What software do you use to edit your RAW photos

[markcas]

Title says it all. Your experience with different software for processing RAW please. My camera came with software but I understand it is not that good.

Thanks!

[ilanphoto]

it also depends on which camera you have but
Adobe PS CS (1 or 2) is a good choice
there is raw shooter essentials - free
and there is raw magick very cheep for Nikon
the best is to try and see which works best for you. I have not yet decided between these three.
Don't forget that you will need a post processing software such as PS or PSE in any case

[markcas]

I was thinking more along the lines of Photo Shop Elements 3.0 or Paint Shop Pro 9. Any experience with these?

Thanks!

[castledude]

Elements is pretty good (I have CS1, CS2 and Elements 3).

The RAW handler is not as powerful as the one in CS but will get 99% of the job done.

People liked the one in Elements 3 so much that one of the changes in CS2 was to make the RAW front end look a lot like the Elements 3 front end.

The nicest thing is that it keeps the grouping together in the organizer (understands when you convert from RAW to JPEG).

---------------
Have not used PSP

[road_runner]

I prefer using Nikon Capture 4.3 over PS Elements 3. Reason being that my exif data dissappears when I do a save in PS Elements when transferring from the photo compact flash disk. I can do most everthing in Nikon Capture. Version 4.3 even added red-eye correction and a couple of other nice touches. When I do the initial transfer from the camera's disk to my hard drive, the exif data transferrs with the image data in "JPG" and "NEF" (Nikon's Raw). If I try the initial transfer or save after applying applying enhancements using PS Element 3 or PS Element 2 RAW Plug In, the Exif Data is lost. Once saved with exif data, I can then use Elements 2 or 3 to add any further enhancements and will be able to read the Exif Information. Must be a quirk in the program.

Only draw back is that Nikon Capture 4.3 will set you back $99.

[peteheles]

I have tried them all (at least I think I have) and find PhotoshopCS the best without question. Elements 2&3 are nice products and if I need to edit RAW I prefer 2 over 3. 3 is a nice BIG product that has many ?features? I will never use. If you are uncertain go to Adobe's website and download the 30 day free trial before you buy. Also look into the DNG option for RAW files. THis may save your bacon down the road. Best wishes!

[lance_h]

I have PS CS but use Capture One LE for all my RAW conversion work. C1 LE is far superior IMO in sharpness, noise reduction and features (such as Curves, Levels etc).

Lance

[gsansoucie]

I use Photoshop (Elements). It is slow and a pain because the RAW editor is not integrated with the Photo Editor.

For quick viewing, I have switched to Microsoft's new [free] RAW Image Thumbnailer:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en

I move all my new raw photos from my CF card to a temp folder. Using explorer, I view the folder (thumbnails view) Right Click the first image and chose "Preview". I maximize the window (viewer) and can then use the left/right arrow keys to quickly scan through the images. I can hit Delete on the blurry ones, saving me a ton of time later in Photoshop Elements. Ctrl - A does full size to check for 100% crop blurring, Ctrl - B puts the image back "to fit" the screen.

It is a breeze now.

(Sorry, I went beyond "Edit" as the Microsoft Raw Thumbnailer is a viewer and not an editor. It is part of my overall "edit process" however).

-=Glen=-

[road_runner]

Thanks for the tip on the viewer gsansoucie!

[coachjohnson]

Can I edit my .NEF files from my Nikon D70 in PhotoShop 7 or CS? I've played w/ PS 7, but am not able to view any of my .NEF files when I go to open a file...any ideas?

[castledude]

PS7 required an addon that cost about $100 to edit RAW. Adobe discontinued support and shipping for that product when CS was released.

The CS and CS2 both natively support RAW files (including D70 NEF). Adobe provide upgrades to the RAW reader for new cameras pretty often.

[goofup]

I just got PSPX (quite impressive BTW), and it includes the latest version of RawShooters Essentials 2005 with it. For the money, that's a hard combo to beat!

[aisassipbase]

For people fed-up with PS bloated feature set and slowness, give CaptureOne software a try.

http://www.phaseone.com/

This is a dedicated RAW processor with a "Digital Darkroom" approach. It is not a Graphics Artist tool with a"plug-in" for raw images (PhotoShop).
It is simple, powerful and fast. It has a powerful histogram curves interface.

[special_boy]

I'm using Nikon Capture 4.3 ... does everything I want it to really, very quick to use and intuitive, 95% of the time I just want to resize my images and auto brighten / contrast them, and this works on batches real easy.

Have also been trying out PhaseOne CaptureOne looks like it can probably do more things but to be honest I got frustrated trying to do a simple operation like auto brighten / contrast, and gave up after half an hour ... not quite so intuitive an interface as Nikon Capture. But I'll try it again when I have a spare moment.

[ernst]

I use Raw Shooter Essential (RSE) for most of the work. It is free and does a great job and the workflow is pretty smooth. White balance + exposure settings in RSE, then batch conversion. Further editing in Photoshop.
If I have only one or two photos to process I also use Photoshop CS raw converter from the start.