Capture 1 vs Photoshop CS2 vs Digital Photo Professional for RAW processing

Curious...out of those three, which one is best for post processing camera RAW? I got to see Capture 1 in action recently, and I was EXTREMELY impressed. How do the others compare?

Thanks

If you liked C1, then try RSP or RSE.

RSP or RSE? I apologize for my ignorance, but could you fill me in on these acronyms?

RAW Shooter Essentials (Free) and RAW Shooter Pro ($99). http://www.pixmantec.c​om

I *used* to use C1. Haven't touched it since RSP came out, and I haven't looked back. I basically threw out about $150 worth of C1 (thanks to paying for upgrades) and bought RSP within 20 minutes of using the trial download. I got my money's worth out of C1, but I'll take RSP any day.

Excellent advice, and I appreciate it. But, I should have mentioned before that I'm looking for programs that are compatible with Mac OSX. I'm trying to transition to using my Mac-only rather than an XP machine (just hard to go back to XP once you've seen the light of OSX).

Only if they were available for OSX. Thanks though

In that case, I think either C1 or ACR beat DPP. DPP is capable, and free, but the workflow of the others is much better. Try them - they are wildly different in their workflow. ACR has a few extra features and may very well stay ahead of C1 since C1 is a little slow on upkeep it seems.The price difference is also vastly different - either free (if you already own PS) or $600 vs $129 I think for C1. Big difference in price.

One more time for the sake of my ignorance...ACR?

ACR is Adobe Camera RAW - it's the RAW editor which comes with CS or CS2.


Edit: We need an Abbreviations sticky just for you, Brandt.

adobe camera raw


( i really like ACR w/ Bridge)

And I can't stand it.

Funny how that works, eh? I love working the C1 / RSP workflow, and hate it whenever I accidentally start up Bridge, and really don't like the ACR workflow at all.

Which is why I say: Try them both. A lot of RAW editing is workflow, in my opinion, and not so much how any of their default settings work. Try them, use them, see how they fit you.

I have C1, RS Pro, BreezeBrowser, DPP and the ACR. I never use ACR...just don't like the flow. What I use otherwsie depends on what I want to achieve, as the different apps render somewhat different results. For instance, I just did a small shoot and could not get the white balance right in either C1 or RS Pro, even with a white card in the image. But, went to DPP and Bingo!...right on the money. I guess I don't use BB a lot, either.

Scottes wrote:
And I can't stand it.

What do you use to catalog?

I've used C1 since the Digital Rebel version, and haven't found anything better. I can go through 40-50 images in half an hour or less. I also think their sharpening algorithm is way underrated. I tried Raw Shooter, but didn't like the output. Otherwise comparble to C1. I have CS but never use ACR; it just seems limited. I'm liking DPP more and more though. If it just had better batch processing... and the price is sure good.

You can also try SILKYPIX.

http://www.isl.co.jp/S​ILKYPIX/english/downlo​ad/

There are versions both for windows and mac and It has a freemode.
The workflow can be improved but the quality of produced pictures are quite impressive.
In particular, the colors are the most accurate I have never seen.

iMatch.