Raw Shooter Essentials User Guide 1.0

8/8/2019 Raw Shooter Essentials User Guide 1.0

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RawShooter essentials 2005

Introduction

Welcome to the RawShooter essentials 2005 User Guide. Asphotographers ourselves we know that everyone dislikes reading anydocumentation but weve specifically produced this guide to make yourlearning curve much quicker and far less painless. If you take the time toread it then you will quickly understand all the features of the productand how to get the best from your RAW files.

Workflow Overview

RAWShooter essentials 2005 has a very simple architecture which isoptimized for ease of use. To explain how all the components of theproduct work together, this guide has been organized to have a simple4-stage workflow. This workflow will follow the process of organizing,editing and processing your images; each section will highlight allnecessary product features and give you some handy tips on how to getthe best out of these features. The workflow is shown graphically below:

Step 1 Display

The GUI has 5

different displaymodes to allow foruser preference. Allviews are individuallyscalable and fullysupport drag & dropand mouse wheeltechnology. Generallythe display modeshown (2) is used for

this initial step of theworkflow, to load theRAW thumbnails fromtheir directory and generate the low resolution previews.

RawShooter essentials 2005 1


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Step 2 Edit

The next stage is to edit your RAWs using the full-screen Slideshow Tool.Using this tool you can

quickly identify yourbest images, and ofcourse your worst too!The best can beprioritized 1, 2 , 3 ortagged for laterinspection. Using thismethod a largecollection of severalhundred RAWs can be

edited in less than anhour. The slideshowalso has a second use,transition effects andtimes can be specifiedto make a fully automated slideshow for your friends / family and clients.

Once the slideshow iscomplete, the results ofyour editing can be

viewed according totheir priority group. Thescreen opposite showsthe priority 1 imagesidentified during theslideshow, these canthen be renamed andare ready for anycorrections that youwant to apply in the next

stage.



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Step 3 Correct

From your prioritizedgroup simply choose a

thumbnail to work withand switch to theDynamic Previewviewing mode (1 orTAB). This generates ahigh quality previewimage, which can bemagnified to 800% andprovides a fast, true tolife representation of

the final image.Sophisticated tools arethen provided to makeany adjustments to the image that you require, all controlled by simplesliders. Remember you dont really have to understand all the bits andbytes of what the functions do as youll be able to clearly and instantlysee the results in front of you. Just be creative and dont be restricted byjargon.

Step 4 Batch convert

The final stage in theworkflow is to convertthe RAWs to their finalformat, either JPEG orTIFF. The batchprocessor is fullymulti-threaded; it willprocess a queue ofimages whilst you areapplying corrections to

others. Once this stageis complete then itsback to stage 3 for thenext image, which canbe displayed with theclick of a mouse wheel or using the cursor arrow.



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Important!!

There is one final and very important point that must be understood; noRAWShooter tool ever makes ANY permanent changes to the RAW files.Using proprietary technology, RAWShooter essentials stores all the

changes that you make in a colour information file; this can be backed upand applied to the RAW file should re-processing be necessary at a laterdate.

Shortcut Keys

To assist the experienced user of RAWShooter Essentials 2005 weveprovided shortcut keys for some of the most useful functions. In the text

these will be highlighted with the Shortcutsymbol and a complete list

can be found at the end of this document.

Nomenclature

This document uses several abbreviations as follows:

RawShooter essentials 2005 will be referred to in the text as RSE2005.

Using the right hand mouse button will be referred to a RH MOUSEclick and LH MOUSE for the left hand mouse button.

MOUSEWHEEL refers to using the wheel on a mouse All spelling and grammar is from the International English

dictionary. The Graphical User Interface will be referred to as the GUI.



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How RSE 2005 displays RAW files

Before discussing the various display options that RSE 2005 provides it isessential that you first understand how RSE 2005 handles your RAWthumbnails.

The first time a directory of RAW images is selected (by simplydisplaying it), RSE 2005 creates low resolution preview images (calledproxies) for every RAW file in the directory. These low resolutionpreviews are used for general display purposes but are a vital elementfor the Slideshow function. Occasionally, if the directory contains a largenumber of RAW files, the creation of these proxies may take a fewminutes. Its easy to tell when this is happening as the message shownbelow is displayed on the toolbar:

Important!!

Although the proxy creation occurs in the background we recommendthat you wait until the Creating previews message disappears beforetaking any further action. If you dont wait then the slideshow mayappear to freeze or give sporadic results whilst the proxies are beingcreated. Once this message disappears, all the proxies have beencreated and the slideshow can now be started. Remember this is onlynecessary the first time RSE 2005 encounters the RAW file, once createdthe proxy is retained until it is deleted (see Preferences section). Awarning message will also appear if you enter the slideshow whilst theproxies are being created.

When viewing the dynamic preview image that is used for imagecorrection, a much higher resolution image is needed. This provides thedynamic preview with the ability to retain superb image quality even athigh magnifications. This high resolution image is only created when theRAW is loaded into the dynamic preview screen; any delay will be

minimal and is indicated by the generating preview message and therotating wheels to the bottom left of the display. Note that, owing to itssize, the high resolution preview is not persistent and is recreated everytime an image is loaded into the dynamic preview.



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How RSE 2005 stores correction data

No matter how many corrections you make, RSE 2005 will neverpermanently change a RAW file. All colour corrections are instead storedaway in a colour information file with the format:

Rawfilename.rws for example 83DS0998.TIF.rws

The individual .rws files reside in the .RWSettings folder which is createdas a subfolder of the currently selected RAW directory.

The .rws file stores all the colour correction information for each RAWimage in its associated folder, and so it should be retained for future use.Any changes that are made to the RAW file, for example renaming, are

reflected in the individual .RWS file providing the changes take placewithin the RSE 2005 application. All priorities are stored away too,preserving them forever.

Once all RAW images in the directory have been processed and arecopied to a backup location, it is suggested that all the .rws files arecopied to the same location. At any time in the future, the RAW imageand its associated .rws file can be loaded back into the RawShooterfamily of products for re-processing. All the colour corrections will havebeen preserved together with the EXIF information, thus saving all yourvaluable work.

Note that the preferences dialog has an option for writing thesecorrections to a CF card.



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Toolbar Icons

The icons that reside underthe product banner controlvarious RSE 2005 functions.These will be described indetail in the appropriate

sections of this guide and will always be referred to as toolbar icons.

Preferences

The Preferences dialog is accessed from the Pixmantec iconlocated on the toolbar. It contains the following options:

These options are defined as follows:

Proxy cache When a new directory of RAW images is selected, RSE2005 creates a low-resolution preview file from the RAW data for eachimage. This is called a proxy file, is approximately 0.5 - 1.5 MB in sizeand is stored within the Pixmantec directory structure. Although thesefiles are small in size, they are nevertheless taking up valuable storagespace on your PC and so need to be deleted regularly. The proxy cacheoption provides an automated method of managing this cleanout and



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also provides the option for an immediate cleanout of the cache.

Use Absolute Colour Temperature Scale for user preference thereare two options for displaying the Colour Temperature scale on theCorrect / Batch convert menu. The first is the usual degrees Kelvin scale,

the second is an absolute scale.

Automatically detect file system changes this option simplyremoves the need to constantly refresh a working directory if you addnew images to it. RSE 2005 will constantly monitor for changes in thecurrently displayed directory of RAW images and will update accordingly.

Replace Proxy Rendering The proxy images created for a directoryof RAW images are used for the initial display; if an image is selected,RSE 2005 creates a high resolution dynamic preview for it. On machineswith slow processors or a small amount of RAM (512 MB), the creation ofthese high resolution previews can take time. Therefore if you have avery slow PC then you need to uncheck this option to disable thecreation of the high resolution dynamic preview for each image; insteadthe proxy file will be used for the dynamic preview. Please note that forall other users this option must remain checked.

