where do I start with my RAW images

trapper501

trapper501

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Nick
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I went on a Macro meet this last week and took some RAW images as I was trying out some new kit for my holiday and needed to know it could all handle RAW.

I've established that now, which is good as i'm responsible for organising the storage of my partner's RAW images when on holiday.

Now, however, I have a load of RAW images I have viewed and know some are good(ish)

Where do I go from here? On my PC I have picasa which I usually use to crop my Jpegs.

My partner has CS3, but I don't have anything like that and know nothing about PP.

is there something I can use that will give me a basic batch processing so I can have some Jpegs to upload. How do I do batch processing if such a thing exists? Somebody suggested I use Irfanview when i was looking for stuff for my Acer but that was Windows so couldn't be used there. Is Irfanview my best way ahead? I'm sure I read somewhere that Picasa can handle some RAW images but I don't know if that is a special add on for picasa. I have picasa 3.

I don't have the images on this PC yet so I haven't tried it.

Any tips, pointers for where to go from here? ta
 
Your question is exactly the sort of thing I'd like to see answered in a tutorial - explaining for someone new to shooting RAW what to do with the files using the sort of software that most people will have rather than expensive things like photoshop etc.

Hopefully you will get a good response and it will help get a tutorial started. I'll add some suggestions later but I'd like to see what others suggest first.
 
I presume you have used your Canon 40D to take the shots. If so, you should have received a copy of Canons Digital Photo Professional when you purchased the camera. This programme will allow you to adjust the images before converting them to TIFF files. This programme comes with a very good "help" facility that explains how to make adjustments.
 
I did have a bit of a play in Gimp on my Acer, where they are currently stored, but I wasn't familiar enough with the computer or the programme to get anywhere.

I only need Gimp as a viewer, the Acer is a bit slow to do anything else and I only bought it for cheap storage.

I'd feel more confident playing with something on my PC
 
barrypriddis said:
I presume you have used your Canon 40D to take the shots. If so, you should have received a copy of Canons Digital Photo Professional when you purchased the camera. This programme will allow you to adjust the images before converting them to TIFF files.
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Oh, fair point. It isn't my 40D it is his, but I ask all the questions about the gear on here.

I took them with the old 350D, but you are right, there is a CD to go with that, I'll pick it up this evening. Is that going to be the best way forward do you think? I didn't realise I was going to be converting them to TIFF, what is the difference between that an Jpeg?
 
trapper501 said:
I didn't realise I was going to be converting them to TIFF, what is the difference between that an Jpeg?
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The Canon program is a good place to start. You do not have to save them as tiff files. If you want jpegs then save them as jpeg.

Raw gets the best quality and detail from the camera. If you are the sort of person that likes picture editing and wants to carry on tweaking pictures in other programs after the raw converter then you may want to retain that quality and save as tiff.

If like me you just want a nice jpeg everyone can look at and you can upload for printing then you don't need huge tiff files. Save the largest and best quality jpeg so you have good quality for printing and resize that picture smaller for the forum if you want to post it.
 
RobertP said:
The Canon program is a good place to start. You do not have to save them as tiff files. If you want jpegs then save them as jpeg.

Raw gets the best quality and detail from the camera. If you are the sort of person that likes picture editing and wants to carry on tweaking pictures in other programs after the raw converter then you may want to retain that quality and save as tiff.

If like me you just want a nice jpeg everyone can look at and you can upload for printing then you don't need huge tiff files. Save the largest and best quality jpeg so you have good quality for printing and resize that picture smaller for the forum if you want to post it.
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Ah, so tiff are not as compressed as Jpeg then? I'm getting into Macro so I think I will need to do a bit of tweaking as I crop very heavily. Having got that far though I don't mind it being a Jpeg. I rarely actually print anything, they are for my own amusement or for putting on the net to share with others.

Presumably you keep the RAW file too, or is that the point of having a tiff?
 
Tiff are uncompressed or lossless compressed. The raw editor will do cropping so you can still get the best detail in a crop without going to tiff.

The raw file is the 'negative' that you put away in the cupboard from film days. You keep it because you can always go back to it and create all the later versions from it again. No program changes a raw file - the changes you see on screen while raw editing are kept as a separate list of edits to apply when converting to a different file format like jpeg.

So keep the raw file but you don't need it for casual viewing if you have made a jpeg or tiff version.
 
Lightroom is the answer here. It is not that expensive, and will allow you to manipulate your entire photography collection in whatever manner you desire.
 
RobertP said:
Tiff are uncompressed or lossless compressed. The raw editor will do cropping so you can still get the best detail in a crop without going to tiff.

The raw file is the 'negative' that you put away in the cupboard from film days. You keep it because you can always go back to it and create all the later versions from it again. No program changes a raw file - the changes you see on screen while raw editing are kept as a separate list of edits to apply when converting to a different file format like jpeg.

So keep the raw file but you don't need it for casual viewing if you have made a jpeg or tiff version.
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Ah, I'm learning lots.

One of the things that was worrying me was that if I wasn't careful I would lose the raw file when editing and then have no way back.

i've only used picasa which replaces your Jpeg with the altered version so I was very nervous when playing with the raw files in gimp.

Do I take it then that these editing suites always leave the raw file alone, that you have to physically delete it using file manager or else it stays? that would be great.
 
I spent around £200 on Lightroom so I know it is a good answer but it is not the only one. People new to raw will not be spending that much straight away and I don't believe they need to.

