RawShooter Premium 2006
In summary
Full review
We’ve been using and recommending Pixmantec’s Windows-based raw file converter, RawShooter Essentials (RSE), for the best part of 2005 so it was no surprise when the company announced a Premium version in late October with an RRP of $US99. For a freeware application, RSE was superb as it provided most of the controls and adjustments formerly only found in raw converters selling for hundreds of dollars. Its main defects were a user interface that took a while to learn and a tendency to freeze sporadically. Otherwise, it was a great little program.
Our main gripe is the small size of the icons and text on the screen. Although the image can be enlarged by covering the Windows directory tree and using the zoom slider, the words and numbers you have to read are slightly too small for comfort and the tiny icons can be difficult to discern. You can mouse-over some of them to find out what they do, but that can be a hassle. (Adobe’s Camera Raw is easier to read and master!)
The flakiness is gone in RawShooter Premium 2006 (RSP), which works as smoothly as you might expect from an application you have to buy. But the interface issues remain and you must spend time learning what the various icons do and how much to tweak the sliders. If you’re a serious raw file shooter who is already familiar with RSE, taking in the additional facilities in the Premium version should be easy – and well worth the effort. Newcomers can download a 78-page User Guide free of charge from the Support page on the Pixmantec website. We advise readers who are considering the purchase of RSP read through this document carefully before buying the product, so they understand the capabilities of the software.
We’ve provided a guide to key features of good raw converters and an overview of the most popular raw file converters, which subscribers can access at here. From this data you can see that while the Essentials package compares reasonably well with other packages, the Premium version really shines.
One of the best features of the RawShooter applications is that they don’t change your original image file. Instead, conversion creates a linked colour information file that enables adjustments to be applied to the raw file each time it’s opened. Another worthy feature is image prioritisation, which lets photographers rank shots or groups of images. You can use the slideshow and new raw vs. raw comparison (see below) tools to select your ‘best’ images and tag ‘dud’ shots for deletion.
Unlike most other raw converters, which have been developed to give photographers a converted image that requires little or no additional editing, the RawShooter applications assume that a dedicated image editor is far more powerful than even the best file converter. Consequently, images may look slightly ‘flat’ on-screen. However, they contain the maximum amount of highlight and shadow detail and a wider-than-average colour gamut so you can transform them into the picture you want with your favourite image editor.
What’s New?
Space doesn’t permit us to cover all of the functions RSP offers, so we’ll focus on facilities that aren’t found in the freeware application. Two of the most welcome additions in RSP are Levels and Curves adjustments. Both tools are combined in a single graph, which is really convenient as you can use the Levels control to adjust image tonality and bring out highlight and shadow details with the Curves control.
The Curves and Levels adjustments are combined in a dual-purpose graph to the right of the main preview window. Together they are convenient to use and provide a high level of control over image tonality.
Raw vs raw comparison is another new tool that many photographers will value as it lets you open up to four similar raw image files simultaneously and use the dynamic preview magnification and navigation tools to select which is best. Photographers with less than 1GB of RAM should restrict comparisons to two images (the default setting) because the software slows dramatically when the preview cache is overloaded.
The ability to compare two similar RAW files and enlarge parts of each one for close inspection makes it easier to decide which images to keep and which to discard.
Equally handy is the Snapshot function, which can capture a picture with one set of corrections and retain it while you make more corrections and take a second snapshot. You can grab as many snapshots as you like and assess the differences between them before selecting the best one to work with. This image can be converted with those corrections applied while the rest are deleted.
Two sharpening tools – edge sharpening and detail extraction – are now provided in the Detail/Noise menu, which also includes ‘hot’ pixel and pattern noise suppression. If used with a light touch, the latter can eliminate speckles, blotches and colour banding. A separate Colour menu now contains saturation and hue sliders plus new Vibrance and Colour Balance settings.
The Vibrance slider is an interesting tool that works a bit like a saturation control but only affects those parts of the image file that will benefit from adjustment. It can be used to replicate the effect of a high-saturation reversal film and makes a handy contribution to personalised Appearance settings, although you need to develop a feel for how it can be used. Colour Balance is adjusted via a small colour wheel, which is pretty sensitive. You can either drag the focus point around the wheel or enter numerical values in two boxes beside it. The latter option is good for re-zeroing the colour balance.
Four separate coloru adjustments are provided, giving users a wide variety of adjustments to help them obtain the colours they want in shots.
The Appearance tool in RSP now has only three pre-set modes (Normal, Medium and Strong) instead of the separate Outdoor and Indoor options provided in RSE, but you can now save and use your own ‘Custom’ Appearance settings. This can be handy when correcting a series of similar images. A simple-to-use image straightener is also provided for photographers prone to slanting horizons, and you can now crop images in RSP before processing them. Image rotation is also supported.
The straightening tool is easy to use: simply draw a line parallel to the horizon – or plane you wish to straighten – and the software automatically re-orientates the image. A cropping tool allows you to trim the image appropriately.
Another great tool is the Magnifier that lets you enlarge parts of the image to see how sharp they are. Clicking on the right-hand mouse button opens the Magnifier on the cursor, which can be moved about the image to enlarge different areas. Clicking the mouse button again makes it vanish. The Magnifier can also be used within the Slideshow.
You can easily magnify any part of an image to check whether it is in focus. An associate RGB Readout option displays the red, green and blue values at the cursor location.
Directory management facilities are also provided and you can nominate ‘favourite’ directories for storing specific groups of images. Drag-and-drop transfer of files between directories is supported. A new FastProof button lets you create email-sized JPEGs from a selected group of raw thumbnails. You can adjust the image size and quality and set the output destination (sub-folder) to store them alongside the raw files or in a separate folder.
Finally, an integrated downloader lets you locate the file or group of shots you wish to convert and specify the folder you want the converted raw files sent to. Image and batch renaming support are provided, as they were in RSE, along with the ability to open converted files directly in the editor of your choice. RSP also includes an interpolation facility that is designed for re-sizing images to approximately double their original size. When the appropriate adjustments are made, it can produce very good results. Suggestions about which tools to use are given in the User Guide.
RawShooter Premium 2006 can be purchased from Pixmantec for $US99 and free 15-day trial downloads are provided.
Website: www.pixmantec.com. [27]
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