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kshapero · 07-21-2014, 01:55 PM

I found no file editing features. I have the 5.0 that came in the box with the K-3. Does it serve any purpose? Ok what software are folks using and getting the most out of the K-3 images?

amoringello · 07-21-2014, 02:45 PM - **1 Like**

Well, it is free. :-)
Not useless, but as close as you can get. It can do some basic things, and in some ways maybe better than others as it is written specifically for Pentax raw files. e.g. It probably does better color matching to the internal camera processing for jpeg results than other software.
It is/was also one of the only pieces of software that could handle multiple-exposure raw files properly. (Lightroom used to make them a deep-magenta monotone with embedded grid-lines added at no extra cost) Dunno if that is still the case, as I have not tried in a few years.

I would say most people use Lightroom, but the full commercial version of Silky Pix is also popular (NOT comparable to the crap software that comes with the camera).
But I know many others prefer different software... which we'll hopefully hear about shortly. :-)

maleek · 07-21-2014, 03:06 PM

I recall its horrendous graphical user interface, you can coax some useful results out of it, but at the expense of your eyes (and the mind which is connected to them.)

kshapero · 07-21-2014, 03:09 PM

My version is horribly slow and yes the user interface is from Mars. I have been using ACDSee Pro, but color manipulation is not so easy. I will probably stick with it.

SpecialK · 07-21-2014, 03:16 PM

Elements 9 here...

Bailed on Pentax software v3.51 for processing, but I still use 4.33 to move files and make the exif database. The End.

rawr · 07-21-2014, 04:23 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by kshapero

I found no file editing features.

Within the application, you have to switch to 'Laboratory' mode to do any editing.

So start in 'Browser' mode, find your files in the file browser, select an image (or set of images) to work on, then open the image, and switch from 'Browser' mode to 'Laboratory' mode to start working on it.

Despite it's poor (or just un-familiar) interface, PDCU 5 does have some useful features and some decent strengths. It's White Balance adjustment capability is very good (allowing 5 point grey point setting, for example), the complete incorporation of all the Pentax 'Custom Image' settings can also be handy too, and the 'Noise Reduction' features of PDCU 5 are actually pretty good as well.

So PDCU 5 is certainly worth getting to know better. I don't use it often, but I do keep it around.

**patrick9** · 07-21-2014, 06:41 PM

Elements 9 here as well

kh1234567890 · 07-22-2014, 05:36 AM

Originally posted by amoringello

I would say most people use Lightroom, but the full commercial version of Silky Pix is also popular (NOT comparable to the crap software that comes with the camera).

I use the full version of SilkyPix all the time as I find it much more intuitive than Adobe or DxO offerings. It is nothing like the free Pentax software.

reeftool · 07-22-2014, 07:48 AM

It is pretty dreadful. I loaded the Pentax CD that came with my K10D and almost gave up on digital photography and probably would have if I had been forced to use that piece of crap. I never loaded my K5 CD. Last year, I bought a Panasonic LF1 that wasn't supported by Lightroom at that time. I loaded their CD and their version of SilkyPix and my opinion hasn't changed 8 years later. I shot JPEGs until I got the update. It's said that the full, paid version of SilkyPix is pretty good but who in their right mind would risk their hard earned money buying something with the same name as that crap that comes with the camera?

kh1234567890 · 07-22-2014, 09:35 AM

Originally posted by reeftool

It is pretty dreadful. I loaded the Pentax CD that came with my K10D and almost gave up on digital photography and probably would have if I had been forced to use that piece of crap. I never loaded my K5 CD. Last year, I bought a Panasonic LF1 that wasn't supported by Lightroom at that time. I loaded their CD and their version of SilkyPix and my opinion hasn't changed 8 years later. I shot JPEGs until I got the update. It's said that the full, paid version of SilkyPix is pretty good but who in their right mind would risk their hard earned money buying something with the same name as that crap that comes with the camera?

You can get a fully functional 30 day evaluation copy of SilkyPix Pro for free. It is nothing like the Pentax version.

reeftool · 07-22-2014, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by kh1234567890

You can get a fully functional 30 day evaluation copy of SilkyPix Pro for free. It is nothing like the Pentax version.

