Intimidated by RAW [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Art Rodriguez

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 19:17

Desertraptor

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 19:27

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

herderdog

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 19:34

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

??? I'm confused. I run Raw Shooter Essentials 2005 on my AMD Athlon 3000+.
It is the raw processing program I use--runs with no problem.

BrianEE93

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 19:51

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

I second that. I have a AMD 3200+ and no problems here with RSE. I just like the workflow possible with it.

jimsolt

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 20:00

This is pretty embarrassing:o I have been shooting everything in JPEG since I bought my camera. I have been intimidated by shooting in RAW mode. I really don't know why it intimidates me but it does. But after reading all the benifits here about shooting RAW I decided I was going to give it a try.

I did some research here in POTN and I have noticed that there are two different RAW software that are commonly used, Digital Photo Professional (DPP) and RawShooter Essentials (RSE). Now I am more confused as to which to use. For a beginner like me, which one should I choose or would it make a difference.

Thanks,

Art

Art, don't start by looking for possible computer problems. If what you've read leads you to think you'd like to try one or the other, try it. You are not stuck with using it if you don't like it. There are some differences but they are largely personal preferences. They all do basically the same thing.
I have no way of knowing, but I'd be willing to be a huge majority of digital photographers use Photoshop all the way from RAW conversion to completed product.
JIm

Art Rodriguez

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 20:30

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

I have a Pentium 4 computer. If I'm going to spend money, well pay for it on credit, on electronics, I always go for the best I can get. Thats why I can't wait to pay off my Digitat Rebal and upgrade. I figure by that time I will have more experience with DSLR:lol:

Art

Art Rodriguez

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 20:38

Art, don't start by looking for possible computer problems. If what you've read leads you to think you'd like to try one or the other, try it. You are not stuck with using it if you don't like it. There are some differences but they are largely personal preferences. They all do basically the same thing.
I have no way of knowing, but I'd be willing to be a huge majority of digital photographers use Photoshop all the way from RAW conversion to completed product.
JIm

Thanks Jimsolt. I never thought of that. I guess I can try one and see if I like it. If I don't then I can try the other one. Now, which one to try first. Decisions, Decisions.

Art

Curtis N

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 21:33

I have noticed that there are two different RAW software that are commonly used, Digital Photo Professional (DPP) and RawShooter Essentials (RSE). Now I am more confused as to which to use. For a beginner like me, which one should I choose or would it make a difference.They're both free. Try 'em both, and pick whichever one you like best.

Don't you wish you could select a wife that way?

spinaltap

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 22:11

Art, don't start by looking for possible computer problems. If what you've read leads you to think you'd like to try one or the other, try it. You are not stuck with using it if you don't like it. There are some differences but they are largely personal preferences. They all do basically the same thing.
I have no way of knowing, but I'd be willing to be a huge majority of digital photographers use Photoshop all the way from RAW conversion to completed product.
JIm

I'll raise my hand as one of those that uses elements for his entire workflow (of course, I'm also new to this whole thing, so that might be part of it too)...is there any real advantage to using another standalone raw converter like RSE? I just use the adobe one in elements because its the easiest..

lostdoggy

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 22:38

jimsolt

16th of August 2005 (Tue), 22:48

i've tried acr,dpp, rse, and C1 Phase 1 Pro the only one I haven't tried is Adobe Bridge (don't have PSCS2 yet) and they all are good, but my personal favorite is C1 Phase One Pro. One tried all of them you can decide which one will work for you.
Adobe Bridge is not a RAW converter though you can do RAW conversion within it. It is more of a glorified file browser.
Jim

Poco

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 00:03

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

lmao:lol:

AndreyD

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 00:55

I'll raise my hand as one of those that uses elements for his entire workflow (of course, I'm also new to this whole thing, so that might be part of it too)...is there any real advantage to using another standalone raw converter like RSE? I just use the adobe one in elements because its the easiest..

I use RSE because it's lighter for the memory of my computer (PS take too much memory), have not a powerful machine, so RSE works well, to convert RAW to tiff and I like RSE controls.

Then I use PS to do final correction for print or for web

Art Rodriguez

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 04:48

Thank you for all the help. I really do appreciate it.

I meant to mention early on that I have PS2 so I'm unable to use that for the RAW processing. Unless there is something I don't know.

Art

kenyc

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 05:44

They're both free. Try 'em both, and pick whichever one you like best.

Don't you wish you could select a wife that way?

But I thought that's exactly how you pick a wife. :cool: :lol:

There is also Adobe Photoshop or CS2 plugins if you use photoshop. Try them all and use what's right for you.

I've shot some raw in the time I've had the 20D but am at this point on the verge of "going raw" with everything but sports shots.

KAC

ssim

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 06:39

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

They fixed this problem a short while ago.

