Hi. I've just ordered my first digital camera, a Panasonic LX2. Having read this forum and its associated site, I'm planning on sucking RAW images off this camera for processing on my macbook pro using the built in LCD [please tell me if I've already said something dumb]

Now I'm not entirely ignorant of photography but since my kids were born there hasn't been much time to take, develop or print any more lovely 4x5 negs. I'm hoping to be able to do some of the same kind of thing that I used to do without requiring quite so long to shoot pictures and with the ability to develop and print in my living room.

So I think I need to learn about the things that make a digital camera different from a film camera. I know I'm facing exactly the opposite DoF problem that I had on my view camera six years ago. I presume that the sensor will respond differently to long exposures on a tripod than film does [do digital sensors have reciprocity failure?]

Is there a good source for understanding the differences in the creation of that first RAW "negative"?

Once I've got a RAW file, I'll want to print it, probably on a pigment based inkjet printer - though I won't be buying that for a few months. How can I choose between the myriad tools available for this. The camera comes with Silkypix Developer Studio. I don't know if this is the full Silkypix product or a cut down version. Does it serve a similar purpose to Lightroom or Aperture? Do I need to buy Lightroom/Aperture AND Photoshop. I'm not a graphic designer. Perhaps I can get by with Elements? Maybe Lightzone can take the place of one or more of these? There seems to be a lot of attention given to software for catalogueing images. I'm not a professional. If I generate 30 images a month, I'd be happy. Do I need such a tool?

I hope you appreciate that I'm a newbie and I don't even know what questions I should be asking. Once I've got a set of tools to hand I can probably find the time to learn them but I'm reluctant to invest lots of hours in tools that might be obviously wrong from the get-go.

So you advice, biases, hard-won experience and outraged rantings are all welcome.

regards

Colin

No reciprocity failure

For 30 frames a month, start with what's in the box software wise. Having said that there's no way, once you start shooting, that it will be 30 frames per month! Maybe 30 keepers from 300...

Lightroom is free, for the time being, but at the end of the day is positioned against the 1,000(s) per month shooter. Once you figure out lightroom it looks like the transition to PS CS3 will be as smooth as can be expected (the raw conversion looks pretty much the same) but PS has a fairly steep learning curve and is pricey. I'd check out Elements and work with that for a while. Unless, like me, you have a soft spot for complex software, in that case bite the PS bullet at the beginning. I tend to look as my post processing as a hobby separate from my "taking pictures" hobby.

Are you PC or Mac?

On a Mac, iPhoto will take advantage of your RAW images. You can adjust the colors and exposure in a non-destructive manner like other RAW processores.

With iPhoto you can order very nice printed books, regular prints, make web galleries through iWeb, make enhanced photo podcasts, email, and burn images to discs from inside one application. The ease of all this might out weigh the control of more professional software, at least for family photos. It can also automatically download from your camera.

I got my dad started on Photoshop CS2, Bridge, and iView Media Pro. It is the software I use. So when he has questions, he has free tech support. It is a little over his head though.

The advantage of a cataloging software like iView is the ability to keyword images, and then find images using those keywords. I can now find all of my friends, family, jobs, and subject matter in a few seconds in iView. This has a learning curve and time investment though.

Adobe Camera Raw comes with Photoshop, is free, and will work on almost all cameras. So learning this software can be a one time deal, rather than using the RAW software that comes with each camera you buy. I don't know if Camera RAW will work with elements.

Colin,
I haven't read it, but I noticed that Michael recently posted an article on this web site regarding the transition from film to digital. It might be a good place to start.

Silkypix is pretty good raw converter, but the interface baffles some people. I found it quite acceptable, but I have been using PS since version 3.05, and have looked at most of the other applications at one time or another. If you find you can use it, stick with it until you feel you outgrow it, or until you are conviced it can't do what you want, and it's a limitation of the SW not the user...

At your stage I would recommend buying Elements rather than CS3 if you decide to upgrade from SP. It's cheap enough that even if you eventually wan tto go to CS3 you won't feel too bad about spending the money.

Take a class. It would almost certainly have to be in CS2 right now, I doubt other apps are supported, but there is commonality between CS2 and Elements. If you end up with Elements and/or CS3 buy one of the books. You can probably get good deals on used for CS2 now as CS3 is round the corner (in fact I'll sell you mine ). elements 5.0 is relatively new though.

What you will find I think is that your expertise will only develop by spending a good amount of time working with your images. You'll get a better eye for what looks good on the screen and how to get there with the SW you own. It's a little like working in the wet darkroom, you have to put the hours in...it just doesn't smell so bad...

Good luck,

Mike