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Cubfan
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p.1 #1 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I became a big-time fan of shooting RAW many years ago, back to before my digital SLR days with the Canon G2. In recent years I've been using C1 Pro which gives wonderful results and near-perfect workflow. But it's still a lot of work to convert, and the RAW files on my hard drives take up a ton of space.

I've recently purchased the 1DMkIIN for shooting sports. Having that fast drive is great, but RAWs fill up the buffer quickly, and my memory doesn't last as long. What's worse is converting all those files in C1 Pro and the massive amount of hard drive storage required for roughly 4-times the shots I used to take with my 20D for each session.

Sure, it would be better to shoot JPG, but having to use Photoshop to crop and set white balance is a REAL pain for hundreds of shots. And I haven't yet discovered a way to easily set wb in PS. The 1-click method in C1 and the exposure slide are indispensible.

Last night I tried the DPP that came with my camera. In fact, I downloaded the upgrade from Canon first. I can see I'll still use C1 for processing RAW files, but this program is incredibly useful for processing JPGs.

1. I make a quick pass through the images to pick the ones that should be dumped, and mark them to delete quickly.

2. I then go through and use the checkmarks (1,2, and 3) to mark up to three lighting situations, usually sun, sun-behind-a-cloud, and late in the day.

3. I can then prepare a recipe for each situation, and quickly apply them to each of the checked sets. Wow, you can click to set white balance just like C1 Pro, and though I don't have the exposure slide, the brightness in combination with contrast works well. For every +3 in brightness, add +1 in contrast. Also, you can add sharpness in the recipe, just like I do in C1.

4. Bring up the Cropping tool, pass through the images adding the crop I want. At full screen, I can again see the keepers and the losers. The ones that are bad don't get a crop.

5. Then, I pass through quickly and lose all the ones with no crop. I can easily see them by the little crop icon with the thumbnail.

6. Finally, I set the batch convert for everything I've done, putting them into a subdirectory of the current one.

After discovering this, I'll still use RAW for weddings and really important stuff. But for sports, I'm switching to JPG and using DPP to process them. Today's baseball game is my first attempt. I'm sure I'll like it better in the end, and think of the space I'll be saving!

Have any of you done the same thing? Is there a better program than DPP for color-balance, sharpening, and cropping JPG images? And do you have any tips for using DPP that I might have missed in my quick one evening of learning?

Thanks!

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 02:09 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #2 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I use DPP only for the RAW -> TIFF conversions. Other programs are better for workflow, but I prefer the conversion quality of DPP and then use PS for PP.

EB

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 02:21 PM

SoundHound
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p.1 #3 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

With CS3's new Bridge you can use their (enhanced) camera RAW tools to process JPEGs and TIFFs. Also I believe that batch processing is possible.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 02:29 PM

Cubfan
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p.1 #4 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I have CS2, and from what I've heard about the bloat and lack-of-speed of CS3, I'm not sure it's worth the trip. I tried using the bridge in CS2, and it was painfully slow on my computer.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 02:43 PM

ohenry
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p.1 #5 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Cubfan wrote:
I have CS2, and from what I've heard about the bloat and lack-of-speed of CS3, I'm not sure it's worth the trip. I tried using the bridge in CS2, and it was painfully slow on my computer.

I've experienced just the opposite. CS3 is much faster than CS2 on my machine.

Although I've used almost every RAW tool out there, I just keep coming back to ACR as my converter of choice. It is all about workflow and what works best for you. ACR fits my needs. I found DPP cludgy and just never developed a feel for using it. C1 is nice, but I just like the seamless flow between ACR and PS.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 02:58 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #6 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I also use DPP for raw but I hardly ever use it for jpegs, and in fact I almost never shoot jpegs. What I do have as jpeg files does not need further correction in DPP or any other program.

DPP is great at letting me change raw camera settings and seeing the preview instantly without having to do an actual conversion to tiff or jpeg.

I haven't used C1 since I had the version dedicated to the 300D. Both that version and my 300D are now long gone. DPP was and still is free and came with my 20D and every camera since then.

