RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

Silkypix is a full-featured program for converting RAW digital camera data into standard TIF or !"# image files$ %eginning &ith version 3 corrections 'ecame possi'le on TIF and !#(s$ )ther small changes have 'een added to versions *+ !ro , -$ The most useful of these is single image ./R processing in version -$ After testing various RAW converters on the market I consider Silkypix the 'est$ 0ou can do&nload a free 31-day demo from the pu'lisher$

)riginal RAW image

This tutorial discusses the ma2or steps of RAW image processing$ I have played &ith other functions such as highlights+ distortion+ lens correction+ chromatic a'erration+ and find many of these effects to 'e so minor that they have 'een omitted$ #o ahead and try them out+ dragging the sliders fully right and left to get a feel for &hat they do$ I don(t spend much time &orrying a'out these$

Silkypix processed image

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher Some folks say such a program is unnecessary since Ado'e 4amera RAW and camera manufacturers already provide conversion soft&are$ They also say most ad2ustments can 'e made later &ith !hotoshop or the like$ I find that the extra time and expense using Silkypix is &ell &orth it &hen comparing results side-'y-side$ As its name implies+ the program produces outstanding images &ith a smooth silky appearance$

Camera Settings
For 'est results you should already have a cali'rated monitor$ For more information see this page$ The sR#% color space is is the industry standard for images vie&ed on-screen , the &e'$ It has a limited color range so printed images may not look as good as on-screen$ I recommend producing files &ith the Ado'e R#% colorspace if you print or sell your &ork$ 4olor space may also 'e selected during development$ /aylight or Auto &hite 'alance produces the 'est representation in-camera 'ut you &ill likely change it using Silkypix$ 0ou should also set saturation+ contrast+ and sharpness levels to normal and use the lo&est IS) possi'le$

In-Camera Exposure
/igital files are similar to slide film &hen it comes to proper exposure$ "rr on the side of underexposure if necessary since 'lo&n-out highlights cannot 'e recovered$ Fortunately RAW files underexposed up to 3-stops or 3-stop over can produce accepta'le results$ This flexi'ility makes the use of TT5 flash less important for those cameras and housings that lack it$

Renaming, deleting, reserving

0ou &ill see image thum'nails after opening the selected folder$ The program also applies automatic exposure and &hite 'alance corrections upon opening$ These are later replaced 'y your o&n settings$ RAW files may 'e 'atch renamed or renamed individually to make organi6ation and retrieval easier$ 0ou may also &ant to mark and delete un&anted files no& 'y highlighting the selected thum'nail and pressing F6 to make a red 7 appear$ Then go to (File( and (/elete Reserved Scene($ 8ote that Silkypix creates t&o additional files 9$spd and $spi: for image previe& and development that &ill also 'e deleted$ If you &ill 'e archiving corrected RAW files make sure to save these as &ell$ )pening archived files from an earlier version may result in some discrepancies 'ut the image &ill still look (right($ Files to 'e developed into TIF or !# files must 'e reserved &ith a yello& check mark 'y highlighting and pressing F8$ This can also 'e done later &hile applying glo'al corrections$ After all corrections are complete these reserved scenes &ill 'e 'atch developed$

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

/evelopment marks applied in thum'nail mode

Getting Started with Initial Corrections

I#I$I%& C'RREC$I'#S

!evelopment Cloa"rooms

Image correction has seven steps that are 'est done in the order 'elo&$ <pon opening a folder for the first time+ Silkypix &ill display thum'nails &ith default values applied$ I find these default settings to 'e very dra' so I &ill apply my favorite settings to the first image then save these as a ne& preset+ or copy them 'y pressing (4trl 4($ In thum'nail mode simply select one+ some+ or all+ of the similar files and paste the ne& settings 'y pressing (4trl =($ With practice you &ill recogni6e specific groups of images that look 'est &ith a particular custom preset$ This procedure is much faster than having to repeat each step on every image$ )nce all images have 'een initially corrected you can start from the 'eginning and fine tune each one$ 3$ Select 4ontrast preset ;$ Select 4olor preset and saturation 3$ Select Sharpening preset *$ Apply Initial 4orrections to all images in folder -$ 4ontinue &ith Standard 4orrection Se>uence 'elo&

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

First image &ith program default settings automatically applied

S$%#!%R! C'RREC$I'# SE()E#CE After Initial 4orrections are applied to the entire folder this process goes much faster$ ?ost of your time &ill 'e spent ad2usting "xposure+ %lack level and White %alance$ White %alance is ad2usted after selecting a 4olor preset since changes to one &ill affect the other significantly$ 3$ Ad2ust "xposure ;$ Fine tune 4ontrast @ %lack level 9if needed: 3$ ?odify 4olor preset and saturation 9if needed: *$ ?odify Sharpening @ 8oise Reduction 9if needed: -$ Ad2ust White %alance A$ Revie& @ modify a'ove if needed 9make cloakroom assignment if desired: B$ 4rop+ apply rotation , lens corrections+ etc$ 9do after cloakroom assignment: %SSIG# $E*+'R%R, C'RREC$I'#S )SI#G C&'%-R''*S 0ou can also assign an entire set of parameters from an image into one of four development (cloakrooms( or temporary 'oxes to 'e applied to su'se>uent images using a single click$ A cloakroom is a temporary (clip'oard( &hich is cleared &hen the program closes$ The 4loakroom ta' is display &ith the (#ear( icon$ Assign the current image setting 'y pressing *

