melmann

Jon,

My workflow is to copy RAW (Olympus) files from the CF card to an external HD I use for all my images, then import

from the HD into LR using your #1 option. I use a Firewire connection so speed isn't an issue for me and backup is as

simple as cloning the current HD to a spare I keep offsite.

Started doing this when image files began to cramp my computer's HD space (12,000+ images for me as well).

I haven't played with .dng files yet - figure Olympus will always provide software to 'develop' their RAW files into another

format.

David,

Anytime you can spend at Pt. Lobos is a great time! Plan for a variety of photo opportunities from distance to macro. I've

attached a photo from our visit last Christmas - as you can see it was a great day.<div></div>

As Jeff says, here's my anecdotal information. I use multiple Lacie drives to back up three Mac of various vintages.

I've had no problems with these drives over 3+ years. They vary in size from 160 - 320 GB in size and just purchased a

1T size to expand backup space. I run all of these over Firewire connections. The drives are quiet, solidly made (look

like a block of aluminum) and simple to use.

I've purchased all these drives from Amazon, took them right out of the box on receipt and started using.

The way I back up is to sync the hard drives on the Macs with the external HD dedicated to that computer - make an

exact copy of the current computer HD on the external HD. One issue I've found is when the amount of space used on

the computer HD is greater than 50% of the external HD, the software Lacie provides (Silverkeeper) insists I don't have

sufficient space to back up. I overcame this based on a recommendation from Lacie, which is to use Bombich

Software's Carbon Copy Cloner. They recommended this because Silverkeeper isn't supported by Leopard OS X. CCC

can be downloaded from Bombich Software's site and they appreciate a $10 donation.

I just recently upgraded two iMac's with memory from Crucial - far less expensive than buying from Apple. Performance

has been just fine. The main thing with memory replacement is to make sure you get the board inserted in the slot

correctly so all the contacts match up. The little board has a slot in it that helps you make sure it's inserted correctly (there

is a top and bottom!). And make sure you ground yourself before handling the memory boards so you don't fry them.

Obviously you'll want to have the computer turned off and unplugged. All of this is outlined in the Apple manual or you can

get instructions online.

I use this camera with the 14-54mm lens. As Patrick says, I've found this particular lens to be most sharp at f8-f11. I

set the AF point to the center mark so I can tell the camera what to focus on. I am surprised at times that it will focus

on a thin blade of grass or limb that is out-of-focus through the viewfinder because it's outside the depth of field. Now I

use the LCD monitor to zoom in on images to make sure I'm getting the sharp focus where I want.

Check on this site for posts on changing the screen in the E510 to one more useful for manual focusing if you find this is

a better method than using AF. It's more like a film experience although the viewfinder is smaller and darker, at least

when I compare it to my OM-1.

You can download hyperfocal scales from different websites to use as a guide for infinity focuses.

Occasionally I want to print on one page several different pictures that are different sizes. Looked all through Lightroom instructions and

browsed a bit on the web - no joy on a technique. Anyone out there accomplished this or seen a posting on how to do it?

I'm using LR2 on an iMac 20", OS X 10.5.5, printing to an Epson 900.

Thanks!

Patrick,

I'm looking at your second image on an eMac (calibrated CRT) and iMac (calibrated LCD). The CRT pictures looks fine;

the LCD picture shows what looks like blocks of missing data in the red squares at the 6, 7 and 8 o'clock positions.

Same effect in the extreme left bottom corner. Really have to squint to see it, though. On my 20" screen an individual

block appears to be about 1/16" square.

I downloaded the image and looked at it in Preview and get the same results on both monitors.

Have you printed this to see what translates onto paper? Let us know what you see.

Most of the comments I've read are positive about using a pen/tablet for close editing in Photoshop. I've just purchased a Wacom Bamboo

Fun to experiment and am finding that when using a selection tool to select a large part of the image, Photoshop goes off somewhere and

is unresponsive for a minute or two. Locks up the whole program. I can access other programs, however.

I'm using PS CS3 on an iMac 2.4GHz 20" monitor with 4Gb RAM running OS X 10.5.5

Anyone else seeing this problem? Are there settings I can change in PS or the Wacom in order to eliminate this delay?

