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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Ready to shoot RAW, any practical tips?
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Showing posts 1 - 15 of 15, (reverse)
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 04/09/2005 01:27:08 AM · #1
I just finished reading "Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop". What a great book, recommend you get it on your shelves.

I am impressed by what I read and although I promised myself some time ago I will try RAW, I never did. I still am intimidated by the world of technology, but now made a decision to take the leap into the unknown.

Thus my asking for some practical tips from those who are doing it. Anything will help, and everything will be appreciated. I'm committed and ready for the new learning curve. Thanks in advance, and hold your thumbs I don't cause the www to crash attempting RAW! ;-)

04/09/2005 01:39:32 AM · #2
I have only recently done so myself, and enjoy the results. I use Canon's DPP (free) for the first go round of editing. I convert to a .tif file for editing in PS and at the end finalize by going to jpeg. Those more familiar with the technical benefits will enlighten you I am sure. There is, I read, more information in a raw file to work with than a jpeg. I am looking forward to seeing the results.
 04/09/2005 01:40:07 AM · #3
I shoot everything in RAW now. I've found that browsing RAW files, even in Canon DPP, is slow on my P4 1.8Ghz 1Gb RAM computer. I usually use Adobe Raw Converter to convert any RAW files I edit to JPEG. For certain photos, I sometimes find that Canon DPP does a better job of converting to JPEG than Adobe Raw Converter. It really is nice to have more control over post processing by shooting RAW. Don't know what else to tell you except to leave any sharpening until your final step.
 04/09/2005 02:00:43 AM · #4
since i never create a big workflow for myself (i dont shoot a ton of images that I end up editing) I only shoot raw, it's great. Enjoy yourself with it, you'll get better results, but it can demand more time spent on each photo....although if u get the photoshop raw plug in, a lot of adjustments are fairly quick and easy.
 04/09/2005 04:01:01 AM · #5
Peter petrakka, I have photoshop cs... do I still need the raw plug in? where will I find it?

Thanks so far.. to each one who replied..

Message edited by author 2005-04-09 04:04:34.
 04/09/2005 05:53:48 AM · #6
Originally posted by gibun:
Peter petrakka, I have photoshop cs... do I still need the raw plug in? where will I find it?

Thanks so far.. to each one who replied..

Yes, you need the plug in and you can find it here
//www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=39&platform=Windows

You can also find same useful tutorials here
//www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html

bye, Angelo

Message edited by author 2005-04-09 08:45:05.
 04/09/2005 07:20:01 AM · #7
Thanks Angelo, I managed that... one hell of an achievement for someone like me.
 04/09/2005 10:40:06 AM · #8
get a big hard drive and a dvd burner.

be ruthless when you're weeding out your images. if you shoot the same object with 20 different setups, you don't need to keep all 20 images.

and i don't know about the rebel, but if it has a mode where you can shoot a RAW+JPEG (where it actually keeps two files for each image) you should use that. you only eat up a minimal amount of space on your CF card, but when you are looking through your images after you download them, you can cruise through the JPEGs really quickly to decide which ones to "develop" from the RAW file.

good luck and have fun. raw rawks...
 04/09/2005 11:13:30 AM · #9
I'm ready to shoot raw but I have a question about the Canon 350D and Raw files:
The 350D .CR2 files are not supported by PS/CS even with the upgrade to RAW 2.4. I don't understand why because it does support the 20D which has the same .CR2 file extention. I have seen several post on the internet about this issue. I have asked B&H and the tech said the same.
04/09/2005 11:19:36 AM · #10
hi gibun

I am not sure way you are taking RAW since you know well JPEGs

Originally posted by gibun:
I just finished reading "Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop". What a great book, recommend you get it on your shelves.

I am impressed by what I read and although I promised myself some time ago I will try RAW, I never did. I still am intimidated by the world of technology, but now made a decision to take the leap into the unknown.

