E-PL1 and the Macintosh; a couple important tips

[Jon F]

Just a FYI, the E-PL1 comes with PC software only. I was about to return it when I found some very useful links (with some help from here and there.)

RAW development: Until the main players catch up, Olympus Master 2 will develop the RAW files (even though this is not shown in the list of updates on Oly Master 2. Here is the link to receive the free download.
https://emporium.olympus.com/studioMaster2/OlympusMaster.aspx

Oly Master 2 will download and develop the files, but will not recognize the camera when connected. Thus another link was needed to perform body and lens updates. Here it is!
http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/software/camera/cameraupdate.cfm

By the way, if anyone has a Mac, EPL1, and happens to have Olympus Studio 2 installed, could you see if it will develop a EPL1 RAW file? Thanks!

 

[BBW]

Jon, if you're happy with the Olympus Master RAW conversion, that's great. Personally, I have no experience with it as of yet.

I have just begun using Aperture 3 and am learning my way, slowly but surely. There's a thread down in the Software section about Aperture 3.

Since your post is specifically related to Olympus software for their cameras, I think this is the best place to discuss their software, but should you ever be interested in trying a different RAW conversion that can be used with various softwares...you might want to check out this website: http://facefullofbees.com/ Kevin, who goes by Kevin Paris here, really knows his stuff. A number of E-P2 users availed themselves of his Apple Scripts before Aperture 3 updated and added the E-P1 and E-P2 cameras to RAW, which I hope they'll do in the not too distant future.

As I mentioned when I welcomed you in your other thread, you will get some really helpful feedback regarding Olympus Studio 2 and the E-PL1. Brian Mosely, for one, is quite knowledgeable but chances are, since he lives in the UK, he won't be online until tomorrow morning - so please check back.:smile:

 

[Jon F]

Jon, if you're happy with the Olympus Master RAW conversion, that's great. Personally, I have no experience with it as of yet.

I have just begun using Aperture 3 and am learning my way, slowly but surely. There's a thread down in the Software section about Aperture 3.

Since your post is specifically related to Olympus software for their cameras, I think this is the best place to discuss their software, but should you ever be interested in trying a different RAW conversion that can be used with various softwares...you might want to check out this website: http://facefullofbees.com/ Kevin, who goes by Kevin Paris here, really knows his stuff. A number of E-P2 users availed themselves of his Apple Scripts before Aperture 3 updated and added the E-P1 and E-P2 cameras to RAW, which I hope they'll do in the not too distant future.

As I mentioned when I welcomed you in your other thread, you will get some really helpful feedback regarding Olympus Studio 2 and the E-PL1. Brian Mosely, for one, is quite knowledgeable but chances are, since he lives in the UK, he won't be online until tomorrow morning - so please check back.:smile:

Thanks! I am holding out until Lightroom becomes available, but the idea that there was nothing for the Mac was kind of annoying. Thanks for the other link. Also, there is a need to be able to update the E-PL1 and lens data, and that is kind of missing for the Mac user (until you start digging a little).

 

[BBW]

Thanks Jon, I hope you'll get some real answers soon!

 

[CanonDude]

Bibble 5 has been updated to convert the E-PL1 .ORF files. If you have Bibble 5, get the latest update.

 

[LisaO]

I read that the new Lightroom 3 Beta 2 has support for EPL1
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

 

[et100]

Thanks for the links! I've noticed the PC software provided with E-PL1 was not able to detect the detect the firmware version on the camera. Using your link I've checked my newly purchased E-PL1 and there is no firmware update yet.

To answer your question I have Studio 2.3 installed and it does develop the E-PL1 RAW files!

Just a FYI, the E-PL1 comes with PC software only. I was about to return it when I found some very useful links (with some help from here and there.)

RAW development: Until the main players catch up, Olympus Master 2 will develop the RAW files (even though this is not shown in the list of updates on Oly Master 2. Here is the link to receive the free download.
https://emporium.olympus.com/studioMaster2/OlympusMaster.aspx

Oly Master 2 will download and develop the files, but will not recognize the camera when connected. Thus another link was needed to perform body and lens updates. Here it is!
http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/software/camera/cameraupdate.cfm

By the way, if anyone has a Mac, EPL1, and happens to have Olympus Studio 2 installed, could you see if it will develop a EPL1 RAW file? Thanks!

