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08/03/2003 01:59:06 PM · #1
OK, Am I that thick? I always hear people talking about shooting RAW images. so I did. Now I try to open them in photoshop, and I can't I followed the instructions in Adobe online Help (PS7), and all I get is some crazy snow pattern.

help, anyone?

Pedro

Message edited by author 2003-08-03 15:52:28.
08/03/2003 03:52:09 PM · #2
*bump* I may have to throw my 'puter out the window soon.
08/03/2003 05:12:22 PM · #3
Pedro,
You will need a plug-in for Photoshop to read the RAW files. Adobe will be glad to sell you one, but it will set you back $100.
Another otion is to use the conversion software tha came with your camera, if it suits your needs. This is the Nikon Capture application.
A third option is to purchase third party software. I've heard good things about "Bibble", however I don't know if it supports the 5700. There are several others, but prices are in the same $100 range. Some are available for download with a trial period.

The main advantage of working with RAW images is the extended exposure range. you usually are getting 12 bits per channel, as opposed to 8 bits in JPG. But you are also bypassing all in-camera processing, so there is no white balance correction, sharpening, etc., and you will have to do all this yourself.
I plan on experimenting some with RAW images from my Canon, and we'll see how it goes. The extra exposure latitude is attractive, the extra work is not.
08/03/2003 05:13:08 PM · #4
lol, when i read your post i recalled an earlier experiment of a raw file having disappeared on me. So, i took a couple of test shots (since i want to start shooting in Raw). Couldn't open it at all in PS7. I could see the image clearly though in ACDSee just like my superfine files. ACDSee tells me the file is compressed abt 4 MB, uncompressed it's about 33 MB. The software of my G3 allows me to 'temporarily' save this image in a Tiff. So, i did. And that's all i could do with it: temporarily look at it :)

I am now looking through one of the two bibles, called manuals, that came with my camera on how to convert Raw files. If i find out something concrete, will let you know. Your Coolpix manual should have some guidelines as well.
08/03/2003 05:22:17 PM · #5
Thanks for the feedback guys. So far I've refrained from serious computer thrashing.

S'funny Fritz usually I find the manufacturer's software is pretty lame so I have yet to even install it...thanks for the reminder. I'm looking for the downloadable plug-in for PS as we speak.

Helene - If I won't use the software, you think I've even broken the spine on the manual? I'm a male after all - trial and error is the far superior way to learn. Unless you want to do it correctly of course :)

Take care - thanks again.
08/03/2003 05:28:59 PM · #6
Originally posted by pedromarlinez:

... S'funny Fritz usually I find the manufacturer's software is pretty lame so I have yet to even install it...thanks for the reminder. I'm looking for the downloadable plug-in for PS as we speak.


LOL Pedro, this sounds all too familiar. I'm sure you'll prolly find you do want something other than the Nikon software. Link to the Adobe software is:

//www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html


08/03/2003 05:31:06 PM · #7
Kirbic, you posted as i was typing. In the meantime my Canon software converted this image for me and it is now viewable and editable in PS7. The converted file is a RJ.Jpeg (RJ may be a Canon term) and it is only a fraction of my superfine files. Is that normal? Also, when i open this file in PS, it still says 8 bits per channel. ??

I may experiment with this some other time but suspect that mainly i will stick with superfine.
08/03/2003 05:34:50 PM · #8
Since we're on the topic, I was recently talking with someone who has a 10D, and she says her RAW files don't take up as much space on her flash cards as when set on 'Fine'. I find just the opposite - my RAW files are 3X the size of my Fine ones (which kind of makes sense to me, since there's no compression).

What gives?
08/03/2003 05:36:39 PM · #9
The canon software allows you to save in 8 bits/channel or 16 bits / channel. There is a upgrade available from Canon for this software. Apparently there's a bug related to the G3.

I've been capturing RAW most of the time. It's a saver when you forget to set the white balance properly (or want to experiment with it) since you can change that before you convert a file to TIFF.
08/03/2003 05:38:31 PM · #10
Originally posted by pedromarlinez:



Helene - If I won't use the software, you think I've even broken the spine on the manual? I'm a male after all - trial and error is the far superior way to learn. Unless you want to do it correctly of course :)

Take care - thanks again.


lol. Since i meanwhile converted my RAW test pic and didn't see offhand horrendous benefits from the raw capability, you might reconsider spending any money on plug-ins for it.
08/03/2003 05:41:05 PM · #11
Originally posted by Journey:

Originally posted by pedromarlinez:



Helene - If I won't use the software, you think I've even broken the spine on the manual? I'm a male after all - trial and error is the far superior way to learn. Unless you want to do it correctly of course :)

Take care - thanks again.


lol. Since i meanwhile converted my RAW test pic and didn't see offhand horrendous benefits from the raw capability, you might reconsider spending any money on plug-ins for it.


Again I'll show my simplicity here, but since the only way to REALLY use the full resolution of your camera is to shoot RAW, I feel some innate need to do it. What's the point of having 5 megapixels if you're not gonna use 'em all?

I'm kidding. sort of :)
08/03/2003 05:46:28 PM · #12
Originally posted by cpanaioti:

The canon software allows you to save in 8 bits/channel or 16 bits / channel. There is a upgrade available from Canon for this software. Apparently there's a bug related to the G3.