Bypass Colour Management RSE 2005 provides fully customizedcolour profiles for all its supported DSLRs. These profiles are internalizedas there is no need for most photographers to have access to them.Some photographers however may prefer to create their own camera

profiles for use with RSE 2005. Checking this option will disable all colourprofiling to give the profiling tool (such as Gretag) the correct values towork with for this special purpose. This is considered to be an expertoption and all other users should leave this value unchecked (disabled)to use the internal RSE 2005 profiles.

Important!!

Camera profiles built for other conversion applications are not supportedin RSE 2005. If you wish to use your own camera profile then you will

need to recreate it by checking (enabling) the bypass colourmanagement option described above, convert the reference target andrebuild the profiles using your profiling tool.

Allow settings to be w ritten to removable media checking thisoption specifies that all RSE 2005 colour settings are written to a CF card.Leaving this option unchecked writes the colour settings to a temporaryfile (see previous section on storing correction data).



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Use TAB key to navigate this option controls how you navigatethrough the processing options listed on the Correct tab. With this optionunchecked simply use the mouse to move between the controls; with itchecked using the TAB key will step through each control in turn. Once

this option is checked, simply hit the F4 key to tell RSE 2005 that youwant to use TAB to scroll (and not to navigate between the modes).

Image background brightness use this slider to control thebrightness of the background behind the RAW thumbnails.

Processing Parameters

The processing parameters dialog is accessed from thePixmantec icon located on the toolbar. It contains the

following options:

These options refer to all the sliderscontained within the processing tab. RSE2005 sets these values to defaults which aredependant on the camera model and ISO.This panel allows you to change these initialparameters for your own user preference.For example if you like your images moresaturated by default then simply increase thesaturation bias. This change will be appliedwhen viewing all existing and new images. Ifyou prefer a softer initial appearance (lesssharp) or wish to change the compromisebetween detail and noise, then thesharpening and detail extraction bias slidersallow you to set this as your default.Remember that these settings work inrespect to ISO range. Due to the difference innoise you will most likely want to make adifferent compromise for high ISO images

compared to low ISO images if you choose tomake such changes. Note that for most users

we recommend keeping the supplied Pixmantec values and only usingthis panel if you find something that is consistently not to your ownpersonal taste.



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Workflow Step 1 - Display

Viewing Modes

Everyone has different preferences for displaying and working with RAWimages so RSE 2005 provides 5 different display options. Some of theseare used mainly in the first two stages in the workflow, whilst others aredesigned to assist in Steps 3 and 4. Its easy to switch between them,

either use Shortcut- ALT + screen number (1,2,3,4,5) or one of the

toolbar icons as shown below.

This icon provides navigation to all modes via a drop down menu.

This icon provides a toggle between viewing mode 1 (the dynamicpreview and correct / batch convert windows) and the currentlyselected view mode. This is a very useful icon when editing images

at the later stages of the workflow. Shortcut- TAB will also perform

the same action.

Each of the viewing modes has its own features and functions and soover the next few pages each will be explained.



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Viewing Mode 1 - Image Only (ShortcutALT+1)

This mode displays the Dynamic Preview and Correct / Batch Convertwindows. It is primarily used after the editing stages of the workflowhave been completed since it is free from distracting windows and is thesuggested mode for any image corrections.

Note provided that you have more than one image in the underlyingdirectory you will generally have no need to return from this screen untilall images have been processed. Once the current screen image has

been corrected and processed simply use the ShortcutMOUSEWHEELor

Keyboard to select the next image / previous image. ShortcutF8hides / displays the Correct / Batch processing panel. When using eitherthe MOUSEWHEEL or any other method to display thenext image in the sequence, the wheels will oftenappear in the bottom right hand corner for a couple ofseconds. This indicates that RSE 2005 is busygenerating the high resolution preview.



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View ing Mode 2 - Thumbnails Only (ShortcutALT + 2)

This mode displays the Windows Directory Tree and RAW Thumbnailwindows; both the Dynamic Preview and Correct / Batch Convertwindows are hidden.

This is the DEFAULT viewing mode and is used extensively during stages1 and 2 of the workflow. Using this mode RAW files can be selected,viewed via a slideshow, assigned priorities, tagged for later investigation,marked for deletion, moved and copied. Full drag and drop functionalityis supported by RSE 2005 in this mode.

Shortcut double click on a thumbnail and youll be taken straight to thedynamic preview for that image.

Raw Thumbnail Window

The RAW Thumbnail window displays all RAW files within the selecteddirectory that are currently supported by RSE 2005. This window has



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several options for its general management:

Controls the size of the RAW thumbnails andcan be changed to user taste. The small red

arrow indicates that a new value has been used to over-ride the defaultscale of 50%, to return to this default value just click on the red arrow.

Controls the sort options for the display including order andoptions such as sort by name and sort by date.

Controls the recycle bin for those images that have been marked for

deletion. This will be explained in later sections of this guide.

Remember you can control the brightness of the background behind thethumbnails by adjusting the slider which is found inside the Preferencesdialog.

Window s Directory Tree

The windows directory tree contains the familiar view that all Windowsusers will know well. Note that this tree view is available in modes 2, 3,

4 and 5. Shortcut ALT + 6 hides / displays the folder view. This viewprovides standard Windows functionality, plus these additional fourfunctions added by RSE 2005:

Favourites W indow - located at the top of the windows screenthis small window shows thename of the currentlyselected directory at the top,followed by any favouritedirectories that have been

added. Selecting a favouritewill navigate straight to thedirectory, without the needto know its precise location;the RAW images containedwithin that directory willthen be displayed. The



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contents of the favourite window are persistent and will be savedwhen the product is closed. Directories can be added to thefavourites list by using the options below.

Favourites WindowOptions RH mouseclick on an entry in thefavourites windowreveals several options asshown.

RAW Locator - if RAW files are contained within a directory thena small gold star is placed at the bottom right of the folder icon asshown -

Directory Options - RH mouse click on a directory in the windowstree view reveals optionsas shown here. Optionsare provided to add thecurrent folder to thefavourites list plusstandard Windows folder

operations. The REFRESH(ShortcutF5) is a manual

refresh to update thecontents of a directory. If you have specified to Automaticallydetect file system changes in the Preferences dialog then you willnot need to use the refresh option.

Moving, Copying and Renaming Images

RSE 2005 supports full d r a g & d r o p capability for the movement ofRAW files between different directories.

To COPY a single or group of RAW images from one directory to anothertake the following action:

1. Select the image (s) using LH mouse click2. Whilst holding down the LH mouse and the CTRL key, drag the



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image to the required location.3. A small + sign indicates that the copy is the selected action, and

the copy in progress indicator will be shown.

To MOVE a single or group of RAW images from one directory to another

take the following action:

1. Select the image (s) using LH mouse click2. Drag the image to the required location.3. The move in progress indicator will be shown at the bottom left

of the screen.

Renaming RAW images

RAW images can be renamed individuallyby RSE 2005. Simply select the requiredimage from the RAW thumbnail view andclick on the filename to select. Thensimply type in the new name. Note youare only allowed to change the filename,not the extension. Batch renaming is notsupported in this version of RSE 2005.



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View ing Modes 3 , 4 and 5

(ShortcutALT + 3, 4 or 5)

These modes display all 4 windows open at the same time, none arehidden. Only mode 4 is shown above as the others only vary by wherethey place the windows.

Once the Windows directory containing the RAW files has been selected(either as a Favourite or from the windows tree) then the windows treeview closed is no longer needed. Therefore it can be closed by simply

clicking on the divider bar as shown by the red circle above. ShortcutF8hides / displays the Correct / Batch processing panel whilst ShortcutALT

+ 6 hides the folder view. When using either theMOUSEWHEEL or any other method to display the next

image in the sequence, the wheels will often appear inthe bottom right hand corner for a couple of seconds.This indicates that RSE 2005 is busy generating the high resolutionpreview.



