Camera Labs

I would like to ask a few questions about RAW editing etc.

I have just started to take my pics in the RAW format as the DSLR book I am reading highly recommends this. However what is the best way to do this and with what software. I have photoshop CS2 but never used and I know it can be very complicated to use PROPERLY. So I think my best best is the software that came with my E-510 which got decent reviews. Here is what I would like to know.

A: Do I use a card reader, Camera itself or my Canon Printer to load up files all of whcih take my CF (Compact Flash)

B: When said media is hooked up and you edit the pics do they automatically edit on the card or to the PC when touched up so to speak.

C: If they are on the PC after been retouched to my liking to I put them on CD to be developed etc??

Hope you can help guys or link me to a forum post

Thanx

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

A: It doesn't really matter which method you use to transfer your RAW files to your PC. Whatever gets the files across.

B: Generally speaking, once you've transferred your images from your CF card to your PC, you'll wipe your CF card so it's ready for the next shoot. When the files are on your PC, you'll do all your editing from there.

Different applications handle files in different ways. When you load a RAW file in Photoshop for example, you make your desired changes and then when you come to save those changes, you need to save or export the file as either JPEG or TIFF. This ensures that you always have the master RAW file unchanged in case you want to go back to it.

The best way to think of a RAW file is like a film negative; It's just the info that the camera captures and that info never changes. The JPEG or TIFF file that you create after your adjustments is the digital equivalent of the print that you get after developing your photos.

C: There are various ways to do this; You could either copy your exported JPEGs to CD and take them into a photo development shop or you could use one of many online services that allow you to upload your JPEGs to their website (PhotoBox.co.uk is one example that I've used and have been very impressed with the results) and order the prints you want online. They then send you them in the post. (Note that most photo development places (in store or online) will only accept your files as JPEGs)

I hope this helps.

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Thank you very much for your reply it was indeed most helpful. I have just purchased a HIGH END CANON MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER with an incredible high res 9600 DPI (standard res is 4800) DPI for printing my own pics.

I can just slide my CF into the printer and use Photo shop. And save the RAW's seperate to the newly edited TIFF/JPEGS etc.

Thank you once again,

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

That is of course the other option you could use that I missed.

Have fun!

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LOL well at least we have the covered all the bases together!!!

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

Just a further question, when I save my pics from my E510 to my Pc they are *ORF files and I can only view them using MASTERVIEW 2 Olympus software. However I have Adobe photoshop CS2 on my PC and its a much better piece of software. How do I open up the *ORF files with photoshop?

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

Hi there. Are you using Adobe Camera Raw? If not it's free and available at the link below. It doesn't explicitly say it supports the E 510 but it does support the E 500 and I'm thinking I'd give it a go and see what happens.

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/ ... ftpID=3587

Zorro.

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http://zorrofox4.deviantart.com/



Various lenses, SB800 & Manfrotto 190 with 460MG head

If the patch that Zorro linked to doesn't work, you could try the Olympus site directly. I've a had a quick look and found this...

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/208_s ... =7&result=

Let us know how you get on.

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As far as I understand it, Adobe Camera RAW isn't a standalone program - instead it runs 'under' Photoshop or Elements. More annoying is the fact the latest versions aren't backwards compatible with earlier versions of the mother app - so if you have Photoshop CS2, you'll beed to upgrade to CS3 to use the latest version of Camera RAW...

I hope I'm proven wrong though!

I despise Adobe with an unbelievable burning passion!

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My Flickr

Gordon is right about Camera RAW. Personally I use Lightroom to catalogue and process my photos. I find it makes a very good job of it. Here's a before and after to show what it can do in about 2 minutes of work:

Before



After

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Nikon D80, Nikkor lenses: 35mm f1.8 G AF-S DX, 50mm f/1.8 AF D, 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR, SB800 flash
My photos on SmugMug

Thanx guys,

Camera Raw is used in as part of CS2 put as far as I know I have to load up Photoshop bridge and covert from *ORF to *DNG (CS2 standard file format)

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

Okay so I have around 30 really nice pictures of my little girl playing on the swings, all saved in RAW mode on my E-510. I can view them no problem with the OLYMPUS SOFTWARE but it seems to be very basic.

I need to get these into CS2, I have tried downloading all plug in suggested above to no avail. I need a PHOTOSHOP EXPERT to help me.....

When I try to open the picture I get the following message:

"Could not complete your request becasue it is not the right document"

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

Hi Wonda Boy, I'm afraid the last update for the Camera RAW which runs under CS2 does not support the E-510's RAW files, and they're unlikely to update it.

Instead you'll need CS3 or Lightroom in order to use Camera RAW v 4.x, although so far version 4.1 only states support for the E-410 - I'm guessing this will work with the E-510, but will check for you later.

So it sounds like you'll need to convert them into DNG files to process them in Camera RAW under CS2, OR process them using the Olympus software into 16-bit TIFFs which you can adjust a bit more in Photoshop itself...

[rant]
Adobe have to be one of the most arrogant companies on the planet. I know I am steering perilously close to a "flame" here but I am not amused at having to pay over £160 because Adobe decided not to issue a full Vista compatibility patch for Photoshop CS2 and also decided not to update the CS2 RAW converters. It's annual licensing by the back door. And don't get me started on the price difference between the US and Europe!
[/rant]

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.