Beginner Canon Digital Photo Professional vs Lightroom queries

Craigus

Craigus

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Hi all, please excuse if this is covered elsewhere, I did do a search but nothing too recent came up.

I've recently purchased a Canon 1200D and am keen to start shooting in RAW and learning the ropes of post processing. As I bought the Canon new I've installed Digital Photo Professional and had a little play with it. I really don't know how to judge whether this software is any good as A) I've never used software like it before and B) I'm new to photography in general.

I intend to follow some tutorials etc online but really after some first hand experience from people. Have many of you used DPP in the past? How does it compare to something such as Lightroom (which from what I've read is the best and/or the most used)? Why or how is Lightroom better in layman's terms? Will I be limited in any way if I stick to DPP?

I realise much of this is probably personal preference to an extent, but I'm just looking for some general advice. You can read reviews all day long but many of them are a bit in depth for me at this point - maybe that in itself has answered my question!

Thanks
 
DPP allows you to make all the necessary adjustments to RAW files (white balance, lens compensation, exposure, contrast, sharpening, noise reduction, etc., etc.) As such, it's fit for purpose. In general, using DPP you have to process each file one at a time, I don't think it has any tools to allow you to say, copy development changes you made to one RAW file and apply them to 20 others, or select 15 files and make one change to all of them at once.

Also, DPP does have any significant cataloguing functionality, for managing a large collection of images.

DPP for me, had quite a steep learning curve, it wasn't very intuitive.

Lightroom isn't that intuitive either, but it was better than DPP (for me). Lightroom can make all the adjustments that DPP can, but also allows you to make other more subtle adjustments (actual 'pixel' modifications in some instances, such as cloning items out in a limited way). For me though, the key with Lightroom is that it is designed around workflows. You can build presets of everything, you can adjust lots of images at once, you can create virtual copies to compare different kinds of edits, and importantly, it has a powerful catalogue function. You can categorise images in multiple ways using multiple different sets of tools which match your own workflow, build keyword hierarchies, and essentially, create a single massive library of all your work.

There are other tools which do both of these things - there are free RAW processors (RawTherapee is one), there are other paid RAW processors (Capture One for example), and there are tools which allow you to catalogue images, but for me, Lightroom brings it all together into a single place.

Once you understand what you can do to a RAW image, and what effect each change has, then any of the tools are capable of allowing you to do that. Which one you find easiest to learn on is a matter of taste, but the key is understanding what contrast, clarity, exposure, shadows, the histogram, etc., etc. are in terms of the RAW image and then seeing how your chosen RAW processor lets you make those changes.

I chose Lightroom for the catalogue and because there are a lot of online tutorials (especially good free ones from Julieanne Kost here http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html) and it suits my workflow. DPP is capable, Lightroom and Capture One allow you to be more efficient and more refined.
 
From my perspective, I find DPP the slightly better for the RAW conversion.

However - and this is a BIG however, I wouldn't use it unless I also had access to photoshop (or elements). DPP is quite basic compared to LR in the range of adjustments that can be made, and you need to finish the shot off elsewhere. Lightroom has more options and if you're only going to learn one piece of software, then I'd recommend that.

My photos are often high ISO shots, and DPP (in my opinion) gives just that little extra as it is designed specifically to work with canon cameras, whereas LR is more of a catch-all. Still, I know quite a few top level pro's who get fantastic high ISO IQ using LR, so it can be done.

A lot depends upon how much time and effort you're prepared to put in at the learning stage, and the type of shots you take to which one you get. When you first start learning RAW processing, it seems like there is a mountain to learn, but when you break it down logically, it's not that bad at all.

Mike
 
Thank you both for your responses, very helpful information. Think I'll stick with DPP for now whilst I am learning, I'm sure there will be a lot of transferable skills that come from just learning about photography.

Believe it or not I have only just discovered the whole Adobe Cloud thing, so that makes it a bit more accessible in a way for me. Thanks again.
 
EightBitTony said:
I don't think it has any tools to allow you to say, copy development changes you made to one RAW file and apply them to 20 others, or select 15 files and make one change to all of them at once.
Click to expand...

They call it saving - applying a "recipe" well it was last time I looked as I too now use LR mainly for it's cataloging capabilities which alone makes the switch worth it for me.

DPP is perfectly good, but like all this type of software it's usefulness probably depend more on the amount of time you can devote to getting familiar with it.

HTH

David
 
EightBitTony said:
DPP allows you to make all the necessary adjustments to RAW files (white balance, lens compensation, exposure, contrast, sharpening, noise reduction, etc., etc.) As such, it's fit for purpose. In general, using DPP you have to process each file one at a time, I don't think it has any tools to allow you to say, copy development changes you made to one RAW file and apply them to 20 others, or select 15 files and make one change to all of them at once.
Click to expand...
Yes it does allow that, it actually does some camera specific tricks missing in LR.

