Best Raw Converter

Depends on what you mean by "profiling". If you mean the ACR script; yes, I've done that with the 1Ds (not the MkII) and found it to be "different" but not more "accurate". Since you've had good luck, it might mean "pilot error" on my part.

It may be odd, but with any "money" shot, I'm going to "develop" it with three different programs, using the same (as close as one can get) settings and continue to work on the file that looks most like the actual scene.
Tom

BTW, I'm always experimenting and if there's something I've missed with the ACR program or it's changed for the better--i'd try it again.

fuzzytalz said:

I did recently and no longer have any complaints about color at all.
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Garland Cary

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(See equipment list under 'profile')

Raw Developer has the sharpest cleanest output I have ever seen. The only converter that comes close is in image quality is Nikon Capture. I thought the sample files I have here for a 1Ds II were really soft and lacked detail until I processed them with Raw Developer.

It produces amazing quality, very film like. What it does for Kodak's 14mp cameras is truly amazing as well.

I have mentioned this software to other Canon shoots and they were quite impressed with there RAW output now.

I purchased RSP and it extracts the most details but I don't like the colours even with colour engine or Mike Cheney's color profile. Also the files look overprocessed and look muddy. The more I use it, the more I hate the looks.

The silkypix has nice colours but have two flaws:
1. CA is emplified and edges look artificial (CA like)

2. The noise grain is too large and sometimes noise grains may seem like pimples (especially shadow area under chin in portrait shots)

Now I am back to ACR and DPP (2.1 version with NR options). Colors are nice and bright with DPP.

ACR is also excellent when I need to remore CA and make other color corrections. Yes, it tends to show more noise but just simply set luminance smoothing to 10~15 and it is fine. For Color Noise reduction, do not use more than 7 or the contrast will be reduced.

To get contrasty image DPP gives, you can turn up Contrast level a bit and set Shadow slider to around 9.

The above setting will give ACR almost the same image quality and looks as DPP.

You have to be careful about Sharpening in ACR though as if you set beyond 25, it can cause black border lines between high contrast edgest.

If I see this issue, I simply turn down sharpening to 0, open and sharpen again with USM.

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Thadoe Hein

Thanks

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Michael

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Adobe Camera Raw. The raw converter for Photoshop

Thank you. I just couldn't put my finger on it.
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Michael

Albert Corney said:

Happy with ARC but was wondering what everyone uses and what is the
best one out there? Is the one that came with my 5D any good? I
never tried anything else but would be interested in trying if
there are better out there. If you use ARC too tell me what you
have tried and why you went back.
Thanks!
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5D 50 1.4 17-40L 28-135 135 2sf 70-200 4L ext.tubes...
http://www.photoshopuser.com/napmem/gallery/view_img.php?id=36664

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I have DPP, ACR, Bibble, Rawshooter Premium (with various color profiles-- Color Engine and Mike Chaney's), and the free version of Silkypix. I use Bibble the most. Colors are excellent. Plus, I love having PTLens's lens correction within Bibble. And I think its fill light function works the best of all the RAW converters that offer a fill light function. I really tried to like RSP, but I find it takes more work to get good, pleasing results from RSP.

Does RSP have Highlight recovery?

PelikanUS said:

Does RSP have Highlight recovery?

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No. It has a Highlight Contrast slider that kind of does the same thing, but it has a much more global effect on the image, which I don't like. And it still doesn't do nearly as good a job of recovering detail in the highlights as Bibble (or ACR, for that matter).

PelikanUS said:

Does RSP have Highlight recovery?

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I'm not positive exactly what you mean by the term "highlight recovery". Regardless of my confusion let me just state that highlights can be adjusted within RSP using the "exposure compensation" and "highlight contrast" sliders. Also, please keep in mind the workspace you choose has a lot to do with preserving highlights in large DR scenes with saturated colors.

Note, I just don't remember if the "highlight contrast" slider exists in RSE. I don't know if you actually own RSP or are testing RSE, so if you are trying out RSE my statement above regarding the "highlight contrast" may" not apply.

Most of my scenes have a large DR. The two best RAW converters I have found for rendering large DR scenes are RSP (with the EOSpix profiles) and ACR. The problem with ACR is the rendering of "yellow", there is simply too much blue in the yellow content.

Regards,

Joe Kurkjian, Pbase Supporter

http://www.pbase.com/jkurkjia



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Fred (Blue)