Camera Bits

[Shawnna Franz]

HiI don't know if I'm using the right section to ask for help, but I'll try!

My problem is not with Photoshop nor with the associated plug-ins (such as Camera Raw).

Instead I have a file conversion problem with Adobe DNG Converter. I usually use this utility associated with the Camera Bits Photo Mechanic software (it is a software that allows you to quickly view a large amount of raw photos in order to select them: ).

Using Photo Mechanic I go to view raw files (photos taken with a Sony camera in .arw format). These photos are in B/W since I shoot directly with this profile set in the camera. However, the B/W one is only a preview, because the original raws contain the color photo.

My goal is to have these raw photos converted and displayed in color through Adobe DNG Converter.

The problem is precisely in this passage! The software does not convert raw files to color.

However, this problem only occurs with two of my computers (Windows 10 intel i7 PC - Macbook pro 14 M1), however with other PCs (Macbook pro 13 intel i5 - Windows 10 intel i9 PC) it works fine.

I have already heard from the Photo Mechanic support center and they told me that the problem is related to the Adobe DNG Converter software.

For this reason I ask for help in understanding how to solve this B/W to color conversion problem.

I hope I was clear in explaining the problem and I hope someone can help me solve it.

Thank you!

Invece ho un problema di conversione file con Adobe DNG Converter. Utilizzo solitamente questa utility associata al software Camera Bits Photo Mechanic ( un software che consente di visualizzare velocemente una grande quantit di foto in raw per poterle selezionare: ).

Utilizzando Photo Mechanic vado a visualizzare dei file raw (foto scattate con camera Sony formato .arw). Queste foto sono in B/W visto che scatto direttamente con questo profilo impostato nella camera. Tuttavia quella in B/W solo un'anteprima, perch i raw originali contengono la foto a colori.

Tuttavia questo problema si presenta solo con due dei miei computer (PC Windows 10 intel i7 - Macbook pro 14 M1), invece con altri PC (Macbook pro 13 intel i5 - PC Windows 10 intel i9) funziona benissimo.

In a comment on this question someone suggested that camera sensors typically only output 12-14 bits of data. I was surprised because that would mean that 24 bits of color is only useful for doing photo manipulation (where the added bits reduce the noise one picks up from interpolating middle values repeatedly doing multiple manipulations).

This is partly so the extra precision can reduce accumulated rounding errors (as you note in your question), but it's also because human vision isn't linear, and so the color spaces we use tend to not be either. Switching from a linear to "gamma compressed" curve is is a lossy operation (see one of the several questions about raw files), so having more bits simply means less loss, which is better if you change your mind about exposure/curves and don't have access to the RAW file anymore.

When this data is converted to RGB, two color components per pixel are interpolated from the information in surrounding pixels. A pixel holding green information for example has two neighboring pixels holding red data and two holding blue data, which are used to create the RGB value.

The site DXOMark measures this using a normalized scale (explained in their white-paper) and publishes per-pixel bit-depth which accounts for noise that tends to destroy the lower-order bits. Based on their findings full-frame, DSLRs can reach 24.7 bits-per-pixel while medium format cameras reach 26-bits. For cropped-sensor cameras, 23.8 bit is the current maximum.

Current DSLR cameras top out at 14-bit output. Some medium format cameras claim 16-bit output, but it's been argued by various folks (such as the ASMP's dpBestflow site) that the increase in bit depth between 14 bits and 16 bits actually produces a better image.

Whatever your terminology for it, the process of culling, editing or selecting photos can be very time consuming. Choosing images takes time, but one's choice of software can have a huge effect on speed as well.

When you need to edit images quickly, there's only once choice: Photo Mechanic. In this article, I'll dive into why ever photographer working in events and when fast delivery is essential should be using Photo Mechanic by Camera Bits..

Photo Mechanic by Camera Bits is custom made to make selections as quickly as possible and this precisely what I use it for. There are other functions of the app where it excels, such as metadata and ITCP data, but my favorite use is with editing.

