in one word : better :-(

What's wrong with my workflow ?
(I'm not sure to be clear in my explanation...)

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Christophe,

Files converted to linear TIFF are best processed using custom profiles and/or actions. Unfortunately, the only actions I know are designed to work with Photoshop not PhotoRetouchPro.

You could try the D30 linear profiles from www.aboutdigicam.com.

I imagine it would be possible to build a set of steps in PhotoRetouchPro, but you have to take a test shots using profiled colour targets and work out a set of adjustment for colour and gamma.

I don't know anything about PRP to know if this is possible.

Here is a link to a Photoshop action that does linear file processing:

http://www.rogercavanagh.com/actions/05_lsm.htm

Regards,

[Christophe]

Thanks Roger.

You wrote :
"Files converted to linear TIFF are best processed using custom profiles and/or actions."
Is it "and" or "or", I mean : do I have to run the action "and" apply the custom profile, or will it give the same result ?

If I buy the custom profile for the D30, is it enough, or at least a good start of the image workflow, or do I absolutely need to run the complete action or equivalent ?

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Christophe,

It depends on the action and profile. The LSM link I posted before doesn't use a camera profile, so makes lots of channel mixer and curve adjustments. The AboutDigicam profiles (as I recall) is supposed to give a gamma and colour adjusted image just by applying the profile.

Fred Miranda (www.fredmiranda.com) has an action LP Batch that includes a profile and an action that makes further adjustments.

Regards,