Now I'm confused... "processing" NEFs?!! (RAW images)

[Buffalo]

I followed the link below that was quoted in my other thread about how to open my NEF (RAW) file at work:

stuart b said:

Nikon Picture Project
Nikon Capture (current version is NX ~£100)
Pixmantec Rawshooter essentials or Pro (not sure if it supports D70S - it does support D70)
Capture One (you can get the LE version free if you buy a Sandisk Extreme III card - or at least you could - check before buying)
Adobe Photoshop with the RAW importer

There are others, but I haven't check D70S support specifiically - e.g. Adobe Lightroom, Bibble.

This Nikonians link may be of use:
www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID36/16777.html

Stuart

I'm now somewhat confused... I have a works D70S but always shoot that in .jpeg, because i don't have the time or inclination to spend hours fecking around with images (besides which i work in an underground mine, which is very, very dark, so the photo is already flawed to start with! ).

Last weekend i bought a D80, which is "my" first ever DSLR. From advice here i decided to shoot RAW files. I have seen only two images that i have shot on screen as they are large and they were emailed from home whilst i am at work. My first thought was that the photos occasionally looked a little washed out, and i was a bit disappointed. The link above explained that this is probably because the they were not sufficiently converted. Ok, i think i get it - but, if someone wants to try and explain again using simple terms, exactly what effect the camera settings will have on the finished RAW image BEFORE any form of processing, then i would certainly listen!

Next: The image processing. RAW files are taken straight from the camera. Check. What do you need to do to them, in order to get a useable image at the end of it?

Then: Given that question, what would be the best program for me to use for my MacBookPro (i have windows for it, but would prefer to run soley in Mac OS). I guess the main choices are based around Adobe CS and Nikon Capture, however, it appears from the Nikonians link, that NC/NX may not be available for the mac...?! My preference would be for performance over useability i think (although i'd qualify this by saying "within reason"; i don't want to spend my life processing images, given that my partner gets pretty keen with the shutter on holidays! )

I'm still very very new regarding this digital imaging malarky. Go easy on me hey..?

Cheers ~PHIL

[m12_nathan]

Aperture is great on the Mac.

[gregorio!]

Another vote for Aperture, its great.

[rustyspit]

...or check out Adobe Lightroom - based on the same converter code as Adobe CS. I've not used it, but it has had some great reviews:
[url]www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/[/url]
Personally I use Capture One LE which produces some nice results and has a good workflow, but I suspect that it's a bit outdated by Lightroom and Aperture:
[url]www.captureone.com/[/url]

If you're familiar with film photography and you think of the NEF file as a 'digital negative' then you won't go far wrong. The things that irreversibly affect the contents of a raw file are the 'photographic' controls - aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus etc. Any 'digital' settings such as white balance, colour tone settings etc. may be stored in the raw file but can be altered at the 'processing' stage without any degradation.

Just as with processing film negatives, the way in which a raw file is processed by the software has a significant effect on the finished picture (in this case, probably a jpeg that you create from the nef file). You mentioned that your nef files looked washed out - this is probably just a combination of the settings that are being applied by the processing software, and the way that a semi-pro camera like the D80 will typically 'underexpose' by about 1/3 stop to preserve the highlights in your picture. When you process a raw file you typically have a bit of leeway to modify the exposure by as much as +1 or -2 stops without losing any detail so try fiddling with the exposure compensation and colour settings until you get the effect that you are looking for.

HTH.

[stuart b]

I think the very short answer is keep shooting JPEG. If you can't be bothered or don't have time to muck about with RAWs then you may find RAW a bit frustrating.

The slightly longer answer is shooting in RAW+JPEG mode and then you can use the JPEGs and archive the RAWs in case you decide later on that you want to play further.

The long answer is...

RAW is a digital neg. as stated above. You get all the info. in a RAW state from the camera.