DPP is very capable and absolutely the best value for money

However, I wish it would let me slightly rotate images to straighten horizons or buildings. It's a shame that I have to go to another program just for that.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 03:00 PM

Johnny Bravo
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p.1 #7 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Cubfan wrote:
I have CS2, and from what I've heard about the bloat and lack-of-speed of CS3, I'm not sure it's worth the trip. I tried using the bridge in CS2, and it was painfully slow on my computer.

You're missing the mark by miles--CS3 does a MUCH better job of converting raws--particularly with respect of color. It's the bomb.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 04:02 PM

Cubfan
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p.1 #8 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Just looked on the website. Apparently, there isn't a free trial like there was for CS2. That's sad.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 04:06 PM

Napalm
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p.1 #9 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

CS3 is incredible for RAW. The control is the best I've ever seen and being able to cue up 200+ images at a time without noticeable slowdown makes it the choice for me. Awesome bit of software that converts incredibly fast too. Never been a fan of dpp and cs2, I agree, was bloated rubbish.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 05:47 PM

gbee
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p.1 #10 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

DPP is an amazing program and 'free' it makes up an apparent lack of speed by ingenuity … a subtle prog with real muscle and features not often found elsewhere

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 07:37 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #11 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

use a better lens

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 08:52 PM

hfillmore
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p.1 #12 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Maybe I'm missing something here, as I'm sure I haven't got the experience of a lot of the others here, but I've used Cs2,DPP and RSP, and I've found nothing to even come close to the speed, control, and organizational ability of Lightroom. I use the slideshow in cs2 to quickly color tag and delete all the losers, and then load everything else into lightroom. What I find especially effective in lightroom is the quick and variable zooming feature to check on focus, the no hassle cropping, and the ability to make numerous "virtual copies" of an image instantly, with the ability to apply a different crop or setting to each. In comparison to DPP, it is not only easier to crop, but has more flexible controls plus the ability to save an infinite variety of settings which can be quickly applied to other individual or groups of photos.

I just posted these a few days ago. They were shot in RAW and selected out of hundreds of images, and processed only in Lightroom and converted directly to JPEG. No other PP was done.

1 Overlooking "Wilderness", west end, Puerto Rico

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

2

This image is copyrighted by the owner

10

This image is copyrighted by the owner

.

12

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

My Daughter, coming in late

This image is copyrighted by the owner

This image is copyrighted by the owner

The galleries from which these were selected are these, in which their was no processing involved other than the RAW conversion from Lightroom directly to JPEGs.
http://www.pbase.com/hfillmore/rincon_april_19
http://www.pbase.com/hfillmore/wilderness_april_1
http://www.pbase.com/hfillmore/tablerock

There is a 30 day trial of Lightroom available. The program has been an absolute pleasure for me in comparison to anything else I've ever used in terms of organizing,selecting, and 1 step processing of large numbers of images.

Harvey

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 05, 2007 at 11:58 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #13 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

There's nothing tricky about cropping in DPP. And most other features are easy. It just doesn't have a full feature set.

Anyway, Lightroom is new so naturally we collectively don't have much experience with it.

Also, it costs money for a real copy.

Also, I won't risk my computer on beta software and that's why I didn't play with it earlier. Good luck to anyone who does want to risk their data and their operating system like that.

Also, and for me this is a real biggie, lightroom won't let you export raw files except as DNG files, which is really dumb for a company that wants to promote an open standard format without the heavy-handed approach scaring people off. I want to keep my raw files in their original form so that my other software can deal with them. I'm not yet ready to trust Adobe for ever more. They, afterall, have a habit of requiring you to upgrade software at considerable expense just to handle files from new cameras. Not so with DPP.

Another biggie for me is that lightroom won't import files of the same name but different type (extension). That is also just plain dumb. If I convert from raw to something else that doesn't mean I don't want to have both versions at the same place at the same time, and I don't want to rename my files either.

These last two bugs - for they can hardly be called features - will keep me away from lightroom until they are fixed. Too bad if I'm missing out on something good - at least I can keep my images intact without divorcing them from Canon or any other software.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 01:51 AM

hfillmore
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p.1 #14 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Alan...........

Lightroom definitly exports to JPG, TIFF, and PSD as well as DNG.

Not sure just what you mean when you say LR can't import the same filename with different extensions from the same directory, as it it a RAW converter, and not really designed to import any other type of files. You can however save the same filename with a different extension to the original directory where the original RAW file exists .

