RAW Photos Only

[wewillie46]

When I first got my Pentax SLR I didn't now better
But now all I shoot is RAW Now I Know Better
Thats the only way to go If you care about your shoot
Thanks

[crunch]

Originally Posted by private

And Crunch - Yes, the idea is that you CAN PP, BUT if you get it right you do not have to, and if you don't you can write a recipe and have it applied, it takes less than one min. My lens is pretty sharp - its the 17-85 IS, not an L lens, but its right up there, And yes in jpg, you can do a lot of color correction, WB etc. but by the time you set it for each shot, you have missed your shot. But, I am glad that you also shoot in RAW (but it does not have to take a lot of time to PP)

I disagree. Raw is MEANT to be post-processed. If you compare an out-of-camera raw to a JPG, the raw looks flat, lifeless and unsharp, EVEN if you have nailed the exposure and focusing.

To get the most out of raw, or to get the raw to look even close to as good as the perfect straight-out-of-camera JPG, one MUST post-process. That is the whole point of raw.

Raw is unprocessed data saved directly from the sensor. Since the camera 'sees' the world linearly whereas we do not, the camera applies a very strong s-shaped gamma curve to the JPG based on the variations of light and dark within that image. With a raw picture, the camera (or Photoshop) applies a very generic s-shape gamma curve. Thus, the raw format assumes that you will modify this gamma curve, else the picture WILL look flat.

Similarly for colour, brightness, saturation, etc.

Raw files are just begging to be post-processed! Which is why I have such a love-hate relationship with raw

[Mimp]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

k9 and lori,

have you tried the program that came with your 40d? it's called digital photo professional. that's what i used to tweak and tinker with the raw files. works great imo.

I have a 30D and found updating to CS3 would only apply to my apple G4 as it uses part of that processor.
Fed up with that, and not wanting to get another computer, I have the CS2 running fine and I now use GIMP, which after all is FREE and find it as good. It has loads of updates and is great on feedback forums &c.!

Has a learning curve, yet not so drastic if you use manipulation programmes anyway!


Mimp

[snahamap]

Originally Posted by private

Snahap - your pictures are awsome! watch the size tho...

I'll be looking into that. Was my first post on this forum and I am used to auto-resizers.

I'm using an EOS 10D atm, but am looking at a new camera.
(probably next year )

[k9mom]

Tried out Adobe's DNG Converter, the free program that converts the Canon 40D's RAW files into recognizable files by Photoshop CS (and other older versions of Photoshop). It worked great!!! I highly recommend this to others who do not have the latest version of PS!

[private]

Glad to see that there are many RAW tools out there.