software that handles raw files

[CW-12]

Hello, I'm new here :)

I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.
However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,
which raises a few questions (for me at least). Is Photoshop just as good as
PTgui for processing-PS seems to do a good job and raw files are handled?
What other software is considered pretty good (in this category) that does
handle raw files.

Thanks in advance.
CW.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Joergen Geerds-2]

I think most people consider it two separate tasks, at least for now.
Converting RAW to tiff or jpg is best handled by applications that do nothing else, i.e. adobe camera raw (which is part of bridge/photoshop, but it is not photoshop), or the appropriate canon/nikon tools, plus a handful of other software apps.
stitching (and blending) is also best handled by specialized apps, first and foremost ptgui, but photoshop made big inroads for simpler projects.

the few applications that try to two two different tasks at the same time, fail miserably most of the time: i.e. when you try to create a hdr with photomatix. if you try feeding it the raw files directly, you get pretty aweful results, when you feed tiffs, you get pretty good results. the reason for this is that raw to tiff is not a straight forward conversion, but rather a very complex process, involving bayer pattern interpretation, color spaces, sharpening/interpolation, CA, vignetting etc.

for that reason, you want to stick with the application that gives you the best quality each step of the way, and that is the reason why ptgui won't have a raw importer any time soon (i hope). and i would be a bit suspicious of any application that offers raw import without any history of raw imports.

best
joergen
luminous-newyork.com

--- On Thu, 7/24/08, Colin West <[hidden email]> wrote:
From: Colin West <[hidden email]>
Subject: [PanoToolsNG] software that handles raw files
To: [hidden email]
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 5:52 PM










   
            Hello, I'm new here :)



I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.

However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,

which raises a few questions (for me at least). Is Photoshop just as good as

PTgui for processing-PS seems to do a good job and raw files are handled?

What other software is considered pretty good (in this category) that does

handle raw files.



Thanks in advance.

CW.


 
         
       
       








       


       
       


     

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Uri Cogan]

Colin West wrote:

> Hello, I'm new here :)
>




Welcome


>
> I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.
> However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,
> which raises a few questions (for me at least). Is Photoshop just as
> good as
> PTgui for processing-PS seems to do a good job and raw files are handled?
> What other software is considered pretty good (in this category) that does
> handle raw files.
>











PhotoShop and PTGui do very different things.

There are several ways to process RAW files - Adobe Camera Raw or
something like DXO Optics Pro, etc. Use any of them to convert your RAW
files to TIF,  or   JPEG.

Photoshop is not a RAW processor in itself - it's an 'image editor' that
can used later to process or adjust the panorama after stitching, before
final output. Most panorama creation tools are available for most
platforms, Mac, Windows or Unix.

Programs like PTGui, and many others, are 'stitchers' that combine your
source files into usually, an equirectangular image file.

The stitcher's output is processed using yet another program such as
Pano converter or Pano2VR, etc. into the a viewable panorama in whatever
format you choose: QTVR, Flash, Java and/or some others.  Some of these
programs will also create a web page for the panorama.

A good tutorial of the entire workflow is at:

http://tinyurl.com/5kcfrr

Another excellent resource is at:

http://tinyurl.com/2cdfm8

Good Luck

Uri Cogan
http://www.uricogan.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[CW-12]

Thanks Joergen for the response. It seems that a typical workflow might fall
into 2 directions. For simple panos-6x2, for example-open a folder
containing these 12 files in PS (File/automate/Photomerge) etc. For more
complex panos, open them from Bridge/Lightroom/ACR, batch process, and save
as tifs. Open the folder containing the tifs with PTgui and process.
 
CW.

