The Art Of RAW Conversion
After 30 years of film photography I started using a digital camera in 2003. My frist digital camera was a Canon G-3 point and shoot style camera. I had a lot of fun using that camera and learned a lot about the digital image advantages and disadvantages in relation to film “images”. I have since added a Canon 20D DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and several lenses and now shoot almost exclusively with the digital cameras. The images from these cameras compare very favorably to the images I was getting from the film cameras but there was something missing. The prints were not just what I saw or wanted them to look like. Adjustments in photo editors were not quite right many times. I was lost in the “digital darkroom” and couldn't quite figure out where to go to find the right work flow to create the prints that I had expected to be printing.
Film had actual physical / chemical limitations that I knew kept me from getting some of the results that I had wanted. I accepted that fact. I also did not have the control to have the prints made with much localized control in dodging / burning or contrast adjustments that digital could and should provide. This was especially evident in color prints and what could be done was not accurately repeatable for a second print.
“The Art Of RAW Conversion” has shown me how to bring my prints up to the levels I had expected when I first considered going digital. The first chapters give a good easy to understand explanation of the how the sensor “sees” the world and how an image is captured. How the image is made into a file. Also an overview of the different file output formats with a good understanding of the pluses and minuses of each image format. This leads to the reasons to shoot in the RAW format. The book explains that a RAW file is the equivalent to an unprocessed exposed film The rest of the book goes in detail on how to use different “RAW Converters” to give you a well processed “Digital Negative” from which to make full rich prints.
There are chapters in the book that cover things like color management, monitor / printer profiling, and work flow. The major part of the book covers the different popular RAW converters available. There are real life work flow examples using these converters that gives you insight into their operation and strong and weak points. This gives you help in choosing the right converter and how to use it to your advantage. There are plenty of tips and tricks on using each of the converters that make getting your self comfortable with the converter of choice is relatively stress free.
For the digital photographer who wants to print high quality “art” level prints this book is a must. I certainly would highly recommend this book to the serious photographer trying to improve their print quality.