 

[bashar]

olympus jpeg engine is one of the best, i did not find any advantage for shooting raw other than waisting precious time that i could be shooting with then sitting behind a computer screen, that is just my personal opinion, dont shoot me!

 

[cosinaphile]

i will not shoot you or bash you either.............. the jpegs out of camera for the ep1 are simply the best anywhere, IMHO


i shoot 99 % jpegs and im a happy camper, many advanced post processers here will not agree with me, but i hear ya!

 

[Brian Mosley]

Look at it this way, every Olympus camera comes with a free raw converter built into firmware

Seriously, I'm pretty much emulating jpeg using Olympus Studio... and then doing any post processing I want but don't really need, using Lightzone.

My advice to anyone would be to master shooting in jpeg, perhaps archive the raw files for future reference, while you're waiting for the 'industry heavyweight' raw converters to catch up.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Richard W]

I use iphoto on my imac, which after a recent apple update, now recognizes EP2 .ORF files.

I have not tried Aperture3 or olymaster 2 yet.

 

[BBW]

iPhoto processes RAW files? I never knew that, though I realize it's not a super involved software, I have always liked its organization a great deal.

(Aperture 3 is pretty cool, though some of us with older Mac's with certain graphic card processors are having some issues with it and Snow Leopard...but you can read about that in the Aperture thread down in the Software forum, if you're interested.)

 

[LisaO]

iPhoto does process RAW files but if you put alot of RAW files in it really slows down iPhoto. I always import my jpegs into iphoto for easy reference and copy my RAW files to folders where I can access them in LR, Aperture or Bridge.

I've been using iphoto since it first came out and have several large libraries of over 40,000 files. If they were RAW it would be painful.

I have used previous versions of aperture and lightroom too. I am trying out the new Aperture 3 and LR 3 Beta, I think the aperture needs a bit of fine tuning, it seems slow and crashed a few times, I'm sure apple will fix it but if I were a pro relying on it to work I wouldn't trust it at this point.

Oly .ORF files do open in LR 3 beta 2.

iPhoto processes RAW files? I never knew that, though I realize it's not a super involved software, I have always liked its organization a great deal.

(Aperture 3 is pretty cool, though some of us with older Mac's with certain graphic card processors are having some issues with it and Snow Leopard...but you can read about that in the Aperture thread down in the Software forum, if you're interested.)

 

[Jon F]

Thanks everyone! Personally, RAW files are my backup plan in case I make a mistake in exposure. On occasion, I also like to fine tune. However, I chose to go the Oly route after looking at hundreds of images (many from you) and was so impressed with the color gradiation. Just happy to see that the EPL1 does have options for the Mac, as it comes with PC software only.

 

[gldbug800]

I'm using OLY Master 2 for downloading from my E-PL1 and it is one of the worst abominations for photo processing ever invented. After using Aperture for several months with my E-620 having to shift to Master 2 is a very rude awakening. It is very user unfriendly and cumbersome to use - ugh. Oly should pull this crud off the market and get busy making things compatible with Aperture. Dummies.

 

[Streetshooter]

Switch to LR.
No more nightmares.
Shooter

 

[Ray Sachs]

I'm using OLY Master 2 for downloading from my E-PL1 and it is one of the worst abominations for photo processing ever invented. After using Aperture for several months with my E-620 having to shift to Master 2 is a very rude awakening. It is very user unfriendly and cumbersome to use - ugh. Oly should pull this crud off the market and get busy making things compatible with Aperture. Dummies.

I'm not sure when you last checked, but Apple has supported the epl1 (with Aperture, Iphoto, etc) for a couple of months now at least. I assume you're talking about importing RAW files, right? There was a pretty good workaround before they supported it, and I'd explain it to you but now you don't need to worry about it. Just make sure your software is up to date, plug in your SD card, and Aperture will import the files.

-Ray

 

[starlabs]

To be specific, you need the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility update 3.3 to be able to read E-PL1 RAW .ORF files.

When I did the Apple -> Software Update route, that particular "patch" didn't show up. I had to download it manually. Once installed on my MBP though, works like a charm.

 

[FaradayCage]

Also, the free Adobe DNG Converter will convert .ORF files to .dng format raw files which can work with other software, including older versions of Photoshop and possibly older versions of iPhoto although I haven't tried that yet.