Hudson's Photo RAW First Impressions
- November 27, 2016
- 16,129 Views
Posted by Hudson Henry
I hope everyone in the ON1 Plus community had a great weekend with the new Photo RAW prerelease. Besides enjoying family and turkey, I did a little senior photo shoot for some friends and put RAW through it’s paces as a standalone RAW photo editor and organizer. I thought I’d share a quick screencast of some of my first impressions.
38 Comments
Randy PollockNovember 28, 2016
Was disappointed in how it handled files for Fuji X-T2…
Hoping for better in December release…but probably won’t see any help for Xtrans until next year which makes my purchase a lot less valuable.
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
I remember in our live event Dan Harlacher saying that the Photo RAW roadmap reactivating support for compressed Fuji X-trans RAW files before the full release in December. The video is linked below. I think he discusses it in about the 3rd minute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgZj_u1dsdc
Hopefully that will solve the issue for you. The software is fantastic on my Sony and Nikon files.
stuartkinkade@mac.comDecember 1, 2016
Does LR handle the files better then? What about the ON1 RAW handling of Fuji X files didn’t you like? Thx
Barry ArnoldNovember 28, 2016
Hi Hudson
Do you have a special developer’s copy of Photo RAW? Your video showcases what appears to be a fast stable product. What ON1 actually released was very disappointing; it is bug ridden and slow. Having twice run out of application memory I gave up playing with Photo Raw and will wait until ON1 releases something that is usable, which I suspect will not be possible until deep into 2017. A quick look at the blogs indicates that many other Plus users have experienced similar issues.
No personal criticism is intended; I greatly value the coaching that you and Matt have provided over the past year.
Best wishes.
Barry
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
No, I am using the same prerelease as you. In fact if you watch the clock on my computer you can see there is only one cut in the video and that’s because I got tongue tied for a sec. 🙂 What you see is my 3 year old Mac Pro running the software. It runs nearly as fast and clean on my 3 year old 13″ Macbook Pro Retina as well.
I find that the transition from Browse to Effects and Develop and back is a mite slow in the prerelease (as shown in the video) and the fast browse could be a bit faster, but Dan Harlacher assured us in the live event roadmap session (the 3rd session linked in a response of mine above) that those items would improve as we move toward the full release in December.
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
One more thing Barry. Nathan posted this in the Discussion forums and it’s a nice list of things to do if you’re having problems…
https://www.on1.com/forums/topic/what-to-do-if-you-experience-a-crashing-or-are-having-other-technical-problems/
Peter KingmaDecember 2, 2016
I’m having the same issues. 24Gb of memory and al I see is a coloured ball rotating. Very often way more than a minute.
Raw is slow and not stable.
Valerie EwingNovember 28, 2016
Thanks for showing us how you handled portraits in this screencast. I’ve worked with this program this weekend and haven’t had any issues at all.
I actually did some self portraits and was happy as to how I could handle the skin retouching.
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
Great! I’m so glad you’re enjoying. It will only improve in the weeks ahead.
dleeNovember 28, 2016
testing this feature
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
If the test is commenting. It seems a success.
David PriceNovember 28, 2016
Hi Hudson
Very impressive demonstration of some of the new power in Photo Raw. A question, would you also consider selectricly masking the young man’s face to lighten the shaddows a little, or would you suggest a better way of doing this?
I have to say that I have been impressed by the speed of the new product, even though I am running it on an older lower power laptop. I have read a lot about the bugs that people have encountered, but I have not yet encountered any crashes or bug issues.
Despite really liking the Photo Raw Beta, I am still using Lightroom and Photo 10, because the camera corrections for micro 4/3rds cameras have not yet been launched. Still shouldn’t be too long to wait for the relvant upgrades.
Best wishes, David Price.
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
Ha, You’re so right David. I have some selective editing to go before handing that to Jake and his parents. Some blemish removal as well as shadow lightening for sure. 🙂
Glad to hear things are running smoothly for you too. I did have some versions of the software that were less stable, but I am enjoying this version a lot on my 3 year old Macs. I suspect some of the issues are very system and OS dependent things that will get ironed out over this next month.
