Quick question about the 5d Mark II. People talk about opening up the raw file in DPP, then convert to TIFF before using CS3. I've been just converting to DPP to JPEG then going to CS3 for further fine adjustments, and have been getting seemingly very good results, nicer than in camera jpeg. Does converting to TIFF instead of JPEG offer any significant advantages when bringing the files to CS3?
You should probably avoid jpg for a particular photo until you publish it for the web or send it off for printing. TIFF is the way to go. You get to keep 16 bits until the very end of the process.
I am keeping the RAW files. Just wondering if it's better to bring the TIFF files to edit in CS3 or to bring the JPEG files to CS3. I assume editing the TIFF files instead of JPEG files in CS3 would be better, but is there really a big difference?
TIFF gives you much more ability to adjust in CS3 than JPG and avoids the nasty compression artifacts. Those artifacts may not be readily apparent, but they do exist.
I shoot only in RAW and export TIFFs in DPP for editing in CS2. I then convert the image to the SRGB colorspace and downsize to create the JPEG from the TIFF file for web display.
The advantage is flexibility and quality when reproduction sizes may be large. The disadvantage is that it requires a LOT of storage for the TIFF (around 120Mb in 16 bit).
Store the Raws and discard the Tiffs after making the JPEG, that way you will have the original to return to and it takes only a moment to make another Tiff. Don't ever get rid of the Raw-it is in fact your digital negative.
Quick question about the 5d Mark II. People talk about opening up the raw file in DPP, then convert to TIFF before using CS3. I've been just converting to DPP to JPEG then going to CS3 for further fine adjustments, and have been getting seemingly very good results, nicer than in camera jpeg. Does converting to TIFF instead of JPEG offer any significant advantages when bringing the files to CS3?
Thanks
jpeg is 8 bits only. People save to 16 bit Tiff so they can edit the file in 16 bits in Photoshop. You can easily posterize the image and generate other artifacts if you process in 8 bits in photoshop.
ACR should handle 16 bit Tiff fine. The way you open it is:
Use "Open As" instead of "Open", then choose the file format in the "open as" box to be
"Camera Raw (*.Tif,...)", then select your file and click open.
thanks for the feedback Gene, but I'm still having a little trouble.
I use a mac. I then convert raw files using DPP and save as a 16 bit TIFF file. ACR can't open this TIFF file directly saved from DPP. Photoshop CS3 is able to open up the file. However, if I open up the same TIFF file in photoshop CS3, then save, I can open up the subsequent saved TIFF file in ACR. Is this normal? thanks for any feedback.
I'm curious as to why you want to open the TIFF file in ACR?
Once you've converted with DPP the TIFF has everything you need for CS3.
Or you could convert the raw with ACR to start.
1) is limited to a color depth of 8-bits per pixel (usually clipping highlights and shadows in the original capture when the tone curve is applied)
2) is "destructively" compressed for storage on disk (meaning data is thrown away every time the image is saved)
3) does not support layered editing in Photoshop
Therefore, it is not a good format for editing or archiving. It's good for "final" output for the Web, and for clients when they will not need to do any further post-processing on the image. It's strength is reduced file size and universal compatability.