To get to a finished JPEG (or other format) either in the camera or on your Mac, you need to apply:-

White balance setting (almost always transferred from the camera and applied)

Optional:-
- Exposure compensation (can be done with JPEG but more leeway in RAW)
- Curves (can be done on JPEG too)
- Sharpening (almost always needed and usually better done on the computer rather than in the camera, though opinions/approaches vary).
- Colour saturation

Considerations

All of these can be achieved on JPEGs but because a RAW file has more information present, they can usually be done to better quality/more easily on RAW files.

For JPEGs, these settings are applied in the camera if you have it set up to do so. If your settings in camera are wrong, you have to start from something which may be messed up to begin with. With RAW you can just ignore what was set in camera.

The ability of RAW processing software to handle all of the camera settings on RAW files varies considerably. I can't give you chapter and verse and particularly not for the Mac. Many of the Windows software can only read the camera's white balance setting and nothing else. All this is written for NEF (from a D70 perspective - don't know about Canon).

There are schools of thought on RAW vs. JPEG. Some say set the camera up how you like it and shoot away, download and enjoy your pics. Others say that you can't get ultimate quality and can't enjoy the full power of digital photography if you work only with JPEGs. Power vs. convenience. Processing a decent set of RAWs on your Mac need not take that long however so it's worth a go at least once before you choose.

There's a thread on Nikonians about how to set up settings on a D70 to get good JPEGs in normal conditions straight out of the camera. It's probably worth a dig to see if you can find it (I don't think this changed for the D70S but could be wrong).

If you can't find anything try something like Sharpening +1, Tone comp Medium high (+1), color mode IIIa (sRGB), Saturation enhanced. On the D70, the received wisdom is to dial in +0.3 exposure comp. also in most situations, so you may wish to try that.

If you still find you are unhappy with your pics (particularly if you think they are too dark/muddy), then look into use of custom curves (Google "D70s custom tone curves", "Fotogenetics" or "sReala" . I won't go into here, and this is only relevant if you are shooting JPEG.

Stuart

Edited by stuart b on Monday 30th April 17:23

[Buffalo]

Thanks

Those are very good descriptions and i took them on board far easier than some of the discussions on nikonians (they know their stuff, but ). I will continue to shoot RAW for my upcoming aus-bush trip this coming month. I may alter my exposure settings though as i didn't realise the D80 "compensated"...

When i get back home after the trip i'll start looking seriously into software as i will have photos to start processing! The only trouble with the RAW + jpeg option is of course storage. At this stage i am not kitted for massive storage, having only 2x2Gb cards.

[Buffalo]

stuart b said:

If you can't find anything try something like Sharpening +1, Tone comp Medium high (+1), color mode IIIa (sRGB), Saturation enhanced. On the D70, the received wisdom is to dial in +0.3 exposure comp. also in most situations, so you may wish to try that.

Are these jpeg settings? Cheers ~PHIL

[chim666]

Ken Rockwell has some good suggestions for basic D80 settings here www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/users-guide/index.htm

[stuart b]

Yes they are JPEG settings. Makes no difference for RAW unless you use Nikon Capture which will read the settings and apply on the computer (maybe other software can use them to, but none I have).

I actually wrote the post with you having a D80 in mind and then went back to check, saw D70S and edited it - d'oh. Just realised that you were talking about D80. Obviously I don't have one of those, but I understand that Nikon responded to the critiscism of the D70's "underexposure" by having the default for the D80 being to comp. up a bit so ignore the +0.3 bit and check the link thoughtfully provided by chim666.

Regards
Stuart

Edited by stuart b on Wednesday 2nd May 19:17

Edited by stuart b on Wednesday 2nd May 19:18

[chim666]

stuart b said:

..... but I understand that Nikon responded to the critiscism of the D70's "underexposure" by having the default for the D80 being to comp. up a bit ...

Interestingly, Ken Rockwell suggests the D80 needs compensation for overexposure.....

Ken Rockwell said:

...set my exposure compensation to -0.7 because my D80's metering firmware is defective. It usually overexposes....

I've taken his advice and set my camera up for -0.7, as it's easier to adjust for shadows due to underexposure than it is to try to recover burnt out whites resulting from overexposure.

Edited by chim666 on Wednesday 2nd May 20:36