Getting there with my 7D...

[ColytonJohn]

... having now tried DPP!

To wean myself off Auto I took some test shots at a variety of settings without concerning myself too much about composition.

This one of Torquay harbour was hand-held at the long end of an EF 100-300 zoom, 1/500, f8, ISO-200.

The jpg that I assessed initially was not great being washed out and far from sharp:

IMG_0326.jpg

Yet after just a few minutes 'playing' with the RAW (I had no real idea what I was doing) it became this:

IMG_0326-DPP-01.jpg

OK, I still have some work to do on it although the 'after a thunderstorm' effect is certainly dramatic.

At least it served to reinforce the advice I'd received from others on here that I needed to persevere, take control of the camera myself, shoot RAW and not be too concerned about jpg results.

A pity uploading has cropped the right-hand-side losing a red-roofed villa at top right that you eye was led to and provided balance and interest. Any thoughts on how the full image may be uploaded?

Ignore that question as submitting it restored the whole image - just a preview thing then

Cheers,
John

[Paulstw]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

You could be forgiven for believing they were different times of the day rather than just different edits. It's a minefield though once you start and you'll soon get to the point when you can decide how you want a picture to look. You'll then start going out looking for things with the mindset of how will I edit this back home lol

[wayne2418]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

You'll then start going out looking for things with the mindset of how will I edit this back home lol

That just about sums me up there Paul ..

[tesarver]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

Not to bad for your 1st try.

Tom

[ColytonJohn]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

The uploaded image (that I had to compress) has darkened and lost detail from what was output from DPP which accounts for some of the difference. I'm encouraged by this though and will learn what the controls and settings in DPP are rather than just take the knob-twiddling trial-and-error approach. Is there a tutorial for DPP?

I have been guilty of over-editing and massaging images in the past (at first I even 'removed' overhead cables!) but think I now have a more mature attitude so will resist. Probably

Cheers,
John

[Paulstw]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

Trial and error with any editing software really john. The key is to be custom within your own likes for how you want your pics to look, but also keeping tabs on the need to just use all the features of the software :)

DPP is fairly limited in its application and most of the sliders effect parts of the histogram drastically. I'm using it more now than Lightroom because I feel it's quicker. I then edit some more in photoshop if it's needed. I never got on with Lightroom.

[DeeGee]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

If you're wanting just a few lessons on what it will do and how, can I suggest Youtube. There's some very good videos on there and if you are like me, you can run the video, pause it till you've caught up using your DPP and then restart the video.

[colin C]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

DPP is fairly limited in its application and most of the sliders effect parts of the histogram drastically. I'm using it more now than Lightroom because I feel it's quicker. I then edit some more in photoshop if it's needed.

Me too for the very same reasons. DPP is quick and accurate and if the shot has any real merit, I do the final polish in Photoshop. I found Lightroom was trying to be too much, incorporating features from editing programs. The problem with that is that it slowed the process down and didn't do the editing nearly as well as the separate editing programs.

Think of your RAW converter as a means to produce the best negative that you can, process it to a small print (JPEG) and from the best of those prints, you process further to get the best large print you can.

[Paulstw]

Re: Getting there with my 7D...

Me too for the very same reasons. DPP is quick and accurate and if the shot has any real merit, I do the final polish in Photoshop. I found Lightroom was trying to be too much, incorporating features from editing programs. The problem with that is that it slowed the process down and didn't do the editing nearly as well as the separate editing programs.

Think of your RAW converter as a means to produce the best negative that you can, process it to a small print (JPEG) and from the best of those prints, you process further to get the best large print you can.

Glad someone else sees that LR is not the be all and end all. I have been trying to show what I seen in my pics, and not what I think it should have looked like. The world and it's sunsets isn't purple and orange and red in its extremes. It's ok for a small number of cool shots but real clients respond to real world images and how they see the world, not what I can throw up in Lightroom :)