I've been capturing RAW most of the time. It's a saver when you forget to set the white balance properly (or want to experiment with it) since you can change that before you convert a file to TIFF.


You convert to TIFF? How? Is that in the software upgrade? You mention setting white balance improperly. Nowadays, i pay extra attention to that when i begin a new shoot :) I learned my painful lesson there a long time ago! Yet, even with PS i can pretty much undo the ills of having a pic shot in the wrong white balance (and sometimes i do so deliberately just to see what i end up with). You really feel it's that much of an advantage to shoot in RAW (based on the existing Canon SW conversion i don't see much of an attractive deal)?
08/03/2003 05:53:09 PM · #13
Originally posted by pedromarlinez:



Again I'll show my simplicity here, but since the only way to REALLY use the full resolution of your camera is to shoot RAW, I feel some innate need to do it. What's the point of having 5 megapixels if you're not gonna use 'em all?

I'm kidding. sort of :)


Yeah, but you see, now i always can tell myself that my pic would have come out really, really, really nice if only i had shot it in RAW. That's why i don't shoot in RAW ;)

You have a good point though. I guess i need to get that software upgrade Colette talked about it and experiment with RAW. The G3 has one very nifty feature and that is i can shoot in superfine and then be able to convert it to RAW right away if it is a worthy shot.
08/03/2003 05:59:39 PM · #14
Originally posted by Journey:



You convert to TIFF? How? Is that in the software upgrade?


There are three choices of file format, JPEG, TIFF 8-bit and TIFF 16-bit. It's a drop down for this selection. Your default is probably set to JPEG. This is in the version that came with the camera, not the upgrade.

08/03/2003 06:12:22 PM · #15
Pedro, Nikons software, Nikon Editor, works well, but of course slow. There is a plug in that is free for photoshop, but it is a minimal one with way fewer choices than Nikon Editor. I have not tried the $100 photoshop plugin, but heard it is great. Bibble (or MacBibble for me) would not open the 5700 RAW files.
The RAW files will be larger than the FIne files on the 5700, because the Fine files are still jpg images. I am still shooting in Fine mode, myself. More in the camera and quicker to edit and I have not seen that big of a difference, IMO, on alot of the shots I have taken. When I can afford the PS plugin, I may change my mind, but there are way too many extra steps and time involved with the RAW files for me to bother with it.
08/03/2003 06:24:59 PM · #16
I was just getting ready to start a threat. My question is, what are the advantages of shooting raw? Does it really make a difference wether you shoot raw or not?

June
08/03/2003 07:01:37 PM · #17
Originally posted by chiqui74:

I was just getting ready to start a threat. My question is, what are the advantages of shooting raw? Does it really make a difference wether you shoot raw or not?

June



Shooting RAW will give you extra exposure latitude (since you've got 12 bits instead of 8), and may, as posted above by others, give you other additional flexibility. Its an option for those (like me) who must twist every knob to try to get the last bit of performance out of a camera.
If you shoot JPG and find you blew out some highlights or completely saturated a color channel in an area, you'll just have to live with the image, the information to correct it is not there. If you shot RAW, however, there is a chance that you would not have been oversaturated at 12 bits, and thus could recover the detail in the highlight areas (or oversaturated color areas).
08/03/2003 08:20:36 PM · #18
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Pedro, Nikons software, Nikon Editor, works well, but of course slow. There is a plug in that is free for photoshop, but it is a minimal one with way fewer choices than Nikon Editor. I have not tried the $100 photoshop plugin, but heard it is great. Bibble (or MacBibble for me) would not open the 5700 RAW files.
The RAW files will be larger than the FIne files on the 5700, because the Fine files are still jpg images. I am still shooting in Fine mode, myself. More in the camera and quicker to edit and I have not seen that big of a difference, IMO, on alot of the shots I have taken. When I can afford the PS plugin, I may change my mind, but there are way too many extra steps and time involved with the RAW files for me to bother with it.


Thanks Tracy. That's what I've been doing up until now as well...Still learning, but there's a fine line when it somes to the minutiae.

thanks everybody - useful thread.
08/03/2003 09:46:10 PM · #19
Originally posted by pedromarlinez:

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Pedro, Nikons software, Nikon Editor, works well, but of course slow. There is a plug in that is free for photoshop, but it is a minimal one with way fewer choices than Nikon Editor. I have not tried the $100 photoshop plugin, but heard it is great. Bibble (or MacBibble for me) would not open the 5700 RAW files.
The RAW files will be larger than the FIne files on the 5700, because the Fine files are still jpg images. I am still shooting in Fine mode, myself. More in the camera and quicker to edit and I have not seen that big of a difference, IMO, on a lot of the shots I have taken. When I can afford the PS plugin, I may change my mind, but there are way too many extra steps and time involved with the RAW files for me to bother with it.


Thanks Tracy. That's what I've been doing up until now as well...Still learning, but there's a fine line when it somes to the minutiae.

thanks everybody - useful thread.


I received a Nikon plug-in that came with my D1x that also works with my 5700 in the raw mode. It came with the camera. I have also upgraded it by downloading a newer version from the Nikon web page. So, check out Nikon before you spend the money. I shot raw, import to PS7, then save as a PSD or with Genuine Fractals. It all works fine.
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