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RAW Darkroom

Which RAW Conversion Software is best?

If you shoot RAW you want the best, but which RAW conversion software is best for your digital files? The RAW Darkroom is all about testing available RAW file conversion software to find the best RAW software for each digital SLR camera, and each ISO setting.

RAW Software Reviews

ACDSee Pro          Adobe Photoshop       Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
 Bibble Pro            Capture One         Canon Digital Photo Professional
 Nikon Capture NX          RAWShooter                    Silkypix             

Which RAW Conversion Software is Best?  The answer to that question is what the RAW Darkroom is about. As this is a digital process, you might expect that all the packages would produce identical results, but this is not the case. It matters just as much what software you use to develop your RAW files, as which chemicals you use to process your films. In that case which is best? That answer depends on which camera you use, and what film speed or ISO rating you shoot at. The answer also keeps changing as software is updated, and new cameras arrive. If, like almost all photographers, you use Adobe Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements, and have always assumed that the built in Adobe Camera RAW is the best there is, then think again.

While it’s performance with Nikon files is very good, Canon users should look elsewhere if they want the very best from their images. Until 2006, IMHO the answer for Canon users was RawShooter, especially if you shot at 400 ISO or higher, but Adobe bought the company and Rawshooter’s designers went to work on the Lightroom project. Although Lightroom 1 was frustratingly slow to use Lightroom 2 has brought major improvements, and unique features that are starting to make the steep learning curve worth the effort. The ability to selectively process areas in RAW files is incredibly useful, as is the world’s best crop and straighten tool. Still no file browser though, and it is still slow to use and expensive. Lightroom Review  

Nikon Update Like many pros, disappointment with recent Canon cameras compared to much improved Nikon DSLRs persuaded me to buy a couple of Nikon camera bodies for a recent large job. Even the cheaper Nikon D90 feels much faster than the Canon EOS 50D and the Nikon D300’s autofocus is in a different league. Will I be following many others and changing back to Nikon? Who knows. That would be an expensive choice. For now I need to shoot lots of pictures with each system to decide which best suits my needs. That’s expensive enough for now. I also need to re-test all the RAW conversion packages with the Nikon files. That decision has just as big an effect on my working day as the choice of camera. So far Capture One V4 seems the best option for me. Although the results from Capture NX2 are excellent the difference in quality between it and Capture One is tiny while the slow down in my workflow is huge. The designers behind Nikon Capture NX2 seem to have gone off on a track of their own in terms of layout, and I can’t say it works for me. Even Lightroom would be quicker. That might be why Nikon give you a 60 day trial of Capture NX2 with their cameras. Capture NX Review  Really NX2 should come in the box with Nikon DSLRs as, considering the quality of the cameras, Nikon View NX is very poor and by far the weakest part of any Nikon package. If you are a Nikon user, just using Adobe Camera RAW in Photoshop is still a good option. If you stick to sensible ISO’s the poor noise reduction in ACR isn’t a problem. Just aim to do your sharpening in Photoshop rather than ACR for best results. However If you do shoot at high ISO’s then the Noise Ninja Photoshop plug in is stunning and not too expensive. Noise Ninja I’ve used Neat Image for the last few years and it has changed relatively little, while a recent test with Noise Ninja persuaded me to get the credit card out. Adobe’s idea of noise reduction is about a century out of date by comparison. DxO Optics Pro also has excellent noise reduction performance, but is perhaps more suited to portraiture rather than the technical subjects I tend to shoot, producing wonderful smooth tones at the expense of some surface detail. Bibble V5 still hasn’t appeared and as Bibble v4.9 can’t handle either Canon EOS 50D or Nikon D90 RAW files it’s looking increasingly out of date.

Sony Update As an ex Minolta user I’ve got something of a soft spot for Sony DSLRs and have made some tests with a Sony A100, which is capable of excellent results at up to 400 ISO, but produces quite noisy files at higher ISO’s. Working at 800 ISO I managed to produce some excellent results and A2 prints (above) from RAW files using Adobe Lightroom and then Neat Image for another round of noise reduction. I plan to make some more tests with the Sony A100 soon and hope to shoot some test files with the Minolta A700 shortly.... Sorry that should be Sony A700 of course. Nikon come in for a lot of criticism over their failure to include a decent RAW conversion package with their cameras, but I have to say that the software supplied with Sony DSLR cameras is even worse. Really guys, this is important. Fortunately Adobe Photoshop does a reasonable job as does Capture One.

All text and images copyright David Gold 2006 - 2009
and must not be reproduced in any way without permission
davidgold@ezeedsl.co.uk