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Workflow Step 2 - Edit

RAW Image Control

Before they can be processed, RAW images will always benefit from alittle organization. RSE 2005 provides the ability to prioritise / delete /rotate / move and rename images from the RAW Thumbnail Window. Allof these tasks can be achieved using either drag & drop technology orcursor sensitive icons; all will be discussed in the following sections.

Image Priority

All photographers, whether the most basic novice or the mostexperienced professional, take some images that stand out from the rest.We may record a moment of high action or extreme tenderness, or it

might just be a personal record of a memorable event. In fact, after atypical shoot, the RAW files will generally fall into the followingcategories:

The Good those RAWs that are clearly the best The Not So Good but Not So Bad those RAWs that will never win

any awards but that have some merit to keep The Downright Ugly yes we all take them, RAWs in this category

include out of focus, poorly composed and accidentally triggeredimages. Their only destination is the Recycle Bin.

The RAWs that fall into the first category will, by definition, be ourfavourites and we will naturally want to process them first. RSE 2005allows us to do this by grouping images according to three preset prioritylevels 1, 2 and 3. By convention, RAWs contained in the priority 1collection are our favourites and require processing immediately;priority 2s are the Not so good but not so bad and 3s are a generalcatchall for others that you want to keep. At the same time as we canprioritise images we can also identify the Downright Ugly RAWs andassign them to the Recycle Bin. Prioritizing RAW files in this way allowsphotographers to quickly identify their best images and return to process

them when time allows.

RSE 2005 provides two methods to assign priorities, via a slideshow orby using the GUI. Both will now be discussed and one should not beconsidered better than the other, they work in partnership to help youmanage your workflow.



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Assigning Priority / Deletion via Slideshow

The slideshow is a full screen application that displays a collection ofRAWs as single, full screen images. Using the slideshow, RAW files canbe prioritized, marked for deletion and rotated. Several options areprovided to control the transition time and transition effect, thus makingthe slideshow a great way of showing your work to other photographerstoo. The basic point of the slideshow is to identify our priority 1 imagesand allow them to be grouped for later processing. By the same token wecan identify the images that need to be deleted and group these for laterdeletion.

Technical Operation

As described in a previous section, the RSE 2005 slideshow usessophisticated processing technology to create a low resolution preview(called a proxy) for usage in the slideshow. If the directory containsmany RAW images then it may take some time to create all the proxies.You can tell when this is happening as the following message is displayedon the toolbar:

Important!!

It is best to wait until the Creating previews message disappearsbefore starting the slideshow; the counter will tell you how many morepreviews need to be created. Once this message disappears, all theproxies have been created and the slideshow can now be started.

If you dont wait and start the slideshow, a warning message will appearthat proxies are still being created. If you choose to continue to theslideshow then you will likely get sporadic results whilst the proxies arebeing created.

Starting a slideshow

A slideshow can either be started to view a collection of selected imagesor the currently opened RAW folder. In truth for most editing purposesyoull be editing the entire contents of a single directory, since this willcontain all the RAWs that you have just downloaded from your DSLR.The slideshow is then started by either:



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Selecting the slideshow icon from the toolbar Using ShortcutALT + S, which toggles the slideshow ON / OFF

When a slideshow is first started, the first image in the directory will bedisplayed, together with the control icons at the bottom of the screen. Inaddition some image information is displayed together with some EXIFinformation from the DSLR:

Field name Description

File number This field displays the sequence number of the file inthe slideshow and the number of files that will be

displayed in the slideshow.Filename The filename of the imageLens used The lens setting at shoot timeAperture The aperture setting at shoot timeShutter speed The shutter speed setting at shoot timeISO setting The ISO setting at shoot time



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The control icons will disappear after several seconds with no action andwill be replaced with the EXIF information. To re-display the icons simplymove the cursor over the EXIF information and the control icons willre-appear.

Slideshow setup

The control icons at the bottom of the slideshow display are used tosetup the slideshow and control the navigation through it. The iconshave the following meaning:

Icon Function

A drop-down menu to control the slideshow transitiontimes and effects. It is suggested that MANUAL be

selected for transition unless a fully automated imageadvance is required. The transition effects areoptional and are only enabled when a timed slideshow is specified. LOOP will run the slideshowcontinuously until the ESC key or close icon is

pressed. ShortcutCTRL + P will pause / start the

slideshow if a timed transition has been selected.

Restart slideshow from beginning.

Close Slideshow and exit back to RSE 2005. This will

return to the currently active directory. Pressing theShortcutALT+S or ESC key at any time will also

terminate the slideshowNavigates to previous / next image. Note also the

ShortcutMOUSEWHEEL and Keyboard are fully

supported for slideshow navigation.

Tags the RAW. At first glance this may seem pointlesswith the image priority feature but this is useful forestablishing a sub-group of images within an existing

group.

Assign priority 1, 2 or 3 to the image. To un-assign

simply reselect the icon again. ShortcutCTRL+1,

CTRL+2 or CTRL+3 to set the priority, ShortcutCTRL

+ SHIFT + 1 clears the selection.



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Assign the RAW for deletion; note this will not actuallydelete the RAW but just mark it for later deletion.

ShortcutSHIFT + DELETE.

Rotates RAW anti-clockwise / clockwise

Using these icons the whole directory of RAW images can be edited in avery short time. Once complete, the slideshow can be exited and thenext stage of editing begun.

Important!!!

1.Prioritizing images in this way does not cause them to be movedfrom their physical location. They remain in their original directory(unless moved via drag & drop) and any assignments are onlyvalid inside RSE 2005.

2. If a RAW is marked for deletion it is NEVER DELETEDautomatically by RSE 2005. It is grouped with the other RAWsmarked for deletion and will have to be physically deleted at a laterdate by using the delete icon. Accidents happen and it always paysto review all images marked for deletion in case an image youmeant to assign priority 1 has slipped though the net.

ShortcutF8 hides / displays the Correct / Batch processing panel.



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Assigning Priority / Deletion via GUI

The previous section introduced the concept of assigning image priority/ deletion to RAW images via the slideshow. This is great for identifyingindividual images and marking images for deletion, but sometimes itmight be desired to quickly assign a priority to a group of images. Thiscan easily be achieved by using the RAW thumbnail window as describedin the following sections.

Assigning Priority / Deletion to a single RAW

To assign priority / deletion for a single RAW simply move the mouseover the required image and a group of icons will appear as shown:

These have the same values as those described previously in theSlideshow section. Select the icon that you want (tag, priority or delete)via a single mouse click and it will be assigned to the image. If youchange your mind then simply re-select the icon and the assignment willbe removed. If youve assigned a rank or tag, then this will be displayed



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against the RAW in the top left hand corner.

Assigning Priority / Deletion to a group of RAWs

To tag, prioritise or mark for deletion a group of images, simply use CTRL

or SHIFT to select the group, move the mouse over any RAW in theselection and select the required icon. If you change your mind thensimply re-select the icon and the assignment will be removed from theentire group. If youve assigned a rank or tag, then this will be displayedagainst the RAWs in the top left-hand corner. This is shown below:



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Displaying Priority Groups

Once youve assigned a priority to your images, or marked them fordeletion, the next stage is to view the images in each group. This may beto inspect them before final deletion, or to start processing your priority

1 favourites.

Important!! - The assignments of priority / tagging and deletiononly exist within RAWShooter. Its important to understand that the RAWfiles remain unchanged in their original directory. RSE 2005 simplygroups them together by assignment and provides a simple method ofviewing / changing the contents of each group.