The most compelling reason to use Photo Mechanic over Lightroom is that it is much faster at loading images. Lightroom's default is create its own preview image for every single file. This takes processing power as well as time.

Any user of Lightroom is familiar with importing a set of images and starting to edit. When you go from one image to the next, there's a noticeable delay. The reason for this is that Lightroom is rendering it's own image preview from the RAW data.

Photo Mechanic, on the other hand, uses the built in JPG of the RAW file to create its previews. As a result, images load instantaneously. When going through images in sequence quickly, this speed is essential for an efficient workflow.

This difference means that you can load folders of images in Photo Mechanic without needing to save a catalogue file. It also makes browsing images fast, whether you're looking through existing folders or using the software to ingest or download images.

Since I'm only importing selects to Lightroom, my Lightroom catalogues are streamlined and more efficient. So long as I've done a proper image selection, there's very little need to have any images I won't be editing in my LR catalogue.

Another reason I love Photo Mechanic is for the more sophisticated ingest options. With Lightroom, the options are simple. You can ignore suspected duplicate files, tweak basic preview options, keyword and apply a preset.

The feature of Photo Mechanic downloading protected and locked images is low key one of the ultimate workflow hacks I can share with you. I learned this from my friend Brad Moore, who is a fantastic music photographer. Nikon cameras like the Nikon Z 9 have included image protection buttons as a default, dedicated UI option. The reason for this is to easily and quickly lock images against deletion while reviewing in camera.

However, the ability to protect images in this manner also dovetails perfectly as a workflow solution to flag images for editing. Whether a photographer does this for an independent photo editor or themselves, being able to lock images while photographing has become an essential part of my workflow.

Photo Mechanic's ability to download protected images first is truly a game changer. While I'm photographing, I naturally review images anyway. Protecting images in camera is extremely quick and adds only a very small amount of time to something I'm already doing. The benefit of essentially doing a first round edit in-camera and then having those images download first is one of the best things you can do to speed up your workflow.

Using this image protection/Photo Mechanic workflow, I can very quickly do a second and third round of selects. Often, I'm done with my final edit before the memory card is finished downloading. Then, I'm able to quickly process images, export, deliver and get back out shooting in a matter of minutes.

When people lament the time it takes culling or editing photos, my very first suggestion is to start using Photo Mechanic. Camera Bits has created software that is custom made to speed your photography workflow for selecting images to process.

If you're working on tight deadlines doing same night edits for clients, Photo Mechanic is for you. For any kind of high volume photography where tight deadlines are essential, you need this software. From tour photography to sports, festival media teams to photojournalism, this is software that will dramatically speed up your workflow.

I have zero affiliation with Camera Bits or Photo Mechanic other than loving their software, by the way. I simply love this software. It's saved me untold hours and days in the decade I've been using it.

ishootshows.com is the blog of music photographer Todd Owyoung. Started in 2007 as a personal blog, the site has turned into a resource for music photographers that includes articles on how to get started in the world of concert photography, technical articles and general photography advice.

Cameras are a vital technology in scientific imaging, working as an interface between light and a digital image. There are a number of steps involved to convert photons of signal from your sample to the image you see on your computer monitor, each step has variables and factors that can change the ways in which images are generated. Bit depth is one of these variables, by understanding how it can affect your images and improve your experiments, you can perform more efficient and informed imaging research. The journey from light to an image is displayed in Fig.1:

This process is the same for all camera technologies, but changes in each of these steps can optimize the end result. Some important camera factors to consider before discussing bit depth are full well capacity and dynamic range.

The dynamic range of a camera is related to the full well capacity, and it describes the ratio between the highest and lowest signals that can be displayed. This is calculated by simply dividing the full well capacity by the read noise, as these represent the maximum and minimum readable signals respectively. Dynamic range helps to analyze the change in your sample, how do you know your signal has doubled if the sensor cannot capture it?

This article describes another factor of scientific cameras that affects both the full well capacity and the dynamic range, namely the camera sensor bit depth, as well as how to best match your application and signal level to a suitable bit depth.

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