Highlight recovery, ACR vs Curves

[futureal33]

Evening all,

Something I have been wondering for a while, but since using Photoshop more and more, and Lightroom less, it has prompted me to ask the question.

When processing a RAW file, you are first presented with the ACR screen, where you can adjust basic RAW settings such as highlight recovery. If you ignore this screen, and just continue through to Photoshop and then open curves, can you get the same level of highlight recovery from within there, or have you lost the opportunity by not doing in ACR?

Basically, is ACR's highlight recovery any different to just using the curves tool on a CR2 (Canon RAW) file to get detail back in the highlights?

Thanks

 

[spxxxx]

You are always best trying to get as much detail at the raw conversion so that you aren't unduly degrading the image. Once in PS editing becomes more destructive to quality quicker

 

[swanseamale47]

I find if you go too far with curves in acr it tends to start to posterize slightly, I tend to start with the basuc tools and then ajust curves for the fine tuning.