Is CS3 better for working with RAW images than Elements 6?

Hi all,
I am trying to find out if it is worth buying CS3 in stead of elements 6. Surprisingly, nobody has been able to tell me what the difference exactly is.
The best I got so far was that elements is a trimmed down version of CS3 but what more can I do with CS3?
As I am in England, CS3 would cost me about $1100, as opposed to $650 in the US, which is a bit much if you don’t know exactly what you get for that amount.
It says something on the adobe features section about BETTER raw processing, but not compared to what. Old version? Other software? Better than nothing?
I will be running it under XP, and the only use will be to optimise images from a digital camera in RAW format, 90%, and a jpeg (10)%, partially for web use, partially for prints.
The most common things are:
Correcting exposure when pics are unevenly lit.
Correcting color temperature.
Removing unwanted parts of a picture e.g. somebody stepping into the picture, advertising signs or copyrighted material.
Altering color of small parts of an image like that of a single flower in a bouquet.
Removing blemishes in portraits.
The photos will always stay single photos, I can not foresee any use for slide shows, animations, video or anything related.
From what I have been able to find out so far, it seems that Elements 6 will do all this and I don’t need to spend the extra $1000, or should I?

I have not used Photoshop Elements since version 2.0. In that version it was very similar to Photoshop as far as how the interface was designed. There were a few key elements that were missing such as the Curve adjustment. It is my understanding that there is a free download available from a third party source that will provide that capability.
As far as Camera Raw is concerned, you only have the adjustments that are on the basic panel and the details panel. That means you don't have all of the hue/saturation/luminance adjustments, or lens correction, or the capability to create presets, or to calibrate ACR specifically for your camera. As I understand it, it is not possible to load multiple images into ACR so that you can apply changes to all of them at once. And I don't believe you have the option of working in ACR in 16-bit mode.
With Photoshop Elements it is not possible to record actions to enable you to do batch processing of your images. What you have is a good quality basic single image photo editor.
I cannot tell you which to purchase. I don't know what you are accustomed to, nor do I fully understand your expectations. There are trial versions of both programs that you can download and try for 30 days to see what you think. They are fully functioning programs for that trial period, which should be ample time for you to determine which program will give you the most value.

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ok, thank you!
That is what i was thinking, but know i know it for sure...
Cheers,
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Hi all
I'm very new to Aperture, but not so new to editing digital photographs. Previously I used Photoshop entirely and had my own kind of manual workflow. But that was very slow going taking months to edit a small amount of photo's and distributing them to the web etc...
When I shoot I always do so in RAW, mainly because a lot of my photography is quick sports so there is no opportunities to retake. I do this because it means I've got the full raw data so I can actually adjust items properly without loss of quality.
My question really, is if I import RAW images into Aperture and then make adjustments, are those adjustments made to the full RAW data, or does Aperture create a version from the master that updates are made to?
Maybe this isn't actually relevant, Im not sure, but I just want to be confident that my adjustments are being made to the full RAW data mainly.
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Welcome to Aperture, Chris (or should I say Evil Homer?),
Your adjustments are always made to the source of your versions, which is a RAW master in your case. You won't be losing any accuracy or quality by using Aperture and applying adjustments to your RAW photos. Your question is an excellent question from someone who truly cares about the quality of his photos; definitely relevant.
To expand a little more, you are always working on a version. Everything you see in Aperture is a version. Most of them have no adjustments applied, though, so the version is rendered to look exactly like the master. When you make changes to a version, Aperture will re-render that version by applying all your adjustments to the master.
nathan

Working with RAW images in Aperture

I shoot with a Canon DSLR in RAW. I notice that certain adjustments when applied to a RAW file have no effect ie. sharpen, edge sharpen, noise reduction and maybe more.
I suspect that these adjustments are applicable to either a TIFF of JPEG file.
Could you please comment as to the best workflow to get the optimum end result from RAW files?
I Googled "processing raw files in Aperture" and got nothing useful.
Thanks in advance
kent

Hi Kent.
Read through this and the links and some of the links' links.
The choice is:
- use the computer in your camera, via your camera interface, camera to produce JPGs, or
- record sensor data to RAW files, and use RAW converters and image development programs such as Aperture (or Lightroom) running on your computer hardware.
RAW generally starts in a fairly "uninflected" state, and always gives you maximum latitude for development.
JGP is faster.
Imho, the only reason to shoot JPG is either that you are producing snapshots or you are under professional deadlines.
Added:
The best RAW workflow: record RAW only. Import into Aperture. Develop each Image to your needs. You may wish to change the RAW Fine Tuning defaults, but the need for this is rare. More likely, you'll wish to develop and save some Adjustment Presets (collections of Adjustments you can apply together).
Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger

I have the latest LR4 on a mac-mini with OS 10.9.2. While I can work with raw images from my Canon 1DX and 5DIII. LR4 does not recognize images from my Nikon Df. Solutions?

Are there solutions?

