Best RAW converter

I know there are about thousands of posts about this already, but i didnt seem to find any good answer.

Everybodys saying something different, but what i want to know is, is there a better tool to get more out of highlights/darks than in lightroom? Also, i have to export it first if i want to edit it in photoshop, which is very unpractical.

I like the catalogue style editing for production-like work, eg. for a client work. But if i want to do creative work for myself, i feel like i need photoshop. But i cant open CR2 in PS..

What solutions are around?

Essentially, i just want Lightroom to have ability for complex masks, selections and enhanced color tools like color balancing like in PS. Does Capture One or any other Raw software supports this? Or do i need a raw plugin for PS?

PS already has a raw plugin - Adobe Camera Raw. But you won't like it, it's the same raw processor as in LightRoom.

Your problem is that some of the editing you want to do just isn't easy with raw images (or even possible for some things). There are no raw processors that will also do complex, multi-layer, processing without converting the image to a bitmap (jpeg, tiff, psd, etc).

So (almost) everybody uses the same workflow - process the raw data (DPP, LR, ACR, DxO, C1, etc), export a bitmap produced from the processed raw into an image editor (PS, PPS, PSE, etc), do complicated processing, export a final bitmap.

hollis_f wrote in post #17145716
PS already has a raw plugin - Adobe Camera Raw. But you won't like it, it's the same raw processor as in LightRoom.

Your problem is that some of the editing you want to do just isn't easy with raw images (or even possible for some things). There are no raw processors that will also do complex, multi-layer, processing without converting the image to a bitmap (jpeg, tiff, psd, etc).

So (almost) everybody uses the same workflow - process the raw data (DPP, LR, ACR, DxO, C1, etc), export a bitmap produced from the processed raw into an image editor (PS, PPS, PSE, etc), do complicated processing, export a final bitmap.

So what is the best way of exporting my RAW to a format which PS can read? And how do I do that in light room to lose as less quality and informations as possible? (Especially color and tones, maybe exporting as 16 bit is possible?) I have no clue please guide me so i can have the least loss in Photoshop, because i want to do high qquality work on a project im doing right now...

I use Canon's DPP to convert my RAW images into TIFF's for processing in Photoshop. I do no processing in DPP whatsoever.

davidfarina wrote in post #17145755
So what is the best way of exporting my RAW to a format which PS can read? And how do I do that in light room to lose as less quality and informations as possible? (Especially color and tones, maybe exporting as 16 bit is possible?) I have no clue please guide me so i can have the least loss in Photoshop, because i want to do high qquality work on a project im doing right now...

The answer to your question is ... it depends on your image and what you want to do with it. It also depends on the depth of understanding you have with respect to color space and your use of it.

Exporting a 16 bit TIFF in ProPhotoRGB from LR will give your file the most latitude in post, but may be overkill for the intended purpose. You can do this by selecting the image in LR and choosing Photo > Edit In... and setting up PS as the external editor. Here you can set the bit depth and color space of the rendered image.

You can convert the raw file directly into PS with the Adobe Camera Raw module of PS. Use the "Open" menu or just drop a raw file on the PS icon or workspace and the ACR interface should open - the controls and options should look familiar - LR is based on ACR. You can control the output from ACR into PS by clicking on the little blue hyperlink under the image preview - clicking on this will take you to the export options where you can set the bit depth and color space into which you are rendering the raw file. In general, you want to render into the working space you have set up for PS. The advantage of this approach (ACR versus LR) is that you can render your raw file into a Smart Object in PS. The Smart Object nature of the rendered raw file will permit you to perform edits in PS but retains the ability to revisit your raw conversion, should you need to change the conversion settings.

kirk

kirkt wrote in post #17145815
The answer to your question is ... it depends on your image and what you want to do with it. It also depends on the depth of understanding you have with respect to color space and your use of it.

Exporting a 16 bit TIFF in ProPhotoRGB from LR will give your file the most latitude in post, but may be overkill for the intended purpose. You can do this by selecting the image in LR and choosing Photo > Edit In... and setting up PS as the external editor. Here you can set the bit depth and color space of the rendered image.

You can convert the raw file directly into PS with the Adobe Camera Raw module of PS. Use the "Open" menu or just drop a raw file on the PS icon or workspace and the ACR interface should open - the controls and options should look familiar - LR is based on ACR. You can control the output from ACR into PS by clicking on the little blue hyperlink under the image preview - clicking on this will take you to the export options where you can set the bit depth and color space into which you are rendering the raw file. In general, you want to render into the working space you have set up for PS. The advantage of this approach (ACR versus LR) is that you can render your raw file into a Smart Object in PS. The Smart Object nature of the rendered raw file will permit you to perform edits in PS but retains the ability to revisit your raw conversion, should you need to change the conversion settings.

kirk

The bold statement was exactly what i neede

Since using Photoshop was my job, and having learned everything about colors and typography, im really not a beginner. But ive never dived that deep into RAW editing. I edited everything in LR and now and then exported it to PS to make further editing. But in the end the workflow felt really like its not the best way to do it. Because when i made hundreds of changes in PS and then realize i need to change something in the raw i have to do all over. Maybe smart object helps. Thanks for the suggestions!

When exporting to PS I prefer to export as a PSD rather than TIFF. No real reason though. Is there a good reason not to do so?

If you have current versions of BOTH LR and PS, or at least concurrent if you are using older versions, then you can also open as a smart object into PS from LR. One important thing to consider when using Edit in PS from LR is the system is designed so that you send the image as a bitmap to PS, and using 16 bit ProPhotoRGB which is the closest way to match the internal working of LR, you should then simply use the save command when you have finished editing the image in PS. This will then create the PSD or TIFF file, which ever option you chose, and also import it back into LR stacked next to the original RAW file.

Be aware that using a smart object allows you to go back and change the RAW file afterwards, but it dose so in the ACR interface not the LR one. So if you need to make changes you might need to make them both in the LR version of the RAW file, as well as the version embedded in your PSD/TIFF file.

If you do not have concurrent versions of LR and ACR/PS then the best option when exporting from LR to PS is to use the Render in LR option. This will have LR correctly render the image and create the PSD/TIFF file first, with LR again importing it into the library stacked with the original. Then the file is opened in PS. Again you should simply save the file when you are finished editing. Unfortunately you cannot open as a smart object in this instance.

I have to use the render in LR option as I am using LR4.4 and PS5. In the cases where I have had to rework a RAW and reprocess the image as a PSD there are some workrounds that might make things easier. It is really easy to copy over adjustment layers, and layer masks from one file to another. Of course it won't help where you have to do lots of cloning. You can though sometimes get away with making some changes to the PSD/TIFF files back in LR, and that also may be a better option where it is only a small change. This is one of the reasons for using 16 bit and ProPhotoRGB for the files. For example I always do my monochrome conversions in LR, even if that is after I have worked on the file in PS. I like the LR (ACR will also do this) channel mixing as it offers eight channels instead of the six in the PS channel mixer/Black and White tools.

HTH

Alan