Displaying a Priority Group

To view the contents of each group simply select one of the icons that aredisplayed across the top of the RAW thumbnail window (and not thosedisplayed above individual RAW files). The table below shows themeaning of each group, the numbers in brackets show the number offiles within that particular group:

Icon Function

Displays all RAW files in the directory irrespective ofany assignments, except those marked for deletion.Displays all tagged files. Typically these files have

been tagged for a purpose, perhaps for further editingor to move to another location.Displays all unranked images, except those markedfor deletion. This is essential as the ALL icon does notaccount for any existing assignments. This is usefulshould your editing time be split between severaldays; it is easy to pick up where you left off by simplyselecting this icon as the starting point.

, , Displays all files with either priority 1,2 or 3

Displays all recently converted images.Displays all files marked for deletion



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Selecting the priority1 icon will display allRAWs that have beenassigned to that

group. The displayshows the 13 imagesthat have beenassigned as priority 1.Note that the ALLgroup contains 37images, the # groupcontains 4 images(unassigned), thepriority 1 groupcontains 13 imagesand priority 2 grouphas 20 images. The delete tab shows 2 images; note that imagescontained within this tab will not be displayed elsewhere (including theALL tab).

Further Editing of Priority Groups

It is rare that one edit will yield everything into the correct groups, so atany point priorities can be re-assigned / changed simply by re-invoking

the slideshow (ShortcutALT-S) or by using the GUI. At the end of the

edit process it pays to check each group as it is easy to make a mistake,particularly the delete group. If you find an error then it is easy to correct, just move the cursor over the image(s) to display the priority iconsagain:

If you are moving to another group then simply click on the iconfor that group and the file will be re-assigned immediately.

If you are unsure of where to re-assign the file then it is perhapsbest to place it in the un-ranked group and decide at a later date.To do this re-select the icon for the current group, which in turn

removes the priority assignment. This will automatically place it inthe un-ranked group. This is perhaps the best method for movingimages from the delete group that have found their way there bymistake.



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Permanently Deleting RAWs

Marking a RAW image for deletion will remove it from all groups exceptthe delete group. Remember that RSE 2005 will never delete any imagedirectly; it will just assign them to the delete group. As always we

recommend that you double check the delete group for mistakes; if youfind an image that you are unsure of then simply move it to the unrankedgroup as described above. There are two methods of deleting imagesfrom this group:

Deleting a single RAW click on the RAW and d r a g & d r o p itstraight to the recycle bin.

Delete all RAWs within the delete group - with the deletegroup selected simply click on the delete icon which is shown in red

opposite. Afterconfirming theaction a final time,the contents of thedelete group arepermanentlydeleted. Theycannot be recoveredfrom the recycle binso it pays to ensurethat you really want

to delete thembefore saying YES to the confirmation.



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Workflow Step3 - Correct

At this point in the workflow weve identified our best images and deletedour worst. The next stage of the workflow is to apply colour and imagecorrections to the RAW files that we want to process. This will involveusing both the Dynamic Preview and the Correct / Batch convertwindows. Both of these will be explained in detail in the following pages.

The Dynamic Preview

The Dynamic Preview instantly shows the results of any imagecorrections and gives a true representation of how the final output imagewill look. It is perhaps the most important component of our RAWworkflow and one which makes RSE 2005 such a powerful product. TheDynamic Preview is found in the following screen modes ALT +1, 3, 4

or 5.

Suggested Screen Layout

The Dynamic Preview needs to be as large on the screen as possible,therefore we recommendusing Viewing Mode 1 forthis stage of the workflow.For the purpose of thisexample well assume

that you want now to edityour priority 1 images, sothe first stage is to selectthe priority 1 group asshown. This selects theworking group of RAWs; ifyou want to work on asingle image then justselect it, else leave theselection empty and the1st image in the directory will be used. Finally click on the viewing mode

toggle (shown in red circle) icon to bring up the dynamic preview.



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Once processing of this image is complete there is no need to use thetoggle icon to select the next image, just use the keyboard or

mouse wheel to navigate through. Shortcut F8 hides / displays theCorrect / Batch processing panel in case you want to view the dynamicpreview slightly larger on the screen.

Dynamic Preview I cons

The icons that control the operation of the Dynamic Preview can be found

at the bottom of the display to the right of the EXIF data. Their functionsare described below.



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Zoom

The zoom slider controls the magnification of the main image as follows:

Initially the slider will be at alow value, which will allowthe complete image to beseen (see Fit to Screen icon

below). This is useful forseeing how globalcorrections like whitebalance affect the wholeimage.

Dragging the slider now to amuch higher value causesthe dynamic preview imageto instantly magnify to thatvalue (maximum 800%).This is really useful forseeing how sophisticatedcorrections like the NoiseSuppression and Detail

Extraction tools affect asmall area.

Shortcut MOUSECLICK on Zoom value box then use MOUSEWHEEL to

zoom



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Shortcut MOUSECLICK on Zoom slider to zoom

Fit to Screen

This icon is a toggle between the full screen view and the current value ofthe zoom slider:

Pressing this icontransforms a zoomedimage like this..

into a view of theentire image like this.Toggling the iconallows you to alternatebetween a view of howany change affects thewhole image and howit affects the zoomed

portion.

Shortcut- CTRL + TAB.



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Quickzoom

The Quickzoom icon allows an instant zoom to pre-definedmagnifications 100%, 200%, 300% and 400 %. Just use the drop downmenu to select the magnification.

Shortcut- MOUSECLICK on Quickzoom icon for 100%

Move

There are three methods to move around an image use the slider bars,the Move icon (above) or the Navigator (see below). To use the moveicon simply click on the hand icon and a small hand symbol will beoverlaid on the display. Movement around the image is then achieved bythe LH mouse key.

Shortcut- SPACEBAR

Colour Clipped Pixels

This icon allows shows which areas of the image have clipping to eitherthe shadows or the highlights. Click it on and the highlights are shown inred and the shadows in blue.This is useful for identifyingareas of the image thatperhaps need some extrawork, in terms of applyingexposure compensation andcontrast corrections.

Shortcut CTRL hold down

the CTRL key to show theshadow / highlight clipping.



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The NAVIGATOR

At high magnifications it is very easy to lose yourself in an image and notknow which part of it you are viewing. Residing at the bottom of theCorrect / Batch convert window, the Navigator is a small mirror image ofthe dynamic preview.Via a green box, theNavigator instantlyshows the currentlocation; grabbing andmoving the box to a newlocation will provide acorresponding change inthe dynamic preview

image. Also just clickingon the location inside theNavigator where youwant to be will alsocause the location tomove. The movement isinstant, even at highmagnifications, and is a great way to inspect the image, perhaps fornoise levels or sharpness.



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The SNAPSHOT

Nobody is an expert at making corrections and for most it will be a caseof trying out various settings and seeing which suits the image best. TheSNAPSHOT function allows you to take a real-time snapshot of your

image with one group of corrections, then make some more correctionsand take a second snapshot. In fact you can take as many snapshots asyou like. When youve chosen the one to work with, the image can beconverted with those corrections applied whilst all the others are deleted.The snapshot is found at the top of the dynamic preview screen as shownby the red circle:

Selecting the Add Snapshot icon will create a snapshot with thecurrent correction settings. A new set of corrections can then be appliedto the image, selecting the Add Snapshot icon will create a secondsnapshot. Once the best snapshot has been decided the rest can bediscarded by using the Remove Snapshot icon.



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Correct / Batch convert

Now that the dynamic preview has been set and you have an imageready and waiting, its time to apply some corrections to it. The Correct/ Batch convert window houses all the options for the conversion of theRAW image into its final output. These options control the powerfulmulti-threaded batch processor and allow several different forms of thesame image to be created with just a few keystrokes.

Applying image corrections

The Correct window houses the following components:

Correction control icons these iconsprovide features for some of the correctiontools such as white balance picker and aglobal correction reset. They will be describedfully below.

