so after buying my canon eos 450D camera a month'ish ago, and managing to obtain the canon software that was missing in my kit (grr) and then finally actually opening the the eos utility, and then figuring out how to .... oh bugger it.
haha, so question is, what is the best way to edit the raw files? do i use the eos funciton thing it wants to open or can the editing of the .raw file be done through Photoshop, PSP or PS Elements ??
Photoshop has a cool tool called camera raw that supports CR2 files that your canon makes.
camera raw is an awesome tool, but personally I am more at home with lightroom (similar back-end and general features, i just prefer the interface)
@suzyanneau thanks suzanne, i don't have lightroom, and probably can't afford it just now hehe.
@shegs thanks aaron :)) i have ps3 extended, and didn't realise to stop at that first window to edit in raw lol (doh) ... and i just found a pretty useful tutorial on youtube (googled to find it) and the dude is pretty helpful
Lightroom 3 is... wait for it... let's play a game of "guess the superlative"... I have a feeling you'll get it... OK here we go... Lightroom 3 is... heaps awesome.
Not having used Photoshop for this kind of thing I can't really compare them but I'm sure it can't be as streamlined and focused as LR3 is.
If you would like a demo version of LR3 hit me up.
I allways use Photoshop CS5 (Extended). I have Lightroom 3 but I don`t like it.Maybe I should try to use it more and get used to it,I don`t know.So..yeah...Photoshop for me.
I've got Win 7 64 bit and viewing doesn't work in Live Gallery or Picture Viewer ... reinstalled Irfanview (free program) so can more easily and quickly view CR2 without opening Adobe Bridge then Camera RAW.
Haven't installed Canon software at all ....
Irfanview has editing opportunities if the more expensive programs elude your wallet.
@misschuff Three cheers for Irfanview, I've had that thing knocking around on my PCs for probably ten years... a little stunned to find someone else that knows about it!
Lightroom for organising and correcting, and PS for final editing. If your version of PS doesn't support your particular raw files, just use Adobe's free DNG converter and make all your raw files into digital negatives instead. In fact, that's what I do with Lightroom anyway, when I import, because it combines the .CR2 and .XMP files so my metadata can't get lost.
So, umm, Lightroom! ;) If you're a student you can get it for a bit over $100.
@eyebrows nerd to the nth degree me is .... hey I was a play specialist at GOS (Great Ormand Street Hospital way back when) so a playful nerd at that! ROFLMAO too late - must leave this joint.
I have CS2 (yes I'm that far behind) which does not have any way of dealing with RAW photos from the 450D (which I use). Virtually all other RAW files types are supported and it's a perfect nuisance.
i really like the Digital Photo Professional software that came with my canon for editing RAW images. i just got photoshop elements, and i can't stand the "organizer". i find it rather confusing and i end up saving images a few times? the Canon software allows you to edit in a simple, but effective way (changing the white balance, brighten, contrast, all the tricks..), and then keeps everything in folders organized by date, which i like.
thanks so much :)) i figured out that ps3 opens the raw image first before you actually edit in photoshop and i can either save it then or open in ps to edit further as a jpeg.
@eyebrows@jinximages thanks :)) i am looking at getting lightroom now, didn't realise i could get it that cheap jinx, 2 of my kiddies have student cards so thats good hehe. so i had a go at it today with a photo that was really quite grotty due to the lighting and my limited experience on how to set my camera lmao, and WOW i'm gobsmacked, to say the least.
this is what i managed to do, all in raw editing (bar the watermark)....
@misschuff sorry carlita, lil bit confused... when do i alt click ? i open through ps, ie i have photoshop open then file through the menu and up pops the raw editing window....then i clicked "open" once i was done to open it as a jpeg for regular editing etc, rather than save, i prefer to never save over the originals.
yes when your in Camera RAW of PS you then click to open it in PS BUT hover over the button and it should suggest to alt + click to open a copy thus leaving the CR2 file ... I am using CS5 but have used various PS for 10yrs (yes suck at it still) so pretty sure it's the same ... just test it on a CR2file
@misschuff aahhhh so it does ;)) thank you :)) i was actually worried about the meta data getting changed etc, but it didn't seem to, well it kinda did but some original exif stuff is there, re date/time taken etc.
I was a Photoshop diehard - nothing would ever beat it. Then I tried Lightroom. It took a while to admit it, but it really is better for a lot of things. Sure, you can't do everything you can in Photoshop, but for basic editing (particularly in RAW) it is the way to go.
Lightroom's workflow is perfect for me. The only 'bad' thing about Lightroom is the price, but then again, nothing's free. (Except the best things in life - tee hee!)
If you shoot in RAW, I'd definitely get LR. It also works amazingly well for JPG files. Of course, if you need to perform bigger adjustments (such as removing something from the picture), you're better off with Photoshop. I use both, though the majority of my editing takes place in LR.
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camera raw is an awesome tool, but personally I am more at home with lightroom (similar back-end and general features, i just prefer the interface)
@shegs thanks aaron :)) i have ps3 extended, and didn't realise to stop at that first window to edit in raw lol (doh) ... and i just found a pretty useful tutorial on youtube (googled to find it) and the dude is pretty helpful
this is the link if anyone else needs help too :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ZdNE0B2ew
Lightroom 3 is... wait for it... let's play a game of "guess the superlative"... I have a feeling you'll get it... OK here we go... Lightroom 3 is... heaps awesome.
Not having used Photoshop for this kind of thing I can't really compare them but I'm sure it can't be as streamlined and focused as LR3 is.
If you would like a demo version of LR3 hit me up.
Haven't installed Canon software at all ....
Irfanview has editing opportunities if the more expensive programs elude your wallet.
So, umm, Lightroom! ;) If you're a student you can get it for a bit over $100.
However Lightroom is excellent.
thanks so much :)) i figured out that ps3 opens the raw image first before you actually edit in photoshop and i can either save it then or open in ps to edit further as a jpeg.
@eyebrows @jinximages thanks :)) i am looking at getting lightroom now, didn't realise i could get it that cheap jinx, 2 of my kiddies have student cards so thats good hehe. so i had a go at it today with a photo that was really quite grotty due to the lighting and my limited experience on how to set my camera lmao, and WOW i'm gobsmacked, to say the least.
this is what i managed to do, all in raw editing (bar the watermark)....
from this:
to this:
so is that kind of the same as what you mean??
thanks so much :))
If you shoot in RAW, I'd definitely get LR. It also works amazingly well for JPG files. Of course, if you need to perform bigger adjustments (such as removing something from the picture), you're better off with Photoshop. I use both, though the majority of my editing takes place in LR.