Is Photoshop Elements beneath the radar here?

[barjohn]

Allan, I tried putting ACR 5.2 in the CS3 folder as described in your post; however, when you try and open an RW2 file it says it is an incompatible version of the plug in.

 

[allan]

Allan, I tried putting ACR 5.2 in the CS3 folder as described in your post; however, when you try and open an RW2 file it says it is an incompatible version of the plug in.

From the page that I linked to:

"The Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in is not compatible with versions of Photoshop earlier than Photoshop CS4 or versions of Photoshop Elements earlier than Photoshop Elements 6."​

If you want to open the RW2 files in Photoshop directly without first having to go through the DNG conversion, you'll need to upgrade to Photoshop CS4.

I really don't like how Adobe abandons support for the latest version of the ACR plug-in for older versions of Photoshop, but at least with the latest version of their DNG converter, you can still access the G1 RAW files with these earlier versions of PS/PSE. The resultant DNG files will be huge, but hopefully Adobe/Panasonic will rectify this soon.

In back alley's case, he mentions that he has PSE 6 for Mac, so the instructions for manually installing the ACR 5.2 plug-in should work--he won't need to convert to DNG at all.

I have Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 and am going the DNG conversion route for now because I refuse to install and learn another program such as Silkypix. (I've heard that its interface is very clunky.)

I see you have Lightroom 2.2 as well. I'm not familiar with the program. Is it meant as replacement for Photoshop, or as a supplement?

 

[back alley]

i get that same message about it being incompatible.

it might be me though as i am not well versed in software/hardware issues. frankly, i am amazed i have never blown a computer up.

joe

 

[Terry]

It depends on what you do in Photoshop. I use Lightroom and rarely go to photoshop ( when working on something I will print large). Photoshop has a larger audience than just photographers and Lightroom is designed specifically for photography. Why not download a 30 day trial version. There are plenty of free resources on the web for tutorials or just ask questions here. If you have any students in your household the academic discount is good and it comes out to only $95.

From the page that I linked to:

"The Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in is not compatible with versions of Photoshop earlier than Photoshop CS4 or versions of Photoshop Elements earlier than Photoshop Elements 6."​

If you want to open the RW2 files in Photoshop directly without first having to go through the DNG conversion, you'll need to upgrade to Photoshop CS4.

I really don't like how Adobe abandons support for the latest version of the ACR plug-in for older versions of Photoshop, but at least with the latest version of their DNG converter, you can still access the G1 RAW files with these earlier versions of PS/PSE. The resultant DNG files will be huge, but hopefully Adobe/Panasonic will rectify this soon.

In back alley's case, he mentions that he has PSE 6 for Mac, so the instructions for manually installing the ACR 5.2 plug-in should work--he won't need to convert to DNG at all.

I have Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 and am going the DNG conversion route for now because I refuse to install and learn another program such as Silkypix. (I've heard that its interface is very clunky.)

I see you have Lightroom 2.2 as well. I'm not familiar with the program. Is it meant as replacement for Photoshop, or as a supplement?

 

[back alley]

pse is meant for mostly photographers, is it not?

 

[Terry]

pse is meant for mostly photographers, is it not?

Yes it is. Funny though I find Lightroom easier to understand. But a lot of people use Lightroom/PS combo. Lightroom has added additional features to make the need to go to Photoshop less and less.

 

[back alley]

i do very simple manipulations with pse6 so i can't say that is very complex for me. i had ps7 before, on my old pc and never used 99% of what it offered.

i need to get one of my computer savvy buddies over here to help me get he new camera raw upgrade working.

joe

 

[back alley]

ok, i loaded lightroom 2.2 as a trail demo and it works fine, i can open my raw files.

but looking at learning a whole new way to process my image files is sorta depressing.

i discovered that these are all adobe. why has adobe so many software packages to do the same thing? i thought photoshop was the be all and end all of image processing and that elements was a smaller and edited version of ps. where does lightroom fit in the scheme of things?

joe

 

[Terry]

You are right on that PSE is a slimmer version of Photoshop. Lightroom was developed help with a whole workflow for photographers. It is great for being able to catalogue and manage your images and then move into the develop module. I don't want to push a new workflow on you. I found it really easy to learn as everything is laid out for you to use.

Here are a couple of useful links. There are also some other good video/book based tutorials but not for free.

http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/archives/videos/

http://www.photoshopsupport.com/lightroom/lightroom-2/tutorials.html

 

[barjohn]

LR is also a file organizer and offers Pros the ability to batch process large numbers of images. Overall it offers a lot of flexibility but there are areas where it falls a little short for me. One area is the inability to control the view except in large increments, fill, 1:1, 2:1, etc. Other programs allow you to specify the percentage which I prefer. Also, the sharpening and noise reduction are not up to what is available from either PS3 or 4 or other applications. If I had to summarize it I would say it is good at many things but not great at anything.

 

[back alley]

well, i have the trail version so i intend to play with it, though i would prefer not to spend 300 bucks on software when there are so many other more interesting toys out there.

i have a headache

thanks for all the help folks, not sure what an old guy is supposed to do to keep up these days.

joe

 

[allan]

i get that same message about it being incompatible.

it might be me though as i am not well versed in software/hardware issues. frankly, i am amazed i have never blown a computer up.

joe

Try resetting PSE6's preferences by doing this:

Hold down the Shift, Option and Command keys while launching PSE6.

Reset Adobe Bridge's preferences as well by holding down the exact same key combination while launching Bridge.

You may also want to delete your Adobe Camera Raw preference file for good measure and try manually reinstalling the ACR 5.2 plug-in.

Try all these and see if it works.