That said, I prefer LR, and I'm still getting to grips with it.
 
EightBitTony - you will have to change your name if you start shooting RAW :D

David
 
Lightroom is also a good program to import photos each time you download, and keep them in a logical date-based folder arrangement so easy to retrieve either via Lightroom or direct to the folders.
Agree with all above DPP is as good if not a little better in some ways provided you are only dealing with a small number of shots as each one has to be opened with it manually.
 
I started with DPP and moved on to photoshop cc (because for me it's a good deal). Having said that DPP did everything i wanted when I was starting out.
 
I use DPP too. Along with Photoshop. I just like the simplicity of DPP.
 
EightBitTony said:
DPP allows you to make all the necessary adjustments to RAW files (white balance, lens compensation, exposure, contrast, sharpening, noise reduction, etc., etc.) As such, it's fit for purpose. In general, using DPP you have to process each file one at a time, I don't think it has any tools to allow you to say, copy development changes you made to one RAW file and apply them to 20 others, or select 15 files and make one change to all of them at once..
Click to expand...

In fact you can't make any adjustments to RAW files (unless you use exiftools) - the adjustments you make are stored in a seperate "boxcar" file (usually a .xmp file) which is usually saved along with the RAW file and re-applied whenever it is opened in DPP etc.

But a word of warning - DON'T use exiftools on a RAW file - I once experimented with it to see if I could change the Exif settings in the RAW file - and I could.

But it rendered them virtually unusable - luckily I had copied them but never tried that again.

And one thing you can do with DPP is to turn your RAW files into TIFF files and then edit them if you want - in fact you can batch process them that way - you can also batch process JPEGs the same way.
.
 
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I would suggest that you learn RAW processing using DPP as it is free. Then perhaps try a 30 day download of LR to see how you get on. I always use DPP as I find it straight forward to use and integrates with your Canon very well. Also, I find the image quality better than LR.
 
I've been using LR until I stumbled on this thread. Just installing DPP now and will see how I go with that. I'll continue to use LR to catalog images and see about DPP for making adjustments, especially if it has specific lens correction info etc available. Thanks for the tip.
 
LizTheKid said:
I've been using LR until I stumbled on this thread. Just installing DPP now and will see how I go with that. I'll continue to use LR to catalog images and see about DPP for making adjustments, especially if it has specific lens correction info etc available. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

Don't forget, Lightroom also has lens profiles for pretty much all current lenses.
 
I have a related question ... I've used DPP happily for many years, using the Gimp for any more extensive image processing (you can see what a tightwad I am), but I really would like to get a better grip on organising my photos. If only DPP had a concept of multiple Collections or Albums or support for keyword search, that would probably do me fine. Aside from the cost of LR, I worry that once you create your catalogue in LR you really have to make any and all changes (e.g. to file names or folder names) in LR. Are there any alternatives, bearing in mind that I don't really want the image processing capabilities ?
 
DPP slow, LR fast
LR select, grade, categorise, batch edit.
LR has plugins to give you creative conversions
You can buy a standalone copy of LR and not bother with cloud subscriptions.
Play around with the freebies for a while then try a trial of LR and see if you like it.
 
Just stumbled upon this thread... I have been using DPP For batch processing large amount of files 3 days a week for the last 5yrs.. and for sheer simplicity I cannot imagine any other software that will let me do the job in such a quick easy fashion
I have to batch rename them in groups of 10 each group having there own ID
and can be as many as 300 images each day

all have to be cropped colour corrected along with other basic adjustments

when I first started doing them it was a total nightmare taking many hours messing about

but I quickly got a workflow sorted and cut down the editing time of actually sat clicking PC Buttons down to about 90 minutes now (when I started some days I was sat there for upto 8 hours)
so now when all the Editing is done I batch process them while I go and watch TV and have a cuppa etc while the PC takes the strain

I also subscribe to Photoshop CC and with that get the Lightroom subscription which I dont use as I have installed it but just cannot dessert DPP as I just cannot imagine doing my files easier or quicker with anything else

so Lightroom is dormant on my PC
 
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Deadlock said:
DPP slow, LR fast
LR select, grade, categorise, batch edit.
LR has plugins to give you creative conversions
You can buy a standalone copy of LR and not bother with cloud subscriptions.
Play around with the freebies for a while then try a trial of LR and see if you like it.
Click to expand...

I know this thread's old but there are a few untruths being peddled about DPP.
1) DPP is very quick, instant on my machine.
2) DPP has a function called 'quick check'. You can roll through all images, tap the keyboard 1-5 and they're star-marked. An 'X' for reject. Batch editing entirely possible through 'recipes'. Can apply a set of changes across multiple images.
3) No filters, granted.
 
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