No no, the lips have just slipped outside the DOF. If you set SR to 'lip-sync' mode that should sort it.

John, you're referring to Smeggy's comment I think? Lightroom sounds as if it is very different in this respect - ACR in Elements works in the same way you just described.

So an actual specific ACR interface does not open then, like in PS & Elements? You just use the main Lightroom Develop mode interface and ACR is working away but in the background, you don't see it really?

I was flicking through my K7 Magic Lantern Guidebook, and it suddenly struck me that we never really seem to consider the option of IN CAMERA RAW CONVERSION. Yes, its all there. RAW conversion on a computer clearly suits many people, myself included, who enjoy it, but there are plenty who find it all too much trouble, or who don't get the results they are trying to.

All the RAW conversion software you need is right inside our DSLRs. You can make straight conversions from RAW to JPEG or TIFF, with no further adjustments at all, or you can apply a number of parameter adjustments including White Balance, ISO, & Custom Image Mode. There is even the option of converting multiple RAW files by selecting them on the screen with ticks first, and applying a set of adjustments as a batch to each of them.

The images are saved as new JPEGs or TIFFs on the memory card, and the RAW file is unaffected also, available for additional conversions if needed. If you save out as high quality JPEGs you could conceivably connect the camera to a printer (if DPOF is supported) and print the RAW converted and edited shots without even needing a computer at all!

How to do this? Well, best advice would be to check the camera manual, but in basic terms you start out in Playback Mode, then display the shot you want to work on and press the down button on the four-way-controller. Choose the 'RAW Development' option and go from there!

I understand that there are always 2 distict versions of the 'ACR Plugin' available, both of which update at times. One version will work within Photoshop, and the other is specifically for Elements. When you buy either of the host programmes then you get with it the appropriate version of ACR at the latest update. So long as the RAW files from your cameras are supported by this version of ACR you don't need to update it, unless there are any other significant impovements.

You do not pay anything to update ACR - any newer version is free from the Adobe website. Sometimes installing it can be a bit of a business, you have to put it into the correct folder and remove the previous version, but are advised to keep the previous version somewhere else 'just in case'. If you do update the host programme, say from Elements 8 to 10, you pay an upgrade price and would also get the latest ACR version.

We've had a few discussions on this before, and there are significant differences in functionality between the Elements and full photoshop versions of ACR. The Elements version is a fairly basic RAW converter, with single slider operations for most key adjustments. Pentax users, be aware you will not have the Lens distortion / CA corrections, or shadow / highlight adjustments, nor any of the Custom Image Parameters from the camera. This would be true of the full PS and Lightroom versions of ACR also (but of course these programs will provide other means to make these sorts of adjustments). The full PS version of ACR has various additional and more sophisticated RAW conversion parameters.

I'm not a Lightroom user but I'm sure someone can fill us in on how the ACR plugin is implemented in Lightroom - I have heard it referred to as 'the develop module', whatever that means, and I'm not sure if ACR opens and operates in an individual manner, distinct from the main Lightroom interface??. In Elements & full PS, the plugin performs its 'conversion' of the RAW and opens the file into the host programme, to be edited in a conventional manner from then on. ACR does not then have any further role.

The next shot was a full frame of fist!

Thanks Ronniemac & duncanM - I'm glad to hear the Mini Guide has been useful in a practical sense. I always intended the guide to evolve, both with new areas to cover in the current program, and any new features that might creep in (I keep hoping we might get some more functions from the full priced Silkypix for free).

Keep an eye out, as I'll be adding some sections over time, probably as new posts in the thread initially and as a PDF. PeterKr has experience of using multiple monitors, so I'll work with him to cover that, as well as cropping / rotating. Also, I am aware that some people like to process multiple images, sort of Batch processing, so I'd like to talk about what PDCU can do for that as well.

These different ideas on workflow really stem from differences in shooting styles, probably related to the type of subjects that individuals mostly shoot. There is a logic to the approach Smeggy talks about if you are taking many shots of the same or similar subjects quickly, or use burst mode a lot, where the general lighting conditions remain constant for a large number of shots. Then you could adjust a few key parameters and have those settings written to the database for many individual shots.

Of course, if you are later choosing particularly good one individually for display or printing, the your starting point would be the initial bulk-applied parameters, and I imagine it would make sense to fine tune those or add additional adjustments that the particular shot demanded. Or you might also choose to save out to a TIFF and carry out some other specific editing in another program before the final output.

But for other styles of shooting, like a sedate landscape outing or carefully composed shots of castles or macros etc, you'll have only a few shots to work with, and it would make more sense to choose only the best to process individually.

Those of us used to being careful and trying to preserve film to make it last perhaps need to throw caution to the wind more now - I know especially when grabbing shots of the kids that I often forget to just blast away - when I do I inevitable get a few great ones that I hadn't even noticed at the time!

Alan, I get the message thanks, but I'm sure that based on all the advice and opinions expressed here the OP might well decide to try out Lightroom.

I'd say its not really enough!