Thanks.

I've been shooting nature for about a year with this camera using the 14-54mm and 50-200mm lenses. I use Lightroom to process the

RAW images for the web and printing. I've calibrated my monitor (iMac 20" Intel) and use the profiles for paper and ink on my Epson 900

printer. What I continue to see in the prints is a bias to the yellow, even with objects I know have green color. When I check the images in

LR under the Develop module I see that parts of the image I consider green are highlighting the yellow adjustment sliders. I've recently

starting shooting an 18% grey card in the same light and adjusting in LR for that neutral tone but still see a yellow bias.

Is anyone else seeing this color bias? Is there an in-camera adjustment I can make to correct it? Or do I just keep using the grey card

and "fixing" it in LR?

Thanks.

When I look in the .xmp files for a photo all the data I see in Olympus Master is in the file - it's just not showing up in

Lightroom. Guess Adobe wanted to limit the amount of space to show metadata.

Well, for any specific image I want to recall the detailed settings on I can always reload in Olympus Master.

Follow up question. I keep all my RAW files on a LaCie external HD and point LR2 there to build a catalog. I do the

majority of processing in LR and occasionally in PS CS3. For backup I clone that HD to a different external HD using

Carbon Copy Cloner.

Question: are the XMP data in LR on my computer or on the HD where the RAW files are? Hate to think I'm separating

two important data files.

Thanks.

Michael,

Like Mendel I have the 5400dpi Minolta scanner that I use with Kodachrome 64 slides shot on my OM1. A full resolution

scan results in a 255Mb file for each slide and I find the quality of my lens starts degrading detail before the grain does (not

that Kodachrome shows grain....). I archive my slides to digital at around 1400dpi, giving me files of about 14Mb in size

which are easy to work with for processing and printing, or resizing for websites, and I have no problem with the detail I get.

Only rarely do I re-scan at the higher level, and then it's usually because I want to crop down to a very small portion of the

slide.

Jeff,

I have a Minolta Dimage Elite 5400 as well which works well for me. My slides are all Kodachrome and I think the scans

look great. I make slideshows that focus on parts of scans and find the resolution good and no artifacts. Whatever

scanner you find, make sure you allow it to warm up for 15-20 minutes before scanning so the colors are consistent.

You can also export with a border from the Slideshow part of LR. In the tools in the right column you can add a stroke

border up to 20pt using any color available. Then in the menu bar under "Slideshow" choose "Export JPEG Slideshow".

The file naming box will open so you name the file, direct it to a folder, and size it. It will export to a folder with the name

you gave it and inside will be the image.

Anybody know where I can buy one of these? I love it on my 50-200mm lens because switching from horizontal to vertical is a snap - just

swivel the whole set up around the lens. On the shorter lens I have to swivel my ballhead around to the slot, then lean the camera over,

then readjust the tripod to get back to the original height, etc. Yes, I know there are mounts that fit Arca-Swiss style ballheads that allow

you to rotate the whole camera, but swiveling the lens just seems so much more elegant.

Can't believe I'm the only photographer that feels this way - some entrepreneur must have a solution!!

Thanks.

Mike,

I started out in 35mm photography with an OM-1 way back in college. I chose it because of the size and range of lenses

available. Cranked out a lot of slides and prints over the years. My wife has had 2-3 Olympus 35mm point and shoot -

always got sharp pictures and good exposures.

So when the time came to go digital, I started with Olympus - again because of the size. I saw people carrying around

the huge Canon and Nikon bodies and just didn't want to lug those through the woods. I've got the E510 with the 14-

54mm and 50-200mm lenses and have found it fits my needs just right.

Only learned about 4/3 format when I started looking at the Olympus. I like the 2x magnification from 35mm, and the

perspectives I get on the images. It does seem the cropping I do from 4/3 results in more pleasing images than the

ones I do from 35mm slides, but that's my opinion.

Larry,

I do digital workflow on a iMac (upgrade from eMac) and use both Lightroom 2 (catalog and basic editing/printing) and

Photoshop CS3 (detail editing). I'm very pleased with both as well as the ease of use on my Mac.

