I am starting to shoot RAW and I have Pixmantecs Raw Shooter Essentials and Canon's Digital Photo Professional.  Neither of them feels like any photo processing program I have used before and both feel "clunky."  For instance, when I crop in CDPP, it opens a whole new application just to crop the image.  And it doesn't show the crop until you save the tiff or jpg.  I understand how it is working, but am not comfortable with it yet.

I'm even less competent in PRSE right now.

What do you use AND WHY?  Also, where can I learn how to process RAW files well?  I can do a fair amount with Paint Shop Pro X, but I have to convert to jpg or tiff first and I'd like to do the basics with the RAW convertor first.

TIA,

I use CaptureOne Pro... it's really easy to use and gives great results.  It's less "clunky" feeling than DPP (I know what u mean) and the queue system for processing your files while you continue working on others is great...

I've been using Lightroom for about a year now and have really enjoyed it.  I use it because gives me a huge amount control over the images in an interface that is extremely intuitive.   I had been using the plain old Adobe Camera Raw for a few years before lightroom and making the switch was super easy and didn't require a manual or instruction of any kind.  

I use ACR - which doesn't help you much since your a PSP guy.  But, using Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, and CS2 I have a nice seamless workflow.  And it is incredibly easy to batch process larger numbers of images. 

I can tell you, I rarely crop in RAW - there's just little reason to, and it is a lot of pixels to be juggled.  I (usually) save cropping for one of the more final steps - since it will depend on print ratios.

I have heard good things about Raw Shooter, so it may be worth getting the hang of... I have rarely heard anything enthusiastic said about camera manufacturer software.

I used the one by Pixmantec until they got bought out by Adobe.  I loved it.  I am trying to force myself to switch to Canon's program.  I took a class in it last summer and they made it look so powerful and easy. I wasn't using it then so I didn't pay attention as well as I should have.

 You may consider asking Rick which program he uses because he teaches seminars on using Raw. 

Tom,

I'm another one that's been using Adobe Lightroom since it was first made available, but before that I used Photoshop ACR.  At the present time I'm planning on staying with Lightroom, and I'm planning on buying the final product once it's released.  There are several books out there by guys & gals like Rick Sammon, Bruce Fraser, Ben Willmore, Scott Kelby, and Katherine Eiseman.  Another place you can look is on the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) site, or Canon's Photoworkshop.com site.  I've got most of these books, and I belong to both of these sites.  There is a wealth of information out there... As a side note, I noticed you have a 24-70mm, f2.8L, how do you like it ?  I'm thinking about getting one ordered up this weekend to compliment my other "L" glass.

Good Luck,

Larry

Hey Larry, I am getting used to the 24-70.  It doesn't have the IS so I have to be that much more careful to avoid camera shake.  I am learning to use it better, and I have gotten some great photos with it, but I'm not as consistent with it as I am with some of my IS lenses.

I know alot of people use capture One and everyone loves it. I never made the jump..yet.

I use CS2 Bridge / Camera RAW and like it better the RAW shooter program.

lightroom for me...

I like the healing brush and some of those goodies before I even convert to jpg or tiff.  I'd love an option that lets me not even mess with an image editor on many of my photos.

Do any of the converters have selective sharpening? 

Canon's DPP has a pretty good RAW tutorial. You can watch it and try it as you go, it has worked well for me.

thanks
 

mikemonteiro:

Canon's DPP has a pretty good RAW tutorial. You can watch it and try it as you go, it has worked well for me.

You are ABSOLUTELY right.  I learned a ton fast right here.  

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/dpp2/index.html