PhotoShop Question

[Swimmer]

PhotoShop geeks: lateley I have been shooting in Raw (with small jpeg) mode with the 30d. I have been trying to plow through "PS CS2 for dummies" to find a quick way to show Raw photos in PS.? I use the file open command and when I choose a Raw photo (using the open in RAW format dropdown in PS) it asks me what the vertical and horizontal pixel counts are. I put in what I think is close and I get a black and white image with horizontal streaks accross the whole. I know my complete ignorance of PS is glaring here...is there an "understanding" of the nature of RAW that I am not grasping?

Anyway, if someone can post me a pathway to open a Raw photo from a file in "My Pictures" into PS CS2 I would be extatic. I know, "read the book!". I have been trying, but time constraints and fatigue have been making this more like an exercise in sleep inducement.

[Dbl]

Swimmer the first question I will ask is do you have the RAW converter installed in CS2? Its sounds as if you don't. Go to the Adobe HSOforum and get the latest version of the raw converter for CS2. When that is done you do nothing more than, File---Open--- and select the RAW file you want and it opens in a new window inside CS2. Do your work in RAW and then you can "Open" the file in CS2 for further editing. Hope that makes some sense

[Swimmer]

Dbl, that makes tons of sense. Is there a way to tell if I have a "Raw Converter" now?

[Dbl]

Sure, go to Help--About Plug-ins and you should see Camera raw. Click on that and it will show you the version. My plug-in is currently version 3.6.

[Swimmer]

Thanks Dan. I thought I had CS2, but it is CS1. The camera raw is version 2.0. SO that is the problem. Unfortunately, the latest plug-in camera raw update from Adobe is version 2.4 which supports the 20d, but not the 30d.?? Do you think this version might still work for the 30d? Can't hurt to try I guess.

[Steve Foss]

Sorry, bud, it won't work for the 30D. I had the same problem when I was using a 1DMk2n with CS. Latest CS plug-in didn't support it and I had to upgrade to CS2 to use the RAW images. However, there's a great workaround. Go to Adobe.com and download the free Adobe DNG converter. It converts all camera RAW images from any camera to an equivalent format called Adobe digital negative (DNG), which CS will open just as though it were a camera RAW image. There has been some talk in the industry about offering DNG as a capture option for new digital cameras coming out, since it's a format invented by Adobe and supported by them.

[Swimmer]

Thanks guys. I guess I thought that since the 20d and 30d are very similar...

[Steve Foss]

Just different enough to push you back on the "software upgrade merry-go-round." Reckon the Canon and Adobe heads "do lunch" now and then and figure out how to stick it to the little guy?

But that's why DNG is so effective. It can keep you off the merry-go-round a few years longer.

[Swimmer]

I will try DNG in the interim...hopefully I can upgrade to CS2. I keep picturing a DNG black and white negative in my head.? But that's just me.

[floating minnow]

Since I'm a dummy at pp this can be a learning moment. I use the Canon DDP software to open the raw image, do my pp then convert it to a tif. and then open it in Paint Pro if I want to do more.Since a tif. is lossless,wouldn't this be a fairly quick way for Swimmer to get his to Photoshop for pp?

[Steve Foss]

No prob, FM. That's a good way to go too. But I believe CS offers more options for altering a RAW exposure than your option, so by converting to DNG and opening as a RAW-type image in CS, Swimmer should be able to do more with the image in the "preview" mode. CS and CS2 offer a dizzying array of abilities to correct things that way before the image is even opened. I haven't compared the actual mouse clicks, but I don't think the option you mentioned saves much time.