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Technical Question Your choice of RAW processing software? Measures of RAW processing

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
What are your “go to” programs?

When and why?

Did you discover test comparisons with common images, you did it yourself or went with the opinions of those you respect?

.......Has Imatest, or any other such authority, devised an algorithm for rating the quality of RAW processing, or are we only left with visual impressions and opinions?


Asher
 
I started out beta testing for Pixmantec's RawShooter. When Adobe was developing Lightroom, they bought Pixmantec and brought on board some of the RawShooter beta team.

I have been using Lightroom ever since.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I started out beta testing for Pixmantec's RawShooter. When Adobe was developing Lightroom, they bought Pixmantec and brought on board some of the RawShooter beta team.

I have been using Lightroom ever since.

I have used Phase One Capture One for cataloging and then Capture One for RAW processing until I discovered that Capture One didn’t process Fuji GFX 50 S files!

Now I use Adobe Camera RAW in Photoshop CC. I have never tried Lightroom as Photoshop “works” and I didn’t see the point of using a software that didn’t have layers!

However, now my Catalog files in Media Pro are too big and unstable, so I am considering Lightroom Classic CC for cataloging.

Can’t see how one ingest files. In Media Pro, it was easy, just drag and drop!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
LR allows to keyword - like Camera Raw - to make Collections and "prepare" the images to CR.
If we open a file in CR after adjusting it in LR these adjustments are there. And, using Smart Objects - in CC - in a big bonus at the cost of much weight...

I use both and I am used both. Perhaps these days I have a little mess on the Keywords... Shame on me !

But if I want to see a photo of me - just as example - LR picks those taken when I was 2 years old and that one shot a few moments ago !
Good ! I like that !

"Tartu" is the dog. Perhaps two years old...

i-jLMmMFf-X3.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
LR allows to keyword - like Camera Raw - to make Collections and "prepare" the images to CR.
If we open a file in CR after adjusting it in LR these adjustments are there. And, using Smart Objects - in CC - in a big bonus at the cost of much weight...

I use both and I am used both. Perhaps these days I have a little mess on the Keywords... Shame on me !

But if I want to see a photo of me - just as example - LR picks those taken when I was 2 years old and that one shot a few moments ago !
Good ! I like that !

"Tartu" is the dog. Perhaps two years old...

i-jLMmMFf-X3.jpg

Great kid! Any resemblance to your son?

Asher
 

Alain Pré

New member
Since Capture NX (from Nikon) was abandoned, I looked for a new software.
After some personal tests and some tips from friends, I finally chose Capture One for two reasons:
- the quality of the color rendering
- The possibility of working without catalog

I also had the opportunity to use the tethered mode, to control the camera from the software. In the studio it's really great.

I uploaded some tutorials about Capture One, especially for beginners.

--
Alain - Portfolio
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Since Capture NX (from Nikon) was abandoned, I looked for a new software.
After some personal tests and some tips from friends, I finally chose Capture One for two reasons:
- the quality of the color rendering
- The possibility of working without catalog

I also had the opportunity to use the tethered mode, to control the camera from the software. In the studio it's really great.

I uploaded some tutorials about Capture One, especially for beginners.

--
Alain - Portfolio

Alain,

I am suitably impressed by your beautiful tutorials, albeit not in my mother tongue, English! Did I miss a button for language choice. I enjoy speaking french and it’s beautiful to read and discover “N&B”. I understand but wish it was in English too!

Asher
 

Greg Thomason

New member
I use Capture One at during capture, Adobe RAW and PS during post processing. The ease of workflow and having all the tools I need are the reasons why.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I use Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC, and also FastRawViewer for image evaluation. I have just written an account of this, touching on various other alternatives "A RAW Workflow".

Murray,

Fabulous to have the link, really a timely gift for us.

But it’s even more wonderful to have you back. I thought you sold your studio and ent on a cruise!

Asher
 
Asher,

I never had a studio but I've been doing lots of overseas travel in the last eight years. Last trip (late September to early November) was to Uzbekistan, Istanbul, Athens, Thira, Crete, Andalusia, Barcelona, Oregon and Washington.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Asher,

I never had a studio but I've been doing lots of overseas travel in the last eight years. Last trip (late September to early November) was to Uzbekistan, Istanbul, Athens, Thira, Crete, Andalusia, Barcelona, Oregon and Washington.

....Or was it a store front?

But for sure you could have saved Australia a lot of money in the diplomatic front by serving as their ”Ambassador at large”!

