Raw conversion programs

[Larry C 24]

I recently purchased an Olympus SP-350/PT-030 combo. One of the reasons for buying this particular set-up was the ability to shoot raw images and edit them digitally. Unfortunately, doing it on camera is very limited and depends on a 3" low def. screen. Olympus includes their "Master" program with the camera, but on my older (Athlon 950, 256k ram) pc, each edit job on a large image must be done individually, and it takes as long as two minutes per adjustment. I also can't move the curser with precision because of the program lag. I thought, OK I've got photoshop, I'll download the RAW plug-in. Only works on CS, I've got 7.0. Downloaded a free version of "Raw Essentials". Requires a chip feature that wasn't on earlier Athlons. Do I have to pop for a new computer and do all the file transfers, etc. or is there something that works? How about Photoshop Elements 4.0? That is supposed to have some raw capability, but how much and will it work any faster than Olympus Master on my old POS? Any input?

[richorn 0]

Based on your computer issues, I think that RawShooter might be your best bet. It is not a resource hog, and may run OK on your computer.

 

Any of the Photoshop offerings will probably have trouble on your system.

 

That said, avoid the Oly software if you can.

[TimG 62]

Hi

 

I would think that you are not so much pushing the envelope using 256MB of RAM (not 256k eh?) but ripping it apart. Photoshop will really choke on anything less than 512MB (1GB is much better). I've used both RawShooter Essentials (which is free) and Premium and like them both. Essentials ran pretty well on my old 256MB Vaio laptop but, again, it's vastly better on 1GB.

 

I'm not sure what the story is on Athelon chips but have you thought about adding more memory? Its usually pretty cheap.

[mattdiver 0]

I've just posted a similar reply on another thread, but here goes anyway:

 

If all else fails, check out Bibble (www.bibblelabs.com). It reads the SP350 RAW format, is fast, and requires much less memory than Photoshop.

 

Cheers,

Mat

 

PS: I have nothing to do with Bibble, just like the software

[Larry C 24]

Thanks for the help. As I mentioned, Raw Shooter won't run on my computer, as the early Athlon chip lacks a feature that is required. I'll look up the Bibble program. Others have recommended it, and I saw it online. As far as increasing ram, I'd love to, but although you can get a 1G PC-3200 or similar chip for under $100., the older stuff costs that for a 256. I'll check out Bibble, but I suspect I'm going to have to pop $500-600 for a new stripped down media friendly box with a modern chip and board and a decent amount of RAM.

[TimG 62]

Hi Larry

 

Sorry, I didn't hoist aboard the Athlon/Rawshooter issue. Sounds like its time to spring for a new PC...... I doubt you'll regret it.

[richorn 0]

Yeah, I missed the correlation as well. Give Bibble a try then as it might be your last alternative to an upgrade.

[ce4jesus 1]

Tim,

What does the Premium version of Rawshooter have over the free download? Just curious. I really like the program its fast and efficient.

 

Larry,

I have the AMD Pentiuum IV equivalent and although it is unstable at times with RAWShooter Essentials Free version that I've made the switch from Olympus Master. That Oly Software is awful. Its way too slow on my machine to use. I'm running the P4 equivalent with 1G of RAM.

[TimG 62]

Yeah I agree, it is fast and efficient.

 

I think Premier is well worth the cost. Off the top of my head (I'm about to run for a plane!) in addition to the features of Essentials it has: ability to straighten horizons; re-numbering; cropping; compare images side-by-side; lots more tweaking features; faster and smoother.

 

I think you can get a trial download of Premier. Worth checking out. I've been using Premier now for about 4 months and have found I'm using CS less and less! It is so nice to use.

[Larry C 24]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll see if there's a trial download for Bibble, and if not, I'll take up my wife's kind offer of a new PC (mine's by far the oldest in the house.) The demo of the Premier program looked very easy to use. As I recall, the guy did batch work with it as well and could save a series of changes to use on many different photos.