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January 5, 2009 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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Articles |
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These days, many photographers are capturing images in RAW format. Shooting RAW is somewhat similar to shooting slide film instead of color negative film. Slide film is closer to what the camera saw because the actual film itself is developed into a transparency that can be viewed directly. Color negative film, on the other hand, must be printed to be viewed and the printing process involves many variables – and many opportunities for adulteration. Shooting images in .jpg format is similar to shooing negative film because every camera manufacturer renders digital images subjectively – in the same manner that every photo lab prints color negatives differently.  Rendered images are very high quality and have superior color fidelity.
What all this means is that you can get a little closer to reality and exercise significantly greater control by shooting RAW and then processing the image to suit your taste. But it’s not quite as easy as it sounds for two reasons. First, RAW files are generally huge. Second, camera manufacturers use different RAW file structures, and you know what that means: you need special software to process the file into something useable.  Double-click an image and a preview appears.
Help comes from Microsoft. If you shoot RAW format with a Canon or Nikon camera and use Windows XP you should know about Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer. It’s a “PowerToy” that can downloaded free of charge from Microsoft’s website. It is not part of Windows and is not supported by Microsoft (don’t call their Tech Support) but if you follow the directions it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have any problems.  Hovering the mouse pointer over an image will display the file’s metadata.
It’s actually two separate components. The first is called a “Windows shell extension.” It allows you to view RAW images in Windows Explorer the same way you can view .jpg images. It also adds Preview, Edit and Print commands to the context menu when you right-click an image. The second is a viewer application that is very similar to Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. It provides previews, printing and slide shows for RAW image files. Not all digital cameras are supported but yours probably is. Visit Microsoft’s website for a complete listing http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/raw.mspx of compatible cameras. Version 1.0 was introduced this past spring and version 1.1 is scheduled for release in November. The new version fixes a known glitch and adds support for the Canon 5D and Nikon D50 digital SLRs. Microsoft’s RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer runs only on Windows XP with Service Pack 2. During the installation process you’ll be asked if you want to use the viewer for other file formats besides RAW. You can also designate an image editor, Photoshop for example, so that when you click Edit that editor launches automatically. One of the most useful features of this software is its ability to display metadata when you hover the mouse pointer over an image. You can read the image dimensions, camera model, aperture, shutter speed and other parameters quickly and easily. That information makes it much easier to find a particular image.  Hovering the mouse pointer over an image will display the file’s metadata.
This PowerToy is a must-have for several reasons, even if you already use Adobe Photoshop and other sophisticated software to handle RAW files. To begin with, it uses the camera makers’ own processing libraries to provide the highest possible image quality. It also delivers high color fidelity because it renders images in the color space that you, the photographer, selected when you took the picture. And it supports efficient workflow because there’s nothing new to learn – it uses good ol’ familiar Windows Explorer.  This PowerToy allows you to view RAW images as thumbnails in Windows Explorer.
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