RAW...huh...what is it good for?

Raw....hmmmm how else would you eat clams?
How else would you want files....

Kevin, it seems to me that old school film shooters love raw and the newer digital generation likes those jpeg things.....
Just an observation....
Don

 

OOOO Kevin! that's provocative but probably ninety percent correct!
I seem to recall reading in the last PS paper manual (CS2 or 3) that the ACR AUTO setting would correct most images presented, for the most part that is a very true statement.
I tried Aperture ver 1. ? and 2 for about six months but found it slow and cumbersome especially when photoshop was really needed, this was with a high spec'd Mac. I have never used Lightroom but knowing that ACR is incorporated its probably all one needs that or perhaps Elements, which is very good value for money. Having used Adobe software professionally for nearly twenty five years old habits die hard...

 

I must be doing something wrong then.. I often tweak the sliders in ACR for images with questionable lighting and get huge improvements. In fact, I rarely use 100% default settings with any image. And I shoot RAW 100% of the time. JPGs are the equivalent of Polaroids, in my mind.

I just hope I don't get my Adobe ACE certification taken away now.

 

Seems like a reasonable explanation...
I am "old school' and yes I shoot film (4-35mm camera's: 1 RF, 2-SLR, 1-AF Compact), Plus 1 Digital m4/3

Yes I shoot RAW in all my camera's.

 

I was talking to a girl the other day who is just getting into photography and I told her 'I shoot RAW'.
Well, You shoulda seen the look on her face.
Found out later that she thought I said 'I shoot in the RAW'

 

and that would have been considered odd down in Oz?

 

Oh Kevin you old provocateur you.

This reminds me of a saying " If everyone like the same thing then everyone would want to marry my Grandmother!"

 

Wow. Photoshop is for graphic artists and not for photographers?! Wow. I am both and both statements are wrong! And I "play around with those RAW adjustment sliders" all the time. The defaults setting are not the "best," they are "average."

I guess we got up on the wrong side of the Lightroom today.

That is one of the funniest post I have read in a long time.

 

I use ACR almost exclusively with PS, and it's a great tool for bringing out the most IQ from my images. With the workflow I've set up, it doesn't take me more than a few seconds per image. I use PS simply to do some minor adjustments, maybe add frames, play with layers if I want to get creative, etc. post-ACR.

 

I'd come a "cropper" without LR and as I never vote labour these days have started "exposing myself to the right" so I need a bit of "software" to bring me back in line

They still sell and process film in French and Belgian supermarkets - about 2.50 Euros a go!

 

Sorry but I disagree with both statements actually, really what is the point of using a RAW converter if you don't make adjustments? that is the whole point, otherwise just shoot jpeg and save your time and money...

I also disagree with the photoshop comments, I have a rather involved sharpening process to give that 3d pop (or accentuate it if already there) and I haven't found a way to do it outside of photoshop to date... I also have a good number of macros for various other things/effects...

For me RAW and photoshop are essential tools..

 

keep them coming Brady, keep them coming

Barrie

 

I actually use LR too (never ACR), and process the image there, some things get saved to JPEG at that point, or if I want to do things in Photoshop with them I transfer it to photoshop directly (PHOTO-EDIT IN PS) and then save the end result to JPEG (I keep all my RAW files).. I never save multiple TIFF files, or any for that matter..

 

I would agree.
Loading up a RAW is, half for me, so you can tweak your image until is exactly how you think it looks best (without further specialised adjustments). A default process can only guess at one look of the many you might want for the image.

You say you know Photoshop (CS5)?
I've never seen PS make an auto RAW adjustment that is one I want to keep.
Do you, for instance, know of the clarity slider in CS5? That is something you would always want to try adjusting (not to mention exposure etc.).
RAW processing in CS5 is non-destructive. You can mess about with the image later as much as you like.

 

I "saw the light" last March and gave my £300, (or was it £200), to "Uncle Sam's" economy - 50% more in the UK and Europe for the software than the US.

I should have bought an M9 then I would have got it free

Never looked back, the problem is that I now spend far more time "looking at a screen" and moving the sliders "here and there" than most other things - but I can put this down to "developing my creative talents"

All good fun and this is going to be a long thread of mainly ................... ?

 

Unless you are manipulating images (such as cutting and moving people, etc.) I find I can do 99% of what I need to do in Lightroom. And I am only shooting RAW. The non-destructive editing and catalog are worth their weight in latinum (point for who gets the reference).

And as I have worked with it I have also found I tend to do the same basic adjustments most of the time which is where making your own presets comes in handy as excellent starting (and sometimes finishing) points.

But I still spend a lot of time in Lightroom working with images. But it is far less time than I used to spend in the darkroom. When I had a darkroom I would often spend one evening a week (usually 6 hours) developing film and making enlargements. I was very happy to get 6 good pictures (and sometimes one very good) out of maybe two rolls of film (72 pictures for about 10% usable). Now it seems I shoot 3x+ as many pictures but can go through them in Lightroom in around 2 hours. Still only keep around 10%. But I am also doing mostly color instead of only black and white as well. I tried my own color darkroom developing but quickly gave up.

So instead of standing in a room all evening with a dark orange light (and occasional flashes of bright blinding white light to check prints) breathing chemical fumes I can now sit in my easy chair with a dog in my lap. And I can quickly throw images up on the TV and get my wife's opinion.

I do strongly recommend two monitors when you use Lightroom - you can get a lot more out of it if you do (e.g. zoom in on one and make adjustments while seeing a larger full screen version on the other).