> > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2006/06/26 Mon PM 04:35:46 GMT > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: Windoze versions and DS > > On Jun 26, 2006, at 7:39 AM, mike wilson wrote: > > >>> OK. What's quicker? I've never used it to adjust images, always > >>> doing that in PS. > >> > >> What do you use it for, then? > > Win ME, PS6. Pentax Photolab2.1 > > I'm not sure you understood the question. Do you use it for RAW > conversions or what?
At the moment I'm only using it for RAW conversion to 16bit TIFF. I don't use XP, so can't use CS2. I use PS6 to do all the rest. > > >> The Pentax LAB and BROWSER are slow and do poor RAW conversions > >> compared to almost any other RAW converter I've tested. > > > > How? Although I've only used it to convert to images for the web, > > it seems to do a perfectly fine job. Certainly, I see nothing in > > the results (as one might expect) that would cause me to pay for > > another piece of software. Slow, I'm used to. Gives me a break > > from the screen, which is nice. > > 1) The range of adjustment available with the Pentax LAB on RAW files > is almost exactly what the camera itself is capable of and provides > very little improvement over what you can do in full resolution JPEG > *** out of the camera. Other RAW converters have much more > capability, as well as being far faster and easier to work with. > Adobe Camera Raw, Silkypix, RAW Developer, CS1, Bibble, etc etc are > all much much better software. I don't use it for adjustments, only conversion. It _is_ bloody awful to work with. > > 2) The Pentax Browser is very slow and has very awkward controls, in > my opinion. If my primary use was to sort and resample to low-rez > JPEGs for presentation on a web page, Photoshop CS2 with Bridge or > Photoshop CS with File Browser does a much better job. Other > organizational tools (ACDSEE, iView MediaPro, JBuilder, Thumbs Plus, > etc etc) are all superior performers and produce better quality > output in less time. Nobody has yet explained how the output from Photolab is worse than from other software. Just done a batch conversion of 227 RAWs to 16bit TIFF in just over an hour. 750MHz processor, Seagate 5400rpm 80Gb drive, 1Gb RAM. No doubt it would be faster with a newer machiine. > > Sometimes I wonder: Why do people who complain about digital > photography often seem unwilling to find and use the tools that make > it sensible and efficient? I've seen this in many forums, it's not > pointed strictly at you mike. I know it's a rhetorical question... I don't think I'm complaining about the soffware. I've asked repeatedly what the perceived problems are with the supplied stuff and only had answers regarding ease of use. I'm still waiting to see what the technical problems are. For what I use it for, I am unable to find any serious problems. A lot of the problem is the false advertising. People are givien the impression that all they have to do is buy the camera and the photographic world is their oyster. Then they find that they need a whole pile of hardware to complement the camera. By the time they get to software, where they can't easily see what they are getting, it's no wonder that they want to start cutting corners. I made the decision quite some time ago that I would be squeezing every last bit of use out of any computer hardware I bought and I am continuing to do so. Other people are happy to be at the cutting edge. > > There's no way I could enjoy digital photography using Pentax' > supplied software. I wouldn't get anything useful done productively. > And the features of the camera which enable it to have advantages for > my work aren't fully exploited that way. But, apart from ease of use, I still don't know what you find lacking in Pentax Laboratory. > > Godfrey > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