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher the round (radio( 'utton left of the desired cloakroom 'ox$ To permanently save an image(s settings you must save them as a ne& preset 'y clicking the (#ear C( icon 'elo& on the 4loakrooms ta'$ There you can also dictate &hich parameters are to 'e saved$ =ersions * and later add a -th cloakroom that stores the latest image(s corrections$ This is a much&elcome improvement$

Contrast

.lac" &evel

With time you &ill find contrast preferences 'ased upon the su'2ect matter$ Apply the desired preset from the drop-do&n menu or create a ne& preset using the (C( icon on the 4ontrast ta'$

4ontrast preset applied

<nder&ater images often lack contrast due to murky &ater or poor lighting$ Increasing the %lack level darkens shado&s and gives the effect of magically clarifying the &ater$ It does 'lock out shado& detail &hen used excessively so use care$ %lack level and exposure affect each other therefore some fine tuning &ill 'e re>uired$

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

%lack level increased to ;A to hide murky &ater+ exposure &ill 'e ad2usted later

Color *ode

Saturation

Silkypix offers several 4olor ?ode presets or (flavors( that emulate popular types of film+ in addition to the Standard 4olor or default camera setting$ These 4olor ?odes range from monochrome to ultra-vivid and affect color rendition+ saturation+ contrast+ and noise &ith one click$ With time you &ill develop a preference for certain ones depending on your su'2ect matter and intent$ It is important to apply the 'est 4olor ?ode 'efore ad2usting White %alance since s&itching to another may alter the image considera'ly$ Adding or removing a small amount of Saturation is usually necessary$

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

Film color =; 9like Fu2ichrome =elvia -1: applied

Saturation increased to 3$1D

Sharpness

#oise Reduction
B

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher Select a Sharpening preset from the drop-do&n menu$ The program presets com'ine sharpness and noise reduction under a single name and are good in most cases$ To clearly see the effect of each+ 6oom into the image 311E 'y dou'le-clicking the photo+ dou'le-click again to display the full image$ 0ou may &ant to play &ith some of the individual sliders once you are comforta'le &ith the program and save the 'est results as ne& presets 'y clicking on the (C( icon on the right$ I created a special preset 'ased on the soft RAW image and named it macro sharp ; 'ased on the settings sho& 'elo&$

/ou'le-click image for 311E vie& 'efore sharpening

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

8e& sharpening settings of custom preset

8e& noise reduction settings of custom preset

Exposure
F

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher Ad2ust 'rightness@exposure 'ias until highlights look good 'ut not overexposed or 'urntout$ 0ou may need to fine-tune this several times during the process+ especially &hen playing &ith the %lack level$ Single shots &ith an excessively &ide contrast range may 'enefit from a composite layers techni>ue &here t&o files+ one exposed &ith good shado& detail+ another &ith good highlight detail+ are created then layered in !hotoshop &ith unaccepta'le areas erased to reveal the 'etter portion to create a more 'alanced final image$ A Single Shot ./R control 'ox is included &ith Silkypix -+ eliminating the need for this time-consuming method$ I liked this feature during the free trial 'ut am &aiting for the dollar-yen exchange rate to improve 'efore upgrading$

Increased exposure 'y 3@; stop

/hite .alance
White %alance should 'e ad2usted after contrast+ 'lack level+ color mode+ and exposure are set$ This step is the most difficult part of the conversion process 'ut in most cases here is &here you finally see the image(s potential$ !ast experience &ith several different cameras has sho&n that default W% settings need to 'e ad2usted to produce great results+ some cameras more than others$ 5ots of practice is necessary to master color correction$ This is especially true for images shot &ith mixed lighting and under&ater$ The primary control is the 4olor temperature slider+ those accustomed to standard R#%@4?0 controls &ill take time to get the feel for this$ The initial image W% &ill either 'e too &arm or cold+ so move the slider to&ard the opposite color+ &atching the highlights until the &hites 'egin to look right$ If the highlights continue to have a green or magenta color cast use the 4olor deflection control until the &hites look good$ The /ark ad2ustment doesn(t get much use 'ut may 'e necessary to fix &arm or cold shado&s$ Remem'er that 31

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher s&itching a 4olor ?ode no& &ill necessitate ne& &hite 'alance ad2ustments$

%efore White %alance correction

White %alance corrected to eliminate green &ater &hile maintaining natural su'2ect color

'ther %d0ustments
33

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher A series of tools are provided for cropping and rotation as &ell as others accessed from icons along the lo&er left pane$ The effects from many of these tools defy easy explanation so it is 'est to play &ith the controls to understand &hat they do$ I rarely use these$ 4ropping can 'e done using the Trimming tool 9scissors icon: 'y clicking and dragging the frame corners to the desired si6e$ /rag from the middle to move the entire selection+ or click on the flip control in the middle to create a vertical image$

4rop image using Trimming tool

4rooked hori6ons can 'e straightened using the Rotate tool$ 4lick on the Rotation icon then click-drag across the image along the line you &ish to 'e leveled either hori6ontally or vertically$ 0ou can also apply lens perspective corrections 'y playing &ith the /igital shift sliders$

3;

RAW conversions using Silkypix 3 and higher

Rotate or straighten crooked hori6on using rotation tool

33