Also, the original RAW files can remain in their original directories, and are accessible to other programs if you like.

Having worked extensively with DPP, I am sure that if you try the trial version of LR you will find it far more effective than DPP in all respects, with the possible exception of course of individual preferences as to skin colors etc after the files are converted.

Harvey

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 02:39 AM

Cubfan
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p.1 #15 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Boy, this got off track quickly. I do know that there are other RAW converters out there. I was just amazed at the capability of the free DPP... all this time I figured it was as bad as Doombrowser, so I never gave it a try.

I did shoot all JPG at today's baseball games. DPP did great in helping me set whitebalance, levels, sharpness, and crops for all 600 shots quickly.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 05:16 AM

gfiksel
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p.1 #16 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Unfortunately, all the advantages of DPP go down the drain if you need to rotate/straighten your images. To do that you have to export to PS and then to do the same tedious rotation on one-by-one basis which wipes out all the saved time and labor.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 05:24 AM

Sierra Trekker
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p.1 #17 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I agree with Johnny Bravo......CS3 really is nice and Bridge is fast.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 06:30 AM

Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #18 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

EB-1 wrote:
I use DPP only for the RAW -> TIFF conversions. Other programs are better for workflow, but I prefer the conversion quality of DPP and then use PS for PP.

EB

I usually do the same. And DPP are excellent for that.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 07:32 AM

dhphoto
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p.1 #19 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I have to admit I didn't even know you could use DPP for correcting jpegs

Then again I hardly ever use it - although I know the newer versions are considerably improved. I am certainly going to give DPP a go for this now. I think I will stick with C1 Pro for RAW though, I love it.

My experience with ACR has been most disappointing, I just cant get on with it at all and my free copy of Lightroom (as an RSP owner) got uninstalled after a day, I didn't like it at all.

Just as well we have so many choices, lucky us

David

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 08:52 AM

websurfer
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p.1 #20 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I am using the Rawshooter Premium 2006 - but I will give it a try in DPP next time. I haven´t installed DPP yet, but it sounds interesting.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 09:09 AM

therock
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p.1 #21 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

I like the split screen before and after look. I am a green rookie but I wish CS3 had that feature. I am still in the beginning stages of learning CS3.
One would think Canon would have some kind of an edge when it comes to working up its own RAW images.
I updated to the latest DPP and all is working fine.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 10:03 AM

caleb condit
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p.1 #22 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

the only thing I'm not a fan of with the new DPP is that it desaturates when you adjust the levels to increase brightness...its really strange that they suddenly changed this.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 11:03 AM

Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #23 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

ACR4/LR unfortunately are second rate when it comes to image detail. Their sharpening algorithm is CRUDE and I can't believe they bought out pixmantec and couldn't deliver better results. Some of the colours it produces are terrible, especially reds, which become orange. Nice feature set though and the curves tool is excellent.

C1 Pro has the worst feature set, but is the simplest to use, has terrific batching (although slow), produces the best detail (slightly better than DPP) and used with Magne's profiles the best colour. DPP is good on detail and if you use neutral with say a slight saturation boost good on colour. But I hate the interface and it's batching doesn't hold a candle to C1 Pro which allows to produce 3 types of output simultaneously with different colour profiles if you want. The only thing I really hate about C1, the fatc you can't get a 100% view other than when in focus mode and only of a small section.

Maybe LR and ACR4 will improve but for now I don't use them for shots where detail is paramount.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 12:11 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #24 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

caleb condit wrote:
the only thing I'm not a fan of with the new DPP is that it desaturates when you adjust the levels to increase brightness...its really strange that they suddenly changed this.

The latest version has several annoyances/bugs. Perhaps they will fix it when the next 1D series body arrives.

EB

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 01:11 PM

Cubfan
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p.1 #25 · Why didn't I try DPP before?

Pixel Perfect wrote:
C1 Pro has the worst feature set, but is the simplest to use, has terrific batching (although slow), produces the best detail (slightly better than DPP) and used with Magne's profiles the best colour.

I agree with this. I've tried them all (except ACR in the new CS3) and I can say nothing has been able to get me to use something else. I do need to try the Magne profiles, though.

Edited on May 06, 2007 at 03:16 PM

May 06, 2007 at 02:12 PM


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