I am used to post-processing my Nikon DSLR images in Photoshop and Lightroom. I was wondering about post-processing E-PL1 raw (.orf) images. I know that the camera does a lot of things to JPGs--like removing noise and distortion. I'm pretty sure distortion is not removed from RAW images, but not sure about noise. What is the best way to do it automatically? Does the camera pass on any information that would help the software? Do I have to use Olympus software to get the best automated results?
Rider, I'm going to move this into the Software forum. Some swear by the Olympus software but many choose other options. I'd also like to suggest you use the Advanced Edit function and add in "Noise" to your subject line, so that everyone will immediately know what you're after.
The camera adds in the .orf metadata all the settings used at the moment the pic was taken. First I suggest you try the free Olympus Viewer 2 which is on the Oly site. With it you can use the camera settings to begin modification instead of starting from the plain RAW. It allows you to apply to a RAW .orf the same algorithm which produces the famous Oly jpegs, and also allows on-PC Art Filters if you like them. To me "grainy B&W" is very good. That said, most of my pics come out of Lightroom 3, which does a nice job with purples from .orf files and is very good as an organizer. But it's not free. Last two pics of this post compare the same pic.
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that raw converters do apply distortion correction. With Oly software you can also replicate the in-camera noise reduction, chosing low, medium or high to suit what looks best on the screen. However, for this I prefer to use Dfine 2.0 software. :smile:
I will try the Olympus software. Is Viewer 2 better/different than the one that comes with the camera (ib)? How do you deal with distortion in Lightroom 2? It does not have any presets for m43 lenses.
