RAW Processing Questions

GIZTO29

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Philip
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Right guys, i have PS5 and when i shoot in RAW i open the bridge and if i want to do stuff to them in PShop i'll right click and open it in Camera RAW then save as a tiff file as i believe the file isnt compressed like a jpeg. However a friend has PS3 on his mac book pro and is using a Sony DSLR. He wants to try HDR type images in there so i mentioned to him he should shoot in RAW. Today hes done this but now he cant open the images in PS3. All that appears is a grey scale. Now when he opened Bridge the files all appeared as ARW which now after googling i realise are Sonys name for RAW files (like NEF for my Nikon).
My question is does PS3 have Camera RAW or does he need a 3rd party RAW processor? Whats the best way to achieve this?

I appreciate that if he had 3 images he could just click HDR Merge but it was more to the point of why cant he view the RAW/ARW files as i would with bridge then Camera RAW? When he opens Bridge the thumbnails are just blank.

Another query for me is if i use PS Elements 8 why does the camera RAW only offer to save as dng files and what are these in comparison to tiff? Im new to Photoshop and these programs myself so have limited knowledge.
Thanks in advance, Phil
 
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Yes it does have ACR, firstly he should try updating to the newest version for CS3, but I have a sneaky feeling his Sony may be fairly new and thus its raw format may not be supported by his version of ACR.
If that's the case he wont be able to process them in CS3/ACR and will have to use his supplied software to process the raws
 
Failing that he can download Adobe DNG Convertor program. This will convert his raw file to an Adobe DNG raw file which will be visible in PS3
 
Yes it does have ACR, firstly he should try updating to the newest version for CS3, but I have a sneaky feeling his Sony may be fairly new and thus its raw format may not be supported by his version of ACR.
If that's the case he wont be able to process them in CS3/ACR and will have to use his supplied software to process the raws

His Sony is around 4-5 years old now.

Failing that he can download Adobe DNG Convertor program. This will convert his raw file to an Adobe DNG raw file which will be visible in PS3

Ok, so is DNG the same as Tiff as in its uncompressed? It just seemed strange that ACR wasnt opening like on my pc. Is it possible he doesnt even have the RAW plug in?
Phil
 
look up the camera compatibility chart on the adobe website - I suspect you've been given the correct answer in post #2 above!
 
Ok, i'll check out his model then look there. Thanks for the feedback.:)
Phil
 
Just to put something right, the camera isnt 4-5 years old, more like nearly 2! Its an Alpha 200. The friend is French.....got lost in translation :lol:
 
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His Sony is around 4-5 years old now.



Ok, so is DNG the same as Tiff as in its uncompressed? It just seemed strange that ACR wasnt opening like on my pc. Is it possible he doesnt even have the RAW plug in?
Phil

A DNG is Adobe's attempt at a 'standard' for RAW file. So you are converting the Sony RAW file to a universal one. This universal one is compatible with CS3. A RAW file is the equivalent of a digital negative hence D(igital)N(e)G(ative). A TIFF file is a processed file, a digital 'print'.

To answer your question, No a DNG is not the same as a TIFF file.
 
A DNG is Adobe's attempt at a 'standard' for RAW file. So you are converting the Sony RAW file to a universal one. This universal one is compatible with CS3. A RAW file is the equivalent of a digital negative hence D(igital)N(e)G(ative). A TIFF file is a processed file, a digital 'print'.

To answer your question, No a DNG is not the same as a TIFF file.

Ok, but im right in thinking im better off saving as a tiff than a jpeg yeh? Tiff is lossless isnt it?
Phil
 
His Sony is around 4-5 years old now.



Ok, so is DNG the same as Tiff as in its uncompressed? It just seemed strange that ACR wasnt opening like on my pc. Is it possible he doesnt even have the RAW plug in?
Phil

Ok, but im right in thinking im better off saving as a tiff than a jpeg yeh? Tiff is lossless isnt it?
Phil

Tiff is lossless. However, if you are working with Photoshop personally I would save it as a PSD (photoshop) file. This means all the information is retained including layers. It is only when you need to finally output the image for printing, to share whatever do you need to select your format. At this point you can save it as a TIFF or even a hiqh quality (very little compression) Jpeg. Should you need to make further edits you can return to the PSD file with all your layers intact. From there you can make your edits and resave.

To be honest with you, and I am guessing there may be others who will shoot me down in flames, I wouldn't worry about using TIFFs. Just save them as a Jpeg. Unless you are printing out very large prints or use extremely high levels of compression you will probably not notice the effect.
 
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Tiff is lossless, jpeg isn't, DNG is an undemosaiced (essentially raw) file
 
Thanks again guys.:)
Phil
 
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