Correction sliders RSE 2005 provides themost comprehensive selection of correctiontools available in any product today. All areslider-based for simple ease of use and all aredesigned to work alongside the Dynamic

Preview and Snapshot. The following pages ofthis guide explain how each of these toolsmay be used to enhance the quality and lookof your RAW images so it is suggested thatthis section be read carefully. Remember youcan change the defaults for these parametersby using the Processing Parameters dialog, asdescribed earlier in this guide.

The Navigator previously described RGB Histograms these graphs show the

dynamic range of the image in terms of theindividual RGB channels and are provided forthe experienced user.



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Correct Control I cons

Group correction icon

This icon allows us to apply corrections from the current screen image toa group of selected images. It is useful for ensuring that all images in asequence have identical corrections applied. The following pages show aworked example on how this icon should be used. Throughout this guideviewing mode 2 (raw thumbnails + windows tree view) has commonlybeen used in conjunction with viewing mode 1 (dynamic preview +correct / batch convert) and this is the usual operating mode. Howeverfor group corrections it is necessary to see both the raw thumbnail,dynamic preview and correct / batch convert windows, hence any one ofmodes 3, 4 and 5 could be used. For the sake of simplicity viewing mode4 has been used for the following example:

Step1 - Heres a nice example of a red squirrel, one of several similarshots in a sequence that can be seen on the raw thumbnail window. Theimage is in need of alittle correction and wewant to use the groupicon to apply thosecorrections to the otherimages in the sequence.The first step is to selectall images that belong tothe group in the rawthumbnail window. Thiscan be done in the usualWindows fashion, selectthe first and either holddown the CTRL key toselect the othersindividually or hold down the SHIFT key and select the first and last.



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Either way all 3 images will be selected but it will be the first in thesequence that will be displayed in larger form.

Step2 the image corrections that have been made are shown by thered circles, the meaning of each will be explained in detail later in this

section. As can beseen the dynamicpreview instantlyshows the results ofthe corrections soany fine tuning canthen be made. Theresultant dynamicpreview image isslightly punchier thanthe original, standsout from thebackground moreand is generally justmore pleasing to theeye. The next step isnow to apply thechanges to the group, so the group correction icon is selected as shown.

If you want to compare different sets of corrections then simply use theSNAPSHOT tool as described previously.

Step3 selecting the groupcorrection icon will display thedialog shown. This dialog allowsyou to specify which imagecorrection should be applied tothe group, or to apply them all.

Step4 once the correctionshave been applied to the group,all image the thumbnails shouldlook identical. At this point allcorrections are complete and theselected images can be added tothe batch queue by pressing the

Shortcut- INSERT key.



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Custom White Balance Icon

This icon allows you to pick a section of the image for your default whitebalance. It is very useful for those white balance situations which the

DSLR will tend to misinterpret. To use simply select the icon (Shortcut

SHIFT) and drag the eyedropper over a portion of the image that is aneutral grey. The eyedropper works best if you choose a well lit area.Clicking on this location will set a white balance that more closelymatches the desired effect. Note that you can continue clicking aroundthe image until you find the white balance that suits your needs, oralternatively just move the white balance slider. The Navigator screenalso shows the simulation.

As Shot White Balance icon

This is the default display mode and uses the white balance that wasdetermined by the DSLR at the time the image was taken. Sometimesthis will be satisfactory but mostly it will have to be corrected by usingthe custom white balance icon (described above) or the White Balance /Tint correction tools (see later).

White Balance / Exposure Wizard

The wizard is a tool that will use a combination of several imagemeasurements to estimate what the correct white balance and / orexposure should be. Simply use the drop down menu to select therequired option; sometimes this will be 100% accurate, other times itwill need some correction. It does however provide an excellent startingpoint and should always be the first action in the correction workflow.

Shortcut ALT + W for auto white balance

Shortcut ALT + E for auto exposure

Reset / Restore Icons

The RESET icon resets all changes made to the original As Shot values.The RESTORE icon restores any changes that have been made. Usedtogether the icons can be used as a before / after function to compareany changes with the original image. Another approach to this is to usethe SNAPSHOT function as described previously.



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Correction Tools

RAWShooter provides an extensive collection of simple, yet powerful,slider-driven tools to allow correction of your RAW image. Some of thesetools are fairly obvious, i.e. exposure and white balance, whilst the effectof some i.e. sharpening and detail extraction are a lot more sophisticatedthan might first appear. Don't worry if you don't understand what someof these terms mean, the beauty of the Dynamic Preview is that you canexperiment to your hearts content and actually see the effect of anychanges on your RAW image. Remember that if the default settings arenot to your particular taste for the camera / ISO setting that you areusing, the processing parameters dialog (see earlier in guide) allows youto specify your own values.

Individual Tool Reset

When any slider is moved from its default value, a small red indicatorappears in the value box to the immediate right of the tool. To reset thetool back to its initial value simply click on the red indicator. To reset alltools back to their original values use the global reset / restore icon asshown above.

Shortcut MOUSECLICK at any point on the slider to set the tool to that

value.

Changing Slider Values

Slider values are changed in one of the following ways:

1.Drag the slider to the required position2.Select the value box and manually type in the required value,

provided that it is in the slider range

3.Shortcut LH MOUSE to select the value box and thenMOUSEWHEEL to change the value setting in small increments

NOTE - four of the adjustment tools (sharpness, detail extraction,noise suppression and colour noise suppression) are grayed out atmagnifications below 100%. These functions are available at lowermagnifications but due to their nature it is difficult to assess theeffects of these tools unless above 100% magnification. Thereforethey are grayed out.



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White Balance and Tint Tool

Definition

All light sources contain different amounts of the three primary colours red, green and blue. The colour of any individual light source isexpressed in units called Degrees Kelvin or K, and is referred to as itscolour temperature. Now the human eye automatically adjusts tochanges in the colour temperature of a light source so we effectively seeno difference. Unfortunately a DSLR is not so clever and employs a set ofsoftware filters to compensate for variations in the light source. These software filters are just pre-set values of Colour Temperature forcertain conditions (Daylight, Cloudy, Flash, Tungsten lights etc) and arecalled the White Balance (WB). They are probably the greatest source ofconfusion with DSLR users today as too many photographers spend too

much time worrying about what to set them at, which can result inmissed shots.

As a RAW photographer you have two simple choices with the WB: eitherset to one of the presets according to the weather conditions or simplyset it to Auto and forget about it. Since the WB parameter is a DSLRshooting parameter it is fully adjustable in RSE 2005.

Recommended DSLR Setting

AWB auto white balance and forget about setting it again.

RAWShooter Tool

The WB setting is controlled by both the Colour Temperature (CT) andTint sliders. Moving the CT slider to the left decreases the ColourTemperature of the picture and has the effect of making it appear tocontain more blue light. Conversely moving the slider to the rightincreases the concentration of red in the image. WB settings for indoorlight sources will typically be at the lower end of the CT scale, whilstoutdoor settings will be at the warmer end. It should be rememberedhowever that changing the CT setting is not a recommended way ofcolour correcting images, since it applies to the whole image and not partof it. The Tint slider is a fine tune control for the WB and is used toremove any colour caste present in the image once the WB has beencorrected.



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Recommended Workflow

When a RAW image is selected, the Dynamic Preview is displayed withthe As Shot value of the WB shooting parameter applied. If this is

perfect for your needs then its time to move on to further corrections,otherwise you have two options to change it:

1. Use the wizard icon2. Use the white balance and tint sliders

There is no single magic setting for the WB, it is all personal preference.Whilst some images certainly look fine with the DSLR WB setting (usuallythose shot in sunlight), most benefit from a slight tweak; perhaps to

remove an extreme colour cast or improve the impact of the image.Either way the only way that youll learn about WB is to experiment, butthe wizard / custom white balance icons will at least give you a goodstarting point.