What camera gear did you choose to take with? It’s always interesting to learn what professional photographers take with them on vacation.

You must have a trove of photos to share? I am surprised you could get in so many countries in just a few months! Was this a prearranged Odyssey by a tour company or you just drew your own lines on the map?

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
....and Murray,

Back to processing pictures, have you looked at the new Capture One 12 and their application of luminance editing with a very handy graphic interface.

There used to be several small software start up companies that did the same thing - selections by luminance and chroma!
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Murray,

I Have looked at your adventurous guide to developing images.

It provides:

  • Great links to further comparisons of various RAW processors

  • A remarkably segregation of available software packages as either Lightroom-like or Photoshop-like

  • The special value of Lightroom Classic CC over lesser versions

  • Time-saving made by first selecting the best images by looking at the histogram of the RAW images, only obtainable using the bargain-priced RAW image viewer.

  • In addition a detailed workflow explained and the whole result is exemplary.


I would highly recommend this article to any enthusiast to professional looking for ways to save time getting to their best output! For sure you too will find more than a few gems relevant to your own workflow.

Thanks again, Murray! Kudos for the excellent work and sharing it so freely!

Asher
 
What camera gear did you choose to take with? It’s always interesting to learn what professional photographers take with them on vacation.

First, I'm not a commercial photographer. I'm an amateur photographer who aspires to attain and maintain professional quality - though I did work on salary as a photographer for three months in 1987 touring Australia and photographing lighthouses.

I can answer your question about what I take on trips accurately because I always create a spreadsheet to determine baggage and carry-on weights. I am mainly moving from Nikon to Fuji for travel, though for a wildlife trip I would probably still take Nikon.

For my 2015 trip to Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Atacama I mainly took Nikon. However, I wanted to shoot infrared in Madagascar and my infrared body is a Fuji so I also took an additional Fuji body for street photography. For Nikon I had D3s, D800, 14-24mm f2.8, Sigma 35mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, Sigma 180mm f2.8 macro, 300mm f2.8, TC14E and TC20E III. For Fuji I took X-E2 IR, X-T1, 14mm f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 and X100s. My most used lens was 300mm f2.8 then 180mm f2.8.

For my recent trip to Uzbekistan, Istanbul, Athens, Thira, Crete, Andalusia, Barcelona, Oregon and Washington I took entirely Fuji gear: Two X-T2s, X-E2 IR (which this time I didn't use), Samyang 8mm f2.8 fisheye, 10-24mm f4, 23mm f2, 35mm f1.4, 56mm f1.2, 80mm f2.8 macro, 100-400 f4.5-5.6 and 1.4x TC. My most used lenses were 10-24mm and 100-400mm (fairly equal) and then 80mm macro.

You must have a trove of photos to share? I am surprised you could get in so many countries in just a few months! Was this a prearranged Odyssey by a tour company or you just drew your own lines on the map?

I took 8,000 exposures altogether, or 6,500 excluding partial duplicates from bracketing for exposure or focus or panorama (though not many panorama this time). I have so far posted 380 of these in 16 posts on my blog. These are in temporary posts usually with captions but no comments. I will return later and make more detailed posts with more images and explanations of historical and other context. Here a links to those posts.

In all on my blog I have 900 posts, 14,000 images and 335,000 words. Here is a page of my expeditions and you can click through to posts.

We spent 10 days in Uzbekistan, 2 or 3 in Istanbul, Athens and Thira, 9 in Crete, 4 in Andalusia, 3 in Barcelona and 10 in Oregon and Washington (plus some travel days). Initially the targets were Russia, Uzbekistan and Portland, Oregon, but the photographic tour in places like the Altai Mountains in Siberia did not come off. Portland was because my partner Jools was attending a convention there. Uzbekistan was a custom tour but everything else I organised myself, including renting a car in Thira, Crete, Andalusia and the US. For those countries, I had routes preprogrammed into my car GPS, including accommodation, photographic destinations and sometimes restaurants.
 
....and Murray,
Back to processing pictures, have you looked at the new Capture One 12 and their application of luminance editing with a very handy graphic interface.

There used to be several small software start up companies that did the same thing - selections by luminance and chroma!

No, I hadn't and I can see it could be powerful and useful. Lightroom has a little of that in their new range mask.

I'm currently coming to grips with Luminosity masking in Photoshop using TK Panel. There's a review of different add-on programs here including a 1hr 40mins video (!).
 
