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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> RAW Conversion newb
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 11/20/2007 10:07:09 AM · #1
Howdy,

I think I'm going to take the plunge and start shooting in raw format. I tried it when i first got my camera but could not figure out how to do anythign with them as Photoshop did not recognise them.

However, since I am immensely new to the raw thing i would appreciate some pointers as to how to convert them in the first place. So, let's say i take a raw picture, stick it on my hard-drive, open up CS2... then i'm lost.

And since raw files cannot be printed then they will need to be converted to a jpeg, but isn't this just replicating the in-camera compression but on my laptop? Thereby eliminating any advantage in detail/sharpness I may have had because I am converting a 16 bit file to an 8 bit file.

I did check out the old threads on how to actually convert a raw file and they were helpful, but my knowledge of canon's own software, and the conversion tools in CS2 is pedestrian at best- i know it's there but damned if i know what to do with it.

If someone could describe a brief, sample workflow of a raw conversion I would be most pleased.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Tez
 11/20/2007 10:17:04 AM · #2
When you print, the file does not have to be jpeg.

No, converting to jpeg in conversion is not the same as having the camera do it. You have much more control and can do a lot more in conversion.
 11/20/2007 11:41:12 AM · #3
you get a lot more info in raw if you can shoot a couple in raw+jpeg and you'll see the difference i'm now shooting raw convert to tiff which saves more info than jpeg and then working in photoshop-and just using the photo pro software that came with my 20 d to work with the raw images. its a few more steps but worth the results
 11/20/2007 11:54:08 AM · #4
The main advantage RAW gives you is additional bit depth on the image. 12/14 bits instead of the 8-bits you get shooting JPG. So each pixel has more colour and luminance data associated with it.

This makes exposure and wb easier to correct in post-processing, it also theoretically gives better results for sharpening, noise reduction and resampling as there is more data to work with.

It does not give more 'detail' as in more resolution. By converting RAW to JPG you're losing bit depth.
 11/20/2007 12:14:46 PM · #5
You need to open it in Adobe RAW, or software that came with your camera. Adobe RAW comes with PS, I have CS2 also and RAW is included. Although it didn't support Pentax format so I had to go to adobe's site and get an update for it. From any RAW software, that will recognize your file type, you should be able to convert this to jpeg. You will be surprised at the things you can do in RAW and you will probably never shoot in jpeg again.
 11/20/2007 12:21:27 PM · #6
Tez, I know how you are feeling, when I first started shooting in RAW about 2 years back I could not see the benefits of adding the separate step, now I don't shoot in anything but RAW. Remember with JPG what you see is what you get, however with RAW you have a certain degree of latitude with your exposure as there is a small degree of information still contained in those highlights and shadows, this can be extracted using the RAW tools, thus allowing you to recover detail in these areas.

Other things like being able to set the White balance after shooting (as AWB is an abomination - right DWTerry :) and remember, your RAW file can not be altered, only the sidecar file that just records the changes, so you can always go back to your original image no matter what changes you have made.. this is only a summary, but trust me mate, once you start in RAW and see the improved results, you will never go back... and your hard-drive will never forgive you!
 11/20/2007 12:23:58 PM · #7
Originally posted by Tez:
...
If someone could describe a brief, sample workflow of a raw conversion I would be most pleased.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Tez


I use light room now, but I used to use Adobe RAW, which you have. First I open the pictures I want to work with in Adobe RAW, this is easiest if you are browsing using Adobe Bridge rather than your own file system, a double click on a RAW image will automatically open in Adobe RAW from within Bridge which also comes with PS, so you should have it. Then I adjust the white balance, then play with exposure, then export to jpeg, tiff, whatever you want to work with. Then back in Adobe Bridge I open the picture up in CS2.
 11/20/2007 01:05:38 PM · #8
As usual, fine responses all round :)

Thanks for this. I've taken a few frames in raw and jpeg so i'll see what all the fuss is about and possibly destroy my 512mb of ram :)

Thanks for the comments and the explanations guys (and girls). Much appreciated.
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