The Df needs at least LR 5.3, ACR 8.3 or DNGC 8.3 to be recognized. So your choices are to upgrade LR4 to LR5.x and update that to at least LR 5.3, OR download the DNG Converter 8.4 and use it to convert your unsupported NEF files into DNGs that will be supported by LR4.
Reference: http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html

Working with RAW files

I have a Nikon D200 and have been taking some pictures in their RAW format (.NEF) and have some questions. It transfers the pictures fine but then does some other weird stuff.
Sometimes, for seemingly no reason at all, when working in iPhoto, it changes the format to a jpeg and while others remain RAW. I looked in my iPhoto Library in my user folder and it looks like iPhoto automatically converts every RAW picture into a jpeg. But in the iPhoto window, sometimes you're looking at the jpeg and sometimes you're looking at the RAW. Is there some way to make iPhoto act more consistently? And can I make iPhoto stop automatically creating a jpeg version of each RAW photo?
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Hi BW Lee,
I don't take RAW, but I can get you started with some info to help you out:
Supported RAW cameras
iPhoto 5 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Working with RAW images
Working with RAW in iPhoto 5
For iPhoto 6 check out this link;
http://www.thedigitalstory.com/blog/2006/01/iphoto6_changesfor.html

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Make your adjustments, then click Open to send it to the editor and you can save the converted file in the format of your choice there.

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You can download a free DNG Converter from Adobe and then convert your RAWs to DNGs which can be used in PSE9.
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You can get into memory trouble with very large placed pdf files. Tiffs too.
This has to do with the preview, which contains much more information than you need for working with.
On the other hand if you place EPSs and take care not to turn on overprint preview you can get away with huge files.
If you do turn on overprint preview your machine will slow down a lot and the file may become totally unmanageable.
Compare this with to InDesign where you can control the quality of the preview. A hi-res preview will slow you down and most often you don't need it anyway.
I was working (in Illie) the other day on much larger files than you mention – displays for whole walls – and had some considerable trouble until I reverted to the old EPS format. They say it's dying but it ain't dead yet .

What is better Mac Mini or Mac Pro and 4K 40" screen or iMac 5K for work with Exel

I am working on Macbook pro retina for around 16 hours a day, it is ok but the screen is to small. I am opening about 25 - 30 EXCEL windows, 20 - 25 safari windows at the same time. Excel windows are small, they only show 40 rows and S column Now I am considering buying iMac 5k ( but the screen is only 27", however a very high resolution but I think that fonts and digits displayed may be too small ). I am also considering Mac Mini or Pro with 40" 4K TV ( 4k computer monitors are 27 - 31" , so better idea would be purchasing iMac 5k ) . The problem is that 40 - 42" TV don't have Display Port ( I can't find it anywhere )
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Thanks for your help on advance
Best regards
David

Currently you can only get 4 K at 30 Hz via HDMI. Some users have reported jerky curser movement because of the 30 Hz.
I would go for the 5K iMac. You can add a second screen at 4K.
FaceTime HD camera
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 3840 by 2160 pixels on an external display
Support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes
The Mac Mini supports:
Support for up to two displays at 2560 by 1600 pixels, both at millions of colors
Thunderbolt digital video output
Native Mini DisplayPort output
DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately)
Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately)
HDMI video output
Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz
Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz
Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz
The 2013 Mac Pro can use three and more displays:
Mac Pro (Late 2013): Using multiple displays - Apple Support
I would go for multiple screens

Working with RAW files in iPhoto 5.0.4 and Elements 4.0.1

I take photos in RAW mode and download them to iPhoto. When I try to edit the photo in iPhoto, the picture is a tiny little file that is impossible to enlarge with any sort of clarity. Also, the word "RAW" does not appear anywhere on the iPhoto window like I read it is supposed to.
When I drag the file to Photoshop Elements, I get an editing window that has none of the tools usually associated with JPEG files. I get a separate window in which I can darken or lighten the image, that's it.
Clearly, I'm doing something wrong. No one in their right mind would ever use RAW if this is how it works.
Any ideas?

Hi Jack!
If you're new working with RAW files, your right, it just doesn't make sense. RAW <imho> is a bit overrated. One thing you will need to keep in mind when shooting in RAW, is you will still need to take a well exposed image. What RAW files will allow are CHANGES in all areas of the image v. JPEG which may allow you to ADJUST a few settings in the image. My only suggestion would be to kepp playing around with PSE until you get the hang of it, it is an excellent image editing software. But realize, a well exposed JPEG and RAW file are hard to tell apart...
Personally, I do not directly download RAW files through iPhoto but will create a folder and download to here, and simply drage folder to iPhoto to import (which are then 'converted' into JPEG files). This way I have the original RAW images safely located outside of iPhoto as well as in iPhoto. You should set Elements as your choice of application to edit files inside iPhoto.
Good luck, Rick
Good link: http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/ and just for fun: http://www.photoshopcosmetics.com/index.php

Raw files from the new Nikon D810 will not open with either Photoshop CS5.1 or Lightroom 4. When will a real Adobe solution be available to work with Raw (NEF) files in their native format, using CS5.1 and LR4?

Raw files from the new Nikon D810 will not open with either Photoshop CS5.1 or Lightroom 4. When will a real Adobe solution be available to work with Raw (NEF) files in their native format, using CS5.1 and LR4?

Clarification: this is a user forum; you are not addressing Adobe here.
The answer to your question as phrased is: never.
CS5 is history and it is not longer supported. There will not be any updates or bug fixes for CS5.
You need to convert the raw NEF files from your D810 to raw DNGs using the free, standalone Adobe DNG Converter 8.6 RC (beta), the first version ever to support that camera..

Is CS3 better for working with RAW images than Elements 6?

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