RAW file format

Thanks for the advise. I think that is what I'll have to do. I want to edit some pics I took and cant do everything I want in any one program. I like the Picasa, it is easy but doesnt have all the fancy features.

What I really like is the onboard editing on the Kx. I converted to BW and then added just pink. But I cant find those options on the Photo Utility from Pentax. I'd think that if its on the camera they could put it into the program that came with it...
 
UGH! Processing in RAW is tougher than I thought it woul;d be! All the options are cool... be better if I knew how to use them!
 
Don't give up!
A JPG is a JPG, locked in forever, but a RAW gets better with each generation of RAW converter! Plus RAW has a *lot* more latitude for editing and enhancing.
 
I'm not going to give up. I think I just need better material to work with!!! Lol, maybe I can borrow some of Gdads or Figments, or Groucho, or a the countless other fantastic posters from the Photography board! :D
 

UGH! Processing in RAW is tougher than I thought it woul;d be! All the options are cool... be better if I knew how to use them!

I'm another one who really likes using Lightroom to post-process my photos. Lightroom makes it really easy not only to organize your photos (using the "Library" module), but also to post-process photos (using the "Develop" module).

I posted the following a month ago, so I thought I'd copy it here:


Most of my post-processing work is done in Lightroom. If you have Photoshop Elements, you can do the exact same post-processing work using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), which is already included with Photoshop Elements.

A couple years ago, I learned post-processing techniques by reading Scott Kelby's book The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers. It's an excellent book, very easy read, lots of screen caps and examples, and easy to follow along.

If you're using Photoshop Elements, then I'd recommend his book The Photoshop Elements 8 Book for Digital Photographers (here's the link to the book on Amazon).

Basic post-processing is surprisingly simple! At the very least, there are 8 sliders in Lightroom / ACR that you move back-and-forth until the picture looks better. If you didn't want to learn anything more about post-processing, you can probably get away with these 8 sliders and walk away with a very good photo.

(BTW, the 8 sliders that I use are: Temp, Tint, Exposure, Recovery, Fill Light, Blacks, Clarity, and Vibrance. I usually ignore the other 3 that are available.)

I, then, use the Local Adjustment Brush to do some local dodging and burning (making certain parts of the photo brighter & certain parts of the photo darker, respectively). Ansel Adams did this with all his photos. Even though you may have gotten the correct overall exposure in your camera, sometimes, certain parts of the image are slightly darker, slightly brighter, or not as evenly-lit as you'd like. That's where dodging and burning comes in handy.

At the end, I may add some sharpening to my photos and some noise reduction, too.

Of course, there's tons of other stuff you can do with your photos, like remove spots / blemishes, add a gradient, add a vignette, convert to black-and-white / sepia, etc. It just depends on the photo, and each photo is unique. But for sure, each of my photos goes through the above post-processing steps. Wash, Rinse, Dry, Repeat. :)
 
I just downloaded Lightroom 3 Beta. Here is an easier program to use! Everything kind of makes sense, now I just have to learn what the heck a Histogram is!
 
Does anyone use Lightroom on a netbook? I've got Lightoom on a MacBook Pro but wondering offloading raw files from camera to netbook but worried LR will be too much for a netbook to run decently.
 
/
I've switched back to using the Pentax program, it actually has gotten easier to use. I would like to get a program thats capable of doing HDR processing...
 
Is there anything that works with the Nikon NEF (I have the D5000) files that lets you adjust the White Balance and Exposure Composition? I recently tried out the demo for Capture NX2 and am in love. I may eventually purchase it but I'm not sure if it's worth the money to me.
 
I haven't had much time to play with Capture NX. I love Lightroom but probably only because it is what I have been using for the past couple of months. To me, Lightroom is very user friendly.
 
Is there anything that works with the Nikon NEF (I have the D5000) files that lets you adjust the White Balance and Exposure Composition? I recently tried out the demo for Capture NX2 and am in love. I may eventually purchase it but I'm not sure if it's worth the money to me.

I use UFRaw and then transport to GIMP. You can work with the white balance and exposure comp. there, but I don't know really how extensive it is because I don't really know what I'm doing when I work with it hah.
 
I was a very loyal Lightroom user but as of this afternoon I've switched to Bibble permanently.
 
I choked when I saw the price! It sounds freat and all, but thats a lot of bread to cough up for a program...

It is expensive. Do you know anyone in college? You can get some software for a third of the price. The higher education price for Lightroom is $99. Some discounts are not as much, but it's well worth it to check into if you have a student in the family.
 
I have a friends son in Police college, but I don't think that would get me much! Lol, Does it do HDR processing (Bibble)?
 
It is expensive. Do you know anyone in college? You can get some software for a third of the price. The higher education price for Lightroom is $99. Some discounts are not as much, but it's well worth it to check into if you have a student in the family.

Or check to see if someone gets a discount through their government job. I think I am going to stick with Lightroom and it should cost me about $50.
 
I have a friends son in Police college, but I don't think that would get me much! Lol, Does it do HDR processing (Bibble)?

You can simulate HDR, like you can in Lightroom. But to actually create a true HDR image you need a plug in. I don't know of one for Bibble 5, but I could be missing it.

Photomatix is great HDR software. They make plug in's for Lightroom, Aperture and Photoshop or you can buy the stand alone product. The stand alone lite version is cheaper than the plug in version.

What Bibble does have is Noise Ninja, which to me is far more valuble than HDR processing.
 
I read all the stuff that Bibble can do and it is impressive. I really like the simplicity of developing layers! But I can't justify the purchase this month... I bought 3 new (to me) lenses this weekend. Maybe if I sell 2 of them I could do it....
 













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