I started out with iPhoto years ago and found it didn't give me the flexibility I wanted for filing, archiving, editing,

slideshows, etc. For slideshows I use Photo to Movie because it provides lots of control over perceived camera

movement, zooms, text, music, etc.

Agree with Mark to try the free download on LR, but you will probably get addicted!

Rob,

Yes, I did. Perhaps LR can't read all the data in the Olympus file?

I download my RAW files from CF card to external HD and then into my LR catalog. When I look at the metadata listed in LR it is much

less information than when I download the same images into Olympus Master 2. In the latter I see the white balance, whether the image

stabilization is on or off, metering modes, saturation level, etc. Apparently this information is all stored with the file but none of it shows up

in LR.

Is there a way to see all this information in LR? I don't want to reload pictures into the Olympus software just to see the rest of the

metadata.

I'm using LR on an iMac 2.4GHz, 20" screen, OS X 10.5.5. My camera is an Olympus E510 using the most recent firmware update.

Thanks.

Brad,

I do what you're describing with the RAW files from my Olympus E510. In the Grid view of LR2 I select the number of

images I want merged and then do what you're describing. I get the options (not greyed), select which I want, and LR

opens Photoshop (CS3), which merges them and generates a .tiff that is transferred back to LR2 when I "save." I'm

working on a iMac with OS X 10.5.5.

Ellis, I don't have to convert RAW to use this feature. Is that because LR2 reads the Olympus RAW format directly?

Brad, if you are merging multiple images (panorama, HDR, etc.) you are selecting multiple images in LR2, right?

Otherwise the merge options are grey.

I've been cataloging my RAW files (Olympus E510) in Lightroom 2 and then using the "Merge in Photoshop as Panoramic"

option. After the merge, just Save (not Save As) and PS returns the merged images as a .tiff to Lightroom. Depending on

how much further processing I want I work in LR or PS to get the final image for printing.

Same here. Took my OM1 to a flower garden to shoot some slides about 6 months after using my E510 non-stop. Felt

like I had to put my sunglasses on to look through the viewfinder! Now that's what I call a bright view. Like looking through

a window at what's in front of you.

I wasn't disappointed with the 510 view but sure didn't want to give up the OM1 scene....

I stopped using OM2 several months ago when I got Lightroom. I found LR easier to use as a single package for

cataloging, adjusting and printing. Haven't done a head-to-head comparison on RAW conversion between OM2 and LR -

is there a difference in the "accuracy" of the engines? By that I mean is one better than the other converting RAW into

images that look like what I shot?

Hate to use multiple software but also hate to lose any image quality. Love to have a link to anyone who's done this

type of comparison.

Thanks.

Steve,

I have the 50-200mm and the 1.4x tele that I use to "reach out and touch". Very sharp lens for my purposes, although

birds continue to be a challenge. I think you'll find the wider aperture of this lens more useful than you think, especially

when adding the tele (takes off 1 stop) and trying to control depth of field. I recommend this pair for your needs.

Having said that, if you use this lens for closer work realize the depth of field is pretty narrow. I've got pictures of

butterflies I shot from 6-8 feet away where the body is in focus and just a few millimeters up the wings aren't.

Overall, the best advice I got was the think of lenses like stereo speakers - they are the most important part of your

system and not the place to skimp on budget.

John,

You caught my interest so I played around with this and believe I have a LR solution. The black background in your picture

appears to be the "background color" in the Slideshow controls (right side of LR screen). When the box is not checked it

defaults to black, but click in the little box to the left of the words and then click in the larger box to the right of the

words. A Background Color palette will pop up and you can change the color to anything you want. If you want more of

a gradient effect in the background, uncheck the Background Color and check the Color Wash (just above in the

Backdrop section). Again, click in the box to the right of the words and you can pick any color you want. Adjust the

opacity and angle of the gradient to get the effect that best compliments your framing.

Does this answer your question? I'm still learning LR and appreciate you bringing this one up - I haven't looked in the

Slideshow section but now see it gives more options. I 'fancied up" a picture with copyright, narrow border and color

wash background, sent it to the Quick Collection and then exported as a jpeg and printed from Preview on my Mac. A

roundabout way to get a print, but it looks like what I want without having to deal with Photoshop.