Murray,

I Have looked at your adventurous guide to developing images.
It provides:
  • Great links to further comparisons of various RAW processors
  • A remarkably segregation of available software packages as either Lightroom-like or Photoshop-like
  • The special value of Lightroom Classic CC over lesser versions
  • Time-saving made by first selecting the best images by looking at the histogram of the RAW images, only obtainable using the bargain-priced RAW image viewer.
  • In addition a detailed workflow explained and the whole result is exemplary.

I would highly recommend this article to any enthusiast to professional looking for ways to save time getting to their best output! For sure you too will find more than a few gems relevant to your own workflow.
Thanks again, Murray! Kudos for the excellent work and sharing it so freely!

Asher

Asher

Thank you very much. I do appreciate your appreciation.
 
I have extensively updated the article with new sections on:
  • RAW conversion of Fuji Files
  • Plug-Ins
  • Alternative RAW Processors
  • Capture One
  • Luminosity Masking
  • Switching RAW Processors
  • Application Mortality
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I have extensively updated the article with new sections on:
  • RAW conversion of Fuji Files
  • Plug-Ins
  • Alternative RAW Processors
  • Capture One
  • Luminosity Masking
  • Switching RAW Processors
  • Application Mortality

Murray,

Thanks again for this generous sharing of your expertise. It’s hard for most folk to invest such a Herculean effort and simmer down all the facts to usable guides.

I need to allocate time to your revision and I know it will pay off for me handsomly, especially to define for me the current role of the mature Capture One at its Version 12!

What are the enticements to switch back, if you gave up on Capture One way back for Lightroom?

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Murray,

I would love your take on Capture One, (version 12), implementation of Luminosity masking and comparing it to TK panels. Or do I have to go through the 90 minutes of the video in your link? ?

Asher
 
What are the enticements to switch back, if you gave up on Capture One way back for Lightroom?

Asher

For me the main benefits of Capture One are the greater power in the Colour Editor, clarity & structure and regional control with accurate masking. It currently seems to me that Lightroom may be faster at processing many images but that may be that I do not yet know Capture One well enough. It definitely takes time to come to terms with Capture One if you haven't used it before and I expect to retain Lightroom and Photoshop because they both have capabilities not in Capture One.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Perhaps a better link is for the relevant page of TK Actions, which I use. (I have added a few more links in the article). Capture One luminosity masking is simple and powerful but TK Actions in Photoshop is both much more complex and much more powerful.

I've been using TK Actions in a largely ad hoc manner for some months and was starting to apply myself to properly understand it when your comment on luminosity masking in Capture One led me to assess that and then Capture One itself. When I sufficiently understand Capture One and have a new developing process, I'll come back to the videos I still have to complete for TK Actions and assess to what extent I am now likely to use it.

For TK, what is the easier entrance learning path for the totally novice user.

Asher
 
Murray,

I would love your take on Capture One, (version 12), implementation of Luminosity masking and comparing it to TK panels. Or do I have to go through the 90 minutes of the video in your link? ?

Asher

Perhaps a better link is for the relevant page of TK Actions, which I use. (I have added a few more links in the article). Capture One luminosity masking is simple and powerful but TK Actions in Photoshop is both much more complex and much more powerful.

I've been using TK Actions in a largely ad hoc manner for some months and was starting to apply myself to properly understand it when your comment on luminosity masking in Capture One led me to assess that and then Capture One itself. When I sufficiently understand Capture One and have a new developing process, I'll come back to the videos I still have to complete for TK Actions and assess to what extent I am now likely to use it.
 
For TK, what is the easier entrance learning path for the totally novice user.

Asher

There are various videos available on the web that you can watch before you want to purchase it or not.

Then you subscribe to TK Actions, you get a suite of 22 how-to videos. I used them enough to get going and then used it to process some images. As I needed to know more about specific techniques, I'd return to those videos.

Then there is also a series of case-example videos. I bought those later to get a sense of workflow and possibilities and had gone through one of the three sets before I was diverted to Capture One. I could have saved some money had I bought them all as a package at the start. You can get started fairly quickly but it is fairly complex so it does take some time and some practice to absorb.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Murray,

There was a decade ago a RAW process application, using luminosity and hue, I had intended to buy. The interface was via a histogram/curve that one dragged around. I wish I could recall the name but it escapes me!

I thought it would revolutionize everythingcand repkace Photoshop!

Now I don’t see any traces of it!

Asher
 
There have been a few of those, most of whom I don't now remember. Lightzone is one that springs to mind. It was originally a commercial product and survives as open source freeware.
 
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