Sooo Confused...... GIMP, Elements, Picasa, DPP, XYZ....

Ok, first, I'm sure that;
A) There are answers to my questions buried somewhere in this thread, but honestly, the more I read, the more cofused I seem to get.
B) Everyone's needs are different, I'm a hobbyist, shooting mostly travel and family stuff
C) My starting point is my biggest problem. I could not understand less about post processing and workflow.
That said, does anyone have any suggestions/recommenda​tions to somone new to post processing?

I am not new to a DSLR, however, except for using Microsoft Picture Manager for a little cropping, brightening and color saturation, I have never done any post processing, and have never shot RAW.

I read somethings here, loaded my included DPP software, and yesterday went to Amazon to purchase Elements 8. After reading the reviews (mostly luke warm) I was more confused than ever, and decided to wait to try and make sure I was buying the "right" software. So for the serious hobbyist, with a decent set of gear (I think), can anyone suggest a set of software and workflow that will at least start me down my learning path, or at least one that works for them and why?

Again, I know there must be several right answers, but I honeslty don't know where to start. So a couple questions I am trying to gain an understaning on are;

1) In the Elements 8 reviews, I read a lot about archiving/cateloging problems with Elements 8, is there a need for such a software and is that what Picasa is supposed to do?
2) Elements 8, as I understand it, is for editing, sharpening etc, is that effectively the same as what GIMP does?
3) DPP is for RAW conversions and not for editing, is that correct?
4) What else am I missing in a workflow?

Thank You to anyone that can shed a little light (no pun intended) on this for me.

Signed,
Dazed and Confused.

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9795367
1) In the Elements 8 reviews, I read a lot about archiving/cateloging problems with Elements 8, is there a need for such a software and is that what Picasa is supposed to do?

Hi, Dazed! I don't use Elements, but don't have any problems with cataloging and archiving. I just use ZoomBrowser to download images into folders arranged by date and after processing save my images to a "pictures" folder that I keep on my desktop. Easy enough if you don't have thousands of images. I have Picasa but don't use it.

Yep. But you can do simple editing/cropping/sharp​ening with DPP alone.

In addition to raw conversion, DPP will do most of the basic editing functions. Cropping, rotation, resizing, exposure/contrast/satu​ration adjustment, noise reduction and sharpening. This may be all you need. Full control of rotation is new with version 3.8.

My basic workflow (if the photo isn't some sort of problem):

- download from CF card (in card reader) with ZoomBrowser/EOS Utility
- open in DPP and adjust exposure, color balance, contrast or curves adjustment, saturation, sharpness, perhaps noise removal.
- in DPP, crop and rotate if necessary
- in DPP, Convert and Save (or batch convert) resizing as desired, selecting quality level appropriate for final use.

This may be all that's needed. If there's more to do I convert to TIFF or JPEG at highest quality (depending on how heavily I want to edit) and load it into Photoshop CS4 or Paint Shop Pro for further work.

-js

Reflections,

I haven't heard about specific problems with the Elements Organizer, but I haven't used Elements for several years (Elements 4). The organizer was fine for adding keywords and having Collections as well as browsing and searching your library.

I agree with what Number Six says about DPP -- use it for your essential processing, whether Raw or jpeg, and if you need more Elements is very capable.

If you find yourself shooting at higher volumes over time, you may want to look at more high-end tools such as Lightroom but at this point you have good tools for the job!

Oh, and greetings from another Vancouverite! Check out these threads -- we have a Portland meetup in a couple weeks, and we have a thread and Google Map site for POTN folks in this region:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=829837

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=836068

Hey there Dazed and Confused Reflections!
Just like these guys said ^^^ the chances are, you don't need to delve any further into the world of post processing much more than you are. And from your opening post, this is why:

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9795367
.....I'm a hobbyist, shooting mostly travel and family stuff....

Unless you're getting paid to takes pictures, be very wary of the "requirement" to add a load of complex (and often quite pricey) software to your gear list.
The more in-depth PP software (for example, the GIMP, which I use) alters at the pixel level. So we're talking massive changes in an image if you want! LightRoom does all sorts of lovely smooth trickery too, but mainly to the image as a whole. I use LightRoom, but Picasa3 and DPP get close to LightRoom until you have - as Tony pointed out - a big workflow.

My advice would be to relax about the PP side of dSLR photography for now. Use Picasa3 and DPP for cropping, simple adjustments to brightness, contrast, cataloging, etc., and while you're doing that, start to study what the heck the other stuff can do. There's a LOT of overlap, and for me, freeware does the job very nicely, which keeps the modest profits I make from photography (my side business) in my pocket

Number Six, Tony, Skydog...... A HUGE Thank You! That makes perfect sense to me now, and has me breathing in a quasi normal rythum again. I was not, and am not against buying software as needed, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't buying either the "wrong" thing, or, and this was really my main concern, software that would make my learning curve harder than it has to be.

