Raw Shooters: Favorite Processing Software?

[tamash]

Hi all,

I've read many of the Raw vs JPG threads over the last year and am uninterested in starting a holy war, but I'm a JPG shooter (shooting higher volumes of mostly sports shots) that is convinced to go RAW for a number of my more 'important' shots. So I have a couple workflow questions for RAW shooters:

1. What's your software of choice for processing your RAW files?
2. Can you briefly describe the workflow? (I'm trying to get a sense of the manual work involved in processing ~256-512MB worth of RAW at once)
3. I'm a Photoshop 7 user; anyone use Fred Miranda's RAW action (LP Batch, I believe)? If so, thoughts?

I realize there's some significant scope to these questions, so thanks in advance for anything you wish to share.

Best Regards,
Bill

[scottbergerphoto]

There are at least four choices for 10D raw conversion:
1. Photoshop CS(The earlier PS plug in wasn't designed for the 10D)
2. Canon FVU
3. BreezeBrowser
4. C1/C1LE
I find BreezeBrowser to be the easiest to use and at the same time do what I need it to do. Many people prefer C1LE and C1. Some people complain about the quality of the raw conversion in CS.
Scott

[dtrayers]

I almost always use RAW so I have the option of adjusting white balance and exposure.

I never use Canon's FVU.

I use Breezebrowser if I want to do a mass conversion to JPG, like if I want to burn all the photos to a CD to send to the grandparents. Incidently, BB uses the Canon conversion DLL's, so the output should be the same as the FVU. BB does have a noise reduction feature that works pretty well, and some people have had good success with the 'combined' conversion mode. The few times I've tried it though I didn't like the results.

If I know I need to adjust WB or exposure shot-by-shot, but I want to still convert a lot of images, I use C1Rebel. I got it when it was 'on sale' last fall. I think it does a good job and once you get used to the interface it's easy to use, and it's a little faster than BB. There is a 10 file limit in the conversion queue, but it's not really an issue, as I'm looking at each picture for WB and exposure, so I'm usually the bottleneck.

For single shot conversion, I use Photoshop CS ACR conversion. I have no complaints about the quality of the conversions, and it's a lot faster than C1 or BB. The preview is larger and zooming and moving around the preview window is more intuitive to me. It doesn't have the curves adjustment C1 has, but I convert in 16 bit mode and then add any curves adjustment in PS. For me, the part that works the best with PS-CS is the workflow. I don't have to convert to one format (16-bit TIFF) just to open it up in PS and save it as another format (PSD). I like going immediately from conversion to editing. That's just me though, YMMV.

[eric1]

i agree Scott, much easier to fix things like WB, exposure, inraw post
prosessing rather than JPEG. you can salvage many more shots this way.
i use C1LE, i find it a little more easy to control than PS CS.

eric1

[CyberDyneSystems]

I use PSCS and CILE

I am pretty sure C!LE gives the best results and has better batch tools for RAW file tweeking..

But I am an old hand at PS so I still find I use PSCS MUCH more often..

[Morden]

I use Capture One LE to process and convert the raw images from my 10D. It is easy to use, powerful and achieves excellent results. If required, I load the resultant images into Photoshop 7 for further work, though this is rare; I am pleased with the vast majority of my photos as they come out of C1.

The way C1 works makes for a smooth worklflow; converting the raw data "in the background" eliminates alot of the waiting around associated with other conversion tools, especially Canon's proprietary software, which I do not like or use.

[evilenglishman]

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[Roger_Cavanagh]

Bill,

C1 is my preferred tool. I have described my workflow here (http://www.rogercavanagh.com/helpinfo/24_workflow_c1.htm).

Regards,

[tamash]

Thanks for the workflow link, Roger.
Well done and quite helpful.
Regards,
Bill

[scotgasch]

I use C1DSLR.....hands down the best out there so far....