New RAW Conversion Software and Image

I've been using Pixmantec's RawShooter Essentials for a couple of months now. I'm sort of just wading into it. Today I installed the pro version, RawShooter Premium, and I really, really like it. I started doing RAW conversions, with my EOS 1D, and BreezeBrowser, which I continue to use because I'm used to it. I also use Photoshop CS2 on my desktop, at home. That's where most of the important work gets done. But after using RawShooter Essentials, and now the pro version, I think it may become my default RAW converter. I really like the tools it offers, it's much faster than Adobe Camera Raw, and best of all, I think it delivers better images.

This photo was converted with RawShooter Premium. I actually did two conversions. The first was the main one and the second was just for the highlights in the water. I used Photoshop layers to combine them and deleted all of the second conversion except for the water highlights. I then used one adjustment layer for a final, subtle contrast tweak. And last but not least, I used another program that's new to me, Imagenomic's Noiseware Professional. I'll tell you more about that later. This was the first time I've used it so I don't yet feel qualified to comment.

I feel that RawShooter Premium helped me create a more subtle, sensitive image from my original waterfall capture. I may have been able to get a similar image from using Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop, but it was really easy to do using RawShooter. Plus, every program has its own natural workflow. Different applications will sort of lead you in different directions. I'm really liking the way RawShooter leads me. I definitely need to work with it more. But I think I'm becoming a devoted user.

Don't forget to try Capture One John and compare that as well. There are still things wrong with Rawshooter and yes I have purchased the PRO version of it and have Capture One as well. The designer of Rawshooter was a designer for Capture One and the Tech Support person M Tapes was the Tech Support for Capture One in his own forums. Have a look at the Pixmantec Forums and you will notice there are many that are having issues with the program, but for the price of it compared to Capture One, I think it is going to out strip it very quickly. Also the support forums are much more friendly than the Capture One ones are, in there the people that work for Capture One either don't answer the questions/problems, get quite shirty about being questioned and the registration restrictions really get up everyones noses. They really need to lift their game big time as I think they are loosing a lot of clients over to Rawshooter Pro.

I've been using Canon's Digital Photo Professional v. 2.0.3.7

Is this a bad RAW converter? I haven't seen many people using this or even mentioning it. I don't have Adobe Camera RAW as my PS is version 7.0 not CS (I'm mostly too cheap to upgrade, but would it be worth it?)

I seem to like the results with DPP, but given that I'm new to digital imaging, perhaps I'm missing something. I did download RAW shooter essentials and gave it a try. To me it is less intuitive than Canon's product, but is it better? If it is, I'll take the time to learn it.

If any of you have any comments or advice, please feel free to share. Thanks.

While I am still learning the Essentials version, I do like it a lot. The canon software that came with my 300D just seems to be lacking something. I think, for myself, I need to master the Essentials version, but then I will certainly look into buying the Pro version. It is nice to see that people with a lot more experience than me support this product also. Thanks.

Ken

Have you read Uwe Steinmuller's review in the March 2006, Shutterbug? I'll be looking forward to your further notes on this as it appears to have some definite advantages including the side-by-side comparision capability.

Do you feel the curve's adjustments are more subtle and finer than their counterparts in CS2?

Canon's product doesn't even compare. I used the Essentials product, and then bought the premium version the instant it was released. I can't say enough good about this program. Not only do you have much greater and easier control over the picture than you do with PS CS, it works faster too.

In fact the speed alone might be enough to sway me even if the abilities were similar. CS is just a dog on my PC. Very slow, especially when building thumbnails of a new folder. RS is very fast to load, and you can start working immediately. Still, try as I might to use P.S. CS, I can't get the same results most of the time, and it's much more difficult even when I can. My only real complaint is that Raw Shooters will not automaticly re-size the picture when you crop. This means that when you do a crop in say, a 5x7 ratio, the resulting crop is not converted to 5x7 inches in the density of your choice. You have to make sure to correct the final dimensions before you created the tiff or jpeg.