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best post production software for 5d mark ii?

G

gargravar10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 15, 2007
9
0
Hello,

I have been using Aperture (with the 5d mark ii firmware update) to load and edit my images taken with my brand new 5d mark ii. First I must say that I love my camera and it was a very nice step up from my xti, anyone considering buying this camera will not be disappointed if the decide to get it. I am concerned, however, that Aperture is not the best post production software to use with the camera's large ,21 megapixel files. As an image loads it looks good and then when it is finished loading noise appears in shadows even at low ISO's. If I make adjustments, such as cropping, and I select an area, before the adjustment finishes, the image looks great ,once Aperture has finished processing the adjustment, noise returns.

I have looked at other 5d mark ii owner's pics and they do not have the same issues so I am wondering if anyone using this camera know what "fix" I have to use with Aperture, or if Adobe bridge and photoshop are a better way to go.

Thank you for your advice/ recommendations
 
T

toxic

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2008
1,664
1
not sure what the problem is, but it's not Aperture. are you seeing the noise while viewing at 100%? 'cause that's normal, especially with dark colors or indoor lighting..

some screenshots would be useful.
 
taylorwilsdon

taylorwilsdon

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2006
1,868
12
New York City
IMO Aperture is for indexing photos, never for editing. Try Canon's free bundled Digital Photo Professional software (should be in your camera's box somewhere) and see if the same issue occurs, and then work from there.
 
J

jaduffy108

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2005
526
0
taylorwilsdon said:
IMO Aperture is for indexing photos, never for editing. Try Canon's free bundled Digital Photo Professional software (should be in your camera's box somewhere) and see if the same issue occurs, and then work from there.
Click to expand...

I'm with Taylor. Aperture, LR...they're for organizing...not editing. That's why I use Capture NX2 for (Nikon) NEF conversion.

I would suggest going to dpreview.com...5d forum...and see what other 5d shooters are recommending. My guess is DPP or what I used when I shot Canon...Capture 1 Pro.

good luck!
 
G

gargravar10

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 15, 2007
9
0
thank you all for your suggestions. I also have photoshop CS4 and I know that Aperture and photoshop are for two different functions, HOWEVER, the more I read about Bridge (and I am completely new to photoshop) I wonder if I will even need/ use Aperture. It seems that Bridge indexes, rates, sorts, tags...everything that Aperture does. Am I missing something or is Aperture pretty needless if you use Bridge, and Photoshop?
 
phrehdd

phrehdd

macrumors 601
Oct 25, 2008
4,437
1,401
gargravar10 said:
Hello,

I have been using Aperture (with the 5d mark ii firmware update) to load and edit my images taken with my brand new 5d mark ii. First I must say that I love my camera and it was a very nice step up from my xti, anyone considering buying this camera will not be disappointed if the decide to get it. I am concerned, however, that Aperture is not the best post production software to use with the camera's large ,21 megapixel files. As an image loads it looks good and then when it is finished loading noise appears in shadows even at low ISO's. If I make adjustments, such as cropping, and I select an area, before the adjustment finishes, the image looks great ,once Aperture has finished processing the adjustment, noise returns.

I have looked at other 5d mark ii owner's pics and they do not have the same issues so I am wondering if anyone using this camera know what "fix" I have to use with Aperture, or if Adobe bridge and photoshop are a better way to go.

Thank you for your advice/ recommendations
Click to expand...

Assuming you shoot RAW, not all softwares are alike. I happen to use Lightroom and Photoshop CS4. I also have Capture One and DXO. Each one will render slightly different interpretations of the same RAW file. Many prefer Aperture's handling of RAW over Adobe Bridge.

There is some serious lack of working definitions in this forum as to what constitutes the "dry darkroom" side of the process. Lightroom and Aperture are very good tools for organizing your work and also offer some very decent tools to pull more from the RAW file for a faithful good print. The suggestion of Photoshop is more about being able to manipulate your image than "correct" it. However, Photoshop can do much of what Aperture does and also Lightroom just a bit differently. Aperture also takes some plug ins that could be helpful such as Noise Ninja.

To be candid, Photoshop CS3/4 have a learning curve to them. If you have the patience you can do a tremendous amount of things with this program. It too takes plug ins and there are lots of them available.

If all you want to do is "enhance" or get the best from your file "as is" then Lightroom and Aperture are good options. If you want to manipulate your image then Photoshop is ideal. Capture One is a professional tool that photographers enjoy and it has a great deal going for it. You should see if they have a trial version. It is about faithful quality output of files.

While I don't do much photography these days, I do work a great deal doing digital photo restoration from slides/negs/prints and that leaves me cataloging in Lightroom and my work being a combo of AI Silverfast and Photoshop. When I do shoot, I use Capture One and Photoshop. Btw, I actually prefer Aperture over Lightroom but I got Lightroom heavily discounted.

- Phrehdd
 
wheezy

wheezy

macrumors 65816
Apr 7, 2005
1,280
1
Alpine, UT
If you can grab a screenshot that would be helpful, but can you give us a few more details?

What's your monitor? Perhaps it's a low quality panel?
Do you have 'Preview' mode turned on? That will only display Aperture's JPG preview of the file instead of the RAW. Depending on your Preview compression settings this could cause the noise when you're just looking.

This seems to be either a hardware problem or a preferences setting.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,837
2,043
Redondo Beach, California
gargravar10 said:
Hello,

I have been using Aperture (with the 5d mark ii firmware update) to load and edit my images taken with my brand new 5d mark ii. First I must say that I love my camera and it was a very nice step up from my xti, anyone considering buying this camera will not be disappointed if the decide to get it. I am concerned, however, that Aperture is not the best post production software to use with the camera's large ,21 megapixel files........
Click to expand...

You need to give a lot more details. You don't even say if you are shooting RAW or JPG format or how Aperture is set up.

One mistake many people do is "pixel peeping". This is the digital equivalent of making a 48 inch wide print from a 35mm negative and then complaining about image quality. Of course a 4 foot print from a small format negative will look like crap when viewed from 18 inches away. So will a 100% blow up from a digital camera.

Always judge image quality using a print or display of the intended size and viewing distance.
 
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