DPP 4: How to set NR and Sharpening defaults?

[Mike Atkinson]

Hi, All. I've just downloaded DPP 4.1.50 to use with my 5D MkII RAW files.
In DPP 3, there was a general Preferences setting for Luminance NR and Chrominance NR that avoided having to set these on individual images.
Also, having set the sharpening drop-down once to Sharpness, rather than Unsharp Mask, that setting remained for all images (picking up the sharpness value I have set in-camera).
In DPP 4, these settings seem to need to be applied to each image, which I don't want to do because it's more steps in the workflow and, more importantly, I'm almost certain to forget to do it some of the time, leaving me with undesirable default values.
I've looked through all the menu settings and the instruction manual, but can't find a way of setting these as preferences/defaults. Am I missing something?
Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Mike I had a lot of doubts as well when I first downloaded DDP 4. I bought Arash DPP guide and I am happy I did! I believe in two weeks or less I will be using this software with no problem and will be able to include it in my digital workflow.

[Mike Atkinson]

Thanks, Juan. I'm happy with the use of DPP 3 in my workflow and have this well optimised, hence I don't have to apply NR and Sharpening settings to images.
DPP 4 has a different interface, but I can easily see how my workflow can be adapted to use it, so I don't feel the need for a general guide.
However, if I have to make 3 settings changes manually to each image (even if they can be applied in batches), then I would be put off using DPP 4.
I find it hard to believe that Canon would take such a backward step and so assume I am missing a way to avoid such manual changes.
If anyone can tell me how to do this, that would be great.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hey Mike , if you want to miss the higher IQ output of DPP 4 over DPP 3 , well then go for it . But you miss better capabilities in all parts of the software .

Actually to me there is no way to get a "automated " workflow in Raw converter . So making three manual adjustments , is not a lot to me. It is all about manual adjustments in raw conversion , because you set the base for your editing in the converter . I stay away from every Auto button !!!!
BTW how many images are you processing in one session ? 10 ? 50 ? 100 ?

And if you think it is a step backward , well that is the first comment i heard or read about the new DPP that is going the negative way.

But in the end , you have to feel comfortable with your software , doesn´t matter which one. There are lots of them on the market .

Cheers Andreas

[nick clayton]

I use Arash’s / Artie’s DPP 4 RAW conversion guide. In the guide it gives settings for Sharpness, Luminance noise and Chrominance noise for different ISO settings. Rather than refer to these for every image I process I have set up an automated system for applying all these settings in one go. I set up the recommended settings say for example for ISO 400, I then created a folder which I named ‘Nicks DPP recipe’, then right click on the image and click on ‘Save recipe in file…’ navigate to my newly created folder and name the file ‘DPP Recipe 400 ISO’ then click save. I have done this for all ISO settings up to ISO 3200. So when I want to apply the correct settings as per the guide for a particular ISO I right click the image, then click ‘Read and paste recipe from file…’ which gives me the window below and click on the correct recipe for the ISO for my current image.

[Mike Atkinson]

Thanks, Nick. I used to use recipe files in DPP 3 until I discovered that I could avoid having to use them by setting values in-camera and in Preferences.
The problem for me is that I sometimes used to forget to apply the recipes and these could easily go unnoticed. I guess I'll just have to try harder not to forget.

Andreas, I'm not saying DPP 4 overall is a backward step, but this point clearly is. Hopefully, Canon will fix it in a future version. BTW, what is your source for the "higher IQ output" of DPP 4? I saw Canon claiming a big list of improvements, but not IQ as such. Do you have any comparison images/links?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mike , you can do it yourself just edit the same image in both versions with the same adjustments if needed , and open both in PS .
There is more detail ,better tonal range etc .
If you have to recover both HL and SH , DPP 4 delivers way better results not that muddy look from DPP 3 .
The NR is way better (even i do not use luminance NR under 3200 ISO in general , cause i use ETTR to avoid that noise ) compared to DPP 3.

Actually i do not understand that people address the noise in general by a general setting for NR , all images are different , depending on the content and the tonal range of an image you should use different NR and sharpening settings to get the best out of the image . But that is my personal view of things . As i said i hardly use any NR with my images ( 1D MK IV / 1Dx )

But you have to be comfortable with your workflow , so up to each person how to set up workflow.

There is also some other stuff that is not working as with DPP 3 , that affects my workflow , but i stick with DPP4 and do not complain about it even if it takes me 20 sec more work , in the end the IQ is what counts for me !!!!!!!!

