Should Pentax need a new softwares ?

nlex · 02-26-2007, 11:08 AM

Pentax digital cameras are now inline with the best cameras of the market, but as a k10d owner i was surprised how poor is the software packed with the camera.

I know a lot of people are using other soft anyway like Camera Raw, Dxo etc. But i think if Pentax want to be a serious gamer it need serious software, as good as Nikon or Canon softwares.

Actually the Pentax soft are so bad i think one good idea would be to buy some Lightroom liscence from Adobe (maybe a lighter version ?) and add it to the pack, it would look more serious i think.

WHat do you think ?

rfortson · 02-26-2007, 12:48 PM

I like Pentax's software, and I have PSE5. I started using it when I got my K100D and Adobe had yet to update ACR. I found that I like the images that come from PPL3 better than ACR, and PPL3 loads much quicker on my old machine. Adobe software is nice, but it's invariably bloated. The one exception I've found is that Lightroom seems to run quicker than other Adobe software. I like the interface on Lightroom, but not enough to drop the $170 on it.

The interface on PPL3 took a little getting used to, but now I like it okay. It begs for dual monitors, though.

I'm using the latest Photolab 3.10, BTW.

Matjazz · 02-26-2007, 02:28 PM

Photolab has most acurate colors IMO but the interface... I tried really hard to get used to it, but I failed or better yet IT failed. Now I settled for SilkyPix (since Photolab uses their engine) and I got an extra 512mb of ram (so now I have 1gb)

*WMBP* · 02-26-2007, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by nlex

Pentax digital cameras are now inline with the best cameras of the market, but as a k10d owner i was surprised how poor is the software packed with the camera.

I know a lot of people are using other soft anyway like Camera Raw, Dxo etc. But i think if Pentax want to be a serious gamer it need serious software, as good as Nikon or Canon softwares.

Actually the Pentax soft are so bad i think one good idea would be to buy some Lightroom liscence from Adobe (maybe a lighter version ?) and add it to the pack, it would look more serious i think.

Well, I think an agreement with Adobe that resulted in Pentax DSLR users getting a copy of Lightroom for free or a huge discount would be great. I have not heard any rumors about a "lite" (cheap or free) version of Lightroom. Kind of hard to see what they could take out of the program - perhaps the web gallery creation mode, which I don't use right now.

But beyond that, no, I do not think Pentax should waste its time creating a better Raw workflow application. I suppose the maker of a camera is required to provide SOME kind of software, so users can take their new camera home, take some photos, then download them to their computer and look at them. And if they're going to provide this software, then it needs at least to be usable.

But it doesn't have to be great and it's hard to see how it can be, unless the camera company puts a lot of effort into it. It takes a lot of work to create a really good program. Very few hardware companies are also good software companies. (Apple Computer is an exception, but it's hard to think of a second exception.) And it's also worth pointing out that there are already a number of very good programs in this market - Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, Bibble, Capture One, Silkypix, Lightzone, and one or two that I'm forgetting. I don't know why anybody in his right mind would want to enter that competitive market. I can think of ten things I'd rather have Pentax spend its time on.

Will

slipchuck · 02-26-2007, 04:20 PM

If wacom can provide good software with a 300 dollar tablet, then there should be no reason that pentax can't provide a one version old Photoshop elements with it

here is what you get with a digital tablet for 229 USD

DVD with valuable software included: Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 4 for editing family photos, Corel® Painter™ Essentials 3 for creating original artwork, and Nik Color Efex Pro™ 2 IE for selectively applying photo enhancements

If wacom can make money and supply a great software lineup for free, then there should be no reason that pentax can provide something else bundled with there Pentax software.

cheers

randy

*WMBP* · 02-26-2007, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by slipchuck

If wacom can provide good software with a 300 dollar tablet, then there should be no reason that pentax can't provide a one version old Photoshop elements with it

Randy,

If you are suggesting that Pentax should provide a third-party software package with a camera, I agree, that would make good sense.

The only part of a Raw workflow app that Pentax has the ability (perhaps) to do better than anybody else is the actual conversion from Raw itself. Every other feature of Lightroom, Photoshop, Bibble, etc., is common to all of these apps and all cameras, and companies that test with lots of cameras, lots of monitors, lots of users, will be able usually to produce better software. I think it would be great if Pentax worked out a deal where you got Photoshop Elements 4 (the old version, at least on Windows) for free, plus the option to buy Lightroom for $100 or something like that. Then make sure to work with Adobe so that Pentax Raw conversion is done flawlessly.

From what I hear, Nikon's software is pretty good, but perhaps for that reason Nikon is not very open about NEF files. Canon's software (again, from what I've read) is NOT very good. Nobody's going to buy a Pentax camera for the software alone, EVER. So in my judgment, it's just not worth Pentax's time to try to create a really really good package on its own. Instead it should develop partnerships with the companies (like Adobe) who have.

Will

Matjazz · 02-28-2007, 01:37 AM

If I was to choose third party RAW software to bundle with Pentax dSLR I'd choose Silkypix since Pentax is already using their RAW engine.

Falcons · 02-28-2007, 02:12 AM

Silky Pix would get my vote as well.

Lowell Goudge · 02-28-2007, 03:51 AM

I think there are several points to consider, but the main issue here is that many people already have an image editing program they are familiar with. Since there are many programs, I think what pentax needs to do is insure that ALL popular programs correctly read their RAW files, AND all programs should be capable of using their lens correction data. (I'm thinking primairly of the distortion correction of the 10-17mm fisheye).

It is very important to note that not all owners of image editing software use exclusively pentax generated images, I don't

In terms of software pentax NEED to develop is not on the image editing side, but a new Remote Assistant, with the ability to customize parameters anf functions within the camera.

Dana G · 02-28-2007, 04:11 AM

I'll just stick with Adobe Camera Raw, thanks very much. It's the best converter I've tried, and it integrates with Bridge, Photoshop, and iView Pro very well.

What they need is a program for tethered shooting. I just was helping at a shoot where someone had a Fuji something-or-other tethered, so we could do mass production couples and print them right away.

Not exactly the kind of photography I like to do, but getting a couple of hundred bucks to help a couple of fellow photographers was a welcome diversion (I operated the printers, they got their shots pretty much right away. Mass-produced crap, but who am I to turn down money?)