Shooting in RAW mode

[Shefcom]

Good Morning to all,
I recently purchased a D10 and have been shooting most of my images in Large/Fine mode.
I shoot mostly behind the scenes footage of location film work or individual portrait or group shots.
I was told by a friend that I should shoot in RAW mode for better archiving and post photo work.
I have started just that; however I am confused about the process of printing these images and the "Converting" of same

Can someone advise me?

Thanks,
KLS :?:

[ssim]

You will find that shooting RAW gives you greater flexibility over what you can do with the images in post processing. The file sizes are larger than JPG so be prepared to have a larger CF card or extras. It reallys depends on what the intended end result of the image is to be used for. I know a couple of photographers that use the 10D for newspaper and never shoot anything other than JPG. If your intention is for high quality with the best color then RAW is the way to go.

The RAW files from the 10D can be converted using Canon's own software which not all that great or other third party software such as Capture 1, Breezebrowser and Photoshop CS. You will probably find that most of your RAW images will need some adjustments and C1 and Photoshop are good for seeing the changes in preview mode.

For printing your images you would probably do that from Photoshop (you should have received Elements with your camera). If you are taking to somewhere else to print you can always burn them onto a CD but check what file formats they accept.

Here are a couple of websites where you can learn about their product and conversion routines. I use both.

http://www.breezesys.com/index.htm
http://www.c1dslr.com/

[martcol]

There are definite advantages to shooting RQA over JPG but, it depends what you want. To shoot RAW you need as you say, to convert them. I use BreezBrowser for that, others use the Photoshop plug-in (or PS CS I suppose) or something called CL1. Then again you can also use the software that came with your camera. I never have because I read it wasn't up to much. The conversion software takes the pain out of converting. You can select different options and see what kind of results you get.

I stuck with shooting only JPEGs when I first got my 10D mostly, because I was learning how to cope with the camera first and I already understood JPG. Now I shoot RAW most of the time. RAW images will always need time at your PC.

If you search under RAW on this forum there has been heaps of debate around RAW over JPEG - hopefully that one will not be resurected here! If you search the WWW for stuff on RAW over JPEG you will also get plenty of good (and some bad) information.

Good luck

Martin

[Sam North]

See here:

http://www.theimageplane.net/tip2_014.htm

Keep your pain killers handy... :shock:


Sam

[JZaun]

I also recently got my 10d. I blew most of my funds on camera and lens so I didn't have $$ for more software. I started using the supplied cannon software to convert Raw to Tiff. I found no problem with it other than it is SLOW, but I don't have to convert too many at a time any way . I do post processing in Photoshop Elements that came with the camera. I have read that other software is better for converson but cannon works and it is free! Give it a try then purchase other software if it doesn't do the job for you.

JZ

[kahfluie]

I always shoot RAW. Post processing for me is done on C1 or Breezebrowser. Since the TIFF files can be rather large - and I do mean large.... I convert to TIFF and do any final processing in Photoshop. I also convert my RAW files a second time to JPG... and these files (RAW and JPG) are what I save to CD, and I eventuallydelete the TIFF files.

You might ask why convert to JPG. Well, TIFF files are very large, 38-40MB. The RAW files are like your negatives, however if 10 years from now you don't have the software to convert these files, you're stuck.... so JPG ends up being my "backup" negative. I'd rather save TIFF files, but if I shoot 150 shots at an event, we're talking about 9 or 10 CD burns just for the one event. Is that worth it? Maybe, but I rather have everything on one or two CD's.

I do feel it is very worth shooting raw. It allows you to be creative in another dimension. Once you start working with RAW files, you'll get hooked and won't want to shoot anything else.

[Shefcom]

Thanks to all who responded...

Most of my work will find its way to someones Picture frame (no larger than 8 x 10) or published in a magazine.

I now understand that "all RAW" images have to be converted to use them!; however I read where I could shoot RAW and JPEGs at the same time with the D10...is it possible to just use the JPEGs and Save the RAW images on another hard driver for archiving purposes..(then later convert them if I need to)

Sorry to ask such basic questions but my digital world is just in its infancy as far as my Still images go. :D

Thanks,

KLS

[ilya]

With the 10D, you absolutely can choose to shoot embedded JPEGs in the Raw files (you should read the relevant section in the manual). You can also select the size of the embedded Jpeg files from small to large. There is a process by which you extract the Jpegs from Raw files; you use the Canon supplied software to do that. Its very quick and simple, and it will allow you to leave the raw files for later, and have easy access to the Jpegs now.

