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Beginner -Help with Sony A6000 Raw files


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Greetings,

 

I have a Sony A6000.  I also have Lightroom 4.4 and Photoshop CS6.  I am thinking about updating to Lightroom 6.0 or the latest version.  I really don't want the monthly bills of the online versions.

 

Question:  This may be lame.  I have been shooting  jpeg images.  I would like to try raw.   I am just getting back into this and I am wondering what is the best way to do this.  Are the Sony A6000 raw files covered with Lightroom and Photoshop CS6?  Should I upgrade to the latest version of Lightroom.  Which is the best place to handle the raw files?  Lightroom?  When you convert them what do you do with them?  Save them as a converted file and where?

 

Sorry there are so many questions.

 

Any input is highly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Smorton

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Try Capture One Sony edition, its free. There are also helpful tutorials on their site, that show how to use Capture One.

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I suggest you set the camera to do JPG+RAW for now.

 

I also suggest you try the free Sony Image Data Converter. I've just started using Lightroom, the trial copy. I find it very awkward to use but more capable than any other tool that I've used, including Photos on the Mac, Preview on the Mac, RPP on Mac, Image Data Converter on Mac. I was able to get very nice results before, but almost immediately I got some improvements while trying LR. I was totally not impressed with Capture One, the free version.

 

Here is a shot that represents 11% of the original pixels. It was done with the a6000 and the FE 70-200 F4. I did the tweaking including the cropping with LR and I really have no skill with it at all (yet). The EXIF is intact.

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hI smorton

 

i vote also for capture one...try it it ...it is free....it is awesome...if you need more, you can upgrade quit cheep for the pro version as sony user

 

if you do not like the ergonomics from capture one.......Ligjhtroom is also great

 

Raw is easy to work with, like jpg but has more depth of data, so if the picture is underexposed or over exposed you have +/-4 EV in recovery from

the data in the raw file

 

shadows stay black and don´t get colored like jpg´s 

 

i don´t use jpg anymore, i only shoot RAW

 

you don´t need to use the horrible sony image data converter !

 

the raw developer (Lightroom or Capture One) does the storage and the development for you...

 

only if you use the in camera film filters like HDR or other creative modes,  they will not be in the raw file !

 

but in the exif data .....so you need image data converter,  and you have to export the pictures, after development,  as TIFF or JPG

 

if you happy with the development and you want a comfortable Post Processing you can import them to your PP Program....if you don´t use the camera filters...... same handling like jpg

 

if you want to share your photos it is easy to convert them into jpg´s and export them from your RAW Developer

 

so again if you use the in camera creative modes it is better do work with jpg, but you have to be more aware of perfect exposure and White Balance!

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Thanks for the advice.  I already have about 9000 to 10,000 images in Lightroom but have never really used the raw functions.  I have used it just as a catalogue program.

 

Because of this, Capture one probably does not make sense if it performs the same functions as Lightroom.

 

I may just shoot in raw plus jpeg for now and worry about the raw files later.

 

aCk, wonderful shot of the bird.  Amazing.  Where does one get the free Sony Image Data Converter?

 

Thanks again.

 

SM

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Thanks for the advice.  I already have about 9000 to 10,000 images in Lightroom but have never really used the raw functions.  I have used it just as a catalogue program.

 

Because of this, Capture one probably does not make sense if it performs the same functions as Lightroom.

 

I may just shoot in raw plus jpeg for now and worry about the raw files later.

 

aCk, wonderful shot of the bird.  Amazing.  Where does one get the free Sony Image Data Converter?

 

Thanks again.

 

SM

 

http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=ILCE6000&LOC=3#/downloadTab

 

https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/41189/~/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-image-data-converter-sr-software%3F

The Image Data Converter SR software is designed for developing RAW image files into JPEG or TIFF files. It also provides a variety of basic adjustments, such as white balance, exposure, saturation, and noise reduction.

