Noise Ninja Output - TIF or JPG

I shoot everything in RAW (now that I can). I recently shot some photos of a school event that my nephew participated in. A lot of the photos were shot at low light / high ISO (about 100 frames at H (ISO 3200)). I am using Noise Ninja 2 to process the RAW files. I selected JPG output format out of habit. The batch processor has been running for about an hour and I'm starting to wonder if I should had created TIF's instead. Since I keep my RAW files, is there any reason to use the TIF format? Especially for photos that are more "family album shots" than something that could or would be sold.

The TIF's are HUGE... that's why I ask.

I believe you want to run NN before you've done any other processing. Saving as TIF out of NN preserves more data than jpg for your other PS work.

??? Thanks but NN won't read RAW files so I am batch processing the JPG's that CS2 gives me when I open the CRW's.

If you are using the pro version, it will handle .psd or .tif files. I convert Raw to .psd or .tif to preserve maximum data before PS work.

I need to bone up on workflow. I think I'm still stuck in film mode and I feel like I am spinning my wheels when it comes to post processing. I have the pro version of NN (just licensed it this morning) however I save my my RAW files as JPG's when I open them in CS2. I still have my RAW files but the more I read the more that I realize that a good image can be made better and a great image can be ruined with post processing. Lot's to learn. Thanks for your replies.

When I finish working in RAW, I'll open the result in CS2 directly from the RAW converter without first saving the interim step as a jpg or tiff. Once in CS2, the first thing I do is bring up the NN plugin and process for noise. Then, if I need to save at some point before completing the output phase, I'll save as a psd. This way I know my saving won't lose too many valuable pixels.

My "normal" workflow for large batches of high ISO shots is as follows:
1)With Raw Shooter Premium, adjust exposure, white balance, contrast, straighten & crop, convert to TIFF.
2)Batch process with Noise Ninja, output TIFF.
3)Batch resize (if needed), then sharpen with Paint Shop Pro, save as JPEG (CS2 will work for this, also).

Regardless of software, keep in mind three principles:
1)Do as much work as possible with as much data as possible - Keep in TIFF format until you're done.
2)Do noise reduction as early in the process as feasible
3)Do sharpening last.

To save disk space in the long run, you can delete the TIFF files after you're done, as long as you save the adjustments done with your RAW converter so you can recreate them if needed.

If this bogs down your computer, you may want to add more RAM or consider upgrading to a faster processor chip.

Curtis, et al... thanks for the response. I have evolved to doing this:

(1) Open RAW file with CS2 and adjust per your step 1. Save as PSD.
(2) Process with Noise Ninja, one at a time, from inside CS2
(3) Sharpening and other processing is done with CS Pro
(4) Crop as needed in CS2. Save as PSD

Why do you use TIFF files vs PSD? Is there a benefit to TIFF that you don't get with PSD?

I've got a full Gig of RAM and a 2Gig processor so I'm fine there unless I open 50 or 60 RAW files. I can usually open 30 files in CS2 without a lot of "slowage".

I should probably batch process in NN to speed the process up. "One at a timing it" is kind of slow. I'm getting better at making myself throw the trash away. It's hard for me to throw an image away. Even if it's a total blur or blown out. I've got a 75Gb USB drive for storage and I used to think that was plenty... I reckon not now that I've got the 1Ds MKII...

Thanks for your response.

I don't think there's anything wrong with saving a PSD file vs. a TIFF. Of course, I don't see an advantage to it, either, unless it's a multi-layer file.

I typically process 300 to 400 theatre shots at a time, and batch processing makes it possible for me to turn them around quickly. If you read enough about workflows, you'll reach the conclusion that there's no singe "right" way to do it. I like the fact that everything I do to individual files is accomplished early in the processes, and the rest is fairly automated. Straightening and cropping with the RAW converter results in reduced file sizes (since some of the pixels have been removed) throughout the rest of the workflow, which will speed the batch processing a little.