  _____  

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Joergen Geerds
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 8:44 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [PanoToolsNG] software that handles raw files



I think most people consider it two separate tasks, at least for now.
Converting RAW to tiff or jpg is best handled by applications that do
nothing else, i.e. adobe camera raw (which is part of bridge/photoshop, but
it is not photoshop), or the appropriate canon/nikon tools, plus a handful
of other software apps.
stitching (and blending) is also best handled by specialized apps, first and
foremost ptgui, but photoshop made big inroads for simpler projects.

the few applications that try to two two different tasks at the same time,
fail miserably most of the time: i.e. when you try to create a hdr with
photomatix. if you try feeding it the raw files directly, you get pretty
aweful results, when you feed tiffs, you get pretty good results. the reason
for this is that raw to tiff is not a straight forward conversion, but
rather a very complex process, involving bayer pattern interpretation, color
spaces, sharpening/interpolation, CA, vignetting etc.

for that reason, you want to stick with the application that gives you the
best quality each step of the way, and that is the reason why ptgui won't
have a raw importer any time soon (i hope). and i would be a bit suspicious
of any application that offers raw import without any history of raw
imports.

best
joergen
luminous-newyork.com

--- On Thu, 7/24/08, Colin West <cwest@justmail.
<mailto:cwest%40justmail.net> net> wrote:
From: Colin West <cwest@justmail. <mailto:cwest%40justmail.net> net>
Subject: [PanoToolsNG] software that handles raw files
To: panotoolsng@ <mailto:panotoolsng%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 5:52 PM

Hello, I'm new here :)

I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.

However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,

which raises a few questions (for me at least). Is Photoshop just as good as

PTgui for processing-PS seems to do a good job and raw files are handled?

What other software is considered pretty good (in this category) that does

handle raw files.

Thanks in advance.

CW.










[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[DemonDuck]

Well said.  And there are so many different "raw" file types.
Like Fuji RAF that can cause problems if not converted properly.

Joergen Geerds wrote:

> I think most people consider it two separate tasks, at least for now.
> Converting RAW to tiff or jpg is best handled by applications that do nothing else, i.e. adobe camera raw (which is part of bridge/photoshop, but it is not photoshop), or the appropriate canon/nikon tools, plus a handful of other software apps.
> stitching (and blending) is also best handled by specialized apps, first and foremost ptgui, but photoshop made big inroads for simpler projects.
>
> the few applications that try to two two different tasks at the same time, fail miserably most of the time: i.e. when you try to create a hdr with photomatix. if you try feeding it the raw files directly, you get pretty aweful results, when you feed tiffs, you get pretty good results. the reason for this is that raw to tiff is not a straight forward conversion, but rather a very complex process, involving bayer pattern interpretation, color spaces, sharpening/interpolation, CA, vignetting etc.
>
> for that reason, you want to stick with the application that gives you the best quality each step of the way, and that is the reason why ptgui won't have a raw importer any time soon (i hope). and i would be a bit suspicious of any application that offers raw import without any history of raw imports.
>
> best
> joergen
> luminous-newyork.com
>
> --- On Thu, 7/24/08, Colin West <[hidden email]> wrote:
> From: Colin West <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [PanoToolsNG] software that handles raw files
> To: [hidden email]
> Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008, 5:52 PM
>
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>    
>             Hello, I'm new here :)
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> I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.
>
> However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,
>
> which raises a few questions (for me at least). Is Photoshop just as good as
>
> PTgui for processing-PS seems to do a good job and raw files are handled?
>
> What other software is considered pretty good (in this category) that does
>
> handle raw files.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> CW.
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[Erik Krause]

On Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 15:52, Colin West wrote:

> I thought I'd do some experimentation with panorama shots and try PTgui.
> However, much to my amazement, this software doesn't process raw files,

RAW processing is an art of it's own and panorama stitching is a
different one. I'm very happy that Joost (developer of PTGui) focuses
on what the main task for PTGui is and does not try to make it a kind
of all in one tool which in the end does anything but nothing really
good.

The common RAW conversion algorithms used by most programs that offer
universal camera support are derived from dcraw. Unfortunately dcraw
output is not very good, it needs to be enhanced after the
demosaicing step and this is the crucial point. The dedicated RAW
converters do a decent job on this and there is no point of inventing
the wheel again...

best regards
Erik Krause
http://www.erik-krause.de

[Thomas Krueger]

Autopano Pro can process RAW files, but you will get better images with a dedicated RAW processor.

Lightroom 2 beta from Adobe for example has comfortable interface, and you can enhance Lightroom with the plugin LR/Enfuse from Timothy Armes to blend bracketed images.
http://timothyarmes.com/lrenfuse.php