What software for processing Raw

[Don Hoey]

Attatched is a grahic ( NX 1 ) showing the options available in NX depending on file format.

A series of stitched screen grabs show the options in LCH and Levels ( NX 2 ). I thought I would show this as both of these are quite different and more controllable than in CS.

Too much to go into here but other than Control Points are :

Available options for ALL file types includes - USER SELECTED AREA ADJUSTMENTS - Curves, LCH, Contrast/brightness, Saturation/warmth, Colour balance, Colour booster, Noise reduction, Sharpness and blurr. ........ probably missed something out.

I will post info in the NX thread when I have time.

Don

[Birdsnapper]

Originally Posted by daedal

Just in case other Canon users are looking at this, I find Canon DPP 3 excellent and does, eg, all Clive says Lightroom does; it is 95% intuitive, so may not suit untintuitive types, I suppose Photoshop must actually suit somebody, and I do sometimes finish off in PSE4 to level up or host FocusMagic or NeatImage plug-ins where Layers are useful, about all that is lacking in DPP.

RSE doesn't need intuition: it has sliders that have titles such as 'Exposure Compensation' and 'Shadow Contrast'. Anyone who can read can use RSE straight away. It saves as JPEG and TIFF.

[Leif]

Originally Posted by Don Hoey

I have no experience of CS3 but I have CS2. Quick check on prices at WHE and CS3 £569 , NX £119.

Just in case someone is interested, I picked up a brand new shrink wrapped copy of PS CS2 for £250 from FleaBay. IMO it is well worth it. It has some advantages such as nice integration with noise reduction tools, a better sharpening algorithm, and so on.

I was really cheesed off that Nikon charged so much to upgrade from NC4 to NX (originally £50) and now you have to pay the full whack. However, it is currently free with some Nikon cameras.

[Christine]

Has anyone tried www.rawtherapee.com ? There is a http in the address.Someone posted the link on BF ,I had a quick look at the site.Think it is American,free to download,but donations are accepted.Just wondered if anyone had heard of this prog ,or had tried it?.

[nirofo]

Why use inferior tools when Capture NX and Photoshop are available? If cost is the problem then go for Photoshop Elements 5 with the updated RAW file (v4.1). It does all you need and more!

nirofo.

[greenbunion]

Interesting that I seem to be the only Aperture user. I presume that is because I use a Mac. Among its many features, Aperture works with RAW images natively throughout the application. There is no intermediate conversion process and the application uses a nondestructive image-processing engine, which leaves the original image untouched. (I cribbed that off a web-site!) It is a fantastic product that has some very powerful tools.
The highlight/lowlight tool particularly is way-ahead of any other I have tried, including CS3. It can perform excellent B/W conversions and tints as well.

[Leif]

Originally Posted by nirofo

Why use inferior tools when Capture NX and Photoshop are available? If cost is the problem then go for Photoshop Elements 5 with the updated RAW file (v4.1). It does all you need and more!

nirofo.

Couldn't agree more.