NOTE:  Image Data Converter SR is primarily used for developing RAW files and has minimal editing capabilities

 

Although I have only just begun to experiment with Lightroom, if I were an experienced user I would probably stay with it over any other option. That said, to quickly produce a JPG from a RAW, the Sony converter may make sense and it's free. The copy of LR that I am trying out does recognize the a6000 files and even the data about camera settings that's embedded.

 

Just to make a point, though, here is the same Raw shot done with the Sony software. However, I had to crop it and degrade the image quality slightly to fit within the limits of the upload here. So I think that means that the Sony software kept more of the original information and produced a slightly nicer version (but that's on me, not the sw).

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Hi Smorton -

 

I am new to raw, and now have a6300. I subscribed to Lightroom CC.

 

My previous digital experience utilized the Mac photo program, iPhoto, now Photos. But with the a6300 I switched over to raw and I'm so glad I did. I am amazed at the extent of what you can do with raw in Lightroom! It certainly pushes the limits of my experience beyond their existing boundaries, and it's like using iPhoto, on super-steroids! I know it'll take a while for me to get the hang of it, but even using minimal features of LR, I find my raw photos to be so creatively malleable that I find myself saying, as I used to say in video work, "we can fix that in post production!"

 

I'm sure raw is going to be an exiting adventure for you, as it is for me. 

 

My best!

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Hi Smorton -

 

I am new to raw, and now have a6300. I subscribed to Lightroom CC.

 

My previous digital experience utilized the Mac photo program, iPhoto, now Photos. But with the a6300 I switched over to raw and I'm so glad I did. I am amazed at the extent of what you can do with raw in Lightroom! It certainly pushes the limits of my experience beyond their existing boundaries, and it's like using iPhoto, on super-steroids! I know it'll take a while for me to get the hang of it, but even using minimal features of LR, I find my raw photos to be so creatively malleable that I find myself saying, as I used to say in video work, "we can fix that in post production!"

 

I'm sure raw is going to be an exiting adventure for you, as it is for me. 

 

My best!

 

Just a note for all you Mac users: Preview and Photo can open Sony RAW files just fine. A6300 not tested but true for A6000. No criticism of LR intended; it's got more. Preview won't edit ARW until it makes a copy as TIFF but it does that by itself after you say "yes" to the prompt. Even pressing the space bar when the ARW file is selected in Finder will show the picture quite well.

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Just a note for all you Mac users: Preview and Photo can open Sony RAW files just fine. A6300 not tested but true for A6000. No criticism of LR intended; it's got more. Preview won't edit ARW until it makes a copy as TIFF but it does that by itself after you say "yes" to the prompt. Even pressing the space bar when the ARW file is selected in Finder will show the picture quite well.

 

 

OK, now I know that the Mac will not yet handle the raw files from the a6300. I found some on Image-Resource to test. The Mac version of the Sony Image Data Converter does work, so it's not a show stopper and the Mac can handle the TIFF or other output.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

I have a Sony 6000 and am trying to shoot large image files of my artwork. But even if I set it to shoot Raw and open the files in my Mac photos the files are still not large enough. I’ve tried following online video tutorials but no success. Any ideas on what I’m doing wrong? Thanks so much!

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How do you define a 'large image', and in what sense are your images lacking?

Do you want a higher megapixel count? Buy an A7Rx-camera instead or learn how to shoot multiple images and merge them into one.

Do you want a larger file size? I don't see why anyone would want this save for the neccesary size to ensure high picture quality, but make sure your image quality in camera is set to 'jpeg fine' or 'raw+jpeg'. If you want still larger file sizes, open the jpeg in Photoshop and save it in the highest quality possible. This gains you nothing except a larger file size though.

Do you want a larger area covered in your photos? Increase the distance to your subject when taking the photo, buy a wide angle lens or again learn to shoot and merge multiple images.

Are the images not large enough when viewing them on your Mac? Enlarge the viewing window or buy a bigger monitor.

I'm sure there are still other reasons for one to find his images not large enough...

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