Camera and software question

[Kris Harmon]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this question, but since it essentially involves equipment, I'll ask it here. I jumped kicking and screaming into the digital world after shooting film for years, and last year was the first year I did any storm photography. Before storm season starts, I'm going to start experimenting shooting in RAW mode. I've never shot in RAW, so obviously, I've never experimented with enhancing or working with images shot in RAW mode.

I don't have photoshop, the only photo editing software I have is what my camera came with and it seems to have most of the editing features that the versions of photoshop I've worked with in the past.

What is the differences in editing images shot in RAW than images shot in standard modes on the camera?

Will I be better off shelling out the cash for photoshop? Does photoshop have features for editing RAW images that the software I already have doesn't have?

I shoot with a Canon EOS so for those of you that are familiar with the software they provide, you will probably have a better understanding of what I'm asking.

I have no clue if these questions make any sense. I'm three days into my work week working 12 hour shifts so my brain is a little fried for a lack of sleep. If I need to clarify any of these questions I will do the best I can to do so.

Thanks for any help in advance.

KHarmon

 

[Patrick Martin]

The DPP (Digital Photo Professional) program that came with your Canon will serve you just fine for most basic editing. If you don't want or need to spend a lot of time in post processing, it'll probably do 95% of what you want it to. If you want to get into more complex editing, then you'll eventually need to make the leap to Lightroom or Photoshop.

I use DPP for most of my editing, even though I have a full version of CS2 and Photoshop Elements 8 on my machine. RAW will give you more flexibility and post processing options in post processing.

What Canon are you shooting on?

 

[Donovan Gruner]

Kris, I started shooting in raw this year, and like it much more. Your pictures won't look quite as good at first, but will have superior quality to those shot as jpeg. Raw is much easier to work with. I would recommend photoshop for editing them however. Even photoshop elements would be sufficient to edit them nicely. Mostly just play around with curves, and if you don't bracket your shots, then mess around with the image and edit separate portions at a time, since when shooting storms, there is often strongly contrasting areas of sunlight to dark cloud material, and this will bring the best out in every area of the image.

 

[John Wetter]

I think a RAW workflow is the way to go. As far as software, I personally have been using Lightroom since it came out and now in version 3 is an amazing photo editing and cataloging application!

You can always start smaller and use something like Photoshop elements with their Album features, but Lightroom is where I think you'd end up at.

 

[Dave Rennie]

I have used primarily Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 and been happy with it. It's a lot cheaper than Photo Shop, and I'm sure lacks some of the PS bells and whistles, but it serves my purposes fine. I know PS Photo Pro X3 has a lot of capabilities that I haven't even touched on yet, so it's more than adequate for me.

 

[Kris Harmon]

As always, thanks for the help guys, but I have yet another question. I am going to invest in a wide angle lense for my Canon EOS. What is the best wide angle to consider. I am on a budget and don't want to go over $600 for the lens. I've looked at the 18mm-75mm wide angle zoom but want some informed opinions on what will best suit my purposes. I primarily shoot lightning photos so I would like something for good landscape photography.

 

[Chad Berryhill]

RAW is basically the digital negative. So you have more flexibility in editing like temp, DPI, split toning, lens correction. I can shoot with a non-fish eye, but change it to look as though I used one. Personally I use RAW for everything except for family snap shots. Everything starts in bridge. Then I put it in CS5 for any other edits. The only downside is file size, you can fill up a card pretty quick if your shooting a wedding.

 

[Greg Campbell]

Yea, DPP will do everything you need. Crop, color correct, set white and blackpoints, tweak the density curve, and apply a little USM sharpening before saving a Tiff or Jpg. Photochop may be a little easier, and certainly offers more refined options, but it's scarcely required. Remember, fiddle-farting on the computer is NOT photography. Photography is losing yourself in the subject, waiting for the light, looking through the viewfinder and tweaking the composition until you like it, etc. Also remember that all the Photochop on earth can't fix a poor image. Many people put 5% of their effort into taking the picture, and 95% into post-processing. (The near opposite, 90/10, sounds about right to me.) They seem to think that wild tonal manipulation, overkill sharpening, and hyper saturation ("My saturation dial does to 11!") will somehow make their crappy roadkill potshots positively glow. They are wrong. A polished turd is still... a turd.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Kris,

In answer to your latest question, which Canon camera do you have? That will help us recommend a wide angle lens for you.

As for your original question, I always shoot in RAW and I wouldn't do it any other way. By shooting in RAW, you're going to have a lot more data to work with when you post-process your image. Shooting in RAW is especially helpful for storm chasing because you can bring out more detail in the shadows and highlights, which is important in storm chasing's high-contrast environment. It really is the best way to go.

Believe it or not, Canon's DPP software is really good, and you can do quite a bit with it. However, if you want to step up to a much better photo-management/editing tool, then I highly recommend Lightroom (good on a PC or Mac) or Aperture (good on only a Mac). With either one of these programs, you'll be able to organize and edit your pictures really well. And most of the time, you'll never need to use anything else. (I rarely use Photoshop anymore.) While there are other programs out there, Lightroom and Aperture are pretty much the industry standard. And you can try either one free for a 60-day trial period. Give them a look...

Hope this helps,
Bryan

 

[Kris Harmon]

I guess giving the Canon body info would have been helpful. I have a Canon EOS Rebel.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Kris,

In that case, the best wide-angle to go with is the Canon EF-S 10-22. It is running around $749 new, but you can pick it up used (in great condition) for $600-$630. This lens is absolutely fantastic for storm-scape photography and is my most often used lens while chasing.

I would only get something different is:
a) you don't chase close to the storm
b) you don't have any other lenses. (The 10-22 focal-length on crop-bodies is great for landscapes, but not as a lens used for every-day shooting.)

Hope this helps,
Bryan