It pretty much makes you wonder about their business model. If you want to sell a product, then make the version that comes with the camera at least somewhat user friendly. I'm sure Silky Pix gets paid by Pentax, Panasonic and every other manufacturer who includes their editing software in their camera bundle so there's no reason to not to make it a bit more user friendly. Just about everybody goes looking for editing software soon after buying their first digital camera and they will assume anything from SilkyPix is what they already have. The bad taste in their mouth is still there. After several years of shooting digital, I can now go into into the old Pentax/SilkyPix software and use it but why bother? It's a very good and powerful editor but has the worse user interface ever devised. If it had been easy and intutive, SilkyPix would be at the top of the food chain instead of Adobe.

kh1234567890 · 07-22-2014, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by reeftool

It pretty much makes you wonder about their business model.

Perhaps they are not after world domination like Adobe. The only SilkyPix bit in the Pentax software is a (rather outdated) RAW processing engine.

tim60 · 07-22-2014, 12:21 PM

I actually like the version of silkypix shipped with K-3. I found the old version with K100DS pathetic. The new one is pleasant enough to use and effective for whole of image processing such as colour balance correction or rotate etc.

Since I aim for a style of photography that captures most of what I want in camera this SW is adequate for me.

I can see that it would be frustrating, and is limited if I wanted to do part-image work. That means I have some images that I cannot get pleasing with it, but in my view they are not my best because they do not fit the style I aim for.

emalvick · 07-22-2014, 01:26 PM

I use to love Silkypix Pro, and it has a lot of the lens distortion correction functions that LR didn't add until version 4 (I think). Once you got used to its rather poor translation (Japanese software with a bit cryptic English translations), it was as easy and powerful as any to use.

I probably would have stuck with it if it wasn't so expensive when LR dropped in price drastically. I have tested it on each major release, but haven't felt inclined to go back to it.

kh1234567890 · 07-22-2014, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by emalvick

I probably would have stuck with it if it wasn't so expensive when LR dropped in price drastically.

SilkyPix is 117 Euro for Pentax users.

07-21-2014, 01:55 PM	#1
kshapero Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: South Florida, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 437	Is it me? Silkypix seems useless. I found no file editing features. I have the 5.0 that came in the box with the K-3. Does it serve any purpose? Ok what software are folks using and getting the most out of the K-3 images?

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07-21-2014, 02:45 PM - 1 Like	#2
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	Well, it is free. :-) Not useless, but as close as you can get. It can do some basic things, and in some ways maybe better than others as it is written specifically for Pentax raw files. e.g. It probably does better color matching to the internal camera processing for jpeg results than other software. It is/was also one of the only pieces of software that could handle multiple-exposure raw files properly. (Lightroom used to make them a deep-magenta monotone with embedded grid-lines added at no extra cost) Dunno if that is still the case, as I have not tried in a few years. I would say most people use Lightroom, but the full commercial version of Silky Pix is also popular (NOT comparable to the crap software that comes with the camera). But I know many others prefer different software... which we'll hopefully hear about shortly. :-)

07-21-2014, 03:06 PM	#3
maleek Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Karlstad, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 222	I recall its horrendous graphical user interface, you can coax some useful results out of it, but at the expense of your eyes (and the mind which is connected to them.)

07-21-2014, 03:09 PM	#4
kshapero Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: South Florida, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 437 Original Poster	My version is horribly slow and yes the user interface is from Mars. I have been using ACDSee Pro, but color manipulation is not so easy. I will probably stick with it.

07-21-2014, 03:16 PM	#5
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,482	Elements 9 here... Bailed on Pentax software v3.51 for processing, but I still use 4.33 to move files and make the exif database. The End.

07-21-2014, 04:23 PM - 1 Like	#6
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by kshapero I found no file editing features. Within the application, you have to switch to 'Laboratory' mode to do any editing. So start in 'Browser' mode, find your files in the file browser, select an image (or set of images) to work on, then open the image, and switch from 'Browser' mode to 'Laboratory' mode to start working on it. Despite it's poor (or just un-familiar) interface, PDCU 5 does have some useful features and some decent strengths. It's White Balance adjustment capability is very good (allowing 5 point grey point setting, for example), the complete incorporation of all the Pentax 'Custom Image' settings can also be handy too, and the 'Noise Reduction' features of PDCU 5 are actually pretty good as well. So PDCU 5 is certainly worth getting to know better. I don't use it often, but I do keep it around.