Cheers Andreas

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hi Mike , you can do it yourself just edit the same image in both versions with the same adjustments if needed , and open both in PS .
There is more detail ,better tonal range etc .
If you have to recover both HL and SH , DPP 4 delivers way better results not that muddy look from DPP 3 .
The NR is way better (even i do not use luminance NR under 3200 ISO in general , cause i use ETTR to avoid that noise ) compared to DPP 3.

Actually i do not understand that people address the noise in general by a general setting for NR , all images are different , depending on the content and the tonal range of an image you should use different NR and sharpening settings to get the best out of the image . But that is my personal view of things . As i said i hardly use any NR with my images ( 1D MK IV / 1Dx )

But you have to be comfortable with your workflow , so up to each person how to set up workflow.

There is also some other stuff that is not working as with DPP 3 , that affects my workflow , but i stick with DPP4 and do not complain about it even if it takes me 20 sec more work , in the end the IQ is what counts for me !!!!!!!!

Cheers Andreas

All I can say is that I am with you on every word you just wrote!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Juan , much appreciated !

[Mike Atkinson]

I will certainly try both versions over Christmas to assess the IQ difference.
BTW, I do use different sharpening and NR in each image, but my image-specific processing is performed in Photoshop, where I can perform this selectively. In DPP, the only sharpening I want to do is Capture Sharpening and the only NR I want to do is Chrominance NR. I perform Luminance NR using the NeatImage Pro plug-in to Photoshop after selecting the background only.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Ok so what is the point if you edit each image individually ? Meaning a custom preset for sharpening and chrominance noise !! Actually i do not understand your question or request from the beginning !!

[Mike Atkinson]

Andreas, at its most basic, I do selective sharpening and NR in Photoshop, which is standard practice. I also do a small amount of capture sharpening in DPP, which is also now pretty standard.
I think the only thing I do with my workflow that isn't now done by most bird photographers is to separate the two types of NR, such that I do Chrominance NR purely in DPP and Luminance NR later using the NeatImage PS plugin.
I therefore typically want to do no more in DPP than to adjust the Exposure setting before converting to a format I can edit in PS (actually 16-bit TIFF).
For the reason I've explained above, I want the DPP section of my workflow to be quick and reliable so I can concentrate on the 'creative' editing in PS.
I've now concluded that it won't be quite as quick and reliable for me in DPP4 as it was in DPP3. I've also found that it takes much longer to fully open images on my PC in DPP4 than it did in DPP3.
However, if the output IQ from DPP4 proves better than that from DPP3 it will be worth adopting for me. Otherwise, switching would be a net loss for my workflow (YMMV).

[Andreas Liedmann]

Ok Mike understand , have fun with the comparison . Agree with you regarding the speed when opening a file in PS ( even on a fast Pro Mac it is slower than DPP 3) , but when i am editing i am not in a rush , so it is ok with me when the output is better in the end .

Cheers Andreas

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Nick, this is awesome! Thanks for the tip!

I use Arash’s / Artie’s DPP 4 RAW conversion guide. In the guide it gives settings for Sharpness, Luminance noise and Chrominance noise for different ISO settings. Rather than refer to these for every image I process I have set up an automated system for applying all these settings in one go. I set up the recommended settings say for example for ISO 400, I then created a folder which I named ‘Nicks DPP recipe’, then right click on the image and click on ‘Save recipe in file…’ navigate to my newly created folder and name the file ‘DPP Recipe 400 ISO’ then click save. I have done this for all ISO settings up to ISO 3200. So when I want to apply the correct settings as per the guide for a particular ISO I right click the image, then click ‘Read and paste recipe from file…’ which gives me the window below and click on the correct recipe for the ISO for my current image.

[Paul Keeble]

The missing "defaults" thing is even more annoying than it appears above.

The arbitrary settings that DPP applies to Chrominance Noise, Luminance Noise & Sharpening are included in the "original" when doing a side-by-side comparison, so you are not comparing your edit with the pure RAW file.
That really is niggling the heck out of me.

I've found a workaround, which is to click on the thumbnail, flatten out the three settings above so you are back to the proper original RAW and then go to menu EDIT > PASTE RECIPE OF EDITED IMAGE TO ORIGINAL IMAGE.
Now the comparison window will show the fully flattened RAW on the left.

I haven't found a way of doing this to a whole bunch at once so this really is on an image by image basis.
Glad this is only my hobby, and keepers are scarce!

I do hope that the ability to store defaults gets included in an update at some stage, I really like this software and it is producing much nicer and cleaner files for me than DPP 3 did.

Oh and Artie - Arash - great work on the guide.