Raw Questions/editing

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After practically avoiding the issue and purely shooting in Jpeg on my 1000D I've since upgraded my camera and want to get more from it and my pictures.

I'm not interested in post processing every decent shot I may take, just the ones I'm very happy with. The less time I spend processing on the PC the better for me.

So I'm about to take the plunge and start shooting in raw probably with Jpeg as well to start with. I have CS4 and frankly the thought scares me. As the editing I will be doing will likely be basics for some while I'm thinking of just using canons DPP. Is this a good first step?

Also I have a couple of questions about Raw files, when you have processed them to how you want them, do people normally delete the raw file once they have a Jpeg they like or leave the original raw file backed up elsewhere in case they want to have another go at the file at a later date?

I'm thinking storage space and whether I need to add another Hard drive :lol:

Sorry for the noobness of the questions wasn't sure whether it went here or basics :)
 
I always keep my RAW files, and I save a .PSD file (photoshop fully editable file) for my 365 and publish the .jpg on the internet... Its a lot of files to keep but if I ever need to go back to a shot to re-edit it (E.g learnt a new technique) I can :)
 
personally i would'nt delete the raw file that's your negative so to speak if you do intend to keep all you raw files then yes invest in a bigger hard drive remember once a raw is converted into a jpeg and you get rid of the raw you have less options with white balance exposure etc hope this helps
 
Cheers, I guess I need another external then to back Raws up with :)

So when you have all these unedited RAWs on the drive what views them to see say a thumbnail of them. Canon DPP or Photoshop?

Any thought on the DPP software for a new editor just wanting to play with sharpness, light levels and just generally altering/saving bad exposure on what would otherwise been a picture I'd have liked.

Again please excuse the basic level of my questions.
 
My process is RAW to TIFF to JPEG. I have 2 versions of the JPEG, one with watermark, one without. I always keep the RAW files, and I keep the JPEGS. If I didn't have to muck about with the RAWs too much in the conversion process, I then delete the TIFFs as they take up so much space. If a lot of work was needed, I keep the TIFF.
I use Downloader Pro to get them off the camera, and BreezeBrowser Pro to convert them to TIFF, but also to use as my image viewer. Both are from Breeze Systems, and their ease of use is fantastic. I use CS2 to crop, clone etc, and then batch processes to create the JPEGs.
Rgds
Jonathan
 
PS, BreezeBrowser will read the CR2s, the TIFs, JPGs etc. It also has a sharpened preview, so you can see how a RAW image might look post-processed.
 
Danny

As you are new to RAW I would suggest you start with DPP. It's not as sophisticated as the RAW engine in CS4 but it is a lot easier to use. Once you get confident then you can try CS4.

As far as deleting images, I'd keep the RAW images. Treat these as your negatives , you wouldn't want to throw those away. Plus after you get more skilled you may want to reprocess the images in CS4. If you've ditched them you can't go back to the start.

By all means weed out the rubbish. You could use Canon's Zoom Browser for this.

If you are concerned about disk space then consider converting the CR2 images to DNG files. It does save about 10-20% of the files size without loosing quality. However you wont be able to use DPP to edit the images after the conversion, only CS4 ( and of course Lightroom)

John C
 
Thanks for that chappers, I think that's exactly what I will do buy another external and back up RAWs to re-visit if and when I get better.

I've installed DPP on my computers and will start shooting raw on my next outing :)
 
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