Raw Conversion Software

[ARD]

I am looking to get a new RAW conversion software. At the moment I use Capture One Pro 3.7. After looking at the new version 4 I'm not too happy with the interface, but feel that 3.7 now misses some processing abilities of other products.

Just looking for a few ideas on what people use and like, and why.

Many thanks

[nemophoto]

Just about everyone has their opinion about this, and I'm not sure there's a "wrong" answer. All personal preference. I personally own: Capture One (3 & 4), Lightroom (1 & 2), Canon DPP, BreezeBrowser, Bibble and RawShooter (not that it gets much use anymore).

I agree with your thoughts about Capture One 3.x versus Capture One 4. Though I have both, and used the 3.x for years as my main converter, it is long in the tooth as far as a few processing niceties, and C1-4 just seems clunkier.

I've moved on to Lightroom as my primary. I don't think it is the "sharpest" or "cleanest" RAW processor out there, but it has lots of flexibility. I also still like using Canon's DPP for some things. A while back I tried Silkipix. Not bad at all. A little quirky in the way it does things, but good results. I've had Bibble for years, but never really liked the results I got. I also tried DxO, but, honestly, with all the programs I already own, it didn't offer me something major the others didn't have. (I have heard, though, that it's quite good at pulling out the finest details.)

Almost every one of these programs is available in a 15- to 30-day full working demo. Download them. Select a handful of images that represent a wide-range of what you shoot, and see how they handle color, contrasty situations, over-exposure, under-exposure. The most important thing, aside from results, is how YOU like working with it and how quick and easy it is to pick up.

[The View]

I used Lightroom for over a year, and stopped using it. Now I use DPP, and I'm happy with its RAW conversions: detail level, sharpness, color.

I'm going to try  C1pro 4 if I like it. I also have RPP, a photographer's enthusiast project, but I haven't used it a lot so far (even though it looks promising).

Many photographers here like DxO. I never used it, but, when time permits, I'll download the trial.

For image management I dumped LR for being too proprietary and clunky, and am in the process of evaluating Photo Mechanic.

It's probably a good choice to buy a RAW converter and specialized DAM (data asset management) software like Photo Mechanic (currently more a browser, but with powerful search and tag tools) and Expressions Media.

Generally you are best helped by just trying the software, and see what kind of conversions you get.

Choose what's best for your work. Many photographers use more than one converter, as different converters give images of different character. So you might end up using converter A for portraiture, converter B for landscape, converter C for studio lit images.

[Christopher]

I really don't think it matter what you use. Some say that lightroom is not as clean, as DPP or C4, I just think if you see obvious results you are using it in a wrong way. I mean come on I have seen samples here posted and I asked myself, wtf went wrong here ? Just don't use the lightroom sharpening tool, or at least learn before you use it.

I used C1, DPP but after all went back to lightroom. Why ? Because it is fast, it gives a great output quality which is as good as any other program. It has by far the best interface, and is great to organize photos as well. I think one main problem lightroom has is the sharpening, this can produce very unclean looking files. In really don't know why but I don't like the sharpening in lightroom, I prefer to use PS for sharpening.

I attached some files. From lightroom and C1. I even did printed test an I'm sure that there is no freaking difference in a 20 by 30 inch print between lightroom, DPP or C1.
Guess for yourself which one is which programm. If the difference is SOOOOO clear as many claim here it shouldn't be hard, should it ?

Forget colour in these pictures, they are still ProPhoto RGB, I just wanted to show the detials from differen converters. I never had problems when it came to colours in any of these programs.

The first image shows the lightroom effect some are complaining about, just wrong use of lightroom...

[attachment=7857:attachment]

Here is the rest:

[attachment=7850:attachment][attachment=7849:attachment]

[attachment=7855:attachment][attachment=7852:attachment]

[attachment=7854:attachment][attachment=7851:attachment]

[attachment=7853:attachment][attachment=7856:attachment]

[Brian Gilkes]

If on Mac, try RawDeveloper.
Very sharp, deconvolution algorithms, advanced  sharpness and noise, 16 bit histograms, can output in any colourspace (unlike LR and PS).
Cheers
Brian
www.pharoseditions.com.au

[Ken Bennett]

They are all good, especially in the hands of an experienced user. The user interfaces are quite different, making it difficult to choose one based on a few days or weeks of free trial. My thoughts:

Adobe Camera RAW: best user interface with Photo Mechanic, very easy to automate and customize. New beta profiles are quite good.

