[sclug] Current distros?

[Alex Butcher]

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011, Neil Haughton wrote:

> I've just installed RawStudio again. Here is a screen shot of a RAW image
> picked at random (they all have the same characteristic dullness) - as you
> can see the main picture is washed out compared with the smaller frame at
> the top, and compared to the companion jpeg. it just doesn't look natural to
> me.?

I think that thumbnail is included in the RAW file and is derived from the
JPEG. I'd say it looks as though RawStudio is probably doing the right
thing. To my eye (and monitor!) the thumbnails look a bit over-saturated,
but if that's the look you want, then you should be able to get it from
playing with the sliders in the tools tab.

> I can improve things by increasing the contrast in RawStudio, but I am
> puzzled why they are all like this. Any ideas, is this what to expect from
> RAW?

Sometimes, in my experience.

> I understood that the Raw image was exactly the image that fell on the
> camera sensor so should be the most faithful to the original scene, with
> greater contrast for a start.

Bear in mind that the sensor, and the RAW file, probably record with a 3x12
bit colour resolution. That needs to be downsampled to 3x8 for JPEG.
Sometimes RAW processors squeeze a bit too much of the range onto the 3x8
bit display, but the files they produce are accurate reflections of what you
see after editing, providing you've done at least some basic calibration of
your monitor. (<http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/113936>,
<http://www.johncon.com/john/gamma/>,
<http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gamma_calibration.php>,
<http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html>).

> I have also tried UFRaw (?) in the past, with no better results.?
> 
> BTW the 'barcode' issue seems to vanished - perhaps that is a result of my
> reinstalling dcraw a while back. Who knows? :-)

I doubt it, for reasons previously explained. ImageStudio has probably
incorporated a newer internal version of dcraw in the version you've just
re-installed. UFRaw appears to be completely stuffed. :-(

> Neil

HTH,
Alex

> 
> 
> On 12 April 2011 12:50, Alex Butcher <lug at assursys.co.uk> wrote:
>       On Tue, 12 Apr 2011, Neil Haughton wrote:
>
>       Hi Alex,
>       Thanks for showing an interest in this. ?I gave up
>       somewhat on RAW images a while back, but?I'll have a go
>       tonight and see what I can send
>       you. I have a Sony A200 camera, by the way.
> 
> 
> The A200's on dcraw's compatability list. Bear in mind, though, that
> any
> white balance settings you configure on the camera are only reflected
> in the
> JPEG files it generates, not the RAW files.
> 
> I'm thinking that all you need to do in your choice of RAW processor
> is to
> pick a neutral tone to set the white balance, and maybe alter the
> exposure
> (as I understand it, the camera's EV compensation only applies to its
> built-in rendering from RAW to JPEG).
>
>       Neil.
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> Alex
> 
> 
> 
>