Digital BW, The Print

Paul,
I assume you are shooting in RAW file format, not jpeg; if not, I recommend
that as the only way.

Here are the raw converters you should evaluate, IMO.
Digital Photo Professional, also known as DPP (you already have it; comes
with the Canon XT)
Adobe Camera Raw v3.0, also known as ACR (comes with CS2, and is significant
improvement over v2.4)
RawShooter Essentials, also known as RSE (currently free download, RSE Pro
version coming soon)
Capture One Pro v3.7, also known as C1 (free 30 day trial.  I would not
purchase this, wait for v4.0 and compare to others)

I find that each converter has its strengths and weaknesses.  I currently
use all three, picking one over the other depending on the image and what I'
m trying to get from it.
The one I use most often is C1.  ACR is quite good; having built-in tools
for reducing chromatic aberration is very nice when you need it.  While RSE
still needs more work, most significantly in color rendition, it shows great
promise for a v1 release.
C1 needs to get v4 out to address some nagging issues and promised features,
and if you don't own C1, it might be best to only evaluate v3.7 under trial
to see what it is currently capable of.  When C1 v4 and RSE Pro are both
released, compare them before committing your money.  It's also possible
that you find neither program offers significant benefits over ACR for your
needs.
I prepaid for 5 updates of C1, so I will have the latest version for quite
some time.  I anticipate that I will purchase RSE Pro based on the strong
showing of RSE v1, if the price is not too high.
Which one is best; same as using more than one converter is a personal
preference, like choosing inks I suppose.  You got it very right when you
said workflow, that is a big part of it, and why many people are not
satisfied with the converters from the manufacturers.  I have never given
Canon's DPP much use, not because of output quality, it is very good, but
because of the workflow it requires.

Good luck with the XT.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Paul Roark
 Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Re: Will we be obsolete? More...

I'm just now working up my first digital camera (Canon XT/350D) "B&W" shots,
and I'm feeling a bit like I'm back with an 1160 and OEM color inks in the
"pre-Piezo" days, but at the image capture end of the process.  I suspect
we're going to go through an evolution of custom workflows at the capture
end not unlike the printing end.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com




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