I'm completely new to RAW and lost!!

I never shot RAW with my old DSLR (Pentax K2000). I was always happy enough with the jpegs from the camera. I just bought a T2i and decided that I would try to use RAW all the time with it. I have no idea what I'm doing!! I've never really edited anything in my photos before other than cropping them with Picasa. I have been a Picasa user for a few years and am very comfortable with it but I don't think it is the best for RAW files.

I have Picasa, GIMP, DPP, and iPhoto at my disposal but don't know where to start. I would like to keep using Picasa for it's organization and ease of exporting but as far as editing goes I'm guessing I'll need to learn how to use something else. I've tried to read these tutorials but even with that I don't know where to start or which program to use. Please help me!

Use DPP. It's very easy and it's set up to interface with your camera.

bennyG19 wrote in post #12771129
I never shot RAW with my old DSLR (Pentax K2000). I was always happy enough with the jpegs from the camera.

Shoot jpg.

@windpig where do I start with it?
@amonline am I missing out by doing jpegs only?

bennyG19 wrote in post #12771234
@windpig where do I start with it?
@amonline am I missing out by doing jpegs only?

Give this a try:
http://www.learn.usa.c​anon.com …rials/dpp_tutor​ials.shtml

bennyG19 wrote in post #12771234
@amonline am I missing out by doing jpegs only?

Not if you're happy with them. DPP just allows you to turn RAWs into Canon JPGs, and then boost/PP them. Shooting JPG can give you a head start. Keep in mind, you can shoot JPG and STILL punch them up. Shooting RAW just means you have to do a little more work to get started - that's all. Obviously, it also adds tools for fixing exposure issues and WB is usually easier to deal with.

The BEST thing to do is go out tomorrow and shoot a few scenes in RAW and JPG and then process them both in DPP. Look for the differences in what's available to you in the RAW tab. That's the real deciding factor. If you shoot indoors a lot, RAW can be a savior at times. Try a few in dark situations too.

I guess I'm happier snapping pics than sitting in front of the computer learning how to PP. I might stick with the RAW files for a little bit but this PP talk just confuses me to death. I'm still learning how to use the camera properly, much less changing everything (and maybe making it worse) with bad PP technique.

I'll try to watch those videos and see what I can figure out from there.

Just remember; post processing gives you control of the result. If you want to achieve a style, it's your own custom processing that will take you there.

I agree. Shoot a while. Play with the styles and see what you come up with before you add more work to having fun.

Suggest the Canon software.

Connect camera to computer using supplied USB cable
Use EOS Utility for downloading raw files from camera to computer
DPP to convert raw files to 16-bit TIFF or 8-bit jpeg, optional steps, adjust White Balance, etc..

Then Picasa to manage tiffs/jpegs that were converted from raw by DPP.

Besides DPP there is another free Raw app that is currently being offered, Phase One Express. Check out this link:

http://www.dphotograph​er.co.uk/captureone/

The "stuff" works, I haven't heard or seen anything about it being non-legitimate.

But, as to getting started in Raw, DPP really is quite easy to get off and running with. The "secret" is that because it is Canon software it "knows" how to read and translate all the in-camera settings. Other software, unless it is licensed by Canon, can't do this and can only make an "educated guess" about things like Picture Style and White Balance and all the other various tweaks you might make in your camera to get the jpeg shot "just right".

So, in DPP it's this simple: set your camera up to get things just the way you like them (Picture Style, White Balance, High ISO Noise Reduction, whatever) and take the shot in Raw. Load it/them into DPP and voila, DPP will render the preview into an image very much like what the out-of-camera jpeg would be, and if you are happy with it/them, it is an easy thing to Convert and Save to a jpeg for any use -- smaller for the Web, larger for print, etc.

But then the power of Raw can step in here -- Raw gives you more "latitude" in adjustments that you would have with an out-of-camera jpeg. So, with the Raw file open you can freely switch around Picture Styles or White Balance, for example, without possibly causing degredation to an image that was shot in jpeg.

It can actually be fun "playing around" with this stuff as you learn. You will also begin to get an understanding of what "makes things tick" with digital imaging. And, in time, you will "know stuff" and will be able to give others pointers as well!