I have tried most of the RAW converters out there. My very first was breezebrowser but in comparison to the others it is somewhat rudimentary. I still use it as a file browser and use a number of its other features which are quite dynamic and quick. I am not a fan of DPP and use RSE and C1 mostly. My preference is C1 as it has functionality (like cropping) that RSE doesn't. If you are just starting out I would use RSE as it is free and very easy to use.

Jesper

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 08:01

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.
That bug was only in the first version of RawShooter Essentials. It has been solved months ago... :rolleyes: works perfectly on my AMD Athlon XP 1800+.

lordjim

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 08:29

Adobe Bridge is not a RAW converter though you can do RAW conversion within it. It is more of a glorified file browser.
Jim

You are right, the RAW converter is Camera Raw that can be accessed via either Adobe Bridge (the file browser) or Photoshop CS2. It also works with Elements 3.

I have tried DPP, RSE and Camera Raw. I have not seen any major differences between them. I am using Camera Raw because it is integrated with Photoshop CS2 and facilitates my workflow. I really liked RSE too.

There is a good book about the use of Camera Raw called "Real World Camera Raw for Photoshop CS2". This book really insists on the optimization of the workflow. You can find it here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321334094/qid=1124287857/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4694991-1366501?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).

Shooting in Raw is great but it requires more post processing time and a better understandng of file formats (TIFF, PSD, JPEG, etc..), color spaces (Adobe RGB, sRGB) and bits information to really take advantage of its full potential.

I generally convert my post processed RAW into TIFF, Adobe RGB, 16 bits. I automatically run a Photoshop Action to "batch add" three adjustments layers to the TIFF files: levels, curves and hue/Saturation. When I am done with the individual post processing of the TIFF files, I "batch convert" them into 8bits and into sRGB and into JPEG and JPEG for Web. I may then run a USM or High Pass Filter for sharpening.

The use of Batch, Photoshop Action and Droplets really helps to automate the workflow. It still takes me about 30 minutes by image to go from the initial RAW to the final JPEG but I am still a beginner.

Hope that helps.

PS: I have an AMD Atlhon XP 3200+ and RSE2005 works great on my computer too.

rammy

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 08:56

Your computer may have an outcome on this question. If you happen to have an AMD Athlon RSE wont work because the chips is missing the necessary code.

That is not possible and is not how software developers work (I being one!) . Software writers fit to the framework and write code to use the best registers etc. PC developers DO NOT create machines that can only run certain code, it is the other way round.

Who ever thought of a PC being built to run a specific application. Yes, you can argue mainframes, we are talking PC's here.

It must be a software thing, get the latest patch, surely that is stable?

Hellashot

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 10:24

I highly recommend PSE 3.0

Art Rodriguez

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 18:02

I highly recommend PSE 3.0

I wish I could afford PSE 3.0. Maybe with practice on one of these free software and I can become more proficient with RAW post process I will buy PSE 3.0.

Art

lostdoggy

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 20:07

Adobe Bridge is not a RAW converter though you can do RAW conversion within it. It is more of a glorified file browser.
Jim

To the best of my knowledge the ACR in PSCS2 is an intergral part of Adobe Bridge that can be launch independent of PSCS2. Being that the ACR is part of the bridge then the RAW convertor is the Adobe Bridge unless you can launch the ACR seperately and independently. Now remember I don't have PSCS2 so I'm just guessing here, so am I correct on this point???

lostdoggy

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 20:08

I wish I could afford PSE 3.0. Maybe with practice on one of these free software and I can become more proficient with RAW post process I will buy PSE 3.0.

Art

Why go backward when he has PSCS2???

lostdoggy

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 20:10

Why go backward when he has PSCS2???

Ooops!!! did you mean PS2 or PSCS2???

Art Rodriguez

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 20:20

Ooops!!! did you mean PS2 or PSCS2???

I have PSE2 which came with the DRebel.

Art

jimsolt

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 22:10

To the best of my knowledge the ACR in PSCS2 is an intergral part of Adobe Bridge that can be launch independent of PSCS2. Being that the ACR is part of the bridge then the RAW convertor is the Adobe Bridge unless you can launch the ACR seperately and independently. Now remember I don't have PSCS2 so I'm just guessing here, so am I correct on this point???

The Adobe site describes Bridge as follows:

"Adobe® Bridge software is the new navigational control center built for Adobe Creative Suite 2 software and its components. (Adobe Bridge is also available separately in Adobe Photoshop® CS2, Illustrator® CS2, InDesign® CS2, and GoLive® CS2 software.) Based on the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7.0, Adobe Bridge goes a step further by providing centralized access to your suite project files, applications, and settings. With file organization and sharing, plus Adobe Stock Photos, at your fingertips all the time, Adobe Bridge is where you keep your ideas moving."

