Photo Editors (From FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released)

User avatar
stuck
Panoramic Lounger
Posts: 8125
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 09:09
Location: retirement

Photo Editors (From FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released)

Post by stuck »

Nick Vittum wrote:...serious photo editing.
I do my serious photo editing with a combination of DXO Photolab, to convert the RAW files from my DSLR camera to TIFF files, and either an ancient version of Photoshop (yes you can get PS CS2 to run on Win 10) or Affinity Photo for the finishing touches. I've not been able to ditch PS because I'm still struggling to get AFP to give me decent prints, as in the same TIFF when printed by PS comes out OK it but from AFP it is very dark.

Ken

Edited by StuartR to add
This thread split from a thread about Faststone Image Viewer as the topic changed

User avatar
Nick Vittum
4StarLounger
Posts: 475
Joined: 21 Feb 2020, 21:27
Location: Vermont (USA)

Re: Update: FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released

Post by Nick Vittum »

stuck wrote:I do my serious photo editing with a combination of Photolab, to convert the RAW files from my DSLR camera to TIFF files, and either an ancient version of Photoshop (yes you can get PS CS2 to run on Win 10) or Affinity Photo for the finishing touches. I've not been able to ditch PS because I'm still struggling to get AFP to give me decent prints, as in the same TIFF when printed by PS comes out OK it but from AFP it is very dark.
You might try Paint.net, if you haven't. I kind of like it. I learned in early versions of PhotoShop, back when I was working professionally, and I miss it. But I can't justify the expense for home use (and fairly limited use, at that) And there are things you come to expect, having used PS, that either just aren't there, or that must be accomplished through what seem (to me) like circuitous and non-intuitive methods. That said, I do rather like it. Better than any other freeware I've tried.

Is PhotoLab freeware (and computer-based, rather than cloud-based)? If so, I'll have to try it.

But hey, as far as converting to TIFF, have you tried just doing batch conversions in IrfanView?
—Nick

I’m only an egg (but hard-boiled)

User avatar
stuck
Panoramic Lounger
Posts: 8125
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 09:09
Location: retirement

Re: Update: FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released

Post by stuck »

Nick Vittum wrote:Is PhotoLab freeware (and computer-based, rather than cloud-based)?
No, it's far from free but if you hold your nerve and ignore other offers that may appear during the year and wait until Black Friday you'll get it at half price. It is computer-based.
Nick Vittum wrote:I'll have to try it
Not unless you have RAW files to work with, see below.

Similarly, Affinity Photo is not free but I bought my copy when it was on offer. Mind you, even full priced it is a fraction of the cost of PS. It too is computer based.
Nick Vittum wrote:But hey, as far as converting to TIFF, have you tried just doing batch conversions in IrfanView?
If all I was doing was taking the JPEGs that comes straight out of the camera then I could do that. However, although my camera does generate JPEGs, I work with the RAW files it creates. Such files are as their name implies, raw data straight off the camera sensor and are not directly viewable as an image. The files have to processed, to convert them into a TIFF/JPEG/whatever. DXO Photolab is (primarily) a RAW converter. It can do other stuff as well but PS/Affinity Photo often do those things better. Using this workflow I can get far better pictures than the JPEGs generated by the camera.

Ken

User avatar
Nick Vittum
4StarLounger
Posts: 475
Joined: 21 Feb 2020, 21:27
Location: Vermont (USA)

Re: Update: FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released

Post by Nick Vittum »

I see. I think my camera might generate RAW files, but I don't do enough serious photography any more to make this worth exploring. When I mentioned working professionally, I meant in graphic design, not in photography. I haven't done serious photography in 40 years...

For whatever it's worth, IrfanView does work with RAW files. How well it does so, I have no way of knowing.
—Nick

I’m only an egg (but hard-boiled)

User avatar
stuck
Panoramic Lounger
Posts: 8125
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 09:09
Location: retirement

Re: Update: FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released

Post by stuck »

Nick Vittum wrote:For whatever it's worth, IrfanView does work with RAW files. How well it does so, I have no way of knowing.
RAW files not only contain the raw data from the sensor, they also include a JPEG. It is my understanding that if you open a RAW file with IrfanView, IrfanView ignores the raw data and simply extracts the embedded JPEG. So yes, it does 'work' with RAW files but it's not working on the raw data in the file, which misses the whole point of processing a RAW file yourself.

Here's a quick & dirty example of what I mean. This image is the JPEG created by the camera:
JPEGsooc_4web.jpg
This one is a JPEG I created from the RAW file, using Photolab and PS:
JPEGfromRAW_4web.jpg
Ken
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Nick Vittum
4StarLounger
Posts: 475
Joined: 21 Feb 2020, 21:27
Location: Vermont (USA)

Re: Photo Editors (From FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released)

Post by Nick Vittum »

that's a pretty dramatic example. Beautiful shot, too.
—Nick

I’m only an egg (but hard-boiled)

User avatar
BobH
UraniumLounger
Posts: 9211
Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 01:27
Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Re: Photo Editors (From FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released)

Post by BobH »

Ken, soon we are going to demand a tutorial on editing RAW files. :evilgrin:
Bob's yer Uncle
(1/2)(1+√5)
Intel Core i5, 3570K, 3.40 GHz, 16 GB RAM, ECS Z77 H2-A3 Mobo, Windows 10 >HPE 64-bit, MS Office 2016

User avatar
stuck
Panoramic Lounger
Posts: 8125
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 09:09
Location: retirement

Re: Photo Editors (From FastStone Image Viewer 7.5 released)

Post by stuck »

BobH wrote:Ken, soon we are going to demand a tutorial on editing RAW files. :evilgrin:
Start here:
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/photo ... orials.htm

Ken