So when I open the raw files in DPP where do I start with the adjustments? I always read about the saturation and contrast needing adjustment on photos. Is there any sort of 'correct' order to make adjustments?

Thanks again for the tips!

bennyG19 wrote in post #12772288
So when I open the raw files in DPP where do I start with the adjustments? I always read about the saturation and contrast needing adjustment on photos. Is there any sort of 'correct' order to make adjustments?

Thanks again for the tips!

No, the order in which you move the sliders makes no difference at all. That is because no actual editing takes place when you move a slider - except for the preview sent to your monitor. The real work is done only when you open 'Convert and Save' and then press on the Save button. At that point DPP goes through a fixed routine adjusting the data extracted from the RAW file according to the position of each slider and in the end uses this revised data to create an entirely new file, either a jpg or a tif. So you can play with the sliders for hours, trying all sorts of combinations, and the only thing that matters is their positions when you hit Save. Moreover, because an entirely new file is created the image data in the original RAW file is never touched. You can go back tomorrow and do an entirely different version. At the end of an editing session you will be asked if you want to save a list of your edits in the file and if you click yes the new set of editing instructions will be added to the list put there by the camera. So don't worry, you can't do any harm and if next week you decide you really don't like the jpg you made, you can delete it and make a new one or go back to the camera's version.

Yup, like Elie says, you can always go back to your original raw data. So load up an image and play with the settings one-by-one to see what they do. Find out which ones tend to improve the image and which ones don't.

As for raw vs jpeg...

• It is always possible to process a Canon raw file to produce an image that is identical to the jpeg the camera would have produced.
  
• Unless all of the in-camera settings (exposure, white balance, sharpening, NR, contrast, etc.) were set perfectly at the time of shooting then it is always possible to process a raw file to produce an image better then the jpeg the camera would have produced.
  

bennyG19

Shoot in RAW and JPEG
Even if you shoot JPEG only, having the RAW file to manipulate in DPP allows you to try different in camera settings to see what you think would work for you for in camera picture style, etc.

As Elie was saying, your RAW file never gets changed so it's safe for future manipulation. You can download all you RAW files and easily batch them to them to JPEGS, just like they would be if you shot them in camera. You then do a "convert and save". You can't do the same going from JPEG to RAW because all the data is lost. JPEG is 8 bit, RAW is 16 bit.

I initially shot JPEG when we got a 40D to take pictures of family. I wish I had shot RAW because my exposure skills were not what they are now and I would have files that I could really improve upon.

Anyway, it's really worth a few hours to learn DPP. I hate PPing also, but there is some quick and easy adjustments that can really improve some images.

amonline wrote in post #12771291
Not if you're happy with them. DPP just allows you to turn RAWs into Canon JPGs, and then boost/PP them. Shooting JPG can give you a head start. Keep in mind, you can shoot JPG and STILL punch them up. Shooting RAW just means you have to do a little more work to get started -

Not entirely true!
Maybe just a tiny bit more.

You can still edit a Jpeg, but keep in mind that it is a compressed 8 bit Lossy image file format. IOW, it is a raw image that has already been developed via the camera with all the camera settings applied already.
Your image editing abilities with a Jpeg are limited. IOW, it's like scanning a photo print and editing it.

Raw is a Digital Negative, and doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do more work than if you shot jpeg. If you get the exposure right in the camera you may only need to load it into DPP and then convert it to jpeg without doing any additional PP beyond the defaults applied by the Raw converter. But, Shooting in Raw gives you much more flexibility in that you have All the raw uncooked 16 bit lossless image data available to work with and do as you pretty much please if necessary. You might not need the Raw image data, but if you ever do it's nice to have.

@ benneyG19
There are many advantages to shooting Raw vs Jpeg that people will probably argue about for eternity. Shoot and see yourself.
Shoot Raw and Jpeg, and then load them both into DPP and look at the differences.
If by chance you do have to do any amount of editing see what you're able to do with both and which turns out better after editing.


You might find this thread interesting, and might find more answers you're looking for.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=684360