RAW has gotten me confused.

[pm63]

I've got a new PC (thanks for the advice Garbz) and have started shooting RAW, great.

However, I'm finding it much more complex than JPEG and am wondering whether there is any real benefit.

After copying the files from my card to PC, I use Picasa photo viewer, which installed with Picasa, to sort through them and make a selection for processing (uh-oh). When I scroll to an image, for a second or two the image looks good then it morphs into a butt-ugly thing devoid of contrast and saturation. I'm guessing the first image is the one with settings applied that my camera reccomended in the header file, and the second is the "pure" RAW file, if you like? If this is so, I am faced with a problem because this makes selection difficult - instead of being able to see the real RAW file from the start, I see the one with settings applied and have to wait a second to see the real one, unedited. I have no way of comparing side-by-side two files to see which one I prefer. Can someone reccomend me therefore a good image viewer that will let me see the untouched RAW files first thing, and compare them side by side (Nikon .NEF's)? Also, based on what should I choose the file to work on? By the cleanest histogram with no burnt out shadows or highlights, I presume? In that case, I need an app that will allow me to see a histgram.

The next part of the workflow is the part I enjoy and find superior to JPG. I import to Adobe Camera Raw 4 to make my adjustments. This part is much easier and the controls are basically like my previous JPG workflow, but all in one place. When I am finished, however, I have 3 options: Save image, open image, cancel, and done. I see that 'done' saves a text file with all changes, without actually editing the file itself, I like that. However, my next step is to make more detailed adjustments in CS3, so I can either 'save image', and export as TIFF, then work on that in PS, or I can 'open image', and work on the NEF in PS anyway. I'm a bit confused here, which is the way to go? I always thought that exporting as TIFFs and editing in PS was what one should do, but now that I see I can work on the NEF's themselves I'm not sure. (N.B. I want the final, end-format to be uncompressed TIFF).

After I've worked on the TIFF I save it, and I'm done. So far so good. Then it comes to picking a file to save for web and flickr, and possibly printing. Picasa photo viewer screws it up again. When I look at the files in that, they look completely different to when the same file is open either in PS or the default Windows photo viewer - they are much less saturated and generally don't look as nice. Now I'm wondering who to believe - Picasa photo viewer or PS and the Windows app? I didn't know different applications would render the same photo differently!

Any help with this dilemmas would be much appreciated.

 

[Overread]

Ok a few things:

1) I view images in windows picture viewer which only shows the RAW with its recomended jepg edit from the camera, so when I open them they do look different. I don't find this a problem though, a sharp wellexposed image is still the same when opened in the RAW editer - just that I might have to tweak a few things to get them right

2) I always open the file after RAW editing - I only have elemets 6 so I edit RAW in that then open direct into elements for more editing, that saves the whole step of saving and then having to open the saved version. If you do decide to take that rout (say you do RAW in one program and editing in another) then always save as a TIFF to retain the details, JPEG is lossy and willl lose you data (it also will limit your bit rate of the photo as well which TIFF won't do)

3) It sounds like your colour profile in your editing software is set to adob RGB - set it to sRGB to retain the colours and saturation since sRGB is the standard whilst RGB is not.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

If you want the nikon color back, under the camera profiles section in ACR select something like camera vivid.

 

[EOS_JD]

Without adding to the above, use Lightroom. Much easier, faster and better than picasa

When I am finished, however, I have 3 options: Save image, open image, cancel, and done.

that's 4 options

I see that 'done' saves a text file with all changes, without actually editing the file itself, I like that.

Correct

However, my next step is to make more detailed adjustments in CS3, so I can either 'save image', and export as TIFF, then work on that in PS, or I can 'open image', and work on the NEF in PS anyway. I'm a bit confused here, which is the way to go? I always thought that exporting as TIFFs and editing in PS was what one should do, but now that I see I can work on the NEF's themselves I'm not sure. (N.B. I want the final, end-format to be uncompressed TIFF).

You are not editing the NEF file when you open the file. You are opening a copy of the file with your edits but when you save, it will ask what to save as - jpg, tif, psd etc.

At this point use tif (Can I ask why you want to edit an uncompressed tif)

After I've worked on the TIFF I save it, and I'm done. So far so good. Then it comes to picking a file to save for web and flickr, and possibly printing. Picasa photo viewer screws it up again. When I look at the files in that, they look completely different to when the same file is open either in PS or the default Windows photo viewer - they are much less saturated and generally don't look as nice. Now I'm wondering who to believe - Picasa photo viewer or PS and the Windows app? I didn't know different applications would render the same photo differently!

Any help with this dilemmas would be much appreciated.

I'm not sure picasa is colour managed. When outputting ytour raw file, make sure the colour space is sRGB as that is what the Web uses to show files. If you use aRGB with a wider gamut, then the web image will not be able to display all your colour.

Also make sure you have a calibrated monitor.

To print the tif in aRGB should be fine.

 

[Garbz]

There is no such thing as viewing a "pure" RAW file. A RAW file is sensor data. What you see is the sensor data plus what the computer has done to convert it. As you already have figured out Picassa does a horrid job at processing a RAW file.

Switch to something like Lightroom or CaptureNX (try the 30 day trials of each before you settle for one. [lightroom is better ]). And within lightroom you can set the Camera profile at the very bottom down to Camera Standard or Camera Vivid to match the camera settings, or just use the superior (my opinion) Adobe Standard, which looks much less cartoony.

 

[KD5NRH]

There is no such thing as viewing a "pure" RAW file.

Sure there is; debug will show you the whole thing in hex and ascii at the same time.

 

[Garbz]

Sure there is; debug will show you the whole thing in hex and ascii at the same time.

Ok guess I can't be right all the time :lmao: