converting this stupid raw format

[ymages]

I come back from hollidays with over 1000 raw file

the time needed to convert RAW to TIF = 1 file about 1 minute ...

 

!!!

I wonder if i shall not stop all with RAW and shoot only jpg .... when

png should be the right format !

 

with which programm do you convert your RAW files ?

do you do it during the night to get them with breakfast ?

[Ed_Ingold]

Set up an action in Photoshop, and save the results in TIFF. You can alter the white balance and other parameters in the PS File Browser prior to executing the action.

 

I save the results in TIFF for the best compatibility and to preserve the 16-bit depth.

[Ed_Ingold]

It takes Photoshop about 15 seconds to convert and save RAW Nikon files. That depends on the processor speed and available RAM.

[david_haynes]

What camera are yu using? Does it capture RAW plus JPG?

 

If so, just work with the JPG files until you are ready to do something with them (i.e. -

give to an editor or art director for print, or make a print yourself). Then use the RAW

file to convert to an image for that particular use.

 

This is how I and most everyone I know works - using the smaller JPG as the "proof"

and the RAW files as a "digital negative" to fine tune for the final presentation.

[ymages]

I am using canon EOS 20D and RAW + small JPG

 

then you think that saving on a dvdrom is better to keep RAW and not TIF ?

 

ok i will follow that way ... only converting what i need ... and keep the rest asleep into raw

 

but i still don't understand what they are doing with that RAW format (never the same !! even for canon, i had a poweshot G3 before) when png is perfect

 

thanks a lot for your answers

[robert_martin5]

If your camera does not save a RAW plus JPG, you can write an Action in Photoshop to convert to JPG using the camera settings. Run the Action using the browser in Photoshop and save the images to a folder.

 

Keep the RAW images as your masters. If you need a better image later, start with the RAW file and make the necessary custom adjustments to get the final image on just the images you need. If you shoot only JPG files with the camera, you don't have this option.

[ymages]

the only thing i am afraid is to save raw in dvd rom and not to be able to open them in 10 years ... specially my childrens

[john_baker8]

Erick, Backup degeneration is a legitimate concern. You should backup your files to a large computer hard drive and periodically make new DVD backups (say once each year?) for redundancy. By next year the new DVD standard will hold 10gb and after that up to 40gb. Who knows what will evolve for backup storage in the future.. I have a simple RAID 5 hard drive array that I periodically expand to hold all of my files. This way is a hard drive fails I still do not loose anything. I am surprised that computer companies do not ship computers standard with RAID set up. I know a lot of the newer motherboards support RAID 0 + 1 but it is up to the user to set it up.

[ymages]

thanks John .. yes backup is a problem .. and what about the raw itself ?

[steve coburn]

What about Adobe's DNG format?

[david_haynes]

WHat I do with my Canon 20D is to shoot in RAW + best JPG.

 

When I download, I separate RAW and JPG files for each assignment and work with the

jpg files unless there is a problem with them. For many things - such as web, up to

A4 inkjet prints, etc, - I never even convert the RAW file (which is much smaller file

size than a 16-bit tiff).

 

The exception is when - for whatever reason - I missed on the camera settings (white

balance being the most often problem) at the time of capture. Then I'll convert THAT

RAW file to print or deliver or whatever.

 

I always back up everything both on removeable media (CD-R or DVD) as well as to an

external hard drive. By working this way a typical shoot will easily fit on a DVD (4.7GB)

with both RAW and the best JPG, along with any copyright-embedded PDF

presentations or other slide show/proofing folders.

 

Another thing I have found very helpful in archiving images on removeable media is to

print a typical or memorable photo from the shoot directly onto the CD-R or DVD with

my Epson R800 printer. When searching for a particular image later this makes finding

the right disk much easier because I can easily remember the image compared to a

disk marked with date and assignment with a Sharpie.

 

Good Luck!

[ymages]

a RAW + a large JPG !

in that case i really don't see the necessity of RAW (just my opinion)

[ymages]

Adobe's DNG is too much .. adobe for my taste

I work better with corel photopaint or paint shop pro

 

and i like more a neutral format (tif , png)

[jack paradise]

'but i still don't understand what they are doing with that RAW format..."

 

Erick,

 

JPG format is for the amateur or for proofing. Raw is for the serious amateur or the pro. RAW exist for a purpose! You need to be concerned about the loss of tonal levels when the image is written to the jpeg format.

 

http://www.normankoren.com/digital_tonality.html

 

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/why_use_raw.html

 

Bonne lecture!

[ymages]

I don't speak of jpg

I know it is the worst .. but there is PNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG !!!!! :-)

 

merci pour la lecture

[ymages]

this 2 links are very interresting !

[basscheffers]

PNG can't offer you the most important thing RAW can: change the white balance. RAW is

great, much easier to use than JPEG or anything else, especialy with large volumes of

images. You just need the right tools, for me that that is Phase One's C1DSLR LE.

[ymages]

yes i had a try with capture one

[jack paradise]

"I don't speak of jpg I know it is the worst .. but there is PNG..."

 

From the web: "The RAW format is not an image. PNG is an image file format. The RAW file stores more information about the image than just the color of each pixel, it stores the signal level from each element on the CCD.

 

Saving as a PNG would require processing the data into an image, which is what RAW format avoids."

[ymages]

I have read the link and all about raw ...

 

thank you

[godfrey]

Read Bruce Fraser's "Real World Camera Raw" to fully understand RAW format and how to

make working with many RAW exposures a doable proposition with Photoshop.

 

PNG is out there, most of the browsers support it, but it seems to be mostly still-born as

far as camera manufacturers' adopting it for in-camera RGB rendering. JPEG and

occasionally TIFF are *it* for in-camera rendering to date. Don't expect that to change any

time soon.

 

Godfrey

[todd frederick]

There is a very simple solution: Don't use RAW!

 

Use JPEG, adjust your image quality in the camera or on the computer, and save it to TIFF.

 

There are some snooty and elite photographer types who would not dare to shoot in JPEG, just as they would never drive a Ford.

 

However, if you work with your camera's adjustments, and you can produce a well blanaced JPEG image, you will save yourself hours of grief.

 

I sometimes (rarely) will use RAW for very important portraits, but I always shoot weddings and events in JPEG.

 

PS: This is an endless and unresolvable debate, so you must make the choice for yourself.

[ymages]

Frederik I think (i thought) it was also the best way m, shooting with large jpg

 

... and save them as png which is not so heavy than tif ... and a compression without lost

 

good to have many opinions

 

thanks to all

[steve_unsworth1]

Jpeg is an 8 bit format, RAW will be at least at native bit depth of the sensor, almost certainly higher than 8 bits. This can be an issue if you are going to manipulate the images a lot in you editing software and want to avoid posterisation.

 

The Jpeg images will have had the white balance and sharpening applied by the camera. I pesonally prefer to keep that under my own control.

[chiswick_john]

You should shoot film and then see how long it takes the lab to process and print or scan. Some people will complain soon that it takes too long to download their pictures from the CF card or that setting the parameters for jpeg processing takes too long. Or take less pictures or edit before you process.