Silkypix

Forgive me if I am being dense and I hope I'm not repeating an earlier question.

I'm just trying Silkypix for RAW conversion from my K100D.

The images it produces seem far sharper and brighter than those I get from using the PS RAW processor.

However, is this just down to Silkypix making it easy to select suitable settings for the image - all those predefined lists like natural fine etc.

It also applies sharpening at the start of the process when I thought this was meant to be the last thing you did?

This is a truly dumb question - but Silkypix's role is take to RAW and make a file that an editor like PS can use a JPEG - right?

So workflow is
Transfer from camera
Process in SP
Save as JPEG
Process in PS

Which is why I can't find a resize tool in SP?

So far I am impressed with SP as it lets a dimbo like me produce better results quicker.

Thanks for your patience.

Mike

If you are going to the trouble of shooting in RAW then I would suggest it is better to save the conversion as a TIFF file. The reason is that you have avoided using a lossy format (JPEG) in the camera, so there is no point in using one to save the RAW file. You are losing some of the information you have worked to keep.

Hope that helps!

Thank you John I will use TIFF - I am still very much at the stage of getting to grips with all this.

Mike

You resize when you have done your adjustments and save the file - as either a JPEG or a TIFF.

If you are planning to do further work on it, then it makes sense not to resize until that work has been done.

It doesn't sharpen unless you tell it to.

Finally, I very seldom do anything to a picture after putting it through Silkypix. What comes out of Silkypix is, for me, the final image.

G

Hi Mike,
About sharpening:
Every raw file needs sharpening. What SP does is best discribed as capture sharpening.(most raw files are kind of soft) Then there is something like output sharpening. If after editing in PS you save for the web or for print output you have to sharpen again. If you look at 100% at your screen it will look crunchy. But it is right for printing. As john said:
Save as high quality Tiff. For web use you can always resize as jpeg. The best sharpening plug-in for PS to my knowlegde is Photokit sharpener. It will provide you with the best sharpening tool for the job. From capture till output sharpening.
Look at www.pixelgenius.com for more info. Also i recommend the video tutorial From camera to print found for downloading on The Luminous Landscape.com

good light to you,
Martin

OK guys so the step from RAW to image on screen when SP loads it needs some sharpening to accommodate the way we got to RAW.

Then I can adjust settings to suit and save as TIFF. Maybe in that save I apply some more sharpening through the unsharp mask, but maybe not.

If I want to resize the image to 800x600 say in SP then I have to put in the two dimensions myslef and hope I can keep them in proportion? That seems remarkably improbable so I think I must have missed a resize tool somewhere.

If I need to clone stuff out or something then I'll need PS as SP doesn't do that - true?

Then I'd resize and save etc. and have to apply shrapening as the last step - true?

I have seen various tutorials on using PS and they have helped me a lot but I do like the way SP seems to get me to a good quality image so quickly while I have to fiddle in PS quite a time to get the same reults.

Sorry to be dense guys and I do apppreciate the help.

Mike

something you should be aware of is that when using RAW you have to be very carefull with colour settings.
It is important that you can trust the colour reproduction of your monitor.
The best way is to use a device for profiling your display, a huey, spyder or eye-one display 2.

In SilkyPix, when you save the file you are given the option of what size to save. The proportions are kept for you automatically as you change the size of one side.

Cloning out stuff? True, SilkyPix does not do that. (Spot removal would be a nice addition, but I like the idea of a dedicated tool that does its job very well, rather than a toolbox that does a lot of stuff OK.)

Sharpening? Yes, sharpening should be the last step before printing or before posting.


Have to agree with how well and fast SilkyPix works. The UI is a little different, and the screen updates are a bit slow for my taste, but something about the workflow and available tools allows me to do a lot less in PhotoShop aftewards. Like others have said, SilkyPix is often the only tool I need to use.

Thanks for the resizing pointer - I had typed an an entry in one box but as the other box didn't change I assumed it didn't do it. Now I see the lazy programmer does it when you tab out of the box.

Thanks

As for the monitor calibtration pointer - true and I have had a terrible time with my cheap and sad to say nasty flat screen.

Mike