Re: Adobe Camera RAW 5.4 RC

Eric Stevens wrote:
On Sun, 31 May 2009 21:00:34 +1000, DMac <d-mac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

nospam wrote:
In article <soj4251r4e1jp4d2ov37kbikvab6tlfbtl@xxxxxxx>, Eric Stevens
<eric.stevens@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Aah, but the NEF files are not the product of a RAW converter. They
are Nikon Electronic Format and are produced by Nikon cameras and
Nikon editing software. This is where it gets confusing. :-)
nef files are produced by the camera, period.

nikon's software can edit those files and add additional data, as can
other software. that additional data is *not* from the camera and *is*
from the raw converter.

I just edited a RAW (NEF) file with Capture NX 2.2 I saved the image when prompted as a different file name but with NEF extension. I exited the program then open it with Photoshop (ACR 5.2).

Photoshop does not understand the alterations made by Capture NX2.
You could of course, save the file as a 16 bit TIFF file and open it in Photoshop for further editing but ACR doesn't read alterations to Nikon NEF files.

Thanks for the confirmation. That's what I expected.
Interesting too, that Photoshop (ACR) won't read the edits made post shoot in the camera either.

Ditto.
ACR can't do as good a job as Capture NX on opening a NEF file. It can't do a very good job of opening a RAF file from a Fuji s5 either.

Why can't people use the right tool for the job and if they want to muck around with their images in Photoshop, do it from a 16 bit TIFF file created by the camera maker's own software? Considering the quality you get using Capture NX2.2, I can't understand any Nikon owner bothering with ACR.

I'm wondering whether to bother with Photoshop.



Eric Stevens

Eric... I'm probably the biggest software junkie you're likely to find. I must have $10,000s worth of useless software I've accumulated over the past 5 years. None is more useless to me than Raw Shooter and it's predecessor, Photoshop lightroom.

My RAW decoders are: DxO (Elite), Lightroom, CCD RAW, Capture NX 2.2, Canon DPP, and ACR as provided with Photoshop CS4, Capture one (4.1) and Lightroom.

Photo editing software includes Photo paint and Paint Shop Pro from Corel. Both have RAW decoders that work on files as-is before Adobe release a new version of ACR that requires an upgrade of Photoshop to work on them... Does that tell you anything about Adobe's business model?

I have concluded that Photoshop is the lynch pin of digital photography but I could do without it as I did for many months while they sorted out the cancellation of my software license. It can tamper with images in ways all the other programs can only hope to imitate. Having said that, keep in mind I process between 500 and 1000 or more images a week from Canon Fuji and Nikon cameras.

I believer you have to keep in sight, the purpose of your photography before you think about buying any software that didn't come with the camera.

For me, I process everything in one hit with the camera maker's software. For this discussion that is Capture NX 2.2. Then I go looking with Irfanview for images I'll use in the album and set them aside. Next I'll look for images suitable for a canvas portrait or enlargement for future use with Photoshop.

So like traditional photo labs do when processing your films, I develop the digital negatives in a different solution to the one I process prints in. For many applications such as proof albums, I print directly from Capture NX.

When I am working with stock and fine art prints for sale to Gallery owners or for coffee table books, The process is not much different except I use Corel Photo paint in conjunction with Photoshop to produce the final image which is enlarged with an algorithm I developed many years ago. I probably should use a commercial one which are probably better now but habits die slowly.

Photoshop is a great program for editing images. Adobe Camera RAW is a program trying to do too much to too many different image types and does none of them as it should. Sensitive highlight areas blown to 250 with the camera are ACR's worse nightmare. Moderate stuff is fine. Disaster recovery is pretty much impossible compared to what you can achieve with Capture NX or Capture one (4.1).

Many people who never explore the extremes of what ACR can do will shout you down about how good it is. The same for Lightroom and DxO devotees. All 3 applications work. It's how well they work for you that matters.

I first discovered how good camera makers software was with an Olympus E300 I had. Someone posting in 35mm forum opened my eyes that I might be losing a lot of image quality be ignoring Olympus Studio software and using ACR. She was right. Ever since then I've only ever used the peripheral application that come with Photoshop for non essential work.

Irfanview is faster than bridge and does more.
Capture NX 2.2 produces less smeary and better defined images than ACR.
Corel Photo Paint blends montages in ways Adobe can only dream about.
Paint Shop Pro has many automated features missing from Photoshop.

And the list goes on. The right tool for the job at hand is recognised all over the world. You don't see a carpenter using a jigsaw to cut beams to length nor do you see him use a circular saw to cut holes. Why then should not photographers recognise that when they process their images, there are tools more suitable than other for different tasks?

.

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