Ysarex
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Veteran Member
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Posts: 3,354
Re: Basic Photoshop settings for RAW JPEG conversion.. EX2F?
frascati wrote:
Certainly a subjective question. But regarding any criticism of EX2F camera jpeg quality, inconsistent, overly/artificially sharpened, and other... for now I'm going to work with RAW for a while.
First. Can anyone disabuse me of any facts on this? Were these the subjective observations of a few reviewers and already not highly reliable? Was any improvement to JPEG out-of-camera made with the latest firmware?
While I decide to shoot in manual and RAW for a while, to better learn photography and to allay any fears about ex2f jpeg IQ, can anyone provide me with a good 'starting set' of photoshop adjustments when postprocessing EX2F RAW images? Something that provides a reliable platform that addresses any known imbalances mal-adjustments in this camera's RAW files?
Or is there such a setting native to PS? I'm brand new to RAW.
Thanks for any help. Sorry for any confusion. I'm just learning the vernacular.
I can't help you with your JPEG question. I have an EX2F and use it constantly and I'm very fond of the camera. I had an EX1 previously and bought the EX2F as soon as it became available. I've taken many thousands of photos with my EX2F but it has never produced a JPEG nor will it in my hands. It is a superb camera.
Your raw question: I can help with that. It's a very big and broad question. Adobe has already included an input profile for you camera that takes care of some of those known imbalances such as lens distortions. That profile is a reasonable starting point and it's applied automatically.
When ACR opens your file you'll want to begin with the Basic tab and color temp and tint. You can leave the camera set to auto white balance and otherwise ignore that setting. Consider getting a reference target and start shooting it -- white Styrofoam works best. You can then white balance from the reference and transfer those values to similar photos.
Below the color temp/tint settings you'll see Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks. Double click any slider to zero it. The Exposure, Whites and Blacks slider will respond with and auto setting if you Shift/dbl click the slider. Hold the alt/option key when adjusting the Whites, Blacks, Highlights and Shadows to see clipping.
Watch the histogram, give Adobe a shot and auto set the exposure -- they usually go too far. Then use the alt/option key method to set a white and black point and then adjust the contrast to taste. That should get you started.