David PriceNovember 28, 2016
Hi Hudson,
I’d suspect that quite a few people would be interested in seeing the, (above hinted at), final touches and improvements. Maybe another video? 🙂
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
Rodger that David. It’s on the list. 🙂
William GuilloryNovember 28, 2016
I’m with Barry. I was very disappointed with the speed and crashing. I did report the crashes and send in a ticket. It is a bata version and I do have faith that the bugs will be fixed. Thanks for the video Hudson I think On1 Raw is going to be a great product and I do see leaving LR and using On1 for everything.
Patrick SmithNovember 28, 2016
We’ll have an update for you this week or early next week that should resolve most of these issues. Stay tuned
Hudson HenryNovember 28, 2016
Thanks for the update Patrick. I know you guys are listening and working really hard.
David PriceNovember 29, 2016
Hi Patrick
Is the new update likely to resolve the micro 4/3rds issue?
If not, how long do you think that we will have to wait for it to arrive?
Best wishes, David Price.
MarkDecember 3, 2016
In terms of stability, my On1 Photo RAW is running smoothly and not one crash yet. Working with an Asus Maximum VIII Gene, 16GB of RAM, Core I& 6700 (Skylake I think this one is), and NVidia GeForce GTX 960.
With respect tp RAW processing, I’m finding existing DNG files that were imported by Lightroom and converted to DNG are really soft and flat. The focus is great in Lightroom but really soft in Photo RAW.
Having said that, I can see this is a preview and my comments are just feedback, not criticism. I can really see the potential of a RAW editor that can apply effects straight to a RAW file. Also, is Portrait supposed to be here? It’s missing in my installation.
Joe SandrinNovember 29, 2016
I have been impressed with how the RAW software handled white balance for my Nikon Infrared photos. The product was equal in quality to what I get from Nikon NX-D, better than DxO Optics Pro 11 and far superior to LR CC and Camera Raw.
However, it crashed on virtually every photo. I have found a few workflow steps that do not crash every time but it is frustrating to use. I expect it would be nearly impossible if I was processing larger numbers of photos.
I too look forward to the updates.
Hudson HenryNovember 29, 2016
So glad the results are good. I’m sure they’ll have the crash issues solved soon. I’m not experiencing them for some reason…
keith simpsonNovember 29, 2016
Speed is good and file size is much better. Hopefully, the missing parts will come in early January; we will then see if it is a stand alone product or a very good plug in. Users should remember that it has taken Adobe many years to develop LR so we need to give ON1 some time to make RAW truly stand alone.
Hudson HenryNovember 29, 2016
Oh man… remember the original local adjustments in LR?
David PriceNovember 30, 2016
Hi Everyone,
When we compare Photo Raw to Lightroom, it is worth remembering that Lightroom has been under development for a little over a decade (or is it a decade and a half by now?) Where as Photo Raw is still in Beta, it has not even been launched! (Software companies give Betas out to loyal users, expressly so that large numbers of people can use the Beta and help to find all of the bugs). So, with the best will in The World, as a Beta it is unlikely to be perfect at this stage. From my point of view, there are some non working features, but there is also a development plan that says that many of them will arrive in the next twelve months.
I am still using Lightroom and Photo 10 for my special photos, because until the camera corrections for Micro 4/3rds arrives, Photo Raw can’t quite cut it. But, I have been having a lot of fun playing with Photo Raw, on a copy set of raw files. Fingers crossed, and a few months of patience will be amply rewarded.
I am looking forward to using, what could soon be one of the best photo processors on the market. In the meantime, we just have to try as find and report as many bugs as we can.
John RileyDecember 1, 2016
When you say “camera corrections for Micro 4/3”, are you actually meaning the built-in lens corrections? In Lightroom, I know all of the lens corrections are already built into the RAW file so that you don’t have to load any profiles. I had wondered if RAW was using the profiles from the files. It opens my files, but I had suspected the profiles weren’t loading, since I saw some aberrations that I shouldn’t.
