[Confused]

Hi all,
I've recently downloaded a trial version of Bibble Pro editing software and am initially most impressed by it's workflow and user flexibility, particularly the 'Perfectly Clear' feature, which seems to make amazingly good improvements to many of my photographs. So it's over to YOU for your unbiased opinions please ?

Best regards
Richard

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Last edited by Confused; 09-07-2007 at 05:21 PM.

[matix]

I downloaded the trial a few months ago and then purchased Bibble Pro, after trying may others.. works well for me, love the various presets that save time. Highly recommended. And it is not 'Bloatware', nor does it cost a ridiculously high price.

I also like the speed with which they include new lenses, the latest version on the site includes even the Tamron 18-250 settings.

Phil

[jfrejo]

I have Bibble Lite version and use it as my main program. It has saved some photo's for me. The only negative I have about it is that I rarely have any luck with the highlight recovery tool. I get better results with Adobe Camera Raw and photoshop.
john

[Confused]

Hi Phil ("Matix")

Re your statement:

I also like the speed with which they include new lenses, the latest version on the site includes even the Tamron 18-250 settings.

That was almost the first thing I noticed, having recently purchased this particular lens. To be honest, I was genuinely taken by surprise by that one and noticed they also have the Sigma 10-20mm in their list of lenses as it's the next item on my personal 'hit-list', so I almost feel like the proverbial 'hog in s**t heaven' ! To be honest, I reckon Bibble looks like something of a bargain, when compared with most of the over-priced 'bloatware' that many professionals appear to swear by !

Best regards
Richard

[Confused]

Having said all that, I was almost DUMBSTRUCK to discover that apparently there is NO UNDO button within Bibble ????? I'm afraid that using CTRL+R or Shift+CTRL+R simply doesn't 'cut-the-mustard' in my book !! I fully comprehend that Bibble does not alter the original RAW file, but this sounds like something out of the Dark Ages !!! I have E-mailed their support team and await the reply with great interest.....

Best regards
Richard

P.S. I've just found this quote from the Bibble forum:

Yes, Bibble fully supports native DNG format that is generated by certain cameras like the Leica DMR, Pentax K10d and others.

[thazooo]

I have the program and use it regularly. There are times that strange artifacts appear in the image. Use the Bibble forums, Pentax section and read about the artifacts. I think they're still working on a solution.

[Confused]

Hi Dana

Thanks for the reply and I'll look into the matters you discussed.

Best regards
Richard

[winds350]

I use a very Puckett-ized BibblePro. I think I may be at the point where I've spent more on plugins than I did on Bibble. If you haven't looked at them yet, check out Bibble Plug-in Homepage - Nexi . Some of the free versions are included with the Bibble download.

Using Bibble+plugins it has become very rare for me to have to use an image editor like Photoshop. Plugins I use often are Percy (to correct perspective when shooting lighthouses), Ansel or Siggy for exposure, Sadie for saturation, Sharpie for sharpening. Sometimes I'll use Roy to try and boost the sky without impacting the ocean too much.

The 'no undo' thing is a hassle that they have taken quite a bit of grief about. They have said it's one of their more requested features, so most of us expect it in v5. Another one is the way they save the settings. You have to jump through hoops to have multiple correction versions for a file. And even if you move the file, Bibble will still apply the settings you used on it before. I think you have to rename it, at least, to try different settings.

I'm pretty sure that buying v4.9 now means a free upgrade to v5 when it comes out.

[Confused]

Hi "winds350"

Thanks for another useful link to follow up, although I'm not entirely convinced about the slightly odd 'nomenclature' of the various plug-ins ?

Best regards
Richard

[nosnoop]

I also like the speed with which they include new lenses, the latest version on the site includes even the Tamron 18-250 settings.

The speed of the new lenses inclusion depends on users' contribution - I was the one who submitted the calibration images. But thumbs up for their prompt response. Jeff (from bibblelabs) gave me the calibration settings within just a few hours (you can manually add them and use it until the settings is included in the next update). And my submission was timely in that it was just before the 4.9.8e release.

So, for example, if someone can submit the DA* 16-50mm calibration images, they can give you the settings within a day or two.

And their support is great. I made a feature request about chroma sub-sampling in the forum; they responded by promising a change in the next update and they kept their promise in version e.

[Confused]

Hi nosnoop

Thanks for your input and I'm pleased to note your comment that:

their (Bibble) support is great

However, unless...and it's a very BIG unless.....a multiple UNDO function is definitely scheduled for inclusion in the next upgrade, I would certainly NOT even consider purchasing Bibble Pro as it stands at the moment, no matter what the other benefits. I have developed a certain 'work-flow' when editing images and not having this basic function rules it out entirely IMHO !! It's just a personal thing of mine I suppose, but I regard the lack of a direct undo option (without resorting to keyboard shortcuts) as almost semi 'prehistoric' !
Incidentally, if its not too complicated a process, how exactly did you set about producing the calibration images and deriving the necessary data ?

Best regards
Richard

[nosnoop]

However, unless...and it's a very BIG unless.....a multiple UNDO function is definitely scheduled for inclusion in the next upgrade, I would certainly NOT even consider purchasing Bibble Pro as it stands at the moment

I can fully understand your preference. For myself, it is not critical (though it would be nice to have). I am using Bibble as mostly a batch RAW convertor. For detailed editing for selected photos, I would still use Photoshop to edit the output.

Incidentally, if its not too complicated a process, how exactly did you set about producing the calibration images and deriving the necessary data ?

The way to take calibration images is outlined here:
Lens Calibration
You send the photos in, and Bibble will do the rest.

And the principle in deriving the calibration parameters is described here:
Panorama Tools Tutorial for Printable Panoramas
In the left navigation pane, go to "Plugin Reference" -> "Correct" -> "Radial Shift"

Another article for reference here:
Correcting Barrel Distortion

And there are tools to calculate the coefficients.

[davek]

I have Bibble Lite version and use it as my main program. It has saved some photo's for me. The only negative I have about it is that I rarely have any luck with the highlight recovery tool. I get better results with Adobe Camera Raw and photoshop.
john

Hi John,

I hadn't had much success with the Highlight Recovery tool either, but someone just recently told me that if you open the plugin window for the Highlight recovery tool (and not use the one on the basic tools window), you get an extra option which will help you out.

I haven't tried it yet though.

dk

[davek]

I use Bibble Lite, and I'm happy with it. Fits into my workflow well.

The more I use it, the more I'm amazed at what it can do. I also like the fact that I can get plug-ins to add functionality, as I need them.

Played with a beta LR, wasn't usable on my pc.
Silky was nice, but out of my price range.
Liked RSE, but wanted tool which would expand as my collection grew.

I complained about the no undo thing as well, but I've been able to work around it by unselecting tools. If I'm putting alot of work into one image, I just save the setting to a Test setting file, periodically during workflow. Not the best solutions, but it generally works for me.

Try it out, see what you think.

[Confused]

Hi all,

I received this E-mail today from Bibble Labs, in reply to my original query:

Thanks for taking the time to communicate us.

We are quite aware that a "real" undo function is conspicuously missing from Bibble 4. It is not something we can quickly add to Bibble 4, and we feel our efforts are best spent at this point developing Bibble 5.

I'm sorry if this decision makes Bibble unsuitable for your current workflow; I'm confident that you'll like what you see in Bibble 5, so please check us out again once its available.

Thanks,
Jeff Stephens
Bibble Labs

So it seems that an UNDO function is not likely to appear on the immediate horizon from the software developers.
Pity that........so I'm afraid I'm saying 'Adios Amigos' to Bibble for the moment !!

Best regards
Richard