Post Software for Old G4 laptop

[LeoH]

Photo, trying again...

Here it is

[LeoH]

Should have put a vignette on it probably?

[Donald]

Should have put a vignette on it probably?

Mmmm, not sure. I think vignette's need to be used sparingly and lightly. Of course, they have their place. Sometimes it's a case of just try it and see.

Leo - you also ask about what people do after RAW. There are probably as many answers it that as there are people on here. It's very much about allowing a workflow that suits you to evolve and develop.

In my own case, I do as much as possible in the RAW converter. I use DxO Optics Pro and it's a very comprehensive tool. The 'as much as possible' includes capture sharpening, checking white balance, any exposure correction that's needed, setting black & white points, dealing with fill lighting, contrast, any noise/chromatic aberration/moire issues (although DxO is wonderful at doing all this automatically), correcting any distortion, cropping and any rotation that's required. There are lots of other things that can be employed on a 'need-to-use' basis.

Then, given that my particular interest is B & W and that I use Silver Efex Pro 2, I open up the image in that and do my B & W conversion work.

And, then, for finishing off I use the GIMP (downsizing, putting on the border for CiC publication etc). I'll make various versions of a JPEG as required - down-sized with and/or without border for online publication; a large one if I think I might print it.

Any cloning that's needed is done here as well, along with the clearance of any lingering dust bunnies. Final output sharpening ... and that's me done.

[LeoH]

Wow, that sounds like quite the process. What is Dxo Optics pro? A plug in? Or a Camera RAW tab?
Cheers

[Donald]

Wow, that sounds like quite the process. What is Dxo Optics pro? A plug in? Or a Camera RAW tab?
Cheers

Leo

It's a stand-alone piece of software. You can read about it here.

[LeoH]

OK thanks, so you use DxO Optics instead of Camera Raw/PS?

[Donald]

OK thanks, so you use DxO Optics instead of Camera Raw/PS?

Yep, that's it exactly.

[LeoH]

Anybody who uses PS and Camera Raw have any thoughts?

[Hansm]

Hi Leo,

Depends what you want to do with the photo, but what is very important as well and should be done first, is to calibrate the monitor.
The way you see the image does not always mean that on a other computer it looks the same.
More important even if you want to (let) it printed.

[krispix]

Hi Leo,

I'm afraid Hans is right. Monitor calibration is probably the most overlooked link in the whole PP chain. I bought a new monitor, installed CS5, made my images look lovely (I thought they were anyway), then started printing them. First I blamed the printer, so bought a new one before admitting to myself that the monitor was at fault - more expense on a Pantone Spyder. Now I have to start from scratch with all my images
However, now my monitor is calibrated many images posted on this and other forums look wrong.
I see you've picked up a copy of CS3. Nothing wrong with that. It takes ages to wind itself up and, if memory serves me doesn't do HDR very well, but I think you'll find it'll do just about anything else you might want. Don't get suckered into upgrading for the sake of it.

[LeoH]

Ok thanks guys, does this photo look a bit odd on your screens?

How do I go about calibrating my monitor. - My monitor being the old G4 laptop, I do not have another separate monitor.

I can't really up grade to another more powerful software programme because my computer just can't deal with it!

Assuming that the calibration was done and taking onboard that Im not trying to do anything surreal, what would be some of the next treatments you might do to this image in PS? Sharpening? Further colour adjustments?

At the minute I have learned the first process of Camera Raw but don't really have an idea of what happens next.

Must again thank CIC for allowing me to use it as such a knowledge resource. If we were in a classroom Im sure the teacher would be truly fed up with my questions by now. Thanks.

[Colin Southern]

what would be some of the next treatments you might do to this image in PS? Sharpening? Further colour adjustments?

Hi Leo,

The only image I'm seeing is the first one you posted at the beginning of the thread - is this the one you're referring to?

[LeoH]

Hi Colin its not at the beginning of the thread but at the very top of the second page

[Colin Southern]

Hi Colin its not at the beginning of the thread but at the very top of the second page

Hi Leo,

That's the one I meant -- not sure why I thought it was at the start of the thread! Just thought you may have meant to post another one with that post before last.

With regards to calibrating and profiling monitors - if one doesn't - then what one works with is very much a "lottery" (with not particularly good odds). If you start to add up all of the variables along the workflow (camera response, monitor response, correct white balancing) you end up with the potential for very significant inconsistancies. It's a judgement call, but personally, I don't need things like that making my processing any harder than it already is.

[Hansm]

Hi Leo,

I mentioned calibrating because on my decent calibrated monitor the image has a magenta cast in the air and greenish cast in the building.
When looking on the monitor of my wife's PC the image in the air is more cyan.

[LeoH]

Ok thanks, then I should probably do it. Can someone explain how to go about the calibration process? Shukran

[Colin Southern]

Ok thanks, then I should probably do it. Can someone explain how to go about the calibration process? Shukran

Hi Leo,

Just keep in mind that calibration & profiling are two different things, and often people get them a bit confused. Calibration is essentially adjusting the monitor controls so that things are as close as possible to being correct (but one will never get it perfect). Profiling is a process by which a correction table is created and loaded into the video card of your computer that fine-tunes the colours and levels.

Both are done with the aid of a colorimeter (aka "puk") - there are a variety of makes and models; personally, I use a Spyder III.

[kris]

Dear Leo,

first of all let me tell you I have an old G4 similar to yours, and I used it with CS2 without any problem.
The only problem you may experience is with RAW files, since it does not recognize recent RAW files, so you have to first convert them into DNG or Tiff.

DxO Optics pro is a really demanding program, I would not suggest it on such an old computer.

Also keep in mind that Photoshop, DxO Optics pro, Lightroom etc are not all equivalent programs, in the sense that they have different goals. I personally use ViewNX 2, Capture NX2, DxO Optics Pro, Lightroom and CS depending what I want to do with my photos. For example, if I have lot of pictures to develop I use either DxO Optics pro or Ligthroom for "good jobs" , or ViewNX2 for "all-day-jobs". For photos that need particular care I use Capture NX2 or CS. For B&W I usually prefer CS.

Now about calibration. Mac offer a "do-it-yourself" feature for monitor calibration. Just look under Monitor in system preferences.

However keep in mind that for a really good job you cannot use a laptop monitor. The reason is that the laptop monitor usually uses 6bit (262000 colors) reducing further the dynamic range you can appreciate. A monitor uses 8 bit. I personally bought a graphical monitor to use with my mac when doing photo editing.

Bye
Andrea