Focus point display grayed out - ???

[Don D]

I can't view focus points in the latest version. I have a screen shot of the very same RAW image that shows those points in a previous version, but that same image file now has the command grayed out. Why is that?

[DavidB]

What camera model are you using? Is the problem with all the images from that camera model, or just some of them? Do you have images from other camera models which display the focus points correctly (or not)? Answers to these questions will help narrow down the range of possible causes.

David

[Don D]

I'm using a Canon 40D with a Tamron 18-250 and 18-270 at times, and have used a Canon 20D.

I've always been able to see the focus points before, particularly in a specific image I use regularly to teach how BB shows these. That same RAW image from my files - therefore unprocessed - or any other I've also tried, no longer permits Sh-Ctl-F to be used in the latest BB Pro v.1.9.4.1.

Perhaps I don't remember a specific condition on screen to be set first? What would turn on that grayed-out command?

[DavidB]

From what you say, this certainly sounds like a program rather than a data issue, though Chris is the authority, of course. That said, the 40D is very much a 'mainstream' camera, and I would have expected any general issues with the current version of BB Pro to have surfaced by now, so it is worth considering whether the camera/lens combination is significant.

Do you have 40D images taken with other lenses (e.g. Canon lenses) which display the focus points perfectly well? Possibly (this is just a guess), the issue is something to do with the way the program is interpreting the focus point metadata associated with the camera/lens combination. This data will be in the undocumented EXIF MakerNote, which Chris and software developers like him have to decode themselves.

As these are RAW files, there may also be an issue with the Canon SDK libraries used by BB Pro. Do the focus points by any chance show up in, say, BB Pro JPEG conversions from affected RAW files? The focus points should display in a conversion using Canon libraries.

I don't know what is causing the menu option to be greyed out. In my setup, it remains active even when the current image does not contain focus point data; again, this is one for Chris.

Finally, odd issues like this are sometimes resolved by uninstalling the program and reinstalling it. This may be worth trying; the BB Pro uninstaller does not delete your registry settings.

David

[Don D]

Now that I look further, there are many other commands grayed out, so it's not an image-specific problem:

Histogram, Magnifier, Show EXIF data, Next Image, Previous Image, High Quality, Show Focus Points, Show Grid Overlay, Grid Settings, Show Flashing Highlights, and Play Video.

Tools list items grayed out are: the 4th and 5th about JPGs, and Convert RAW Image.

Lists for File, Edit, and Help are functional.

If necessary I'll reinstall, but I'll wait for more opinions first. Thanks.

[DavidB]

No response from Chris; perhaps he is busy in the run-up to Christmas.

I agree with you that, with the additional information you give, the problem is unlikely to be data specific. What seems more likely is that one or more of the program libraries have become corrupt. If that is a significant possibility, uninstall/reinstall is, I am afraid, the way to go. At the very least, it needs to be tried as a possible fix.

In case your download of 1.9.4.1 was corrupted in some way, I suggest that you re-download, then uninstall and reinstall. It is also worth making sure that your security software is not interfering with the installation; mine (Kaspersky) routinely, and wrongly, flags up the Breeze installers as possible malware.

So far as I can see, this is now the least hassle next step. I don't think that there is a piecemeal fix for the current installation. Sorry if this was not the reply you wanted.

David

[Don D]

I uninstalled BB Pro, downloaded it and reinstalled twice with no changes.

All in the above note from me still exists as grayed out. I'll be patient for an answer from Chris. Thanks.

[DavidB]

Sorry about that. At least you've done the obvious things.

When you uninstalled, did you check that no files were left in the install folder? I'm assuming (Chris may advise otherwise) that the issue is not with the Registry settings that are certainly preserved. But something that is damaged must be surviving the uninstall process to prevent the reinstallation from working correctly.

The one thing I'd do before Chris responds is uninstall again, delete the install folder (after backing up any bespoke templates you may have created), and run the installer as Administrator in case there's a permissions problem. After that, I'm out of ideas, I fear.

David

[Chris Breeze]

The various options in BBPro are enabled/disabled depending on the type of image and the viewing mode. The only explanation I can think of from your description is that the image is being viewed in BBPro's thumbnail veiw and the various options are disabled because they aren't available in thumbnail view.
If this isn't the case, please can you send a screenshot showing the problem to [email protected].

[Don D]

Thanks for your advice. I didn't know that dbl-clkg on thumbnails and getting a full screen view (which I'm used to doing elsewhere) would not enable seeing focus points. Using Ctl-M Main View works fine to show the points. They look the same as before now.

Sorry for the extra work for you to describe how this works. I maybe missed it in reading, and certainly forgot it since being away from BB for a while. And thanks to David for his patience.

Next step is deciding how to set up workflow to get BB to batch process my dozens of wide-angle real estate shots that often need PTLens, while also organizing in Lightroom. Problem is that LR doesn't do PTLens batch conversions because that's an external editor.

I'd thought to use BB to correct lens distortion first, but now I know that conversion to TIFF is necessary first. That means I can't store files as RAWs or DNGs, which my whole library is based on now.

But one answer may be to Import RAW files into LR with batch presets, then either (1) Export as TIFFs to BB for PTLens batching, or (2) take those files to BB to batch RAW convert and undistort with PTLens (maybe more such as sharpen), then in either case take the resulting TIFFs back to LR to edit, organize and render, with occasional external editing in PS.

Do you have a workflow suggestion that integrates the best of these? The objective is to produce fully-finished JPGs for both a client CD and for my archives. I'm not sure I've got this all correct in my own mind yet but I'd like to stand on other's shoulders to avoid testing time. Sorry for the mixed topics.