Which raw processor for M8?

Which raw processor for M8?

  • Capture ONE / Pro

    Votes: 62 28.6%

  • Aperture

    Votes: 29 13.4%

  • ACR (Adobe Camera Raw: Photoshop / Lightroom)

    Votes: 109 50.2%

  • Silkypix

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 16 7.4%
  • Total voters
    217
I don't know for sure about the M8 files because I have not got proper experience yet, but with both my old canon and all my nikon files, capture one was very good, much better than ACR at extracting subtle details. I've found RawDeveloper the best, but one gives up some of the expected polish that one gets with first tier developers.

I plan to live with the M8 and test out the files for a while but so far based on past experience and preferences - Capture One - for me. :)
 
Lightroom. 95 percent of the time.

Occassionally PhotoShop, when using layers to 'pop' colors and contrast easily.

Never needed anything else for the last three years. No urge to look for anything else either.
 
Capture One, because Leica and Phase One collaborated to ensure the best possible raw development. M8 files from Capture One are visibly superior to those from Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop, etc. - better resolution, fewer artefacts ...

The M8 produces digital files of exceptional quality - so it seems perverse to me to use a lesser raw converter to hobble this quality ... :rolleyes:
 
Capture One, because Leica and Phase One collaborated to ensure the best possible raw development. M8 files from Capture One are visibly superior to those from Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop, etc. - better resolution, fewer artefacts ...
Click to expand...

Most agree with this and I find it to be true as well.

However!!!!

I do the basic conversion (set white and black points) in C1 then open it in Lightroom or Photoshop.

I have worked with Photoshop for years and it's just easier for me to use. Also both Photoshop and Lightroom allow me to use plug-ins like Nik Silver Efex, which I use a lot.
 
Hi,
I'm both a Digitech and a Leica guy. Capture One is the hands down Pro app for the job. Go to any set and the techs (like me) have Capture One humm'in along. It just is the best, most straight forward, cleanest render of RAW files.

Have Fun!!

Steve
 
Capture One outputs excellent results and is pretty straightforward to use. But it's not the one and only, as it cannot do it all. Skewing, for example. I have it generate TIFFs and then work on those with other software.

But Phase One is a bit sticky to deal with. The website isn't very helpful, generally. And I've often had to re-enter the Product Key when launching the application, and then it wants to be registered again. And since my M8 was a demo, I also had to work through Leica USA to get a new valid Product Key, twice before I could get the app going.

Also there's some oddness over versions and what hardware is required. My M8 package included Capture One version 3.7, which I upgraded to 3.7.7. This was fine on my dual-G5 Mac tower running OSX Tiger. But it wouldn't run under OSX Leopard. Versions 4 and later will run under Leopard, but, per the website, specifically exclude any but Intel-based Macs. And it appeared also to mean several hundred dollars for the "real" C1 upgrade from the free supplied version. So I was stuck, and inquired about downloading some intermediate version that would run both on my OS and my Mac.

Surprisingly, Phase One said go ahead and use version 4.8, that my Product Key would work, and though not officially supported, even my PowerPC-based Mac should run it. And so it does, though each time it's launched it complains that my hardware is specifically not supported. Capture One also will process RAW files from my Pentax dSLR, so there's another benefit!
 
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Doug said:
Capture One outputs excellent results [but] it cannot do it all. [...] But Phase One is a bit sticky to deal with.
Click to expand...
Agree with both comments, Doug.

I output to TIFF in Capture One 4, adjusting exposure, white balance, contrast and tone, then do everything else, including sharpening and noise reduction in Photoshop.

Also, although Capture One 4 extracts the most from M8 files, the program interface and design are not as elegant or streamlined as Photoshop or Lightroom (or its predecessor, Capture One 3 - albeit it's uglier and has slightly reduced output quality).

For example, I hate the way it randomly litters my hard drive with preview files that can chew up gigabytes of space! (Capture One 3 doesn't do this!). Drove me bananas! I installed the free program Eraser (http://eraser.heidi.ie) that automatically seeks out file types that you define, and deletes them (it's PC-only, unfortunately). Capture One 3 did this automatically, and is one of several useful functions perversely left out of Capture One 4.

None the less, like the Leica M8 itself, the end results make it worth putting up with Capture One 4's quirks!


Tips for getting the best from Capture One and the Leica M8

First, upgrade from Capture One 3 to Capture One 4, if you haven't already: although the former is better than Photoshop etc for Leica M8 files, version 4 improves on the already high quality. The upgrade is free. As Doug says, Capture One 4 doesn't like non-Intel Macs (!) - it will run but is, I think, a bit slow (I'm a PC user, so haven't been paying attention to Mac stuff!).

