raw conversions

[jimlevitt]

I have been using Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop CS2 for my raw conversions from Canon 20D and 30D files. I try some of the conversions in BreezeBrowser Pro as well, prompted by Art Morris reporting that BB produces more accurate color. Some conversions I did tonight support this.

I like the control available in ACR, particularly the red and blue highlight and shadow warnings that indicate clipping. How does one replicate this level of control in the BB raw converter? The "blinkies" for blown highlights appear in the regular view, but aren't there to help when making adjustments in the raw converter.

The ACR converter has three sliders. "Exposure" controls the highlights; "Shadows" handles the shadows (duh!); while "brightness" manipulates the midtones. In the BB converter, the "raw conversion" page has an exposure compensation slider. The post processing page has something akin to a levels control, where the midtones can be tweaked. The workflow is clearly different from the Adobe converter.

What is the recommended workflow when using the BB raw converter? I like the color from BB, while preferring the enhanced precision of adjustments available in ACR. Am I wrong in thinking that it is best to do as much as possible in the raw converter, rather than having to spend more time on adjustments later in Photoshop? I hold off on sharpening, obviously. If the raw conversion has been optimized, should there still be any need for levels adjustments later? What about noise reduction? I've been using it in the BB converter.

Thanks for any and all advice.

[Chris Breeze]

I generally only adjust the white balance, exposure compensation (if required) and levels when converting and do the rest in Photoshop. I find the default contrast setting for Canon cameras is way too high and usually set it to -3 or -4 in the camera and then convert the file "as shot".