David PriceDecember 2, 2016
Hi John
Yes I do. If you look on the list of planned improvements, then camera corrections for micro 4/3rds will appear later in 2017. i.e. Photo raw will be able to understand the embedded raw file corrections.
Guess that we just have to wait for them to arrive.
Tom KauffmanDecember 1, 2016
Great video!
It does bring up a question for me. I’m sure it is just a mater of getting my brain around the concept of nondestructive which I get. What I struggle with is what happens you edit a picture and like the result and want to save it, but you also want to go back to the RAW file and try a different approach without losing what you already did?
Hudson HenryDecember 1, 2016
Right now you can save that edit’s settings as a “preset.” I often use that feature. I have a preset category called “temporary” just for that. Soon the Raw roadmap promises “Versions” which will be a saved version of the RAW file’s settings. There will only be one RAW file saved on the drive, but RAW will display multiple different Versions based on different edits of that one file. LR has this feature and calls them virtual copies. It’s really handy for print proofs, different crops, and black and white as well as color versions all pointing to the same file.
Laurie WahligDecember 1, 2016
Quick question, I was curious that you used the perfect eraser for the blemish fixes. Is there still a portrait retouch available in this new program? Thanks for the video!
Hudson HenryDecember 1, 2016
Absolutely. It’s in the Effects app now as a filter with all the same controls you are used to. I usually hit blemishes like pimples with content aware fill like the perfect eraser, but the portrait filter is a great tool, and I like it being in Effects instead of as a standalone app. It makes more sense to me that way.
Frank LovettDecember 2, 2016
Hi Hudson and many thanks for your really helpful videos, full of enthusiasm!
In your live broadcast on the release of On1 raw, you showed a session where On1 Raw can be used with Lightroom (LR).
Was that just for those who don’t want to stop using LR?
My hope is that I can achieve almost everything I need now from with On1 Raw and don’t have to get into importing into LR. Quite quickly I hope to cut using LR altogether and use On1 Raw in stand alone.
Am I missing out on something by this approach? What will I loose by not using LR? I’m struggling to think of anything. Your views would be most welcome.
Regards, Frank
Hudson HenryDecember 2, 2016
Hey Frank,
In the first update Dan discussed the new features like Versions to replace LR’s Virtual Copies and Grouping photos into Stack like bundles will make RAW a near replacement in every regard for me. I do a lot of studio printing however and will still need Lightroom’s really powerful softproofing utility to get my prints just right.
Timothy LambertDecember 2, 2016
Being very new to processing my own photos using iPhoto, Apple Aperture, On1 Photo, Adobe Lightroom and other processing software and now On1 Photo Raw I feel the instruction I have received from the the On1 staff and professionals (like you, Matt, and Scott) my photos are getting better. I know a beta version will always have hick ups, but I downloaded it anyway because of the work that On1 does producing their software. Keep giving us, the newbies, the post processing techniques you do. Thanks, Timothy
Hudson HenryDecember 2, 2016
Thanks Timothy. That feedback means a lot. I’m so glad to hear that we are making a difference in your creative process.
Gary ChancerDecember 3, 2016
Great video. Are you going to do any videos or workshops on proper color in portraits or fashion?
Other question is Im not sure if Im doing something wrong but when I work on an image then export it changes the original and doesn’t leave a copy un retouched.
Hudson HenryDecember 3, 2016
We will definitely be covering portrait work in 2017 for On1 Plus. I’m also dedicating an episode of the upcoming Approaching the Scene Course to portrait work, so stay tuned.
Dan Harlacher’s latest post on the Blog states that Monday’s update should help those of you having that issue. https://www.on1.com/blog/photo-raw-pre-release-update-coming-monday/
Gary ChancerDecember 4, 2016
Thanks for the fast reply. excited….
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