I just got the Rebel XT, and I have PSE 3.0., which I willl upgrade to the Camera RAW 3.1. So, if I understand all this correctly, I have 4 RAW conversion choices. I have the ZoomBrowser, and the Canon Digital Professional Photo (is that the same or two different ones?) I have the Adobe Camera RAW 3.1 which I can access through PSE 3.0, and I have something called DNG, which I can access through PSE 3.0.
Assuming I am not too eager to purchase another stand alone product, what is the best way to process the RAW files. I will be shooting RAW + JPEG.
Also, can I batch process RAW, assuming the quality of the shots are the same and similar adjustments are required?
Actually you have 3 ways, Camera RAW processes either your .CR2 files or DNG but it’s the same converter.
With PSE 3, there is no way I know of to batch process RAW files at all. You have to do it one at a time which is a big pain. I for one would really like to see that change, it’s not just pro’s that take lots of pics in one go!
I’ve not used ZoomBrowser’s RAW capabilities, but DPP does allow batch conversion, and you can also apply curves and other adjustments automatically to a number of files. You can find a good tutorial here:
As to which one you choose it will depend on multiple things. Which you prefer the way of working with and the output you get. All three converters you have will produce slightly different looking output from the same RAW file and it will be personal preference as to which you prefer. You may even find a particular converter suits a particular type of photo.
Actually you have 3 ways, Camera RAW processes either your .CR2 files or DNG but it’s the same converter.
With PSE 3, there is no way I know of to batch process RAW files at all. You have to do it one at a time which is a big pain. I for one would really like to see that change, it’s not just pro’s that take lots of pics in one go!
I’ve not used ZoomBrowser’s RAW capabilities, but DPP does allow batch conversion, and you can also apply curves and other adjustments automatically to a number of files. You can find a good tutorial here: <http://photoworkshop.com/canon>
As to which one you choose it will depend on multiple things. Which you prefer the way of working with and the output you get. All three converters you have will produce slightly different looking output from the same RAW file and it will be personal preference as to which you prefer. You may even find a particular converter suits a particular type of photo.
Hope this helps,
Ian.
Hi there.
I believe batch conversion can be done with ACR.
I saw it being done at a demo by a Professional Wedding Photographer. He did one file, then saved the settings and converted all the other files in a batch.
I did not pay sufficient attention because, at the time, I did not have a Digital Camera.
With PSE 3, there is no way I know of to batch process RAW files at all. You have to do it one at a time which is a big pain. I for one would really like to see that change, it’s not just pro’s that take lots of pics in one go!
Yes, Adobe could certainly make PSE better for photographers, but there is a certain amount of batch processing you can do with PSE.
You can select multiple files or an entire folder and use Process Multiple Files to create PSDs, TIFFs, or JPEGs out of them. You can also select multple files or a directory and have PSE apply the same Raw settings to all of them (either the first file’s Raw settings or the previous conversion’s Raw settings).
You’re certainly right that you don’t get Photoshop CS(2)’s full ability to do any random processing on multiple images, though.
Actually you can batch process RAW files in E3. It may not be that great but it’s something.
Go into the Editor File Browser and open the first Raw Image and apply the settings. Close the file and then in the File Browser select all the images you want to have the same settings and then Right Click. About half way down the menu you will see Apply Camera Raw Settings. If you select this then you can apply the previous conversion to all the selected images.
Also, just to clarify, Steven. DNG is just another kind of RAW file, a universal one that Adobe hopes will become the standard and eliminate the mess of so many different RAW formats. You can download a DNG converter from Adobe’s support site, but converting your files to DNG isn’t the same as converting them to TIFF or JPEG. You’ll still need to run them through the RAW converter before they’re ready for use.
If I understand this thread, I can process one RAW image, and then batch process, or copy the same settings to a batch of other RAW files. I presume that if the shots were taken under similar conditions, the results should be failry uniform. These processed images are all in TIFF, I assume? If so, if any image which wasn’t processed optimally, I can go back to the original RAW and apply select settings.
The adjustment you make to the first image or previous conversion will be applied to all those that you select….eg. 0.5 stop up on Exposure to all images. This only embeds the info in the Raw file and does not do any saving as TIFF….it’s still a RAW file
So you can then open up a specific image and make further adjustments to suit.
1. Double click on a Raw image to open. 2. Make settings changes as appropriate. 3. Hold down Alt/Option and the OK button turns to Update; click it. 4. Now you’re back in the File Browser. Make sure the file you just updated is selected (click it once). 5. Hold down Control/Command and click any files you want to update with the same settings (or hold down Shift and click the last in a range of images). You might want to Flag them at this point. 6. Right-click and select "Apply Camera Raw Settings…" 7. Apply Settings From: "First Selected Image". Click Update. Your images are now batched: The settings from the first image are now applied to all the selected images. 8. Back in the File Browser, make sure the files are still selected (or, if you Flagged them, just make sure Show Flagged Images is selected) and select Automate > Process Multiple Files… 9. Make sure Process Files From is set to File Browser. 10. Make sure Convert Files To is selected, and you have chosen the appropriate file type (TIFF or PSD). 11. Click OK. Your files are now batch converted.
I highly recommend Bruce Fraser’s "Real World Adobe Camera Raw". I think there’s a new version out for PS CS2, but you’ll want the one for PS CS since it’s closer to Elements. He does go into things that are not in Elements, but there’s enough useful information there to be well worth the price.
Maybe you already know this, but if you modify the metadata (such as the copyright notice), all the changes (metadata and Raw settings) are saved to a sidecar XMP file. This allows you to back up your Raw settings along with your Raw files to CD or DVD. If you don’t do this, then your Raw settings are lost if you backup to CD or DVD and then try to open them on a different computer or if you clear your file browser cache. (Or, as I found out, when you upgrade to a new computer.)
I found out about the sidecar XMP files by accident while using Bruce Fraser’s instructions on creating a copyright XML metatemplate.
While that’s true in CS, which is my tool of choice, I don’t think that applies to E3. Yes you can create XMP files but I don’t think it holds the raw data. There’s certainly no choice in the convertor to select either, like CS.
Hi, Jim. Yes, that’s right. You get flagging in PS for Windows because you get all the file browser functions, but that’s one of the features they figured Windows users wouldn’t need in PE 3 since they have the organizer.
I don’t have PS CS, only Elements. Yes, you can’t directly choose to save as XMP in Elements, but what I serendipitously found out was that if you add any metadata (or at least copyright info), then it automatically dumps out an XMP file! Even in Elements.
Yep, it even includes the "verboten"/forbidden/hidden settings such as hue and chromatic aberration. However, PSE ignores those settings, even if you change them by hand (and when it saves the file, it resets them to zero).
Nonetheless, it does save and read the PSE "sanctified" settings in the XMP file. I generate XMP for all my Raw files now, and back them up to DVD+R when I back up the Raw files.
The one remaining problem is that PSE will not save the image previews or rotation information, which is a bummer but not critical.
Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!
Related Discussion Topics
Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections
