Makin' me crazy!!!!

[Hermes2020]

Sorry, I forgot to include a link to a good YouTube overview.

 

[Hermes2020]

Bartc is using a cell phone. Most apps don't shoot RAW, although I used to have an app that did. Wish I could remember the name.

I would convert the JPG file from the phone into a DNG file before doing any edits. The DNG is equivalent to a RAW file, so can be edited non-destructively and resaved umpteen times, with no loss of quality. Then, after all the adjustments, it can be converted back to a JPG or TIF.

I can recommend a free camera app called ProCam X Lite for cell phones. The paid version supports RAW capture.

 

[Artyczar]

I would be interested to know what software you guys are using to process your RAW or NEF files. I used to use Lightroom, but hated that it has no file explorer and one has to import files into its database before they can be developed. A year ago I dumped Lightroom for the equally powerful ACDSee Photo Studio 2022, which has a folder tree file explorer and all the features of Lightroom. It does not require one to import photos into a database first.

I use Photoshop.

 

[Hermes2020]

I use Photoshop.

 

[Enyaw]

My Nikon Coolpix P610 doesn't have raw ability but I can see why anyone with it would use it.

 

[ZenDruid]

I'm using Adobe Photoshop 7.0, been working with it for about 20 years. It was issued as a CD for several hundred dollars and was loaded as a resident program in the user's computer. I own it. Nowadays I believe you subscribe to the program online for about $20 USD a month. The user interface on mine has an old school 1990s look compared to the ACDSee 2022 shown above. It seems to have all the same features. It has 16 file formats I can work in including JPG, PDF and RAW. I can drag and drop pictures from my Windows file to the Photoshop screen.

 

[Hermes2020]

I'm using Adobe Photoshop 7.0, been working with it for about 20 years. It was issued as a CD for several hundred dollars and was loaded as a resident program in the user's computer. I own it. Nowadays I believe you subscribe to the program online for about $20 USD a month. The user interface on mine has an old school 1990s look compared to the ACDSee 2022 shown above. It seems to have all the same features. It has 16 file formats I can work in including JPG, PDF and RAW. I can drag and drop pictures from my Windows file to the Photoshop screen.

Adobe's monthly subscription model has alienated many users. In the past there were no real competitors, so were trapped. Unfortunately for Adobe, there are now excellent alternative choices like ACDSee, including some good free ones like RAW Therapee

https://www.rawtherapee.com/

 

[Hermes2020]

My Nikon Coolpix P610 doesn't have raw ability but I can see why anyone with it would use it.

I suggest you try out converting to DNG to allow you to do RAW processing. It isn't a true RAW workflow, but it eliminates the losses you get when saving JPG files repeatedly.

 

[Hermes2020]

I should have mentioned another free RAW editor called Darktable:

https://www.darktable.org

I've never used it, but someone I know uses it and swears by it. It seems to emulate Lightroom very well.

 

[Artyczar]

I also use an old PS program that was originally paid for, not the new subscription based one. I would not really be able to afford that one, but if something ever happened to my old one for whatever reason, I'd just have to figure out a way to pay for the subscription because I use it everyday.

 

[amo]

I also use an old PS program that was originally paid for, not the new subscription based one. I would not really be able to afford that one, but if something ever happened to my old one for whatever reason, I'd just have to figure out a way to pay for the subscription because I use it everyday.

I hate subscription software. I never got attached to PS, although I used it from time to time years ago, but from what I understand, you can make GIMP look an awful lot like PS if that's what you're used to using. That would be an option instead of a subscription.

I'm an Adobe Stock contributor, and I hope one day to have enough sales there to get free software subscriptions, although I'm pretty happy with and accustomed to the things I have.

 

[Rich53]

I can recommend a free camera app called ProCam X Lite for cell phones. The paid version supports RAW capture.

I also have ProCam X. Just remember that if your phone doesn't support RAW mode, the app cannot, either.

--Rich

 

[Hermes2020]

I also have ProCam X. Just remember that if your phone doesn't support RAW mode, the app cannot, either.

--Rich

Thanks. I never take important photos with my very basic phone. I use my Nikon D600 for everything I post here.

 

[Aspenman]

Like Zen, I always save the RAW file as is in a separate folder. In fact, I save a number of versions. The RAW tif, a 300 DPI .jpg for printing, two smaller 72 DPI versions (details) for the web, then two others for my website: an even smaller version for quick viewing and a thumbnail.

I'm confused- RAW tif 300 DPI 72 DPI
Is this a new language just for photo buffs? OR are these the dreaded ACRONYMS?????

 

[Hermes2020]

I'm confused- RAW tif 300 DPI 72 DPI
Is this a new language just for photo buffs? OR are these the dreaded ACRONYMS?????

No, these aren't new terms; they've been around for many years. Using the acronyms just makes discussing them easier: JPG or JPEG, rather than saying Joint Photographic Experts Group every time. Or TIF instead of Tagged Image File Format. Just remember that RAW or NEF files contain all the information the camera's sensor captured when the photo was taken. They contain full colour and dynamic range information. A TIF is not a RAW file. A picture can be extracted out of the RAW file with appropriate software, and then stored, usually as JPG or TIF files. These don't have all the information anymore, so we can't process them further to get, for example, more detail in the shadows and in the highlights. Also, JPGs are compressed files, so every time a JPG is saved, there is a loss of information. We can reprocess a RAW file as many times as we like to get extra details and more faithful colours.

I think these concepts were perhaps only for photo enthusiasts 15 to 20 years ago, but not today.

 

[Artyczar]

Thanks Hermes.

DPI means dots per inch, by the way. 300 DPI is usually used for printing and 72 DPI is used for the screen (web) purposes.

Hope that clears it up Aspenman.

 

[Aspenman]

Thanks Hermes.

DPI means dots per inch, by the way. 300 DPI is usually used for printing and 72 DPI is used for the screen (web) purposes.

Hope that clears it up Aspenman.

It clears it up a tad, but only if we are allowed to use Acronyms

 

[Hermes2020]

It clears it up a tad, but only if we are allowed to use Acronyms

Haha, yes. I think we could probably call these "universal acronyms", because they are so widely known when used in this context.

 

[Rich53]

It clears it up a tad, but only if we are allowed to use Acronyms

I worked at a place that "acronymed" everything, so I made my own: TGLA! (These Guys Love Acronyms)

--Rich

 

[Hermes2020]

I worked at a place that "acronymed" everything, so I made my own: TGLA! (These Guys Love Acronyms)

--Rich

That's a danger when one is part of a certain subculture; one forgets that uninitiated outsiders who are not familiar with the acronyms have no clue what one is talking about and are sometimes embarrassed to ask for clarification. As part of my academic duties I used to train users of Agilent Technologies chemical analysis and forensic laboratory analysis instrumentation. Insiders in those fields spew out acronyms at an amazing rate. Instructions from Agilent top management were to avoid using acronyms, so one had to say Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry every time, instead of just ICP-MS. That can become tedious very quickly.