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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sun May 22, 2016 8:31 am
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First of all, I have never presented myself to know a lot about computers and I know a lot less about digital.  I am illiterate when it comes to this stuff.  I rely on you to chime in to get me back on track.  And I really try to keep it at a minimum.  

My knowledge is of nature.   I know the Biosphere but am learning more about it every day.  I love it more than anything! 

So regarding the technology, I am tired of fighting with all these converters and programs and on top of that....keeping on top of them when they continually change.  So a light came on yesterday and I decided to do what Steve Circone (spelling?) does; i.e. I decided to shoot yesterday's loons in JPEG with this D500.  And sure enough CC opened them.  

But here is where my Dummy comes in:  We have all read that stuff about losing a little data each time a JPEG is opened. Well, I thought, why not convert the JPEGs (that I decide to keep), over to TIFFs ?  Surely this will archive them.  No?   :D 

Can anyone briefly explain? If you choose not to I can understand why.

AFTERTHOUGHT:   Yes, it was dumb alright; i.e. I lost almost all ability (latitude?) to post-process with the NIK software and DXO Pro Optics and so on.  So it is back to RAW or maybe RAW/JPEG.   :wink:   Right? 

Robert
 

by Diane Miller on Sun May 22, 2016 11:22 am
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The conversion to TIFF would solve the quality loss on re-saving problem, but that is the least of the issues. Compared to a raw, you loose a huge amount of ability to adjust a JPEG, which has tonalities, color, and often very clumsy sharpening and noise reduction cemented in by choices you have set in the camera. If you only shoot in perfect light and never need to make more than a 1% adjustment, or if you can't tell the difference, then go with what's easy. But you'll have a mess if you try to reduce contrast in a JPEG that has too much. Blocked up blacks and blown whites are cemented in and are not recoverable. In a raw file they are, to a large degree (depending on the light and the sensor).

Raw converters are SO easy to use. Learn a simple one like LR or ACR (yes, you do need to know how to use it -- same with your car) and compare to some in-camera JPEGs of the same shot and look at the difference. Of course, view at 100% to see what you have.
 

by Jens Peermann on Sun May 22, 2016 9:15 pm
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Shooting RAW and processing the image is of course the preferable and superior method. But if, for whatever reason, you end up with a JPEG as the only copy, converting to TIFF is not dumb, it's the smartest thing you can do. For the reason you mentioned yourself, progressive deterioration when a JPEG is produced from a JPEG. Converting to TIFF puts the image into a state of arrested decay. It is the standard procedure publishing companies and stock agencies use when they receive submissions in JPEG. Convert to TIFF and destroy the JPEG to avoid accidental 2nd (and 3rd, and 4th, and 5th…) generation JPEGs.
A great photograph is absorbed by the eyes and stored in the heart.


Last edited by Jens Peermann on Thu Jun 02, 2016 7:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Mon May 23, 2016 8:13 am
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Agree with the others.  If you did shoot in JPEG, by saving it as a TIF you lock in the image quality and it will not further degrade with subsequent saves which is what would happen if you resaved a JPEG multiple times.

In general if you accidentally shoot in JPEG, your very next move should be to convert them to TIF.
 

by Blck-shouldered Kite on Tue May 24, 2016 8:01 pm
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Ok, thank you for that; i.e. if I am stuck with a JPEG, I should convert to TIFF immediately.  I do appreciate that support.

And Diane, converting is easy.  You are right that converting is easy.   So I should not have said it was not.  

But after I do the conversion....the rest of the post processing is not like driving any car...as you have said.  At least, not like any car  I have driven.   No way:

Operating systems change and software  is obligated to follow.  Add new DSLR's and it is constant change.  I have to play this game if I am to do the best I can with the images I have.  And I am going to continue to play it....I guess unless I find  I cannot stand it anymore :oops: .  

EXAMPLE of the current problem:  

Another way for me to convert a RAW file is to send it directly to DXO Pro Optics 10 Elite.  And while there I can get great noise reduction too....but it is only the Elite version of DXO Pro Optics that provides the BEST noise reduction, and of course, only in RAW.  And to have DXO process a RAW image, the image must have been born in a DSLR that DXO supports.  And DXO does not yet support the D500.  I put in a request just shy of 2 weeks ago for the D500 support.  

So until then, I have to figure a way around it.  And I am not ashamed to admit that I have little aptitude for this.  I do not want to bug anyone anymore.  

To me, this post processing can be an absolute nightmare.  It is not easy as several of you make it sound.   In fact, I have just supported that point with the above example.  And that is just one of ongoing examples.  It never ends! 

Ok enough....I have made my point.  

Robert :)

this all started this evening when I captured a female Northern Cardinal at the window just a bit before dusk.  I said, "What the heck...I'll up the ISO to 4000 and see what it does."  And I was quite positively surprised by what I saw in the unprocessed RAW....converted to JPEG of course.   So I decided to share the original JPEG, along with a JPEG that I would process..  But in the process, I discovered I was not able to use that noise reduction feature that only ELITE has, because DXO does not yet support D500 RAWS.  Oh well.  I can wait.
 

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