>I haven't worked out the best way to tweak the resulting very dark > file. Has anyone else got a good recommendation for the workflow for > handling files like these? I have tried curves and levels in Photoshop but > the results have not been terribly inspiring so far.
Basically your dealings with the files in Linear Mode are making your head ache because they are comming in Gamma 1.0 so they will always come out VERY dark, and they are quite hard to deal with basic tweakings. THere are as many free and paid Profiles for linear processing as you can imagine and each will throw in a different level of sharpness and contrast so you have to test which is your liking and stick to it. If you are on a Mac, Email me privately so I can send you a good bunch of free profiles for you to test. If you are on a PC run and get Breeze Browser and all your problems will be solved in a snap,both for linear and non linear work. There is an action which worked wonderfully for the D60 files from the finnish guy who runs the (non official ) Canon forum , that I also have handy to send it as an attachment.I would dare saying he must be on the making of a 10D action specifically for those files. My comment on this issue of Linear Processing: As much as you read about how great Linear processing works as compared to Non Linear, you will find out it really depends on subject matter , since dynamic range may extend a bit in the extremes, this is in the whites and light greys and in blacks and dark greys, so, shots like back lit clouds against a very clear blue sky, black dresses against black backgrounds, etc will show texture in Linear when they may show washed out or blocked in Non Linear, this is, not all shooting situations will benefit from the extra time ( and expenses) to process Linear files. I would say that if you jump from Raw data into 16 bits files and adjust tonal range, you can almost achieve the same results. The advantage of the RAw worflow here is tha you can redo as many times as necesay the processing so you can ascertain what do you like best for your work. Breeze Browser ( PC only) easily performs just as good as the Adobe Raw Plugin and those who already have it may skip the latter. You also have to consider that the Canon 10D files are not covered by the Plugin yet ( a future update will probably do) and this is by far the best Mac option for Raw files . Jorge Parra APA/ASMP www.jorgeparra.com =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
