Number Six Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I'm with Julie re JPG+RAW, using Capture One Express for RAW processing when necessary. It may sound strange, but I also sometimes pass the resultant TIFF files through Capture NX2 (I'm an ex-Nikon user) for removing any hint of CA - basically I find Capture One's CA removal very disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 The odd times I have submitted jpegs, Fuji or Canon, I have been generally uncomfortable with the results. I did it for reasons of timeliness with news (for another library). I have had a couple of particular problems; one very flat light (but the in camera raw conversion was a saver as I had to rescue an important image inadvertently shot with a lot exposure compensation) and the other where the lighting was harsh. It was at an exhibition of classic cars under spotlights; hot spots on the bodywork with deep shadows under the wheel arches etc. Got much more visible detail at both ends of the exposure by processing raw; could not have compensated with the exposure in camera. Much happier after I processed them for submission to Alamy. I find the processing overhead trivial compared with the work to select, clean and keyword images before submission. I haven't used the software supplied with a camera for years (never loaded Silkypix for the Fuji, don't have Canon's DPP loaded either) I prefer to stick with one workflow for all cameras (often batched together for a single event) - mostly Capture 1 Pro but I have a licence for LR4 and used it for a while; it is a toss up which I prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 For the Velvia jpeg users, do you find that the Levels histogram display is often heavily biased to the left (dark) side with excessive clipping on the 0 axis? I've been of the view that such clipping would warrant a QC fail. Have I totally misunderstood the guidance on clipping? Grateful for any opinions. Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 John, From previous comments elsewhere it would seem that many people who shoot and use Fuji jpegs do so using Astia, the low contrast option. Velvia, the film, had limited dynamic range and blocked up/ deep shadows were commonplace so I would expect the same with the Velvia film style, cause of clipping at the black end of the histogram? Might be worth trying Provia, Astia and Velvia on the same subject and compare histograms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Many thanks Martin for the interesting info re Velvia and its limited dynamic range - it certainly seems to be the case as far as I can see. Following earlier comments from people using the Velvia option for ooc jpegs, I did a very quick comparison yesterday between Provia (Standard) and Velvia (Vivid) which seemed to confirm the blocked up/deep shadow theory. Hence my surprise that some people appear to be using it for Alamy submissions. Personally I've been using Provia with DR200 (and Shadow Tone at -1) for the last year with no QC problems so far. Having said all that, I would welcome any comments from the Velvia users. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 If the lighting is soft then Velvia will work fine and many like the intensity of the colour; it was that and the sharpness and contrast that won many over to it in the film days. But under clear bright sun, especially if there were important shadows, it was always a real challenge to find a workable exposure. Personally when shooting film I favoured Provia which was a good compromise and had the advantage of being a stop faster. You still have to be careful about exposing for the highlights and letting the shadows take care of themselves. I never really used Astia. These days I use RAW almost exclusively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Again Martin, many thanks. BTW, I just had a swift play (X-E1 & 18-55mm) and am also getting the 'blocked up/deep shadow' effect with the Astia setting, although not as pronounced as with Velvia. Hence, I'd be interested in comments from both Velvia and Astia ooc jpeg users! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I use both although Astia the most....the only time I have noticed what appears to be shadows looking a bit blocked up is when shooting under harsh tropical sun but not enough to really worry about as the deep Velvia colours are worth it - and it has not been a problem with QC so far. If I had a shot where I thought there was too much loss of detail in the shadows,I would use the RAW file instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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