Pro Tips

Sometimes photographers use the WB to slightly increase the redcontent of the image, perhaps to intensify the effect of a sunset. Itusually doesnt need much, just a slight movement from the default of6800K up to 7200-7500K, but the effect is very noticeable. On cloudydays you might find that your RAW images with the DSLR WB are a littleon the warm and yellow side; simply reduce the CT a little and use theTint slider to remove the colour cast.

Related Sliders

Tint



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Appearance Tool

RAWShooter Tool

With a single keystroke the Appearance Tool can change the appearanceof your image completely. It automatically assesses the image andmakes changes to several parameters (internally) to give a completelydifferent look. Sometimes this new look is great, sometimes it is a goodstarting point but sometimes it is better left at its default of Flat look.In summary it only works on a proportion of your images but you shouldalways try it before trying corrections for yourself. The Appearance Toolhas 7 preset modes via the drop down menu:

Flat look is the DEFAULT and the

image is displayed without anyAppearance corrections applied.Three modes are then supplied forindoor images and three foroutdoor images. They increase ineffect and intensity from normal medium strong.

Perhaps it is easiest to illustrate with the following example:

FLAT OUTDOOR

NORMAL

OUTDOOR

MEDIUM

OUTDOOR

STRONG

The four images are identical but have simply had differing levels of theAppearance correction applied. Clearly the OUTDOOR STRONG has themost difference from FLAT; it is more saturated, stands out better from



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the background and is generally a more pleasing image.


The Appearance Tool is most effective if used after the correct whitebalance has been set, otherwise it may give incorrect results.

PRO Tips

Whilst most subjects will benefit greatly from even the smallestcorrection from this tool, some images that are bright to start with maybe a little overexposed after the tool has been applied. In the case ofthese images we still recommend applying the Appearance Tool, but atthe least intense of the three levels (NORMAL) and with a little negative

exposure compensation applied. When used in conjunction with the FillLight Tool it can make images taken on a dark and dismal day look brightand alive:



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Before correction After WB correction After Appearance

The final image is bright and alive and, although it may need a little morecorrection to its contrast, it is a great starting point achieved after just afew seconds of effort. Of course this may be the exception for you and ifso then just use the default of Flat look and correct using the othertools available.

Related Tools

White balance, tint, exposure, fill light, noise suppression



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Exposure Compensation Tool

Definition

Getting the exposure correct with a DSLR is a lot less stressful than itever was with a film camera. Slide film typically had a tolerance of +-1/3rd stop, which led to far too much worry and paranoia. Fortunatelythose days are gone and providing the raw image is within 2 stops of theperfect value RSE 2005 can generally turn it into a usable image. Ofcourse the best quality image will always be obtained by getting theexposure within stop of the correct value but anything outside of thatis still workable.


The best kind of image correction is to do the minimum to a raw imageduring processing. This holds true for the exposure too and there is nosubstitute for a correctly exposed image. RSE 2005 can rescue a poorlyexposed image for you with little problem but this takes up your valuabletime. Therefore its perhaps best to spend a little time in the field usingthe LCD histogram to ensure that your raw images are correctly exposed.In general having your raw image slightly dark will negate the chance ofhaving burnt out highlights.

RAWShooter Tool

The Exposure Compensation tool is rarely used in isolation; morecommonly it is used with both the Fill Light, Contrast and NoiseReduction tools. All raw files can generally benefit from a slightcorrection to their exposure. The slider is simple and self explanatory,moving it to the left will darken the image and to the right will brightenit. Note this tool works equally across the whole image; therefore careshould be taken that correction in one area of any image will not causehighlight burnout in another area of the image.

Recommended WorkflowThe exposure compensation tool can be used at any stage of theworkflow but we recommend using it immediately after the AppearanceCorrection Tool.



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PRO Tips

The beauty of RAW images is that you are free to experiment and get theresult that works best for you. The Exposure compensation tool whencombined with other tools (such as Saturation) can be used to create

mood and effect where there is none. Consider this example:

Before Correction After Correction



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The Penguin before any correction looks overexposed even though thehistogram actually showed a perfect exposure. Using the exposurecompensation slider we can darken the image to increase the mood andremove the impact of the background distractions. The mood is furtherenhanced by increasing the white balance slightly (to increase the red),

adding quite a lot of saturation and a little shadow contrast. As usual allof these changes are shown instantaneously on the dynamic preview andthe SNAPSHOT tool can be used to compare different versions of thesame file.

Related Tools

All



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Fill Light Tool

Definition

A DSLR has an amazing ability to pick up even the smallest detail in animage. This applies equally to the dark, shadowy areas of an image thatin the old days of film would have been a lump of black grain. Althoughthe DSLR captures detail in these areas, the RAW file often does notdisplay it to its true potential. This is especially noticeable in images witha wide dynamic range of colours, i.e. with a combination of bright anddark areas.

The Fill Light Tool is designed specifically target these shadow / lowermidtone areas and increase the dynamic range of the image. In plainEnglish this means that this tool will help you reveal previously hidden

detail in shadow areas of the raw file without blowing out the highlights.


Not applicable.

RAWShooter Tool

The Fill Light tool is simple to use and is controlled via a single slider. Itmay not seem immediately apparent how the Fill Light Tool differs from

the Exposure Compensation Tool but it is much more powerful. The FillLight Tool targets the shadow and lower midtone areas and only applies brightening to these, whereas the Exposure Compensation Toolapplies brightening globally.


The Fill Light Tool may be used at any stage of the workflow but werecommend its usage after the Appearance correction has been applied.



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Pro Tips

The Fill Light Tool is one of the most powerful in RSE 2005; the followingexample shows why:

Before correction Exposure Compensation + 1.81

Fill Light +49 Flat Appearance



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The first image of this Rockhopper Penguin is the starting point and isclearly in need of some brightening. The right hand image shows theresult after setting a value for the Exposure Compensation slider of +1.8.Clearly the image has been globally brightened but the highlight on the

chest has started to burn out (and therefore lose detail) and the shadowsare still dark. The final image shows the effect of using the Fill Light toolto a value of +49. Since the tool only works on the dynamic range andthe shadows, the highlights are untouched; this is clearly a bigimprovement.

Consider now what happens if we apply the Appearance Tool:

Fill Light +49 Outdoor MediumAppearance

Fill Light +21 Outdoor MediumAppearance

Clearly the left hand image is a little too bright and beginning to lookvery un-natural. Reducing the Fill Light value by approximately halfrenders a much more pleasing result, with a perfect colour balance, a

natural sky and shadows / highlights in perfect balance. Clearly caremust be taken when applying the Fill Light and Appearance Toolstogether, but if used with care they can produce amazing results.

Related Tools

Appearance, Contrast, Noise Suppression



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Shadow Contrast / Highlight Contrast Tools

Definition

Contrast increases the difference between the dark pixels and lightpixels.


Not applicable

RAWShooter Tool

The Shadow and Highlight Contrast Tools provide a fine tuning to theimage corrections and should only be applied in very small amounts.


The contrast tools should be the final stage of the colour correctionworkflow, before any noise suppression or sharpening is applied.

PRO Tips

The effect of these tools is very subtle and no meaningful example canbe given here. It can be said however that all images can benefit from aslight increase in either shadow and / or highlight contrast so the bestway to find out is to make the change and view the results against theoriginal using SNAPSHOT.

Related Tools

All



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Saturation and Hue Tools

Definition

An image is said to be well saturated if the colours are very bold andpunchy. The hue of an image describes the depth of the individualcolours within that image.


Not applicable

RAWShooter Tool

The saturation and hue tools work via simple sliders, moving them to theright increases the value and moving to the left decreases the value.Note that moving the saturation slider to -100 will render the image inb l ack & w h i t e .


The saturation and hue tools are recommended to be used anytime afterthe Appearance tool has been applied.

