Photoshop + RAW = Fail

[R6_Dude]

I have photoshop CS2 ( I know its ancient haha) and for some reason it doesn't read my RAW files.

So what I end up doing is making a few color adjustments on Canons EOS utility, batching and moving it over to PS in JPEG format.

I now have a few photos that I would need PS assistance and none in EOS, but I have to batch it in EOS to get it to convert to JPEG. Without making any changes to the RAW photo and just converting them to JPEG, am I shooting in RAW a "waste" sort of speak? Meaning should I have just shot the pics in JPEG to begin with?

[TPF Sponsor]

[Overread]

Firstly I myself would output to TIFF if working with the software that way -at least then you lose no data when saving the original JPEG image.

As for gains and losses remember the EOS utility software still allows you to adjust the whitebalance, exposure and other settings on the photo with a lot of ease - trying to adjust the whitebalance and get it to look good when working with a JPEG alone is a lot lot harder (if you want good results).

In addition remember that by keeping the RAWs you have an archive of digital negatives which you can re-edit without losing any image quality or data over time.

[Samanax]

Which camera are you using?

Is your CS2 ACR up to date?

You could convert the RAW files to Adobe DNG. CS2 will work with DNG files.

I don't shoot JPEG because it's a lossy file format and you have to be careful when editing and saving them. The more you edit and save it, the worse the image quality becomes.

[EricHarris]

Mentioned before, you could just shoot into .Tiff format. thats a decent alternative. I use Adobe Lightroom Version 2 for my "basic" editing. That reads RAW files and helps organize my photos quite well. I open up photoshop when i need to do heavy editing, such as fixing blemishes during a portrait shoot.

Everyone has their specific workflow, and i do not wish to impede on such, but i recommend giving lightroom 1 or 2 a go around. I, at first did not like it, but i now favor it and use it very frequently.

[R6_Dude]

Firstly I myself would output to TIFF if working with the software that way -at least then you lose no data when saving the original JPEG image.

As for gains and losses remember the EOS utility software still allows you to adjust the whitebalance, exposure and other settings on the photo with a lot of ease - trying to adjust the whitebalance and get it to look good when working with a JPEG alone is a lot lot harder (if you want good results).

In addition remember that by keeping the RAWs you have an archive of digital negatives which you can re-edit without losing any image quality or data over time.

I normally use the EOS for car shoots for quick changes in exposure, color, etc. as you mentioned, but I had a pic that required a little more. I want to do a bit of dodge/burn to get a better effect in the sky of one of the pics I took.

Which camera are you using?

Is your CS2 ACR up to date?

You could convert the RAW files to Adobe DNG. CS2 will work with DNG files.

I don't shoot JPEG because it's a lossy file format and you have to be careful when editing and saving them. The more you edit and save it, the worse the image quality becomes.

I'm shooting with a Rebel T1i.

I believe that my PS is updated....

That is the reason why I do not like to shoot in JPEG. But my question was arised as I realize that I can not do post processing in RAW anyways b/c I have to convert them to JPEG.

Mentioned before, you could just shoot into .Tiff format. thats a decent alternative. I use Adobe Lightroom Version 2 for my "basic" editing. That reads RAW files and helps organize my photos quite well. I open up photoshop when i need to do heavy editing, such as fixing blemishes during a portrait shoot.

Everyone has their specific workflow, and i do not wish to impede on such, but i recommend giving lightroom 1 or 2 a go around. I, at first did not like it, but i now favor it and use it very frequently.

So instead of converting to jpeg, convert it to tiff?

[ann]

convert them with the software that came with your camera, save as tiff and do the rest in PS. Your vision isn't being supported anymore, which may be the issue with the raw files.

[EricHarris]

So instead of converting to jpeg, convert it to tiff?

Sort of. Im not familiar with the menu lay outs of a cannon, but the menu where you set your camera to shoot into a RAW format, set it too .tiff. With that, you wont lose any information (Jpeg compresses files) and you will still have some editing room, just not as much as raw.

[Samanax]

Which camera are you using?

Is your CS2 ACR up to date?

You could convert the RAW files to Adobe DNG. CS2 will work with DNG files.

I don't shoot JPEG because it's a lossy file format and you have to be careful when editing and saving them. The more you edit and save it, the worse the image quality becomes.

I'm shooting with a Rebel T1i.

I believe that my PS is updated....

That is the reason why I do not like to shoot in JPEG. But my question was arised as I realize that I can not do post processing in RAW anyways b/c I have to convert them to JPEG.

I don't think the latest ACR for CS2 will read T1i RAW files...I think you'd have to upgrade to CS4 for that. The latest ACR for CR2 (ACR 3.7) only read up to the XTi/400D RAW files.

You could convert your T1i RAW files to DNG files and work with those. DNG files are similar to RAW files but are universal instead of proprietary...sort of a universal RAW format. DNG = Digital Negative.

I have Lightroom 2 and when I import my RAW files from my card reader I have LR2 convert them to DNG files. I don't keep my original RAW files anymore.

So instead of converting to jpeg, convert it to tiff?

Sort of. Im not familiar with the menu lay outs of a cannon, but the menu where you set your camera to shoot into a RAW format, set it too .tiff. With that, you wont lose any information (Jpeg compresses files) and you will still have some editing room, just not as much as raw.

The Canon T1i doesn't save to .tiff files, only to RAW, JPEGs and MOV.

[EricHarris]

Which camera are you using?

Is your CS2 ACR up to date?

You could convert the RAW files to Adobe DNG. CS2 will work with DNG files.

I don't shoot JPEG because it's a lossy file format and you have to be careful when editing and saving them. The more you edit and save it, the worse the image quality becomes.

I'm shooting with a Rebel T1i.

I believe that my PS is updated....

That is the reason why I do not like to shoot in JPEG. But my question was arised as I realize that I can not do post processing in RAW anyways b/c I have to convert them to JPEG.

I don't think the latest ACR for CS2 will read T1i RAW files...I think you'd have to upgrade to CS4 for that. The latest ACR for CR2 (ACR 3.7) only read up to the XTi/400D RAW files.

You could convert your T1i RAW files to DNG files and work with those. DNG files are similar to RAW files but are universal instead of proprietary...sort of a universal RAW format. DNG = Digital Negative.

I have Lightroom 2 and when I import my RAW files from my card reader I have LR2 convert them to DNG files. I don't keep my original RAW files anymore.

So instead of converting to jpeg, convert it to tiff?

Sort of. Im not familiar with the menu lay outs of a cannon, but the menu where you set your camera to shoot into a RAW format, set it too .tiff. With that, you wont lose any information (Jpeg compresses files) and you will still have some editing room, just not as much as raw.

The Canon T1i doesn't save to .tiff files, only to RAW, JPEGs and MOV.

Ah, well, with that being said, im going to follow through with everyone else and agree; Convert to DNG from RAW. That should keep enough of the color correct.

I encountered the same problem with CS2. That was what my preference for PS was until i realized it couldnt read RAW files -- which is why i looked into Lightroom. I know CS4 accepts RAW, so i guess either convert to DNG or upgrade! good luck!