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RAW Developer revisited

Amen!

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OK guys, I've been beta testing the Photoshop RAW camera plug-in, and believe me when I say you would exchange an arm, or at least give up a few digits (not the shutter-clicking ones, of course) for this piece of software. Frankly, it puts to shame anything out there for the ND. It's quick, intuitive, configurable and almost magical.

I can't say much because of the NDA, but I'll post some results in the test area. No more JPEGs for me. I just bought a couple of 1GB flash cards to support my new vice, catching RAW images ...

Until now I've felt JPEGs where close enough to what I could get from a raw file, plus I couldn't preview the raw. But after spending a day shooting them and seeing the results, I say, WOO-HOO! Actually, not only am I no worse off without the preview than when shooting film, but not being preoccupied with reviewing what I shot immediately after shooting helped me keep my focus on the shooting and enjoy it more.

Kind of like back to basics, high-tech style
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Cheers,

DJ
 
Thanks Djg. This is exactly what I am looking for to use Raw for better quality to enhance my S2 for my family and baby shots perhaps pending a new reasonably priced contax studio slr.
Thanks again and will look at Photoshop website.
C.R.
 
DJ, you bad boy!

I'm a Beta tester also, but I thought we were suppose to keep it secret (?????), to the point that we're not even suppose to talk to each other about it.

If you're sure we can show stuff, then WAHOOOOOO!!!!

I've been busting at the seams to share results of the Adobe RAW converter for ND files, and enhancements in other Canon and Kodak RAW files .
 
Marc,

I e-mailed Thomas and asked if I could state I was testing and if I could post results, and yesterday he responded yes, hence the post. I was having a really hard time keeping quiet about this great product! And I'm glad you're testing it too, as you'll give it a better wring-out than me.

Happy developing!

DJ
Not really such a bad boy
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What we need now is a back to back test of SharpRaw as posted by Irakly and the new Adobe plug in.
What will be interesting is to see how both perform on the same RAW files (alongside the Contax RAW developer).
 
I am also a tester and have compared a few ND raw images from Photoshop CS, Contax, and SharpRaw. I have mixed feeling. At least one of the image I prefer the Contax raw developer. Can't say too much before I get approved from Adobe. My result is very inconclusive at this point.


Albert.
 
All I can say is that I've never been able to get consistently good RAW conversions with the Contax developer. My most favorite effect was the herringbone pattern in RAW files that never showed up in the jpgs. And the whole user interface set up looked like a child designed it... a demented child ; -)

I haven't been able to use the SharpRaw because the Mac version wasn't available last time I talked to Irakly. He seemed to get good results from it using a PC, but said it took some tweaking having to do with color.

I have high hopes for the Adobe version so I don't have to learn 2 systems. I use Adobe for all my other digital cameras and MF digital backs, so this is it for me I hope.
 
Marc,

You commented above that the quality of image from the ND rivaled your 645 with 4x4 digital back. Do you think that 35 mm digital could really replace medium format? I ask because I have an N1 and am trying to figure out if I should move to a Contax 645 or wait for an ND II (if it really is in the works). I'm fine with 35 mm film, for now. But I do miss the image quailty I got from 6x6 film (I had a Mamiya TLR that I parted with because it was too slow to use). I don't want to re-ignite a film vs. digital debate, but I would appreciate your informed opinions and those of other forum members that really know what the 645 can produce.

Thank you.
 
Having used all three, with SharpRaw in demo mode which as far as I know is fully functional except it won't save, the ease of use of the Adobe plug-in is as far above SharpRaw as SharpRaw is above the Contax software, maybe more. Speed-wise, Adobe is at least an order of magnitude faster than either.

It takes my dual-Xeon 2GB memory U-SCSI 320 Raid system about 48 seconds to load a raw image into SharpRaw, plus it currently doesn't use the camera's original white balance point so it uses some generic grey-level value. Initial image is nowhere near where I want to be, just like the Contax developer.

Adobe does it in 3 seconds, never mind that you get an immediate thumbnail in the file open browser, and the default settings placed me 85% of the way there. After some use, you can easily set up defaults for generic cases that will take you 95% of where you want to be.

Once there, the controls in Adobe are immediately intuitive and effective. SharpRaw, well, let's say cumbersome at best relatively speaking. Useability and effective-feature-wise, Adobe is by far the king. NDA won't allow me to discuss particulars, but there are many features in Adobe that make working raw files a joy.

SharpRaw lets you load in only one image at a time. True, you can only be handling one raw at a time in Adobe, but you have the ability to see something already imported if you place your windows right.

A correction in Adobe is basically instantaneous - SharpRaw is about 10 seconds. Obviously YMWV, but the relatives should be about the same.

Your workflow will take at least ten times less time in Adobe as far as getting a nice looking image ready for further tweaking you may want to do in Photoshop, not to mention that you're already in PS.

Do the math if you're doing 30 images, and I have yet to find a better result out of SharpRaw. Maybe I haven't been able to understand it enough to use it to its fullest advantage working in demo mode. I was using SharpRaw 1.43, maybe Albert can shed some light here as to how he sets up & uses the licensed version.

One really bad thing I noticed about the Contax software is it will send my CPU utilization to 25% even though I'm not doing anything in it! Slick design ... anybody else notice that? I think you need to process the first raw image to see that.

Cheers,

DJ
 
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