PRO Tips

Most images benefit from a degree of saturation but care should betaken in applying too much. Images with strong colour, such as sunsetsand sunrise, will benefit the most, as shown below:



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Before correction Saturation + 22, Hue +12

The image on the left is our starting image and its questionable whetherany correction needs to be applied. The image on the right shows theeffect of applying saturation + 22 and hue + 12. Increasing the hue

would make the sunset more yellow, whilst decreasing it would increasethe amount of red in the image. There is no right or wrong value to thiscorrection, everyone has different taste and it is all subjective.Experimentation is the key and using the SNAPSHOT mode will helpcompare different versions of the same image.

Remember, moving the saturation slider to the -100 setting w ill

render the image in black and w hite.

Related Tools

All



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Sharpness Tool

Definition

Sharpening is perhaps the most misunderstood of all shootingparameters. There are many different forms of sharpening but all adhereto one basic principle they all enhance the contrast between pixels of asubject to give the impression of greater detail. Most DSLR images lookinitially slightly out of focus, or to put it another way not as visually sharpas scanned images we are used to. The reason for this is twofold; firstlythe method that the camera uses to determine individual pixel colours onedges and secondly the anti-alias filter which protects the images fromthe worst effects of colour moir. Therefore all DSLR images could dowith a little sharpening, the trick is where and how to do it.

Perhaps the most important point to remember is that sharpeningshould never be thought of as a way of making an out of focus imagelook better. The only way to correct an out of focus image is to send it tothe recycle bin and shoot it again! Sharpening can only make a goodimage better; it cannot make a bad image into a good one.


Not applicable

RAWShooter Tool

The RSE 2005 sharpening tool controls the amount of sharpening appliedto the image. This tool uses a proprietary algorithm, developed byPixmantec R&D Labs, to give you the best sharpening available in anyRAW Workflow product today. The sharpening tool has a slightlydifferent default setting than the other RAWShooter tools; the range ofthe slider is from -50 to +50, with 0 being the default. This default valueindicates that RAWShooter applies a slight amount of sharpening to thedisplayed dynamic preview image, which is defined according to theindividual DSLR raw file. Between -50 and 0 the sharpening is applied tothe image in very small increments so the difference between the two isonly slight. The difference between 0 and +50 is much more noticeable.For most files the default amount of sharpening (i.e. 0) will be perfectlysufficient. If you want to reduce the sharpening, for instance if you cansee distracting sharpening objects, then the slider should be draggedtowards the -50 end of the scale. To add more sharpening drag the slider



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towards the +50 end of the scale.

The sharpening tool is always used in conjunction with the DynamicPreview and this is usually zoomed to 100%. Its best to pick a section ofthe image where the effect of the sharpening will be greatest i.e. an

animals head, a building / straight edge or a models hair.


The sharpening tool should always be one the final tools used in theworkflow, immediately before the batch conversion stage and after allcolour correction.

PRO Tips

Opinions vary about the level of sharpening that should be applied toimages but one thing is agreed. Sharpening, because of its one way,destructive nature, should be applied as the final stage of any workflow,i.e. after all colour correction has been completed.

Using the default level of RSE 2005 sharpening (with the slider at 0) will,in 99% of cases, be perfect for most photographers needs. If you needyour images completely unsharpened, perhaps for repro usage, theneither drag the slider to the -50 setting or unselect the sharpening optionon batch / convert window (see later). Note also that the detailextraction tool also controls the amount of sharpening that is applied toan image. Therefore reducing this value to -50 will have a noticeableeffect on the sharpening. Remember that if you want a consistentlyunsharpened image, either use the processing parameter panel orun-check the Apply Sharpening option on the batch processing panel.

Finally, over sharpening can ruin an image. If you are unsure of howmuch to apply, then zoom to 100% to a part of the image that has hair / edges etc, create one SNAPSHOT at -50, one at 0 and a finalSNAPSHOT at your desired value. You can then pick the one that looksbest, zooming between 100% and the fit to screen option.

Related Tools

Detail extraction, noise suppression



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Detail Extraction Tool

Definition

There are various methods of sharpening an object and the sharpeningtool discussed above uses a sophisticated version of the global method.One popular form of sharpening amongst photographers is edgesharpening, as by sharpening the edges of a subject it will visually lookmuch sharper. The problem with edge sharpening is that if used toomuch it can increase the high frequency noise in an image. But it canimprove the sharpness of an image like no other method; hence it hasbeen included in RSE 2005.


Sharpening must be turned OFF or to its minimum value in your DSLR.

RAWShooter Tool

The Detail Extraction Tool provides a sophisticated edge sharpeningalgorithm that can be used to bring out extra sharpening detail. This toolmust be used with care as high values will introduce unwanted highfrequency noise (pixel noise), although at the same time providing amuch sharper image. In some types of image (as shown below) where

the background is not diffuse then this extra noise may be an acceptabletrade-off to get increased image sharpness, especially as the noise willbe lost in the background. In other images with more diffusebackgrounds the noise will be readily apparent and action will need to betaken to reduce its effect (see below).

The following is provided as a guide to the usage of this tool; althoughthe differences may be difficult to determine on screen simply repeat thisprocedure with your own images and youll soon see the difference. Aswith all RSE 2005 tools it is all down to user preference but youll soonsee how powerful this tool is.



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For Images w ith confusing backgrounds

Clearly this image of a salmonleaping a waterfall qualifies forhaving a confusing background.

1. First use the Navigatorand QuickZoom to get a

portion of the image at300%. Try to choose apart of the image that hasthe subject andbackground together, likean edge. At this stagedetail extraction is at itsdefault value of 0.

2. Apply increasing amountsof detail extraction usingthe slider until you reachthe maximum of +50. Theimage displayed here hasthis value and clearlyappear much sharper thanthe previous image. But it

also exhibits some highfrequency noise, which inthe image will look likedetail but will be lost in thebackground.

For Images w ith diffuse backgrounds



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now at its maximum, +50, andthe beak edge has definitelybecome more defined. Thebackground noise however hasnow increased to such a level as

to be visible at 100%.

This image shows the effect ofapplying a small amount of noisesuppression (+5) to the detailextraction image shownpreviously (+50). The edge isstill sharp but the noisesuppression has removed mostof the noise whilst preserving anacceptable level of detail.

Clearly the detail extraction tool can provide a great benefit to someimages, especially when used in conjunction with the noise suppressionand sharpening tools. Of course many photographers may prefer to usea high detail extraction value without any noise suppression as the noise,whilst visible at 100%, may add to the overall appeal of the image whenprinted.


The detail extraction tool should always be used AFTER the sharpeningtool but should always be used in conjunction with it too.

PRO Tips

Confidence in the usage of this tool will only come through experience



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and experimentation. The detail extraction tool is a compromisebetween noise and detail, which side of the line you err on is entirely upto you. If you are finding that you have too much sharpening in an imagethen it is likely that the amount of detail extraction needs to be reduced.If you are finding that you consistently want less detail extraction then

use the processing parameters panel to change the default.

Related Tools

Sharpening, noise suppression



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The Noise Suppression Tool

Definition

Noise suppression targets low frequency noise, which typically manifestsitself in diffuse backgrounds.


Switch all noise reduction OFF in your DSLR if it is possible to do so.Noise reduction in a DSLR is a one way destructive process, you have nocontrol over how it is applied and once its applied its irreversible.

RAWShooter Tool

The Noise Suppression tool targets low frequency noise and is especiallyuseful for images that have diffuse backgrounds or severe colourtransitions. It is actually a lot more sophisticated than most noisesuppression tools as it will remove noise from the background whilstleaving the subject area full of detail. As with all RSE 2005 tools it iscontrolled via a single slider, with an initial (default) value of 0; it differshowever as 0 is the minimum value and only positive increments areallowed. Even at the 0 value, RSE 2005 applies a small amount of noisesuppression to the displayed image to remove noise artifacts. This has

been tailored according to the particular RAW format being used, assome are noisier than others.