07-21-2014, 06:41 PM	#7
patrick9 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Murfreesboro Tennessee Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,458	Elements 9 here as well

07-22-2014, 05:36 AM	#8
kh1234567890 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,653	Originally posted by amoringello I would say most people use Lightroom, but the full commercial version of Silky Pix is also popular (NOT comparable to the crap software that comes with the camera). I use the full version of SilkyPix all the time as I find it much more intuitive than Adobe or DxO offerings. It is nothing like the free Pentax software.

07-22-2014, 07:48 AM	#9
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	It is pretty dreadful. I loaded the Pentax CD that came with my K10D and almost gave up on digital photography and probably would have if I had been forced to use that piece of crap. I never loaded my K5 CD. Last year, I bought a Panasonic LF1 that wasn't supported by Lightroom at that time. I loaded their CD and their version of SilkyPix and my opinion hasn't changed 8 years later. I shot JPEGs until I got the update. It's said that the full, paid version of SilkyPix is pretty good but who in their right mind would risk their hard earned money buying something with the same name as that crap that comes with the camera?

07-22-2014, 09:35 AM	#10
kh1234567890 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,653	Originally posted by reeftool It is pretty dreadful. I loaded the Pentax CD that came with my K10D and almost gave up on digital photography and probably would have if I had been forced to use that piece of crap. I never loaded my K5 CD. Last year, I bought a Panasonic LF1 that wasn't supported by Lightroom at that time. I loaded their CD and their version of SilkyPix and my opinion hasn't changed 8 years later. I shot JPEGs until I got the update. It's said that the full, paid version of SilkyPix is pretty good but who in their right mind would risk their hard earned money buying something with the same name as that crap that comes with the camera? You can get a fully functional 30 day evaluation copy of SilkyPix Pro for free. It is nothing like the Pentax version.

07-22-2014, 10:35 AM	#11
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	Originally posted by kh1234567890 You can get a fully functional 30 day evaluation copy of SilkyPix Pro for free. It is nothing like the Pentax version. It pretty much makes you wonder about their business model. If you want to sell a product, then make the version that comes with the camera at least somewhat user friendly. I'm sure Silky Pix gets paid by Pentax, Panasonic and every other manufacturer who includes their editing software in their camera bundle so there's no reason to not to make it a bit more user friendly. Just about everybody goes looking for editing software soon after buying their first digital camera and they will assume anything from SilkyPix is what they already have. The bad taste in their mouth is still there. After several years of shooting digital, I can now go into into the old Pentax/SilkyPix software and use it but why bother? It's a very good and powerful editor but has the worse user interface ever devised. If it had been easy and intutive, SilkyPix would be at the top of the food chain instead of Adobe.

07-22-2014, 10:59 AM	#12
kh1234567890 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,653	Originally posted by reeftool It pretty much makes you wonder about their business model. Perhaps they are not after world domination like Adobe. The only SilkyPix bit in the Pentax software is a (rather outdated) RAW processing engine.

07-22-2014, 12:21 PM	#13
tim60 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 8,758	I actually like the version of silkypix shipped with K-3. I found the old version with K100DS pathetic. The new one is pleasant enough to use and effective for whole of image processing such as colour balance correction or rotate etc. Since I aim for a style of photography that captures most of what I want in camera this SW is adequate for me. I can see that it would be frustrating, and is limited if I wanted to do part-image work. That means I have some images that I cannot get pleasing with it, but in my view they are not my best because they do not fit the style I aim for.

07-22-2014, 01:26 PM	#14
emalvick Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Davis, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,642	I use to love Silkypix Pro, and it has a lot of the lens distortion correction functions that LR didn't add until version 4 (I think). Once you got used to its rather poor translation (Japanese software with a bit cryptic English translations), it was as easy and powerful as any to use. I probably would have stuck with it if it wasn't so expensive when LR dropped in price drastically. I have tested it on each major release, but haven't felt inclined to go back to it.

07-22-2014, 02:45 PM	#15
kh1234567890 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,653	Originally posted by emalvick I probably would have stuck with it if it wasn't so expensive when LR dropped in price drastically. SilkyPix is 117 Euro for Pentax users.

Is it me? Silkypix seems useless.

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