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06-28-2016, 02:08 AM   #1
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SilkyPix vs competitors for K-1

Hi Guys,

I've recently bought the K-1 and am still getting used to it.

I have used Lightroom 5 for some time and quite like the interface.

But I doubt it has the latest updates for use with DNG's from the K-1, it seems Adobe stopped supporting that version some time ago.

I noticed that it had a weird color interpretation of DNG's so I installed the trial version of Capture One Pro. That was way better for the normal DNG's from K-1.

I could probably get used to that interface but then it doesn't support PixelShift as far as I know?

Also my macbook doesn't have a DVD drive so I haven't been able to install the supplied version of SilkyPix. Where can I find the Pentax / Ricoh licensed version that supports pixelshift from the K-1 for download online?

What are you guys using to develop your DNG's from the K-1? What would you recommend? I'd love to avoid having to subscribe to a software suite, like Adobe loves forcing their users to do nowadays.

Anyways I hope you guys can give me some good advice here.

Brgds,
Ro

Btw I'll add some examples of what the files look like when converted in Lightroom 5, Capture One Pro (latest version) and from the in-camera jpg converter. (It's not the exact same photo, but identical settings, lighting and so on).

Lightroom 5:


In Camera DNG -> JPG


Capture One Pro


06-28-2016, 02:25 AM - 2 Likes   #2
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Hi Ro.

Don't confuse Silkypix software such as Developer Studio with the software supplied with the K-1 as they are not the same. The K-1 is supplied with Digital Camera Utility 5, and although created by Silkypix it looks very different and is targeted specifically at optimising Pentax SLR photos, and specifically pixel-shift photos from both K-1 and K-3II. Many people disrespect DCU5 as it's not a one-stop-shop (version 5.5.1 is the latest, here Software Downloads : Support & Service | RICOH IMAGING - scroll down for Windows and Mac versions) but it does a fine job of conversion from DNG, and handles pixel shifted photos very well, incorporating motion correction.

The 5.5.1 update on the face of it will not install unless you have a previous version of DCU installed, but you can get around that by renaming a thumb drive to 'S-SW140' and running the installer from there.
06-28-2016, 02:31 AM   #3
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Identical lighting? There's a sunset and a bonfire going on in the background: hardly a static situation

I prefer the third one, for what it's worth.
Personally I use Lightroom, but I don't think it matters much. Get to know one, and work out how to optimise it.
06-28-2016, 02:57 AM   #4
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Thanks for the tips, I'll get the digital camera utility and see how that works out for me.

And Sandy you're right... Probably should have used similar instead of identical what with a gigantic bonfire going on in the background... Anyways I was mostly concerned about how the bonfire was rendered orange in Lightroom and more natural in Capture One Pro.

Does anyone know if adobe provides a free trial period for the latest version of Lightroom?

Cheers!

06-28-2016, 03:04 AM   #5
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Adobe Creative Cloud costs about $10 a month. Hardly an arm and a leg.
06-28-2016, 03:19 AM   #6
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@roksonne - in Lightroom, what profile are you using? This is absolutely crucial to colour reproduction. "Adobe Standard" provides a useful starting point but it is quite flat and lifeless. Lots of people make the mistake of using "Adobe Standard" profile and thinking their images in Lightroom don't look very good. It's not a problem with the software, but the colour profile. At the very least, I suggest you choose "Embedded" - this is the profile embedded into the image by the camera. Assuming you've set white balance correctly in camera, or you adjust it accurately in editing, the "Embedded" profile gives a decent rendition of what the camera captured. I use it for quite a lot of my images. Beyond that you can start creating profiles of your own using a colour chart, but - for the most part - "Embedded" is perfectly adequate and you'll see *much* better colour reproduction.
06-28-2016, 03:27 AM   #7
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DCU has raw conversion from Silkypix 3 which is many generations old. Current Silkypix 7 does much better conversion I think.

06-28-2016, 05:02 AM   #8
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It doesn't matter if Silkypix does a better job if it doesn't have the engine to process Motion Correction in Pixel Shift. The resulting artifacts from Silkypix in Tony Northrop's recent review suggests that it is incapable of properly processing Motion Correction correctly. The Camera Store review of the Pentax K-1 noted similar results using Adobe Lightroom however they did note the difference when using Digital Camera Utility 5.5.1 that ships with the K-1.

"Hey guys, I'm just breaking into the video here to make a short addendum. Now when we played with the Pixel Shifted files in the K-1 we did those in Adobe Lightroom and we're noticing strange color palette, weird color shifts were there is motion. You know we weren't really blown away. But it turns out if you use the Pixel Shift files in Pentax's proprietary software they look fantastic. You get the sharpness, the dynamic range, no weird color. It looks really, really good. I don't know if Adobe is going to correct that in the future but for the time being you can use the K-1 singe files beautifully in Lightroom but if you are going to do Pixel Shift get those into the Pentax software. You'll be happy with the results."

See the video around 13:05

Note that Tony Northrop gets the same "weird color shifts where there is motion" when using Silkypix (see around 5:30)
06-28-2016, 09:13 AM   #9
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I would recommend Capture1
06-28-2016, 01:35 PM   #10
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Thanks for all of your feedback!
I checked my Lightroom camera profile and it is embedded so I don't know why Lightroom renders the bonfire to be so orange by default.
I was ready to try out the free software darktable as a RAW processor but it doesn't support the K-1 files yet it seems.
Now I think I'll try to install the trial of the newest lightroom and see if it has a better rendition of standard K-1 files.

Thanks again!
06-28-2016, 01:51 PM   #11
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darktable works with the K-1 DNG files perfectly.
06-28-2016, 02:08 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Not a Number Quote
It doesn't matter if Silkypix does a better job if it doesn't have the engine to process Motion Correction in Pixel Shift. The resulting artifacts from Silkypix in Tony Northrop's recent review suggests that it is incapable of properly processing Motion Correction correctly.
I bet he has not updated Silkypix lately. Silkypix (Pro) 7 does support motion correction and it makes very nice job with pixel shift images.
06-28-2016, 03:51 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by microlight Quote
The 5.5.1 update on the face of it will not install unless you have a previous version of DCU installed, but you can get around that by renaming a thumb drive to 'S-SW140' and running the installer from there.
You might just try downloading it first and when you go to run it the first time it will not go/intall because you don't have a previous version . Just click OK and try immediately installing it a second or third time. If it still doesn't install , the thumbdrive or renamed SD card method will work for sure.
I just installed it this way without the thumbdrive on two Windows based 32Bit tablets this morning with no problems.
06-28-2016, 05:09 PM   #14
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I had it installed long before I got my K-1 (and the accompanying CD)
07-22-2016, 10:05 AM   #15
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Any ideas on why Silkypix Digital Camera Utility 5 wouldn't work on my iMac (10.11.5). I updated it to 5.5.1. It will open, but all menus are blank, and it crashes if I select any of the icons, plus the copyright/version screen will not go away.
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