The noise suppression tool should always be used AFTER the sharpeningtool and thus will be at the final stages of the workflow.

PRO Tips

The default (0) value for noise suppression will be sufficient for mostphotographers needs and will rarely need to be increased. In certainsituations, perhaps at high ISO, the noise suppression level can beincreased a little to remove excessive noise whilst preserving subjectdetail. Care should be taken however not to use this tool in excess; it isdesigned to be used sparingly with only small increments beingnecessary. Drag it too far to the right and youll create a work of art fromyour image. There are applications however where the usage of this tool



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The Colour Noise Suppression Tool

Definition

Colour noise is different from the high and low frequency noise discussedpreviously. It manifests itself usually on bright backgrounds (blue skiesfor example) and is very similar in appearance to the noise visible on ascanned slide image. It can generally only be seen at high magnificationsover 100%.


Not applicable

RAWShooter Tool

The Colour Noise Suppression tool works in a similar fashion to the noisesuppression tool. A default value of 0 implies that a minimum of colournoise suppression has already been applied to the image, and in truth, achange will rarely be needed.


The colour noise suppression tool should always be used AFTER the

sharpening tool and thus will be at the final stages of the workflow.

PRO Tips

Care should be taken not to use this tool in excess; it is designed to beused sparingly with only small increments being necessary.

Related Tools

Noise suppression, sharpening, detail extraction



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RGB Colour Histogram

Located at the bottom of the Correct window, these histograms displaythe full RGB colour information for the image. The histogram has severaldisplay modes:

Shortcut LH mouse click toggles between the ExposureHistogram (grey), RGB Colour Graph and a mix of the two.

If you require colour information about a specific point in theimage then simply click the option box as highlighted by the redcircle below:

Moving the cursor over the image will now display the correspondingRGB values for that point within the currently selected RGB workingspace. Dont forget to de-select the X when you have finished.

Dont forget that if you want to lock the x,y value at a certain location tomake specific image corrections, the RSE 2005 SPOT meter function cando this for you. This has been described in a previous section.



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Workflow Step4 Batch Process

All of the image corrections are now complete and the final stage of theworkflow is to convert the image into its final form. The processing of theimages is controlled via the batch convert window, which allows you tocustomize the output parameters for your images. These parameters willbe discussed in detail over the following pages.

Workflow Considerations

The RSE 2005 batch processor is a multi-processing application, i.e. itforms a queuing system whilst processing images. This has beendesigned to greatly improve your RAW workflow and reduce the timespent in front of your PC. The basic workflow is to apply corrections to animage or group of images, add these to the batch queue, and then move

onto the next image (s). The images will be processed in the backgroundwhilst youre working out your corrections to the next image in thecollection.

Note that you only have to set the output options once for a particularcollection and the values will be used for each image. Therefore you onlyneed set the options for the first image; all other images can be addedquickly to the batch queue by using the following shortcuts:

Shortcut INSERT Select the Toolbar batch icon

Batch Options

The batch options will now be detailed.

Once the output options will beset they will be rarely changed so

this toggle icon hides them.If the Preferences option tobypass colour management isselected, then the target colourprofile must be selected from thisdrop down list. This is foradvanced users only, for



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everyone else the default isshown.

This option will be discussed ingreater detail below.

RSE 2005 can create two outputformats, TIFF and JPEG.

The bit depth can be set to either8 or 16 bit. If further postprocessing colour correction is tobe undertaken then werecommend selecting 16 bit.This option is only valid whenJPEG is selected as the file format.It controls the quality level (andtherefore size) of the outputJPEG.

The Meta data option controlswhether EXIF shooting data isattached to the converted image.Selecting none discards the EXIF

data from the converted image,although of course it is stillretained in the original RAW.Some users will want to have atotally unsharpened output.Having this option uncheckedoverrides any sharpeningcorrections that have beenapplied and the final output will beunsharpened. If you want your

sharpening corrections appliedthen you must check this option.If you want to open yourconverted images as soon as theyare processed then check thisoption and choose the applicationfrom the list.



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RGB Working Space

The RGB working space can be selected from a drop down list; thosehighlighted in black represent the recommended settings:

sRGB gives the best results in anon colour managed environmentfor most users. This is the default.

Adobe 1998 is the industrystandard for the reprographicindustry, so most professionalsuse this setting. Note that if youuse this as your working space anddo not have a colour managedenvironment your output file may

look slightly flat. Beta RGB and ProPhoto RGB

are for experienced users, workingin a 16 bit colour managedenvironment, who require a widergamut.

We recommend that most users either choose sRGB or Adobe 1998.



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Batch Processor

The icons listed above control the output options for your images (s).The batch processor options controls the batch queue as shown below:

In the example shown a queue of images is waiting whilst _E9M6993 is

being processed. The options for the batch processor are defined asfollows:

This specifies the name of theconverted image and by default itis set to the RAW filename fromthe DSLR. The default name cansimply be overtyped as required.This option initializes a dialog box

to specify the location where theconverted output files should bestored and some options tochange the basic namingconvention. Note that if youchange the output filename usingthis dialog, the RAW filename willremain unchanged.



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This adds the images (s) to thebatch queue for processing.

Shortcut INSERT can also be

used.

This stops the batch processingand the icon will change to GO!.To restart the batch processingsimply click GO!This removes the current imagefrom the batch processing queue.To remove a group of images, firstSTOP the queue, select the group,then REMOVE.This option locates the current

output directory and will show awindows view.



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RSE 2005 Shortcuts

Throughout this guide the Shortcutsymbol has been used to highlight

shortcuts for using product features. Listed below is a summary of theseshortcuts for easy reference:

Viewing Modes

Shortcut ALT + screen number (1,2,3,4,5) to change viewing mode

Shortcut TAB toggles between currently selected mode and mode 1

Shortcut F5 is a manual refresh to update the contents of a directory

Shortcut MOUSEWHEEL navigates through raw thumbnail display

Shortcut Keyboard navigates through raw thumbnail display

Shortcut F8 hides / displays correction / batch panel

Shortcut ALT + 6 hides the folder view

Shortcut double click image to display dynamic preview

Slideshow

Shortcut ALT + S toggles the slideshow ON / OFF

Shortcut CTRL + P will pause / start the slideshow if a timed transition

has been selected.

Shortcut CTRL+1, CTRL+2 or CTRL+3 to set the priority

Shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + 1 clears the priority

Shortcut SHIFT + DELETE marks the image for deletion

Shortcut MOUSEWHEEL navigates through slideshow

Shortcut Keyboard navigates through slideshow



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Dynamic Preview

Shortcut MOUSEWHEEL selects next / previous image

ShortcutKeyboard selects next / previous image

Shortcut LH MOUSE on zoom value box then use MOUSEWHEEL to

zoom

Shortcut CTRL + TAB to fit to screen

Shortcut LH MOUSE on Quickzoom icon for 100%

Shortcut LH MOUSE on Quickzoom icon then use MOUSEWHEEL to

zoom

Shortcut SPACEBAR to move around the image

Shortcut CTRL shows the shadow / highlight clipping

Shortcut NAVIGATOR, click hand symbol on new location and green

box will move there automatically

Shortcut LH MOUSE on RGB Histogram toggles through histograms


Shortcut ALT + 6 hides the folder view

Correct w indow

Shortcut SHIFT selects custom white balance picker

Shortcut ALT + W for auto white balance

Shortcut ALT + E for auto exposure

Shortcut LH MOUSE at any point on a slider to set the tool to that value



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Shortcut LH MOUSE on slider value box then MOUSEWHEEL to change

setting

Batch window

Shortcut INSERT to add image to batch

Documents

Raw Shooter Essentials User Guide 1.0