 

[back alley]

ok, i reset the preferences and now when i try to open a raw file it goes to dreamweaver and dreamweaver freezes and does not open.

joe

 

[Amin]

The only caveat to that is the files are huge. Adobe/Panasonic are working on this but the DNG conversion is linear (no I don't understand it) but it blows up the file size.

This means that it isn't RAW anymore. A linear DNG has been demosaiced, and the RAW data are no longer available to be processed should better demosaicing algorithms come along in the future. This is in contrast to "Raw DNG", which contains the raw image data plus metadata. A linear DNG is more closely related to something like TIFF than it is to a RAW file type.

The whole idea of "linear DNG" probably comes from Adobe's desire to have a file type that could be used for all purposes. Ie, raw DNG for RAW files, and linear DNG for everything else. All kinds of files, JPG, TIF, PNG, PSD, etc can be converted to linear DNG. Obviously such a conversion cannot restore the raw sensor data (in many cases, eg analog cameras, there was no sensor data to begin with), highlighting the fact that a linear DNG is not a RAW file type.

The issue here is that, for the G1, LX3, and FZ28, Adobe has agreed to Panasonic's request that Adobe software implement automatic correction for lens flaws including barrel distortion. These corrections are applied when processing in Adobe Camera Raw/Lightroom, and also when converting to linear DNG, the only option for these cameras in Adobe DNG Converter.

Say, for example, you process a G1 RAW file in Raw Developer (Iridient Digital), you will see all the barrel distortion unmodified, along with a wider angle of view. In addition, the detail will be rendered according to the Raw Developer demosaic process. If instead you were to take the same G1 RAW file, convert it to DNG, and then open that DNG in Raw Developer, the barrel distortion correction would be "baked in" irreversibly, and the detail rendering will have been determined by the Adobe demosaic process. If you want that wider angle of view back and don't mind the barrel distortion, that option will have been lost, as the DNG file, in this case, is no longer RAW.

 

[allan]

ok, i reset the preferences and now when i try to open a raw file it goes to dreamweaver and dreamweaver freezes and does not open.

joe

Joe, try Control clicking on a .RW2 file. A menu should come up, with an option that says "Open With". Choose Photoshop Elements 6.0 from the list that pops up. Let us know what happens.

If that does not work, try converting the .RW2 file first to DNG and then control clicking as above but with the .dng file instead.

 

[Terry]

Have a look at this thread....

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=30170877

Eric Chan is from Adobe

 

[allan]

This means that it isn't RAW anymore. A linear DNG has been demosaiced, and the RAW data are no longer available to be processed should better demosaicing algorithms come along in the future. This is in contrast to "Raw DNG", which contains the raw image data plus metadata. A linear DNG is more closely related to something like TIFF than it is to a RAW file type.

The whole idea of "linear DNG" probably comes from Adobe's desire to have a file type that could be used for all purposes. Ie, raw DNG for RAW files, and linear DNG for everything else. All kinds of files, JPG, TIF, PNG, PSD, etc can be converted to linear DNG. Obviously such a conversion cannot restore the raw sensor data (in many cases, eg analog cameras, there was no sensor data to begin with), highlighting the fact that a linear DNG is not a RAW file type.

The issue here is that, for the G1, LX3, and FZ28, Adobe has agreed to Panasonic's request that Adobe software implement automatic correction for lens flaws including barrel distortion. These corrections are applied when processing in Adobe Camera Raw/Lightroom, and also when converting to linear DNG, the only option for these cameras in Adobe DNG Converter.

Say, for example, you process a G1 RAW file in Raw Developer (Iridient Digital), you will see all the barrel distortion unmodified, along with a wider angle of view. In addition, the detail will be rendered according to the Raw Developer demosaic process. If instead you were to take the same G1 RAW file, convert it to DNG, and then open that DNG in Raw Developer, the barrel distortion correction would be "baked in" irreversibly, and the detail rendering will have been determined by the Adobe demosaic process. If you want that wider angle of view back and don't mind the barrel distortion, that option will have been lost, as the DNG file, in this case, is no longer RAW.

Thanks for the explanation. I guess it's always wise to hang on to the original RAW (.RW2) files--that's what I do anyway.

Having said that, I am pretty pleased with the G1's JPGs straight out of the camera so far. Much better than some of my previous cameras. I still always shoot RAW+JPG just in case, however.

 

[back alley]

Joe, try Control clicking on a .RW2 file. A menu should come up, with an option that says "Open With". Choose Photoshop Elements 6.0 from the list that pops up. Let us know what happens.

If that does not work, try converting the .RW2 file first to DNG and then control clicking as above but with the .dng file instead.

using 'open with', the only option is dreamweaver.
i will play with it some more tonight after work.
joe

 

[Amin]

I want to correct something I said above. I was wrong in stating that "A linear DNG is more closely related to something like TIFF than it is to a RAW file type".

Eric Chan of Adobe made he following comment on the Serious Compacts blog this morning:

Although a linear DNG is not equivalent to the original raw data, it still permits the majority of the operations that a raw converter does, such as colorimetric interpretation (using a color profile), white balance, and highlight recovery (among others). These abilities make linear DNG files fundamentally different from fully rendered files. The main ability that is lost with the use of linear DNG is the ability to use different demosaic algorithms down the road (and of course, as you've noted, the file size of a linear DNG is much bigger because the single channel data has already been expanded to 3 or 4 color channel data).

So the lens corrections have been baked in (no going back), and one has lost the option to demosaic using a different process in the future, but the file maintains more of its original potential than I suggested.

 

[patrick-ss]

Leslie,
Rawtherapee a free downloadable raw converter works fine on the G1...
It's just been updated.
I to dislike sillkypix, rawtherapee as a much better interface and it's
free...
All the best
Patrick