Raw converters have sharpening and noise reduction on by default - which is reasonable as it takes account of users of all abilities of expertise and various camera settings. Unfortunately, raw converters are pretty crude at sharpening and noise reduction, and it's best to do these steps later in Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture/whatever. This affects Leica M8 files quite dramatically - using the following settings creates files that are sharper and have better detail, and show why Leica decided to omit the anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor, unlike Canon, Nikon, etc.

Capture One 3:
• Sharpening: 0, Standard look
• Noise suppression: off
• Colour noise suppression: 0 (< ISO 640), 15 (> ISO 1250)
• Banding suppression: off
• Pattern noise suppression: off (unless moiré is visible)

Capture One 4:
• Sharpening: 0
• Luminance noise reduction: 0
• Color noise reduction: 0 (< ISO 640), 75 (> ISO 1250)
 
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It depends a bit on the image too - some may have purple or blue fringing, which C1 4 in the newest upgrade is excellent at avoiding.It is spectacularly better, really. I had a thread on it somewhere in this forum. (too lazy for search:eek:)
 
I use a combination of Capture One v.4, Lightroom and Photoshop. I've yet to find one piece of software that does EVERYTHING.

Photoshop only really gets used for dodging and burning, everthing else is done in C1 or Lightroom. I also agree with Rich about the random preview files...I know little about computers but surely this is unnecessary?!
 
I took another look at Capture One, V4 today, but the color controls in Adobe seem to be made for the way I think.
 
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The sharpening is irrelevant, that is just edge contrast enhanced, best to use it as little as possible and to switch it off completely in RAW conversion.
Anyway, nobody can say a thing looking at Web jpgs, maybe just on an 100% crop. The main question is your call. Which one looks best out of your printer? Use that one.
 
Roger, thanks for posting that. I had read it on the LUG (I think) and spent a ridiculous amount of time this week trying to tease it out of the archives - then the info shows up here! :bang:

RichC said:
Agree with both comments, Doug.

I output to TIFF in Capture One 4, adjusting exposure, white balance, contrast and tone, then do everything else, including sharpening and noise reduction in Photoshop.

Also, although Capture One 4 extracts the most from M8 files, the program interface and design are not as elegant or streamlined as Photoshop or Lightroom (or its predecessor, Capture One 3 - albeit it's uglier and has slightly reduced output quality).

For example, I hate the way it randomly litters my hard drive with preview files that can chew up gigabytes of space! (Capture One 3 doesn't do this!). Drove me bananas! I installed the free program Eraser (http://eraser.heidi.ie) that automatically seeks out file types that you define, and deletes them (it's PC-only, unfortunately). Capture One 3 did this automatically, and is one of several useful functions perversely left out of Capture One 4.

None the less, like the Leica M8 itself, the end results make it worth putting up with Capture One 4's quirks!


Tips for getting the best from Capture One and the Leica M8

First, upgrade from Capture One 3 to Capture One 4, if you haven't already: although the former is better than Photoshop etc for Leica M8 files, version 4 improves on the already high quality. The upgrade is free. As Doug says, Capture One 4 doesn't like non-Intel Macs (!) - it will run but is, I think, a bit slow (I'm a PC user, so haven't been paying attention to Mac stuff!).

Raw converters have sharpening and noise reduction on by default - which is reasonable as it takes account of users of all abilities of expertise and various camera settings. Unfortunately, raw converters are pretty crude at sharpening and noise reduction, and it's best to do these steps later in Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture/whatever. This affects Leica M8 files quite dramatically - using the following settings creates files that are sharper and have better detail, and show why Leica decided to omit the anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor, unlike Canon, Nikon, etc.

Capture One 3:
• Sharpening: 0, Standard look
• Noise suppression: off
• Colour noise suppression: 0 (< ISO 640), 15 (> ISO 1250)
• Banding suppression: off
• Pattern noise suppression: off (unless moiré is visible)

Capture One 4:
• Sharpening: 0
• Luminance noise reduction: 0
• Color noise reduction: 0 (< ISO 640), 75 (> ISO 1250)
Click to expand...
 
JNewell said:
Roger, thanks for posting that. I had read it on the LUG (I think) and spent a ridiculous amount of time this week trying to tease it out of the archives - then the info shows up here! :bang:
Click to expand...

It's Rich, actually, but thanks....!

I've a rather bulky Word file full of M8 tips that I jot down even if they're not immediately useful, to save searching later (and fruitlessly) through a forum for info I know is there somewhere!

I've started an M8 tips thread, which contains a link to my Word file: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1086281#post1086281
 
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