The perfect raw workflow

acorrias

20
[A650IS]

« on: 20 / May / 2008, 17:41:47 »

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Hi,
I've just bought a a650is and I'm experimenting with raw vs jpeg testing. I've used dng4ps2 and raw therapy, but i've realized that its very difficult to produce a raw.

I've used VNG-4 instead of other two methods (EADH and HPHD). but my raw seems to be sometimes a bit dark and sometimes a bit posterized. In other cases, raw is better than the jpeg, but noisy (CANON jpeg algorithm production seems to apply a light haloing effect to get sharpness: very visible with roof antennas)

could you suggest a good wordkflow to process raw and to get better jpeg? What about color profile?
thanks in advance
alex

« Last Edit: 20 / May / 2008, 17:56:16 by acorrias »

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RaduP

Re: The perfect raw workflow

« Reply #1 on: 20 / May / 2008, 18:30:14 »

I am using UFraw

UFRaw - Home
I personally like the raw far more than the camera JPG, because the camera applies a stupid sharpening over the picture, which greatly amplifies the noise. For example, I have a 'dead' red 'pixel' on the camera, which in raw mode is barely visible, but on JPG pictures it becomes a huge, 10 pixel monstrousity.
If I want sharpening, I can do it myself.
Same for noise reduction. I'd rather have a little noise than have less details.

My only problem is the WB, the camera does it better than I can do myself. Too bad that the camera WB is not saved in the raw file, as it is on DSLR cameras.

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brainwash

95
Nikon D40x & A460

Re: The perfect raw workflow

« Reply #2 on: 26 / May / 2008, 08:14:40 »

Ok, fastest workflow for me so far (though through expensive software):
-shoot in RAW mode, don't worry about details
-run DNG4PS2 on the entire card, converted files will be dumped on harddrive
-install NeatImage Photoshop plugin (only first time)
-open the DNG file with Photoshop (CS3)
-camera RAW appears, select AUTO on white balance and click the 'auto' hyperlink under WB which should do a fairly good job at recovering highlights and filling shadows
-tweak to your own desire, if necessary
-click open image
-go to plugins/filters, neat image and select that
-click auto-profile
-select second tab and/or click apply changes (OTOH, i do not have the app in front of me)

This gets really usable photos most of the time. Both Noise Ninja and Neat Image have custom profiles for cameras but for me auto profiling works best.

The amount of usable information returned from this process is impressive, the camera shot a 200k mostly black file (5 megapixel) which with gamma correction showed some blobs. With the process above I got a usable picture.

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