Thus my asking for some practical tips from those who are doing it. Anything will help, and everything will be appreciated. I'm committed and ready for the new learning curve. Thanks in advance, and hold your thumbs I don't cause the www to crash attempting RAW! ;-)
04/09/2005 11:45:40 AM · #11
Originally posted by IceRock:
hi gibun

I am not sure way you are taking RAW since you know well JPEGs

Originally posted by gibun:
I just finished reading "Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop". What a great book, recommend you get it on your shelves.

I am impressed by what I read and although I promised myself some time ago I will try RAW, I never did. I still am intimidated by the world of technology, but now made a decision to take the leap into the unknown.

Thus my asking for some practical tips from those who are doing it. Anything will help, and everything will be appreciated. I'm committed and ready for the new learning curve. Thanks in advance, and hold your thumbs I don't cause the www to crash attempting RAW! ;-)


He's done the research and knows there are significant benefites to shooting RAW, like:
- Extended dynamic range; use all the dynamic range you cam can produce, not just 8 bits
- Total control of white balnace in post, less worries when shooting
- Total control of image sharpening

With Adobe Camera RAW, you also have some advanced controls such as vignetting correction, CA correction, etc. available during conversion.

04/09/2005 11:50:32 AM · #12
Originally posted by SDW65:
I'm ready to shoot raw but I have a question about the Canon 350D and Raw files:
The 350D .CR2 files are not supported by PS/CS even with the upgrade to RAW 2.4. I don't understand why because it does support the 20D which has the same .CR2 file extention. I have seen several post on the internet about this issue. I have asked B&H and the tech said the same.


Adobe essentially needs to write a converter for each new camera, so ACR will always lag the market a bit. I'd assume that the converter will be updated when CS2 is released in May, if not before then.
Now you cna see why Adobe would like to promote DNG. The DNG spec makes the camera manufacturer embed the necessary information for reading the RAW data, making it possible for one converter to support any future camera. It also makes it possible for a converter written in the future to support past cameras that supported DNG. As long as it's an open specification, I think this is a great idea.
 04/09/2005 12:02:52 PM · #13
gibun,
You will of course need relatively lare cards. I use two 1GB cards, and I find them adequate, but if you often shoot more than 300 images in a day, you'll find that too confining. Right now, 2GB cards are as cheap as 1GB on a per-gig basis, so buying 2GB cards might be an idea. Whatever you buy, get two cards, so on the off chance that you have a problem with one, you are not SOL.
As previously posted, do be ruthless on what you keep, but be very careful with the ones you do keep. examine your workflow to make sure there is no point at which your originals exist in only one location. I suggest a second hard drive, and a freeware backup program (not RAID mirroring).
Practice "exposing to the right" on the camera histogram. When you see an indicator of "blown highlights" on the camera histogram, realize that you have some "headroom" because you're shooting RAW. Practice with exposure to get a good feel using all the dynamic rage the RAW file can offer. You will be exposing a bit brighter (1/2 stop or more). this will also affect your workflow, as you'll get brighter shots and may have to reduce exposure habitually on conversion to "bring in the highlights." The results will be cleaner images with better shadow detail and somewhat lower noise.
Make sure that before you shoot an important event in RAW that your software workflow is in place and you are comfortable with the tools. This is really important, or you could wind up trying to figure things out undr the gun.
There's lots of other stuff to consider, but you have a very good text for reference. If you are like me, you'll wonder why it took you so long to decide to do it. Good luck!
 04/09/2005 12:23:24 PM · #14
hi kirbic

I take all my picture in RAW it is a old habit since RAW was better than JPEGs, but now to day for instant large print for exhibition and so there is no different in quality except JPEGs is better if there is a different
It is opinion from most expert, but still I take RAW I know I an stuffer hard to take advice from who are better :)
kirbic dont get lost in teck stuff :)
 04/09/2005 12:25:49 PM · #15
Hi Gibun,

If you use a Mac, the new iPhoto 5 supports and edits RAW images. I find it's a fast and easy way to load all of my RAW images in iPhoto, zip through them to decide which ones I want to keep or delete, then edit the keepers in Photoshop CS.
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