RAW processors - pros and cons

[Heika Werner]

There are several RAW processors out there, and each costs good money. Bibble, Capture One, RAW Shooter. Which of these have you tried, and of those you've tried, what do you like or dislike about them?

Thank you.

[Blinky]

I've used Nikonview, CaptureOne and ACR... in that order. I always disliked the Nikon software... it's clunky, not suited to batch processing and the browser is impossible to use efficiently. They should definitely stick to cameras.

CaptureOne was a refreshing change but the file manager was hard to deal with. I just never really got around well in the interface. I can't even remember now but it seems like it had a kind of two mode interface where if your were processing files you couldn't manage them and vice-versa. All in all it felt like an awesome tool when I started using it but I didn't understand much about using RAW files at that point so I doubt I used it to it's full advantage... it was pricey. The preview cache kept filling up my hard disk too. I used it a little over a year until PS-CS2 came out.

I've been using ACR ever since. Adobe's file manager isn't as easy and fast as I wish it was but it's a lot more intuitive the CaptureOne. ACR is pretty much just what I want it to be with an interface that makes sense to me. I learned a lot about processing RAW files using ACR, the timing had something to do with that but the ACR histogram and slider interface really makes it clear what you are doing with those sliders. It's nice and simple too... fast in terms of workflow. Doing files individually, it takes between 15 and 30 seconds to adjust and open a RAW image (my computer is kind of old). At that point the exposure and color are usually right where I want them.

I've played with some others but not enough to comment on them.

Chip

[cyclohexane]

I use Adobe Camera RAW; it came with Photoshop CS and works just fine for my cameras; if I get one of the latest Nikons I'll have to upgrade, but for now I'm good. It works really, really well, and is fast and simple. I saved different sets of values over the original camera default setting to save myself time when doing conversions. Like Blinky said, everything's laid out real nice and clear.

I've not used the Nikon software (Capture or View), but I've heard very little good things about them- so I haven't bothered trying them. They're both due for an update with the Nikon-Nik partnership, so I might try Nikon Capture 5/NX if it improves significantly. One thing that I want out of Nikon Capture is the way it respects in-camera settings for conversions when you're not changing much but don't want to use the JPEG.

[Mr. Pickles]

I used Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) in PSCS for a long time. Worked well. I got RawShooter Essentials (RSE) and messed with it for bit, and then dumped it for ACR. Then I got to playing around some more with RSE, and eventually say that ACR didn't do somethings as well or easy, so I got RawShooter Pro (RSP) when it first came out, and haven't used ACR since then.

I like some of what RSP can do inside the convertor, that ACR can't do till you open it in PS (compare multiple conversions, curves, crop, rotate, etc). Of course, PS might do them a tiny bit better anyway, but it doesn't matter for this hacker.

Back on Dec 1, 2005, I wrote a review of RSP and posted it here on the Camel, in case you wondered...
http://www.photocamel.com/index.php/topic,3386.0.html

[Mark McCall]

We tested several.
Here's what I remember off the top of my head.

Bibble...one of the best we tested. great interface, uses a video style time line interface across the top of the screen, easy to pick up and use, coolest feature: built in Noise Ninja. Multi image exposure, and color temp adjustment. Second fastest converter tested. Medium price range...$129

C1....extremely feature rich, interface looks like the space shuttle dashboard, high learning curve as well as a high price tag. My employees had a hard time learning it. Organizing images was a bit quirky. Very slow at converting. Little bugs had me wondering why I paid such a high price.. $499

Raw Shooter Essentials...basically a knockoff of C1...written by the same guys. It's C1 with less features.
Used to be free...I'm told they now have a cost version.

ACR...awesome histogram showing the each color channel. Great workflow when used with the Bridge and CS2. Very intuitive, but to get the most out of it, it must be used with the Bridge, not that big a deal.
The wording in the conversion utility could use rewording to make it more user friendly. If memory serves, used to be a $99 plug in before it took the name ACR, but can be added to CS2 now for free.

Canon Digital Photo Professional....picked it up faster than any of the others, extremely intuitive, produced the highest quality jpgs from Canon raw files, previews have a tendency to show a bit green when adjusting exposure by more than 1/2 stop. Multi image exposure, and color temp adjustment. Fastest of those tested.
Ships free with Canon bodies.

[Max@Home]

Hi Heika Werner,

Since I still miss my favourite browser-one:

Among Others mentionned above (C1 LE, RSP, DPP and ACR) I also use BreezeBrowser Pro. (www.breezebrowser.com)

It is my favourite browser (and downloader: the separate program Downloader Pro ), and I use the RAW conversion for my G3 and Pro1 batch-conversions.

