What is Adobe thinking?? The official release of Camera Raw 5.6 is available today. It is no different than the Beta version released months ago in terms of handling the Canon 7D Raw Files. Noisy, noisy noisy! Very disappointing.
I downloaded the update direct from Adobe. After installing, I opened the same 7D Raw File used in my previous article. NO DIFFERENCE! I called Adobe to confirm that the new install replaced the Beta version. The Adobe rep said that the Official Release is the same as the Beta Release in terms of processing the 7D Raw files. What is Adobe thinking?? No wonder some reviewers have said that the 7D is noisier than the 50D. It’s because Adobe does such a lousy job at processing these files!
I have given up on Adobe and moved on to Capture One 5 Pro. Just take a look at the samples produced in my previous article, and you will be tempted too.
Not really, what the other programs do is heavy noise reduction. You can do the same in ACR. Do you really want your files to look like watercolor plastic? I like the grain from Adobe Camera Raw. You can achieve that same look playing with luminance noise reduction and sharpening settings. I don’t know why you’d want to sacrifice detail at the cost of some ‘smoothness’.
Yes, really! Even if you boost the NR to 100% in ACR, it can not reproduce the results in DPP, Capture One 5 and the 7D in-camera-generated JPGs. If you bothered to look at the other links, you would have seen a complete set of examples that are NOT watercolor NOR plastic. Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 is clearly to worst of the test group.
I too have been struggling with images from my new 7D processed through ACR 5.6 (both in LR 2.6 and PS CS4E), and it’s nice to see someone else who has seen this problem and encapsulated it so well. For my images, I’m seeing much nicer images through DPP, as well as in the JPG previews I see briefly in LR 2.6 before the fullsize RAW conversions from ACR are displayed.
I haven’t looked at Capture One, although TIFF files generated through DPP and subsequently brought into either LR or PS seem to reflect the same general image properties that I see in DPP. Guess Capture One is on my list to explore.
Thanks for the good info!
Colin
I am surprised that more 7D bloggers are NOT complaining about Adobe. I guess they are just afraid of loosing out on Affiliate Marketing. I am NOT! When Adobe fails to meet my standards, I am very happy to point it out. Only when a problem is publicized, will a company like Adobe respond. I have already moved on to Capture One 5 Pro for processing my 7D RAW files, and am very happy with the results.
Any update on Camera Raw 5.6 and 7D files? My raws look horrible in Camera Raw.
Not likely. Adobe is focused on Camera Raw 6 and CS5, so don’t expect ANY improvement in CR 5.6 for the Canon 7D Raw files. I have given up on Adobe. I now use both Canon’s DPP and Capture One 5 Pro to convert my Canon 7D Raw files. The results put Adobe to shame!
Thanks for posting this! Having been a long-time Nikon shooter (don’t hate me, I’ve been using an old but trusty Coolpix 995 because the glass I have is fantastic), I’ve taken the plunge into DSLR and RAW. Recently picked up a Canon 7D and am sorting through the best workflow, RAW conversion, etc. So many of the DPP vs ACR postings I’ve found out on the web are 2006-2007 vintage, so you’ve given me a good foundation for digging deeper into this! I’m still thinking of purchasing LR for the asset management features, but using DPP on the front end for initial RAW conversion. Is that what some of you do?
Not any longer! CS5 has introduced ACR6 which uses the same brand new Noise Reduction Algorithm as Lightroom 3. Did you see my article Canon 7D Tips – Adobe Camera Raw 6 and Lightroom 3? The results are truly amazing even at ISO6400 as my test sample shows! Adobe ignores the Canon 7D’s Noise Reduction setting and just uses the pure Raw file to process.
Also part of this test series is the article Canon 7D Tips: In-Camera Noise Reduction Settings which shows the effect of the different 7D’s Noise Reduction settings as processed by DPP (and in-camera generated JPGs). But, again, since NR is just another tag in the 7D Raw file, Adobe ignores this tag setting completely and uses the power of its 2010 Processing Algorithm to create incredible images.