How best to handle FZ200 RAW files? As simply as possible?

Mr Pohl & Mr All,

My basic workflow goes:

Import the RW2 RAW files then run a batch process on them with free Adobe DNG Converter to make them all DNG files (I have CS5 which doesn't recognise FZ200 RAW files).

Open the DNGs via Photoshop Bridge and batch process them all to adopt the appropriate Camera Raw Default settings for the FZ200.  (I have only two such Defaults at present, for 100 & 400 ISO files).  ACR applies "as-shot" WB, "Auto" tone/colour corrections and the NR/sharpening profiles I have derived (so far) for the FZ200 images at 100 & at 400 ISO).

Over time I will tweak these FZ200 Camera Raw Defaults here and there to get even better start-images from the ACR batch development process, as I have done for my other cameras.

I look at the images briefly in ACR and correct any that the Default development settings have not perfected.  This usually means only a small percentage of the images are tweaked with fill, recovery, clarity, brighness or whatever slider.  I don't tweak the NR, sharpening or any other control outside of the primary ACR dialogue.

The sharpening and NR settings in ACR are "conservative".  They add (from memory) sharpening at 40% but 0.6 pixel pitch; then 20% luminance reduction and standard ACR colour noise reduction, for FZ200 100 ISO files.  (Different settings for 400ISO files).  The NR and sharpness at this stage would be OK for web viewing or casual display on an HD television screen.

I then import the images as 16bit PSD files into Photoshop CS5.  My first step is to run a batch process to apply the appropriate NeatImage settings (previously derived and saved as profiles) to the FZ200 PSD files.  A separate profile is needed for each ISO setting.  These profiles also include some more (conservative) sharpening.

The fine control of NeatImage allows different "grain-size" luminance noise types in a photo to be differentially reduced; and to various degrees; and differentially in a masked image. Sharpening is also quite controllable and seems to work in conjunction with the NR to magically obliterate noise whilst popping every kind of edge but without haloes or other sharpening artefacts.  Wunnerful!

It is possible to derive NeatImage profiles that vary slightly at the same ISO because of shutter speed or even aperture differences, which can have small effects on the degree & type of noise.  In time I will do this - at least for a range of common shutter speeds and for larger/smaller apertures.  The more the profiles vary, the less one can employ the speedy batch processing, of course.

I then use Photoshop tools on a per-image basis to correct perspective/horizons, apply curves, clone away nasties, crop and all the rest of the edits that may help to improve an image.  I could do some of this in ACR but prefer to do it in Photoshop as I have "learnt to fly" it.

My final step is to apply any further sharpening with either "smart sharpen" (60% at 0.4 pixel) or "sharpen edges", depending on the subject-matter of the photo.  I usually do this only with landscapes having fine detail.

I also sharpen only the approriate parts of the image, after masking-off areas that might be made noisy again by sharpening, such as sky or any other area of uniform tone/colour.  Using "sharpen edges" is often the best option because it automatically avoids such areas so a mask is not needed. Less "edgy" subjects seem to do better with smart-sharpen, though.

In all this workflow I aim to automate as much as possible and to apply gradual NR & sharpening using conservative settings at each stage.  This seems to avoid sharpening haloes but also NR smearing.  It makes a big difference when edits are done to 16bit rather than 8bit files as there is enormously more headroom for changing things without causing IQ degradation.

My final step is to export the fully-developed 16bit PSD files into 8bit jpegs - the finished pics.  I delete all the RAW and PSD files except for a few RAWs that have captured a particularly good image and may be re-developed later for print.  I do this to save disk space and to make image file management easier.  And 8bit jpegs are also necessary to do any image-sharing as most folk cannot display PSD images (one needs Photoshop/Bridge).

I should mention that there are other ACR NR & sharpening sliders that may also be tweaked when perfecting a Camera Raw Default setting.  At present I'm still experimenting with those for the FZ200.

SirLataxe