20d Raw Question

[JuStDaVe]

I have just started shooting raw ( like 4 mins ago ) what is the big deal and what programs are you guys using to modify photos im just using the software from the box the Digital Photo Pro...

I have PS7

Any help tips or advise would be unreal

Thanks in advance

Dave

[EricKonieczny]

THe big deal is that you can change the exposure, contrast, fill light, tint, and other features. Think of it as a digital negative, you will have most control of output later on.

This is a great program to use.

http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter.html

[rdenney]

I have PS7


Unfortunately, PS7 does not have Adobe Camera Raw. That was the main reason I upgraded to CS.

Before upgrading, though, I used Breezebrowswer to do my raw conversions. There are other tools on the market that do just as well and maybe better. They will give you all the controls you should have when converting from raw, including exposure correction (a couple stops each way), parameter control (sharpness, constrast, and saturation), and, most importantly, white balance. But I prefer doing the raw conversion in Adobe, because it opens the converted 16-bit file in Photoshop and doesn't save it in an intermediate TIFF file. That way, I can save it directly as a PSD file and not worry about having to clean up those unused TIFFs later on. And, more importantly, it shows me the histogram as I'm making conversion settings. The workflow is more convenient. CS (and perhaps 7 as well--I never looked) also has a browser function which is pretty useful. It won't do the batch processing like Breezebrowser will, though, so I find I still need both.

If you don't want to upgrade from PS7, just get a raw converter like Breezebrowser (there are others--RawShooter is one that comes to mind) to do your conversions. I didn't like Zoom Browser (that came with my 10D), because it didn't provide all the controls that make it worth shooting raw in the first place.

Rick "who will read other answers as well" Denney

[JuStDaVe]

ok i installed raw shooter and used it

imported image as tif to ps..

photo looks great.

then i go to save for web and the image is so dull and crap.

any tips

thanks also to all of u for helpin me out

dave

[tim]

Read this book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/032127878X/qid=1113466778/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-4680916-2539966?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). You need to do things like sharpening, increase the contrast, tweak the exposure levels.

[scottbergerphoto]

Since the latest available plug in for Adobe Camera Raw came out I rarely use anything other then PS CS. That way I can convert and edit seamlessly. I don't do much batch processing so it works fine for me. I recently installed Rawshooter (RSE) but I haven't used it much. I am a little concerned about the complaints I've read about the skin tones in RSE.
The book recommended above by Tim is a must read for shooting Raw and using CS.

[scottbergerphoto]

ok i installed raw shooter and used it

imported image as tif to ps..

photo looks great.

then i go to save for web and the image is so dull and crap.

any tips

thanks also to all of u for helpin me out

dave
That is a reported issue with RSE. People have been using a curves adjustment to fix it. I use PS CS.

[rdenney]

ok i installed raw shooter and used it

imported image as tif to ps..

photo looks great.

then i go to save for web and the image is so dull and crap.

any tips

thanks also to all of u for helpin me out

dave

Check color space. If Rawshooter works in Adobe 1998, and the output is viewed in sRGB, it will look dull, because the Adobe color space has a bigger gamut that will get dumbed down to sRGB. I don't know if this is the problem, but it sounds like the right symptom.

I work in Adobe 1998 and find that when I target for web display (without color management), I have to increase saturation by about 20% to get close to my original image.

Rick "who thinks ACR deals with this better, or at least more clearly, than most of the browsers" Denney