I guess if you choose you could describe CS2 as a RAW converter also, but I feel it more accurate to think of ACR as one of the functions of CS2 or Adobe Bridge.

Jim

SWPhotoImaging

17th of August 2005 (Wed), 22:31

They're both free. Try 'em both, and pick whichever one you like best.

Don't you wish you could select a wife that way?

You've got a point there . . .

"Software is better than a spouse because . . ."

You can't try out multiple spouses simultaneously . . .

You can only have the latest version of a spouse . . . no downgrades allowed

a million possibilities there.

lostdoggy

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 01:37

The Adobe site describes Bridge as follows:

"Adobe® Bridge software is the new navigational control center built for Adobe Creative Suite 2 software and its components. (Adobe Bridge is also available separately in Adobe Photoshop® CS2, Illustrator® CS2, InDesign® CS2, and GoLive® CS2 software.) Based on the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7.0, Adobe Bridge goes a step further by providing centralized access to your suite project files, applications, and settings. With file organization and sharing, plus Adobe Stock Photos, at your fingertips all the time, Adobe Bridge is where you keep your ideas moving."

I guess if you choose you could describe CS2 as a RAW converter also, but I feel it more accurate to think of ACR as one of the functions of CS2 or Adobe Bridge.

Jim

Here is another quote from Adobe site:

Timesaving file handling with Adobe Bridge
Simplify file handling with Adobe Bridge, the next-generation File Browser, where you can process multiple camera raw images at once; resize, rate, and label thumbnails; quickly review images in Slideshow mode; search metadata; and more.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/newfeatures.html#nf1

Yes it is a feature rich as they say it browser, but still the RAW convertor is intergrated into the Adobe Bridge.

Sathi

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 14:54

RSE works flawlessly with my athlon 64 2800

jfrancho

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 15:06

nitsch

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 15:23

I would recommend using RawShooter Essentials, not only is it free but it is VERY good.

I love Photoshop but am not overly impressed by the RAW conversion in PSCS2 so I convert using Rawshooter to 16 bit TIFF and then continue my editing in PS.

WepWaWep

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 15:30

I use a combination of PSE3 for my first run to see what the algorithm does to each pic and then pop open PSCS to finish my post processing and convert, usually to jpeg for the web. I do all my printing in PSCS from the RAW.

Am I missing something by using the PS products?

Art Rodriguez

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 17:59

I have decided to download RSE. I am just waiting for a e-mail from Pixmantec to give me the download page. Hope it's soon. Can't wait to try it. Of course, it will probably take forever to figure that thing out.

Art

lostdoggy

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 20:00

I'm not sure, but I don't think that you can just install Adobe Bridge and ACR, and be able to convert raw files. In fact when I open raw files in Bridge for editing, converting, etc., Photoshop starts up. Therefore, ACR is a plug-in to Photoshop, not Bridge. The name refers to the fact that it can be used to manage files for PS, Illustrator, etc., instead of each app's specific internal file manager.

Adobe Bridge is also part of any of the Creative suite products indepedently such as Illustrator CS2 and InDesign CS2. If you were you purchase any of these product indepedently they will contain the Adobe Bridge. so therefore it is not just a ACR plugin for PSCS2 like PSCS.

jfrancho

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 20:59

lostdoggy, You inspired me to do some digging, and in fact ACR will work as a plugin to Bridge. I emailed what I did, hopefully you can make sense of. If anyone wants to know what I did, PM me. It is a tiny bit too complex for this thread. Sorry I doubted you!

jimsolt

18th of August 2005 (Thu), 23:35

Adobe Bridge is also part of any of the Creative suite products indepedently such as Illustrator CS2 and InDesign CS2. If you were you purchase any of these product indepedently they will contain the Adobe Bridge. so therefore it is not just a ACR plugin for PSCS2 like PSCS.
You are correct. Each of the Creative Suite products contain Adobe Bridge, though as in CS2 using Bridge is optional. However I believe you will find that if you use only Adobe Illustrator (for instance) with or without Adobe Bridge, you will NOT be able to open RAW photos. For that you need an Adobe Camera Raw plugin -- the latest being ACR 3.01. That plugin is not accomodated in Adobe Illustrator though it is billed as "yet to come."
Many had trouble installing the latest ACR plugins in CS2 because it is now installed in a different directory to allow its use by Adobe Bridge also. The plugin is installed in a CS2 folder. While this makes it available to Bridge and through Bridge to other Suite products, it can only be installed in a CS2 folder.
It is largely a matter of semantics as to what you call something. My preference remains to call CS2 and Bridge, programs and ACR a plugin. I think that is closer to what Adobe calls them and is consequently more appropriate for explaining them to someone wishing to learn.
Jim