I'd like to see this become a tutorial so it would be good if trapper501 could keep this updated with the questions and problems that you find when first editing a raw file with the Canon or other software. I'm not sure how clear it is for beginners just what adjustments should be done in a raw editor.
 
trapper501 said:
Do I take it then that these editing suites always leave the raw file alone, that you have to physically delete it using file manager or else it stays? that would be great.
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Many of them will remove it from the disk and put it in the recycle bin if you hit the delete key (after you confirm) but none will change the actual raw file no matter how many time you edit and adjust things. You could edit a raw picture in say lightroom so it looks completed changed. Open the same raw file in the Canon editor and it will be as it was originally as the lightroom 'edit list' has no effect in Canon software.

Picasa can show raws and save jpegs from the raws but its ability to get the best edit is poor compared to a proper raw editor program.
 
I will get the Canon software this evening and try that out, I'll also try a couple of others that have been mentioned that are free.

I'll keep you posted regarding my results and be back to ask anything else that comes up.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Nick
 
I always shoot in RAW and regardless of whether I've shot with Canon or Nikon, my preference is to transfer the RAW files onto my computer and then import them directly into Lightroom, bypassing any Canon or Nikon conversion software.

From within Lightroom, I can quickly browse through my images, edit the EXIF (add titles, keyword tags, copyright info, etc), carry out the vast majority of edits either on individual images or in batch, and finally export into JPG or any other format I require.

For some images, I may take them into Photomatix for HDR processing or into Photoshop for more sophisticated tweaking, but the majority of my processing time is spent in Lightroom. If I could only have one piece of software for organising and processing images Lightroom would be it. There are alternatives on the market such as Aperture and Capture One Pro. No doubt, most individuals will have their own preferred option.
 
DigitalRelish said:
I always shoot in RAW and regardless of whether I've shot with Canon or Nikon, my preference is to transfer the RAW files onto my computer and then import them directly into Lightroom, bypassing any Canon or Nikon conversion software.

If I could only have one piece of software for organising and processing images Lightroom would be it.
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Ah Will, I should have known you before I bought him CS3, not sure either of us would be keen on shelling out further money to get Lightroom!
 
I shoot with a 400d and always RAW.

On returning I copy the files to my PC and use the slideshow feature in CS3 to do a quick cull of any shots that are rubbish ;)

I then process the remaining in DPP (which came free with the camera)
I always set the sharpening to level 5 and adjust exposure, WB and picture style to suit each image.
I then use CS3 to do a slideshow on my newly created JPG's, marking with a 5 star those that I will upload to flickr for off-site storage/sharing.
For any that I do not mark as 5, I have created an action that resaves them with a JPG quality of 6 to reduce file size.
Those marked 5 star I process individually and then upload to flickr.
Hope some of that helps.
 
trapper501 said:
Ah Will, I should have known you before I bought him CS3, not sure either of us would be keen on shelling out further money to get Lightroom!
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I'm sure there will be a way for you to use a combination of the Canon software and CS3, but it might be worth you downloading a trial version of something like Lightroom anyway. The amount of time it could save you might be worth its cost! Also, I find being able to do almost everything I want via one interface means I spend less time in and out of different applications.

Someone I know is giving Lightzone a whirl. It's much cheaper at $99 and there's a trial version you can download.
 
If you have CS3, then use Adobe Bridge to preview your images (or Picasa) and then Adobe Camera Raw to edit the RAW files you wish to work on (you probably won't be working on all your images). If you use Bridge, then you just need to double click on the image to open it in ACR.

The Canon software may or may not have a user interface you prefer, costs nothing to have a look seeing as you already have it. ;)

If you want to try something different, have a look at Rawtherapee which is also free. ;) :D

Adobe Camera Raw is the editor I prefer, and I find Bridge good for comparing a couple of images for sharpness close up using the 'Loupe' option which enlarges a section of a number of images.

Bridge also lets you batch rename, and embedding changes to the EXIF data for copyright and decription tagging.

Otherwise I use a program called Preview Extractor (Nikon only), which extracts the embedded (basic) Jpeg from the RAW file, but I think there is multi format tool (RAW-Extractor 2.0) which does the same thing, though I have not tried it myself.

I use this only to quickly get a Jpeg so the Window$ viewer can display the images full screen, and I can rapidly go through my images choosing which to edit.
 
Right, I have the Canon DPP loaded and another disk that came with the camera, Arccsoft Photo Studio. The latter doesn't seem to deal with raw files so I think we can ignore that.

In DPP I can see the raw image and play with the colours and white balance.

I don't understand the sharpening tool in DPP. In picasa it applies to the whole picture, presumably using some clever process to identify edges, in DPP you seem to have a paintbrush of sharpness that you apply.
 
I tend to use DPP to preview images, deleting those that are no good, and then adjusting the white balance. Once this has been done, I batch process and save all images as TIFF files. Any further adjustments are then made in CS3. I also never save changes to the RAW file so that I always have that to go back to if needed.
 
Well we are back, and have around 5000 images to process.

I think this is the point where I might regret them all being in RAW but I will have a go at batch processing to see what can be achieved.

What worries me is that it will all seem so daunting they will spend years on storage as RAW files and nobody will ever get to see them.
 
trapper501 said:
Well we are back, and have around 5000 images to process.

I think this is the point where I might regret them all being in RAW but I will have a go at batch processing to see what can be achieved.

What worries me is that it will all seem so daunting they will spend years on storage as RAW files and nobody will ever get to see them.
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once they're processed though, they'll no doubt look better than if you had shot just jpegs
 
Jamieconverge said:
once they're processed though, they'll no doubt look better than if you had shot just jpegs
Click to expand...

Hope so, we could view them on the Epsons, but those were just limited jpegs so I don't think that gives much idea. I also had my netbook for backup storage but the linux program wasn't very good with the viewing, so it was really just used for backup storage.
 
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