Mixed Feelings
I have started the mammoth task of shifting all of my Japan images (15-20,000) into better organised files (required because of my previous work flow), with multiple backups.
All the i mages for this post are from one of the Tokyo files, found while waiting for the system to do it’s thing. Kind of a last hurrah.
My poor old computer is struggling, but it will be worth it.
The ultimate goal;
Get rid of Lightroom and Photoshop.
I let Lightroom be my library when I switched to Mac and have never really had a handle on my filing outside of that, so I am using it as an export control for older files, then when I know I have not missed anything, I will cut it out.
Begone foul beast! Well not really, but it will require some stoicism.
My entire digital life photographically, for better or worse, has been Lightroom based. The programme (from version 2 on) gave me a way of entering the world of digital photo manipulation that would have been so much harder for a computer dunce like me. I owe it a lot.
What I cannot accept though is it’s sub-standard (or is it the standard?) handling of file noise when compared to several competitors.
This was a big move for me, but ironically forced on me by Adobe.
I purchased the EM1x for a one stop improvement in ISO performance after a very unsatisfying shoot late last year. I then found it was not supported by my LR, which would not update to my older Mac, so was forced to look for an alternative, eventually gaining another ISO step of performance through C1! LR can reduce noise, but it reduces sharpness and clarity equally, where C1 holds more detail and the noise is reduced, not smeared.
I feel Lightroom is now aimed at being the pleasing to the eye, fast fix pro-am system, for an assumed to be captured audience, with PS as the tighter, more graphic design oriented control. I will miss it’s relative simplicity and some specific controls (easy right click straightening, nice if limited brush tool and blue channel punch), but on closer inspection there are nasties lurking.
As a M43 user, this is a problem. Already having to concede some high ISO ground to the bigger sensors out there (only some, let’s not get too carried away), it was a revelation to discover there are better processing pathways available. Lots.
There is an undeniable quality to LR files, something I felt I had a real handle on. The blue channel saturation trick, making early Olympus files look like Canon ones (a small victory for me), has been supplanted by more pleasing new camera files and a more realistic appreciation of colour.
Capture 1 is my chosen path, but DXO Prolab 4 Elite or DXO Pure RAW to Lightroom were other options. The DXO pathway would have potentially been cheaper with some preferred processing techniques, but added in a second processing step. One thing I would have been ok with, especially with a DXO pathway would be the simpler file to file library. All of the other options in C1/LR are wasted on me. I just need a way of finding, flagging and exporting (I keep masters of my work files off board, but otherwise delete 90-100% of my working files after creating a jpeg file for work, which is all the school needs).
Fine for most applications, but the C1 file is noticeably better up close. Not too much to ask?
I decided to stick with C1 for now which is a better overall programme which (with the exception of an extreme noise reduction edge to DXO) seems to match or better either in most other cases.
The toughest part is losing the “Hollywood” look of Lightroom. Out of the can with a good file, it has a vibrance and smoothness that is pleasing, if a little false. On closer inspection, even at low ISO’s there is a lot of “marbling” noise, which in many cases is irrelevant, but still annoying and it turns out, avoidable.
At ISO 1600+ when pushed, I have found it near unusable. Lets be clear, I have based most of my gear and processing decisions on LR, so it is the “bar”, but discovering the bar was lower than I thought it needed to be, has allowed me to appreciate my chosen brand for what it always potentially could have been. It is a testament to the quality of M43 that it still has it’s followers with Adobe dominant in the editing and reviewing world.
ISO 1600 is now in my “normal” working range of ISO settings. Now seen as only a minor compromise and with the right lens (high micro contrast), good exposure and a suitable subject, does not restrict quality in any real sense. I will use 6400 if needed, with 3200 sitting in a middle space, trusted within reason as a B+ option.
Super sharp 600mm F4, hand held at 1/30th, ISO 1600 anyone? With LR I would have used 1/15th to keep the ISO down. Still possible but not as likely. The advantages of M43 are real as long as other factors do not reduce them.
This is effectively a real sensor size promotion. Probably now, much as life is for a full frame user (it’s been a while), I occasionally notice some noise in my workable range, but nothing I find image affecting. With Adobe it was my number one consideration.
DXO does have the better very high ISO noise reduction with a couple of catches. It (Prime) from what I can understand is only available in the Elite version, but DeepPrime is in Pure RAW and ProLab4 essential (?). Prime looks to be better and more natural, but both it and DeepPrime are head and shoulders above others.
Matching it with LR was tempting, even using it as is maybe. I have the trial version loaded so we will see.