Alpha Release Raw (CRW) Converter (Canon dSLRs)

[tommears]

We need folks to test & programmers who want to contribute - this is not a commercial program. Completely free, open source!

For several months a friend & I have been working on a CRW converter. We've finally got a working (fairly stable*) version ready.

This is a work in progress so, it is still buggy and clumsy. It is also something we hope that other photographer-programmers out there will contribute to. Along with an executable version, we've posted the complete source.

It is designed to work with a plugin architecture. Each of the major aspects of raw conversion can accept plugins to alter their behavior. Currently you can set:

* black point
* brightness
* color balance
* noise correction method
* interpolation method
* output file format (photoshop & jpg are the only ones supported now)
----other aspects pending


All parameters are user settable, and for the programers out there, all parameters are extensible--Don't like how we set the black point, write your own plugin.


If you would care to take a test run, you can find it at the following link

http://workspaces.gotdotnet.com/bob



There is a install program which can be downloaded. Click on link called First Alpha Release to download it.



Some time soon we hope to have a manual and programers guide. Currently neither are available. If you have questions, there is a bulletin board on the site where you can post them.


TOM



* by fairly stable I mean that I don't think it will crash, too often. It is still too unreliable for you to toss our your other raw converters.

[Vita Rara]

Tom,

I assume this is a .Net application. Any chance that it would run under Mono?

Thanks,

Mark

[BillSexton]

Vita Rara wrote:
Tom,

I assume this is a .Net application. Any chance that it would run under Mono?

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,

I'm Bill, the friend that Tom mentioned in his original post. We have not tested on Mono. The only Windows specific items that we have done are:

1. In the JPG saving routine, I'm using Windows color management (via InterOp) to change the color space of the output JPG from a linear color space to sRGB. I'm not sure how Mono handles calls to InterOp. :|
2. I'm using a Windows function call to display a "browse for a directory" dialog.

I am also using a library, Magic Library 1.7.4, to do the Visual Studio .NET like windows. I have no idea if he's using fully verifyable code or not. The library can be found at http://www.dotnetmagic.com.

If you'd like to try it and have Mono set up, let me know and I can send you a copy of the files (since you can't install the MSI file :).

I'd love to hear how it goes. I would not be opposed to trying to figure out how to make BOB Mono compatible. This would increase the number of people who could use and develop for BOB, which is kind-of the whole point of BOB.

Bill

[evilenglishman]

--

[tommears]

Currently, you won't be able to use BOB unless you install the .NET Framework. This will continue to be the case for the foreseable future. You are going to have to download the "runtime" verions of .NET from Microsoft.


You can get it here...http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en

It's a big file (23M)--so if you are on 56K dial-up it may not be worth the effort as it will be about a 1-hr download. (it takes just 2-3 minutes on a cable modem)

[iwatkins]

Is the code fairly generic ? I'm wondering if it could easily be ported to another language, e.g. Delphi that doesn't rely on the .Net framework.

I would love to try the software but I'm not going to load up my machine with more bloat just to get this to run.

Cheers

Ian

[BillSexton]

iwatkins wrote:
Is the code fairly generic ? I'm wondering if it could easily be ported to another language, e.g. Delphi that doesn't rely on the .Net framework.

I would love to try the software but I'm not going to load up my machine with more bloat just to get this to run.

Cheers

Ian

The code that actually does the interpolations is very generic. The only item in the image processing code that is Windows specific is the color space translation in the JPG routine. (The output of the routines is linear and we need to convert the JPGs to sRGB.) I did see a freeware color management program (I think it was called lcms) that could be used instead.

The only other gotcha that I can think of is that I've made heavy use of the .NET Event model. Basically, objects can fire events. Anyone can register for the events and they would recieve them. Visual Basic has a similar construct. As long as the language that you want to translate the image routines into has something similar (or you understand function pointers), you shouldn't have any problems.

Needless to say, we got a work cut out simply getting it to work in C#. We will not be porting the code to anything else :). But, again, that's why this code is on the GotDotNet site. Anyone can get the source and port it to anything else.

[iwatkins]

BillSexton wrote:

Needless to say, we got a work cut out simply getting it to work in C#. We will not be porting the code to anything else :). But, again, that's why this code is on the GotDotNet site. Anyone can get the source and port it to anything else.



Thanks for that Bill.

I think I'll wait until you are at a late Beta before having a look. The only reason I ask is that I'm currently learning to write Photoshop plugins with Delphi and I thought this might be a worthwhile project.

Anyway, all kudos to you. Once I get my other work machine up and running again (hardware rebuild) I'll get the .net framework on it and give the RAW Converter a go.

Cheers

Ian

[BillSexton]

I just wanted to let everyone know, we made a minor update to BOB. It has a few bug fixes, a few new interpolation routines, and it now comes with color profiles for the D60. The color profiles will automatically be used for the JPG output and will create sRGB output files.

Again, it can be found at http://workspaces.gotdotnet.com/bob

Enjoy!

[marswalker]

Hi Tom,

I'm a VB.NET programmer and I need to read the metadata inside the header of the CRW. The problem is that the site gotdotnet is no longer active. (I think that Microsoft deleted almost everything).
Do you have a source code backup ?
If so can I use on a non comercial program ?

Thank you in advance,

Raul Costa

[tzalman]

Since you are posting in a thread from nearly five years ago and from an OP who has not posted another word since then, you might have a better chance of getting a reply with a Private Message.

[kevin_c]

Since you are posting in a thread from nearly five years ago and from an OP who has not posted another word since then, you might have a better chance of getting a reply with a Private Message.

I think contacting Elvis might be easier ;) - I love old threads being 'dug-up' :)

Maybe this 'CRW' converter turned out to be Lightroom or something... :lol:

[tzalman]

Tom was murdered by a ninja from the Yakuza hired by Canon in order to keep the secrets of the 300D safe. He also bumped off the authors of the hacks.

[dpastern]

Dead thread...all I could find that had anything useful on it is:

http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t246342-p3-alpharelease-of-raw-converter-canon-crw-for-dslrs.html

I think this project is dead ;)

To the reviver, please try RAW therapee :)

Dave