After purchasing an iMac 24" for tethering my 1Ds3 in the studio, I've begun testing Canon's Digital Photo Professional.

I've used Capture One Pro for the last six years, all with Canon files. With the 1Ds1 & 1Ds2 and ICC profiles from Etcetera I was getting very good results in color rendition. After a few shoots I became thoroughly comfortable with the program's filing system.

However, the files from the 1Ds3 + Capture One didn't thrill me. They appeared low in contrast, muddy and lacking sharpness. Before tossing money at camera profiling software I decided to give DPP a thorough try. After a couple of weeks of use and a few intense jobs here are some of my initial reactions:

• DPP has a crude white point adjustment and could benefit with numerical inputs.
• It has far greater control over the raw file when using custom "picture styles".
• The file system doesn't easily allow for file renaming -- an internal renaming program must be used.
• Images cannot be cropped and re-cropped on the fly -- another internal cropping program must be used.
• The mystery button called "tone curve assist" uses an algorithm which is not explained in any detail (a classic Canon trait).
• Sharpening can be done in two stages with more control than Capture One (IMO).
• The program, like most others, functions faster on an Intel Mac.
• Output to "Wide Gamut RGB" profile delivers great results -- so far.
• Non-Canon ICC profiles cannot be used. This is a huge downfall, IMO.

I plan on using this program more, if only for the reason to achieve results that are better than Capture One. If I can get used to the file structuring methods, I'll be a bit happier.

You should try Lightroom - its WAY better than DPP. And thats from an EX DPP convert.

DPP 'may' have an ever so slight edge over LR when it comes to absolute cleanest images from straight RAW conversions - but this is far mitigated by the power and usability of Lightroom.

Once I switched to Lightroom I dumped DPP for good.

What do you think of DPP's lens correction capabilities?

Next winter, when things slow down a bit I plan on giving ACR/Lightroom a run for the money. I know very little about those programs because I'm a heavy user of Capture One and its file management -- which I like and am accustomed to.


Even though the downloadable manual has decent instructions, it still requires a large amount of reiterative adjustments and a lot of time. My initial trials with my 85mm f1.2 shows improvements in chromatic slurring in the corners when a wide aperture is used.

I was wondering about this. I just picked up the new 85/1.2, and I'm getting incredible purple fringing at wide apertures. It's mostly at the edges, but extends pretty far in. For a quiet portrait with windows in the background, it's very distracting. I'll have to download the latest DPP and give this a try.


[attachmentid=7238][attachmentid=7239]

I've used DPP and Adobe, and DPP is nothing special. Any of the alleged advantages of DPP can be duplicated with the right settings in ACR. And ACR/Lightroom have a much more intuitive interface, better batch processing, and better integration with Photoshop.

After another day of futzing with DPP, it's become obvious that the "Picture Style" is what affects the raw image at the start. There are two important features in a Picture Style: gradient curve and selective color adjustment. Both these parameters unavoidably affect the image. There's no way to eliminate these parameters from the raw image using DPP. The only way to minimize there effect is to use Picture Style Editor and make a custom Style with all parameters zeroed out. More on this later. Time to play.

Life is too short too wade thru horror software as DPP.

I agree completely, but found the results from DPP superior to Capture One for the first time ever. Then I had to stick my head into the rabbit hole.

For 1DsIII files I find the output absolutely amazing with Raw Developer. Medium format film like quality.

Doyle

I started using C1 about 5 years ago and still use it for my tethered shooting, naming and editing. But I do my conversions in DXO. It automatically corrects for my lenses and gives me better results overall.

Here is an example that shows DXO makes smoother edges and fewer artifacts. It is a Canon 5D photo so I am not sure if reults would be the same wiht a 1DsIII, but I don't see why not. Note: I am still using DXO 4.6 and haven't switched to version 5.1