Lightroom: same raw engine as ACR, so similar conversions. Easier to set up and save presets than ACR. I find it more difficult to use as part of a Photo Mechanic > Raw Converter > Photoshop > Archive workflow, though. It really want to be a stand alone app.

DxO: Nice conversions, and I really like the automated lens corrections. Good color. I didn't use the new version long enough to be comfortable with the range of controls, because it's not really designed for processing large numbers of photos quickly.

I'd like to make Lightroom work in my workflow, because I like how easy it is to save presets for pretty much everything. That'll take some time, though. In the meantime, my ACR workflow handles everything pretty well.

[DarkPenguin]

They are all good, especially in the hands of an experienced user. The user interfaces are quite different, making it difficult to choose one based on a few days or weeks of free trial.

This is a really good point.  If you download a bunch of apps to try you should get them one at a time, read the tutorials and process images until you know how to use the program.  If you just futz around with them you just won't get a good feel for them.  And some of them require a lot of time to get the work flow down.

I like lightroom.  Oodles of controls and it does more than just converting files.  Plus you can get really entertaining tutorials from this site for it.

[mistybreeze]

I own a few and at some point have tried most. My gut seems satisfied with Lightroom. Looking forward to the upgrade soon.

I remember being impressed with immediate results in Canon DPP. Hated the UI and never looked back. Initially, Capture One had too many bugs. It's gotten better but the UI is still weak.

I really fell in love with Adobe's CR. Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe helped a lot. And Lightroom is like eating an ice cream sundae from Berthillon Glacier. The flavor choices are tasty and abundant, too hard for me to resist.

Converters speak to a photographer's taste and style. It's hard to decipher a favorite without some in-depth use. It helps if you're quick in knowing what you like and why, and what you don't.

I find Lightroom great for capture sharpening but you really need to know what you're doing and why. Inevitably, all my images enter Photoshop so further sharpening happens later, depending on output and use.

Lightroom's UI is really sophisticated. I often feel like a symphony conductor. The more time I spend in it, the more I enjoy the workflow. Tackling Library decisions was the biggest hurdle. Once I decided on yearly Libraries and more than one location, I breathed a sigh of relief.

[tho_mas]

16 bit histograms[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=214165\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

 
How that? To show 65536 steps... you need 35 (!) 24'' displays

[ARD]

Thanks for all the replies - much appreciated, am off now to check out the ones that have been mentioned  

[httivals]

Thanks for all the replies - much appreciated, am off now to check out the ones that have been mentioned 
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=214230\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Lightroom is the choice for ease of use, interface, and generally very good to excellent conversions.

If you want the best possible quality in your conversions, however, DXO Optics Pro v. 5.2 can't be beat, IMHO.  As long as it supports your camera and lens combinations, it's sharper, preserves better detail, creates better micro-contrast, and better color.  It's noise reduction on high ISO, which I've just started experimenting with, is also superior to any noise plug in software I've used.  (I now am at the point where I won't by a lens if it's not supported by DXO unless there's absolutely no other alternative; it's that good.)

I use a combination of Lightroom (to select), DXO (to demosaic) - saved to DNG, Lightroom to tweak exposure, color balance, etc. after first using DXO, and Photoshop for final editing, output sharpening, and printing.

[ARD]

Been trying a few of the suggestions. I quite like Lightroom, but am giving the Capture One 4 trial a good work through. Hopefully I'll get to like the new user interface

Thanks again for all the replies and advice

[teddillard]

I am looking to get a new RAW conversion software. At the moment I use Capture One Pro 3.7. After looking at the new version 4 I'm not too happy with the interface, but feel that 3.7 now misses some processing abilities of other products.

Just looking for a few ideas on what people use and like, and why.

Many thanks
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

fyi...  there's a similar thread going on over here:
[a href=\"http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27354]http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=27354[/url]

[ARD]

fyi...  there's a similar thread going on over here:
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=27354
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=218250\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks