Need to reorganise my workflow - suggestions!

[Jon Warwick]

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I’m an iMac user, and mainly still using (wait for it!) the discontinued iPhotos and Elements 11. It can be buggy, and sometimes shuts down with no warning. I’m assuming partly because it’s not fully supported. This set up’s ACR also won’t fully support later Leica cameras like the SL or M10, which is a problem.

 

My current workflow:

(1) I use iPhoto to import images (mainly DNGs) and use iPhoto as my “photo album”

(2) to work on the DNGs, I export them out of iPhotos into my “external editor” which is Elements 11.

 

What is the latest options that might be less buggy? I was considering ....

(1) Apple Photos (which replaced iPhotos) as the “photo album”, then using Lightroom as a better “external editor” for DNG processing? (does Photos allow such an easy export of DNGs as I get with my iPhotos?)

(2) OR can Lightroom be used as just as good an album as Apple Photos, ie, so that my “photo album” and “DNG editor” are under one Lightroom umbrella?

(3) I got free Lightroom software (never used it) when I got my M240 in 2014. Will this allow the DNG processor to be updatable for ALL latest Leica cameras?

 

PS: I’ve used C1 quite a bit, but only on an ad hoc basis, and whilst I liked it, it obviously doesn’t support the Leica S that I might move to at some stage - so ruling C1 out for now as a main DNG editor.

 

Thanks for your help to a layman here!

[Exodies]

Play with Apple Photos for a while. It may be all you need.

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[zeitz]

You don't say what MacOS you are using.  I found Sierra buggy.  It crashed so often for me that it brought back memories of Windows 98.  But High Sierra works fine.  Be aware of new security concerns that probably have not been addressed in anything other than High Sierra.

 

I find Photos hard to control in the way I work.  I use files and folders, open and close.  I move files from my cameras memory card by copying to a folder on my computer.  Import / Export doesn't work for me.  Photos is gradually getting better processing tools.

 

I've become interested in Darktable, the free open source version of Lightroom.  I can't seem to find anyone who has tried it.  But I don't think either of these are really good photo albums.  Be aware that the last standalone version of Lightroom has already been released and that all new Lightrooms will be by subscription.

[prk60091]

High Sierra user on a retina mbp

 

Import my dng's into photos ( I create folders and albums after import)

Develop using RawPower available to purchase (no subscription !) on the App Store

[Photon42]

Adobe changed the Lightroom licensing to a subscription model: You decide if that is ok for you. They have just realised the last version of the non-subscript version. Your 2014 LR version will most likely still work, but for a photo editing & catalog tool you want updates and improvements being accessible to you. If you actually think of buying a Leica S, the subscription of LR won't make or break the deal financially, I guess.

[Guest]

M240 or Leica S are worlds above your current software and workflow.

 

I would advocate a revamp that is not an intermediate step ... as you just put off to another day the necessary

structure that may save you down the road.

 

Recommend The Dam Book ... Digital Asset Management for Photographers ... 

 

Not light reading but helpful to instill a bit of rigor in catalog and file management.

 

I use a MacPro with High Sierra ... and with my Leica camera I use LR for file management ... initial DNG conversion and as a pathway to

Photoshop for editing ... the good pictures that is. Last step is probably something only 10% would care about ... layers and specialized 

sharpening and filters.

 

For import ... ImageIngester Pro 3 ... I drop the files from a card reader into a folder on the desktop called Landing Zone. ImageIngester then

will import them to a folder of your designation ... renaming them if you desire and also importing them to a separate folder ... on another drive

for security. It does this faster that the Mac finder can copy them ... also test for integrity of the file. At this point you have files in three different 

places .... so you can reformat the card in camera after you eject it from the Mac. The standard for ImageIngester is to drop files by year/month/day

to separate folders ... The beauty of the software is you can predefine locations by camera so that your M240 and Leica S would have separate 

files structure locations. 

 

LightRoom allows you to import the files into the program without moving them from their location ... it just tags where they are ... works non-destructively

so that you can alway get back to the original file ... which is great as the software improves over years ... todays DNG conversion is much improved over

that of 5 years ago. With LR you can see all of your files ... or only those from the M240 and if you tag them attributes like .... seascape ... it will just show you 

those. Or look at them by lens or date or only the ones you changed with a different editor ... like PS. 

 

It will output files in a variety of ways and you can make slide show or web presentation files ... without changing the original.

 

The subscription for LR and PS is $10 per month ... most folks here spend more than that at Starbucks on the weekend. It updates regularly to support new security,

cameras and processing advances. If it were not excellent the subscription would be worthless ... it is good enough IMO that it is well worth the cost. 20 years subscription

is less than a new Summicron.

 

Occasional software has better algorithms for conversion ... almost none better for cataloguing. When I use C1 or Phocus ... I still catalog through LR. 

 

At a minimum I would break out the free stand alone and trial it ... but do look for either a book or web site to guide you ... it really has so many facets you will not find them

at first without a guide.

 

Bob

[Jon Warwick]

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....you can alway get back to the original file ... which is great as the software improves over years ... todays DNG conversion is much improved over that of 5 years ago.

 

 

Bob

Very helpful advice, thanks everyone.

 

Bob regarding the above, my old Elements 11 is running on ACR version 7.4 (the latest ACR plug-in that Elements 11 can be upgraded to), and which Adobe at least lists as the “minimum” required for my M240. So it’s suported by Elements 11’s ACR. I guess my question is, even for older cameras like the M240, do newer versions of Adobe DNG processors continue to improve what can be extracted from those RAW files? From what you’re saying, it seems there’s constant DNG conversion improvements, even if my camera already is having its files processed via the “minimum required” ACR plug-in? What sort of improvements do they tend to make over these years? .....ability to recover highlights / shadow, less noise, resolution, any or all of the above? Thanks again!

[Guest]

All of the above is pretty much correct ... however not everyone is enthralled with the changes ... Thorsten Overgaard prefers the older ?2112? process in LR with regards to Highlights and Shadows.

 

I have taken old M8 files into the newer versions of Adobe's software and the improvement is anything but subtle ... worth an occasional trip to older files and trying them in the new new thing ... if

they were exposed and composed well it is worth a look.

 

Bob

[Keith (M)]

All of the above is pretty much correct ... however not everyone is enthralled with the changes ... Thorsten Overgaard prefers the older ?2112? process in LR with regards to Highlights and Shadows.

 

I have taken old M8 files into the newer versions of Adobe's software and the improvement is anything but subtle ... worth an occasional trip to older files and trying them in the new new thing ... if

they were exposed and composed well it is worth a look.

 

Bob

 

Indeed - in the Develop module / Camera calibration drop-down box one can choose from 2003, 2010, 2012 and current process versions.

[Jeff S]

Thorsten prefers the 2010 engine, along with using minimal controls.

 

Whatever works.

 

Jeff

[poli]

You might also give Raw Power for OS X a try. It completely intergrates with your Photos library. Myself I use the iOS version of Raw Power to edit DNGs. I no longer own a computer, just an iPad pro. Trying to simplify things...

Edited January 16, 2018 by paulhek