Photoshop CS does not allow you to extract Jpegs without processing the Raw file. Other raw converters such as C1 and Breezebrowser may or may not - I've not used those.

[Shefcom]

Thanks for the input..

KLS

[theoldmoose]

kahfluie,

One of the reasons I archive developed RAW images (in TIFF) to DVD's. CD's are too small, but the 4.7 GB capacity of a DVD is useful for this. DVD writers are pretty cheap these days (you can get a 4x writer for about $100), and the media is not too expensive, either, considering the capacity of the disks.

If you go to DVD, I'd consider using Verbatim Datalife media (if you can find them, the local stores don't seem to stock them much). They are the only ones that make any claims (so far) for archival quality DVD media. If anyone knows of a good, independent survey of DVD media lifetimes, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

If you are backing up to CD, you should be using Mitsumi Golds (or Kodak Ultima Golds, although I understand they aren't making them any more), or at the least Maxell Pros.

Otherwise, you are just wasting your time (and media). There are various reports on CD media lifetimes on the net. Google for cdsleeves, for one. It's frightening how poorly some of the popular brands of CDs out there retain data.

[CanonUser]

I just shot an event last night. The evening came and went in a blink of an eye, I was managing 2 camcorders and a DR. I shot relying on the knowledge I gained by practice at home and quick glances a the replay. I didn't even have the time to check the histograms. I got home at 12AM, transfer the photos to my PC, processed the RAW, corrected a bunch of photos in PS-CS, weeded out the bad shots, and burned a DVD with 168 images (3Gigs!) by 4AM. C1 allowes me to batch process the color correction, EV correction, basic sharpening, and file renaming - These save hours comparing with image correction on JPG files in PS. I often process 3 or 4 versions of the same image in C1, using the built-in curves, level , and color temperature adjutments. Once imported and layered in PS, I just use mask and layer style to combine the best parts from each version in to a final image. That's it, I'm done. I have time to play with my kid, which is my favorite thing to do beside taking pictures.
This is just my humble opinion.

Regards,
Alan

[rick barclay]

Another entry into the raw file capture market is Express Digital Darkroom
by Express Digital. At $500, they're a little less expensive than PS CS.
I don't know too much about this software, but I will soon and will offer
some input. You can find out more at expressdigital.com or by searching Google.

[CanonUser]

The Exp DD is not a competition to PS. The program is aimed at event photographer who wants to do a quick touch up, sell the image, and keep tha cash flow going. The $500 price reflects the DD ability to fix the image, show the package, send the order to their partnered lab or your local printer, and print the order confirmation without leaving the program. When you want to fine tune ("retouch" according to Express Digital), the program opens Photoshop. At the moment, it has trouble opening PS-CS!

Regards,
Alan

[rick barclay]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm not at all familiar with the program.

Their release information touts the following:

Capture

Use with any digital cameras including Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Kodak and Fuji
Open raw and proprietary digital camera files
Open any standard digital file format and much much more...

Manage

Catalog photos by event, subject or location
Copy, rotate, preview and add notes to your photos
Archive photos to CD or DVD and much much more...

Enhance

Add borders, text and overlay graphics, creating new photo products
Includes over 150 ready-to-use borders
Built-in color, sharpness, brightness and contrast adjustments
Advanced retouch workflow and much much more...

Proof

Automated proof sheet printing and custom layout capabilities
Electronic on-screen proof presentation
Built-in slideshow and much much more...

Print

Print packages directly to the industry's best Windows® based ink jet and dye-sub
printers from major brands such as Epson, HP, Sony, Kodak, Mitsubishi, Olympus, Dell,
and Hi-Touch
Use Labtricity™ to send orders electronically to a lab for printing and much much more...

[CanonUser]

DD has a list of compatible camera under "capture". Not just any camera can be used. Canon was under the listing, but there was no specific model. Indeed, DD excels at managing photo. Enhance, it's just that. The image correction, border, and text are pretty crude compare to PS, but it allows you to add canned event borders (sport, senior portraits, baby photos, etc...) very quickly. There is nothing artistic about this, it's all about give the customer something they can hang on the wall and collect the money. Proof and print are a strong part of the package.

Regards,
Alan