Raw Processing

The storage of an image in a JPEG incorporates a certain colorspace. The known colorspaces are:

• • • ProPhoto

    • Adobe RGB

    • sRGB

See Nine Degrees Below - What is embedded color profile information

Some people ask: Does raw have a colour space?

See http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/in-camera-color-space-for-raw-shooters.html

Unless you're being painstakingly scientifically nerdy of course:

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=22471.msg168050#msg168050

Microsoft Windows File Explorer Thumbnails

Windows depends on CODEC packs - these contain specific elements that encode / decode media files so that they can be displayed. Microsoft introduced a Codec Pack for Windows (6.3.9721.0) in 2014. These codecs are probably included in Windows 10. If your camera model is newer than that, your raw file will not display as a thumbnail without assistance from new codec packs. Olympus also offers codecs for Microsoft Windows but they are very old. See the release dates in this Olympus web page

• • • FastPictureViewer offers a low cost third party Windows codec pack

• • ACDSee Photo Studio versions provide two tools - the DAM/Cataloguer tool and raw codecs to display thumbnails in Windows Explorer.

Microsoft Windows File Explorer Date Taken field

Windows Explorer, when you view files as Details (rows of filenames, one file per row) allows you to see the Date Taken field from EXIF. However, it is not switched on by default so you have to right click on the headings of those columns and add column to the view.

Having done that, if your computer cannot decode .ORF raw files, then that column might still be empty.

• • • Use photome - an old program to display EXIF of one file

    • Use EXIF Date Changer - to create copies of your raw files with the EXIF Date Taken added as prefix to the filename or to force the usual Windows date/time of the file to be the EXIF Date Taken

From https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/69959/when-is-each-of-these-exif-date-time-variables-created-and-in-what-circumstan

the EXIF tags. Date/Time Original and Create Date should be the same for a modern camera picture. But if you were, for example, scanning old pictures, slides, or negatives, the Create Date should be the date/time you saved it to the file and then you would alter the Date/Time Original to the correct time, if you knew it. Obviously, few people are going to know the exact time a picture was taken and probably not going to bother. Modify Date would be the timestamp for when you might alter the image or it's metadata.

Formerly Lightroom (LR) and Photoshop (PS) were sold as standalone software. You could get updates in features and bug fixes for free until the major version number changed. For example Lightroom 5 owners would get all LR 5.1, 5.2 etc... versions but the support expired when LR 6 was released.

Whilst some people may be reconciled to do without new features, what hurt the most was the more recent cameras would have raw files that were not readable by retired LR and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) versions. ACR is the component of Photoshop that reads raw files. Addiitionally, in countries like Australia, the price differential for a new version of Adobe software was artificially high relative to the US price. No you could not buy and use the US product outside of US because the electronic registration process would block you.

Adobe subsequently came out with the Creative Cloud package for photographers. This gives LR and PS at something like AUD 10 per month, with a commitment to pay for one year. Under this scheme, all updates would be free regardless of major version number. An applet on your computer would notify you of a new update, stream it down and install it. Essentially, the programs would be typical Windows or Mac programs. Except that they would need to use the internet to refresh their validity with the Adobe licence server (invisibly) every 30 days. As previously, the programs would be able to operate without an internet connection except for that brief moment every 30 days when they would need contact with the Adobe server.

The monthly price to Australia would not be significantly higher than the US price. Note that this comes up to AUD 120 per year for LR and PS. Some competitors have responded by reducing their prices or offered seasonal discounts that are similar. Some non professionals (those who do not make an income out of photography) are unhappy at spending AUD 120 per year, forever. That is true. On the other hand, two purchases of softdrink / coffee at a shopping mall or one meal would match the monthly price of the CC subscription.

In certain cases, you can still buy products like LR standalone from the Amazon store and other online retailers, but these standalone versions would follow classic purchase agreements - when the next major version number appeared, you would not be able to update to that. It is likely that Adobe will move away from standalone packs for LR and Photoshop and only offer them on a subscription basis. Photoshop Elements (which includes ACR - Adobe Camera Raw) will still be offered as a standalone package.

In standalone cases like this, there is a free DNG Convertor for Windows and Mac, downloadable from Adobe. The DNG Convertor is free, updated to the latest camera raw formats. You can run this program against one raw file at a time or nominate a set of raw files to be produced. The resulting .DNG files would then be readable by the older LR and ACR if you want to cling onto your money and refuse to pay the Adobe monthly subscription.

Links of interest

• • • Keeping Lightroom up to date and Keeping Photoshop (PS and ACR) up to date

    • Once in a while, people mention that Olympus provides Microsoft Windows raw codes for Olympus raw files. These are really old files and not valid in the current context.

    • Adobe webpage detailing which recent camera models are supported by which version of ACR and LR

• • Top 10 questions about Creative Cloud

    • Gary Ayton page on reproducing Olympus JPEG colour

• Removing lens flare