September 2008 Newsletter
Hello Raw Shooters
First of all we are very pleased to announce that starting this month we can send you the XMP files of your images. We created a plug-in to export the XMP files that you can use with your Adobe software such as Photoshop or Lightroom to see the edited images and then save them according to your use (e.g. 16 bit Tiff, 8 bit Tiff, or any size Jpeg). We have been busy testing and fixing the bugs and now it is ready for you.
What is the advantage of an XMP file?
One short answer: small, very small files to transfer! Each XMP file is less than 10 kb! Compare this with a full size jpeg from a 10 MP raw being around 12 MB and the XMP file from the same image is less than 6 kb. So, for example, 100 raw images from a 10 MP camera make a 1.2 GB file for you to download vs. XMP files of the same images would be only 600 kb! It will be very fast to download your corrected files and open them in Photoshop to be saved in any way you want them.
This service is very useful for those who have a slower internet connection or limited bandwidth
We love to hear from you - please send your feedback to:
mailto:info@rawdigitalimageediting.com
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Last month we talked about the HDR and Jim Watson showed you some tips about how to do it using the Photomatix software. This month we have good news for you!We contacted Photomatix and they set up a special offer for us. If you want to purchase this handy software there is a 20% discount for our subscribers! This is the best offer that we have seen on the internet. Just enter the coupon code “Omnilargess" (without the quotes) to receive a 20% discount on the price of their software. The coupon has to be entered on the order form that appears when you click on one of the "Buy" buttons on the purchase page of their website. This is a good saving for those of you interested in creating HDR images.
There are two more tutorials which we found to be very useful:
http://www.aguntherphotography.com/tutorials/raw-hdr-processing.html
http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/#singleraw
Please check them out - you will be amazed how this software can take your creativity to the next level.
Now back to this month newsletter.
Can I make an HDR without using the Photomatix software?
The answer is yes, up to certain point and it's very time consuming. You can expect to spend at least 3-5 minutes on each image adjusting curves, levels, tones, highlight, shadows, mid tone contrast, radius, and saturation to find the right setting whereas this software does it for you in no time.
Is there a difference between 12 bit and 14 bit RAW files?
There is a big dispute regarding 12 bit and 14 bit RAW files. I don't want to get involved in that argument and will leave it for technical guys to wrangle over. Here are some popular links that can read if you're interested in the technical arguments:
http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/pdfs/linear_gamma.pdf
http://www.nx101.com/12vs14.html
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=28610307
I found this one quite useful:
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/nikon-d300-d3-14-bit-versus-12-bit.html
Generally speaking you won't notice any difference between 12 bit and 14 bit RAW files if you watch them on your monitor or convert them to jpeg with the same level of adjustment. The figures and numbers discussed in the links above will help you to understand how much more detail you can bring out in 14 bit RAW. My experience has been that working with 14 bit RAW files allows much greater control in the shadow and highlight to pull out details and for better noise control.
Here are some samples of HDR using one single RAW file and comparisons of 12 and 14 bit RAW. All post processing was done in Aperture® and saved as Jpeg. I don't have the samples of the same shot (as you know it is a busy time of year for us) so I used images from my archive. I will try to see if I can come up with some more examples in future.
Here is a shot out from a 12 bit RAW file with no corrections.
In this image I adjusted the exposure for the sky to have the details in highlight and played with curve and radius to create the tone for shadow.
As you can see I have great highlights but not good shadows. To overcome the problem I added saturation and mid tone contrast to make the image as natural as possible.
Here is a sample of a 14 bit RAW right out of the camera.
Below is the edited image.
Notice the wonderful detail in shadow as well as natural looking highlights.
In this image I again adjusted the exposure for highlight and by using the curve, saturation and mid tone contrast I have a natural looking image.
Of course you can do even more adjustments in 14 bit RAW to create dramatic images.
Conclusion
It appears that 14 bit captures more detail and does produce a different noise pattern (less grain) but only in the darkest parts of the image.
The additional bits do NOT increase the DR range of the image, but rather they increase the number of gradations within the color range. So transitions from one color to another should be smoother and the additional bits allow more room for pushing things around.
If you don't want to spend lots of time on your HDR images, I definitely recommend the Photomatix software which can save you time and give you controls for adjustment to your taste.
That's all for this month. As always, we appreciate your feedback. Please send comments, questions and suggestions to:Feedback
Do you have suggestions for future tutorials? Please send your suggestions and comments to: info@rawdigitalimageediting.com
Have a great month of September - see you in October!Happy RAW shooting,
Ted & Omnilargess team
www.rawdigitalimageediting.com
support@rawdigitalimageediting.com
info@rawdigitalimageediting.com
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