So, I'll start with the included software and take a look at some of the capabilities of the freeware available. And once I feel I need more tools in the rack, I'll at least know what I should be looking for.

Anyway, very helpful and just the calibration I needed. Like I said, with what I already have invested in gear, spending some more, if needed, is the least of my worries. So off to explore with the toolset at hand.

Tony, I lied, I'm not from Vancouver, but I figured "who would know where Battle Ground Washington is?" But really glad to know that team POTN has a local presence. I'll check out the links you provided, and hope to see you and others POTN'ers at some of the get togethers. Gff to change my location and to start my post processing edumacation.

Thanks Again,
Tim

I hope we could help some!

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9796885
Tony, I lied, I'm not from Vancouver, but I figured "who would know where Battle Ground Washington is?" But really glad to know that team POTN has a local presence. I'll check out the links you provided, and hope to see you and others POTN'ers at some of the get togethers. Gff to change my location and to start my post processing edumacation.

Thanks Again,
Tim

Hey, did we have this conversation a bit ago? I remember someone mentioning that they lived in Battle Ground when the Location mentioned Vancouver and it might have been you!

Anyway, I think this may be a good year for getting interest in meetups. At least I've been getting motivated!

tonylong wrote in post #9796924
I hope we could help some!



Hey, did we have this conversation a bit ago? I remember someone mentioning that they lived in Battle Ground when the Location mentioned Vancouver and it might have been you!

Anyway, I think this may be a good year for getting interest in meetups. At least I've been getting motivated!

Yeah, that sounds like a conversation I had with someone here.... so must have been me.

Well, I correctly listed now, but still happy to find another local. Thanks again Tony/all.

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9796885
Tony, I lied, I'm not from Vancouver, but I figured "who would know where Battle Ground Washington is?"

Hey! I know where Battle Ground is! (Grew up in Portland before I came to San Francisco to become a Beatnik.)

Hmmm. How many people even remember what a Beatnik was? Sigh...

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9796885
Number Six, Tony, Skydog...... A HUGE Thank You! That makes perfect sense to me now, and has me breathing in a quasi normal rhythm again....

You're very welcome.
And if you want to try something that's pretty instinctive for tweaking and resizing images, have a look at FastStone here -> freeware safe download
When you double click on an image, it opens it into a full screen mode automatically (no boarders at all!) so you can really see it clearly.
Moving the cursor to the top, left, right and bottom edges of the screen opens boxes for editing.
The edits start out quite simple, but you can do more and more, all with previews, including resizing and "save as" with the correct file size displayed before you save = ideal for POTN where the 150KB limit can be fiddly to squeeze into unless you can pre-check the file size before saving!
Have a look...
I also use FastStone for batch processing (HERE) with various watermarks (English and Japanese) which I created in the GIMP.
All freeware, all good stuff, and all free of adware, bugs, Spyware, etc., as far as I've been able to detect!

Catch you in the threads....
Simon

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9797502
Yeah, that sounds like a conversation I had with someone here.... so must have been me.

Well, I correctly listed now, but still happy to find another local. Thanks again Tony/all.

Hey, subscribe to those thread to keep up-to-date!

number six wrote in post #9797874
Hey! I know where Battle Ground is! (Grew up in Portland before I came to San Francisco to become a Beatnik.)

Hmmm. How many people even remember what a Beatnik was? Sigh...

Beatniks? Weren't they that outfit that had to flee back to the Village because Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters drove them out of California?

Hey guys, thought I'd check back in to say "Thanks Again".

Have had a chance to goof with some post processing, and can't believe it took me so long to realize the strengths of doing that. Obviously I have a ton to learn, but even with basic steps in free software, I can't believe the different PP can make.

Example;

My wife's father passed away recently. No one else wanted the several thousand family slides, so my wife took them. After spending week picking out the 100 or so best family photo. Faded and discolored, I scanned, converted to jpg's and then worked them though some basic PP. I took photos that looked beyond repair, and made very decent photos out of them. Just printed them out in book form, and they are ready to distribute back to her siblings. I think all will be very surpised at the saved family history.

Also working through a couple thousand jpg photos from my 10D. The softness and lack of saturation I alwasy hated is now gone, and photos that were poorly exposed look quite good now. I had an offer from someone who wanted to buy the 10D, but suddenly it is a great 3rd string camera...

Started shooting in RAW, man that gives me a lot more latitude. Not news to anyone else here, but wanted to acknowledge and say thanks.

Tim