Riverside Preacher..

[dankearl]

D500, 500pf, f5.6, 1/1600, iso560.
OSP4.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=191495&stc=1&d=1626994999)

[arash_hazeghi]

cool pose Dan, really wish the other eye was better visible ....the details look a bit coarse from here the whites in the head look flat, was it underexposed? I think the new workflow sans photoshop isn't quite able to produce a high quality image but I understand your view that for a hobbyist maybe just doesn't make sense to pay for Adobe sw just to use layers and sharpening, same line thought as gear upgrade etc.

TFS

[dankearl]

Thanks, arash, it is a large crop, I do not think my workflow minus adobe suffers, My recent bluebird photos were as good as any on any forum..Adobe is easily replaced. This would not be
any better in Photoshop.
As far as equipment, I can afford to upgrade but except for you and a couple other people I do not see an advantage to switch to Sony..
I stuck with Nikon because they have the best lens.. the 300 f2.8. the 70-200 and the 500pf are better than any Sony or Canon lens.
Bird and wildlife photography is a lot more about being there and getting the right light angles..
I mostly see Sony people blasting 30 fps in bad light ......
Canon is much the same, I think a lot of photos taken with the older Canon cameras better than the R5 or whatever it is...
So I am not in a hurry to upgrade until it makes a difference and it does not now..

[arash_hazeghi]

If you mean this one http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/154938-Western-Bluebird I don't think it's quite as good as what you used to post in the past .... it looks a bit coarse and crunchy from where I am sitting, you can see the halos a bit ... just my 2 cents :S3: I tried to work w/o PS myself but I quickly reverted back as it didn't work for me... the sharpening and down-sampling algo is just not there

I agree a better camera doesn't make a lousy photographer a better one, I have said this many times :)

[Jonathan Ashton]

I am not seeing details in the plumage that I would expect to see in a subject this size in the frame. I get the impression it all looks a little smooth for want of a better expression - has there possibly been NR applied.
I downloaded Capture One yesterday.... I deleted it yesterday, I appreciate we all have our own favourites but I am used to ACR/PSCC, I could not see any advantage to Capture One.

[Brian Sump]

Dan, we're all a work in progress here but fwiw I agree, your final image quality the past few weeks is not up to par with some of your images prior to switching.

[arash_hazeghi]

I am not seeing details in the plumage that I would expect to see in a subject this size in the frame. I get the impression it all looks a little smooth for want of a better expression - has there possibly been NR applied.
I downloaded Capture One yesterday.... I deleted it yesterday, I appreciate we all have our own favourites but I am used to ACR/PSCC, I could not see any advantage to Capture One.


you can get better results in capture one but only if you learn how to use it first. :S3:

I think you are confusing raw conversion with final processing. I think Dan’s raw processing is good but the final step where he removed photoshop (NOT ACR) is lacking because RAW conversion software in general is not good for making smaller files that need selective sharpening.

[dankearl]

Jon, did you do a Raw conversion in Capture or just shrug it off?
If you do simple conversion in both Capture and LR, there is no comparison for color and noise.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Jon, did you do a Raw conversion in Capture or just shrug it off?
If you do simple conversion in both Capture and LR, there is no comparison for color and noise.

Dan, I have to confess I started to make adjustments and simply lost the will to live, maybe I am just an old fart but it did not seem to have the logical flow I was used to with ACR/PSCC and I know most folk will throw their arms up in abject despair but I simply do not require a relational database for my images - just a straight forward file which can be sorted according to subject/date does me fine.

[Wayne Niz]

Hey Dan

Love the animated pose and those claws look like they could do some damage, great subject. Whites on head do look blown though.
TFS
Cheers