BreezeBrowser works with the conversion-algorithms of the original Canon software, but has a (IMHO) much nicer interface around it.

(old slogan: the Canon software as it 'should have been' )

Highlights of the program: during Download you can automatically create Adobe DNG files if you like, and have extremely great control over how and where the files are downloaded to. During RAW conversion you can correct for lensdistortion using a PTLens plugin, like the others you can EC adjust, crop, level-adjust, sharpness-adjust (two sharpeners: USM and 'HQ-style') etc.

A con for this program: has a nice batchmode, but during conversion no other tasks are possible (no 'multi-tasking' like C1 and RSP), and the conversion and adjustment take a lot of time...

On a sidenote: the PriceTag of Capture One (C1) Pro is pretty high, but as 'amateur' the LE (light) version will be plenty feature-rich for most users?

...*my* €0.02 worth...

Kindest regards,

Max@Home

[Mr. Pickles]

RSP (the pay for it version of RawShooter) has a better than nothing Histogram too. It can show the typical gray mountain range, or lines for each of the RGB colors. Has dots for each in the highlight and shadow corners too to show clipping. You can have it show clipped areas in the image too.

The White Balance button is nice in that the preview window updates real time while you wave the icon around the image to show you what it would look like if you clicked "right here".

Being able to have tabbed versions in the one conversion is nice so you can compare different things too.

I agree that Bibble is a nice package too, and lots of folks like it. I tried SillyPix a year or so ago, and didn't like it as much as ACR, but I am sure it has gotten better too.

[Mark McCall]

Originally Posted by Max@Home

BreezeBrowser works with the conversion-algorithms of the original Canon software, but has a (IMHO) much nicer interface around it.
Max@Home

Popular misconception.
None of the camera manufacturers share their algorythms with 3rd party software vendors.
They have no motivation to do so, and is against their best interests.
(there's even a disclaimer on Adobe's website about the perceived lack of cooperation between their converter and Nikon NEF files).

Nikon Canon and Fuji each have their own "genetic" makeup with regard to the files they create, and is why each manufacturer's own conversion software provides the highest quality files, regardless of price.
For the record, the quality difference is minor, but is still present.*

Thanks for mentioning BreezeBrowser. Althought we'd heard great things about their converter, they declined to participate. I know a couple of studios personally, using it to convert.

We did test Downloader Pro in a different test. In 5 attempts, twice left data on the card. Great product, cool renaming during download features, but but left us uneasy about trusting it without convirming download data.
Other factors such as processor, ram and OS could have played into our results.

This was not a scientific test and wasn't aimed at proclaiming any one product better than another, although we came up with our 1st, 2nd and 3rd best, and was only based on opinion after testing.

[JDArt]

The "Downloader" product, by the way, seems to be a rebranded version of a free Downloader utility that's been around for a few years. I would see no reason to have a "pro" version of this utility, as it's simple and does one thing: downloads pics from your card reader to your PC.

I tested Breezebrowser recently and was pleased to see a simple interface that allowed you to move back and forth between the thumbnails and the directory tree with the Tab key. There's a lot to be said for a simple, intuitive interface that doesn't have you mousing around all the time. Mouse = lower productivity.

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by JDArt

The "Downloader" product, by the way, seems to be a rebranded version of a free Downloader utility that's been around for a few years. I would see no reason to have a "pro" version of this utility, as it's simple and does one thing: downloads pics from your card reader to your PC.

JD,

You could be right about the rebranding, I do not know that. About the reason for a 'Pro' version: *I* do not know of any other downloading utility, that recognizes different cameras, allows to add a small description 'per event', and then downloads and saves the files, renamed as desired (JPG and RAW to different subfolders, if desired then subfoldered per-ISO used, etc, per-camera to different subfolders, etc...), checkes the download, deletes the files from the card, opens your preferred imagebrowser, and then closes as application - fully 'automated'.

The only thing you have to do is pop in your card/attch your camera, type the desired 'event-name' and hit OK.

I read the comment of Mr. McCall and was very surprised: I downloaded approximately 25.000 files from a dozen different camera's with DLPro and never had a 'miss'/file left/skipped from the card.

And of course and as always, this is only *my* €0.02 worth... your mileage, experience and knowledge may vary )

Kindest regards,

Max@Home

[aam1234]

Didn't read the whole thread. Tried RSE (the free version) but didn't like it at all. One reason being that the changes you make are not "live", one has to wait a bit to see the changes. The other reason is color accuracy, or lack thereof. I'm a big DPP fan, simple, live, and accurate.