[Lucky Sky]

PPL supports PEF and DNG files, according to the manual, so I don't understand when you say the software won't recognize DNG. I haven't tried the PPB/PPL software and cannot afford LR, but I've been testing the Silkypix V4 and really like the colors I can get with very little effort. I was thinking of loading PPL and using it if the color rendering was as good as Silkypix. Does anyone have any opinions about this? I know it's not an extensive program, and probably doesn't do half the things Lightroom does, but I would be happy if it can do nice raw conversion.

Kiwibird-
I tried opening my K20D DNG files in PPl v3.5. No luck. I do acknowledge that pg 3 of the PPL manual states that PPl can work with Pentax camera DNG files.

What exactly did you do to open DNG files within PPL?

[WMBP]

Kiwibird-
I tried opening my K20D DNG files in PPl v3.5. No luck. I do acknowledge that pg 3 of the PPL manual states that PPl can work with Pentax camera DNG files.

What exactly did you do to open DNG files within PPL?

I haven't tried to open anything in PPL in quite a while but it certainly makes sense to me that it would support DNG, since both the K10D and K20D can generate DNG files!

[Lucky Sky]

I haven't tried to open anything in PPL in quite a while but it certainly makes sense to me that it would support DNG, since both the K10D and K20D can generate DNG files!

Will-
I just checked the PPL and Photo Browser manual for v3.6. The only reference I can find regarding DNG is in the Photo Browser section; it only speaks to converting PEF files to DNG and then working with them within PPL.

I see nothing about importing DNG files directly from the camera SD card into the Pentax software. That would square with my experience...........PPL could not/would not open my K20D DNG files. Period.

This would also square with generally accepted concept on "that other forum" that PPL cannot work with DNG files produced by the K20D.

I would love to know if there is a way for PPL to work with in-camera DNG files.

[Labuzan]

PPL4 (Pentax Digital Camera Utility4) work fine with K7'DNG.

[Dubesor]

For those of you using Lightroom with your K20D camera, what color calibration settings are you using? There used to be rule-of-thumb LR guidelines on this forum for K10D and K100D back in the day to get a more "Pentax" or "Silkypix" look. I like that look so hopefully can find something equivalent for Lightroom ...

I've been trying to stick with Silkypix but it's just too slow and cumbersome. I don't see it as a real option for working with thousands of images. Maybe SP4 will improve things, but I'm not holding my breath.

I need to reduce my workflow a few steps. I don't want to be a JPEG shooter, but I just don't have lots of time to sit in front of the PC. I'd like to do all the work in Lightroom (RAW adjustments in LR > LR JPEG export) as opposed to my current workflow (RAW adjustments in SP > SP TIFF export > Work in PS for noise/sharpening/curves > PS JPEG export).

[WMBP]

For those of you using Lightroom with your K20D camera, what color calibration settings are you using? There used to be rule-of-thumb LR guidelines on this forum for K10D and K100D back in the day to get a more "Pentax" or "Silkypix" look. I like that look so hopefully can find something equivalent for Lightroom ...

I'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for. I calibrate my monitors. I shoot raw on auto-WB. Once I get the photos into Lightroom, I almost always leave white balance set to "as shot." In Lightroom 2.4 I've been experimenting with the camera calibration options that were brought up earlier in this thread. I've found that I prefer the results of Adobe standard sometimes, "camera standard" others.

I've been trying to stick with Silkypix but it's just too slow and cumbersome. I don't see it as a real option for working with thousands of images. Maybe SP4 will improve things, but I'm not holding my breath.

I don't know Silkypix well (versions 3 or 4) but I have been learning 4 in the last week. Shot a wedding last weekend. I'm doing most of the post-processing (and all of the selecting and rating) in Lightroom, but I've found that I got better results with some photos in Silkypix. For me, there's no question of replacing Lightroom with Silkypix. I'm just trying to decide if I would like to buy Silkypix for use occasionally.

I need to reduce my workflow a few steps. I don't want to be a JPEG shooter, but I just don't have lots of time to sit in front of the PC. I'd like to do all the work in Lightroom (RAW adjustments in LR > LR JPEG export) as opposed to my current workflow (RAW adjustments in SP > SP TIFF export > Work in PS for noise/sharpening/curves > PS JPEG export).

Yeah, that's too much trouble. I am able to do everything in Lightroom. Well, almost everything. Import, batch rename, keyword, review, rate and reject/select, process (and sometimes create virtual copies to process multiple versions), and finally export. I apply noise reduction and capture sharpening very sparingly - maybe 10% of my images? - but when I need those tools I use 'em in Lightroom.

I used to use Picasa to upload images to the Web but lately I've started using Lightroom plug-ins for that too, so I don't have to leave Lightroom at all.

[headmj]

If you are having trouble with any skin tones, please try the skin tone tool in the color balance tab. Silkypix has solved some of my toughest skin problems in one click. It is a really neat tool.

[krypticide]

Anyone can comment on how different Camera Standard and Embedded profiles look? I've been using Camera Standard for some time now, but even with tweaks to the vibrance and tone curve, it still doesn't yield the nice colors of PPL.

[krypticide]

Well, just tried it out and I like the look of the embedded color profile better...looks like I'll keep shooting DNG, though I still need to figure out whether the embedded profile depends on the custom image selected when the shot is made.

[dosdan]

I don't care much about integration with other apps. 99% of the time, I start and finish the job in Lightroom. But I agree with you about the other things that give Lightroom the advantage at least for me.

....

Ultimately, I think the thing I like best about Lightroom is the user interface. It just seems so well designed. I know tons of keyboard shortcuts and use them constantly. Makes it possible for me to whiz through a bunch of photos. Silkypix's UI isn't as baffling as, say, Bibble Pro's. But controlling Silkypix seems to require many more mouse clicks and grabs than controlling Lightroom does. Add in the fact that Silkypix is usually slower than Lightroom redrawing the screen after a change in settings, and the case for sticking with Lightroom gets even stronger.

In Australia, when you are comparing LR2 & either SP 4 or SP 4 Pro, you are not comparing products in a similar price bracket.

I just bought SP Pro from Shortcut Software - SILKYPIX, PhotoStudio, Draw, EasySign, Vise, Barcode Studio, RAW Photography Software, Photo Zoom, S-Spline and with the strong Aussie dollar it cost me $294 AUD ($249 USD). This is 54% of what Adobe is asking here for LR2: $555 AUD to download it.

The difference would be even more dramatic with the standard version of SP4: about $176 AUD ($149 USD) which is 32% of LR2.

I really like the colours of SP's output. The speed is OK with SP Pro on an old dual-core E6300 1.86 GHz machine. I like its Dodge feature & the way I can easily add things to the processing queue and keep working without any noticeable slowdown. Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V to copy all parameters from one photo and then paste them to one or more selected photos is great, and if you use those settings often you can save them as another "taste". Hot-keys on lots of stuff already and you add more hot-keys or reconfigure most of the commands.

Dan.

[Eruditass]

In the Develop Module, there's a panel on the right side called Camera Calibration. When you click on Camera Calibration, the very top of that now expanded panel is labeled "Profile".

What you can do is select all of your photos to be developed, go to the right side of the above described panel, and select "Embedded". That will apply that profile to all selected images.

What I did was build a preset using the "Embedded" profile amongst other things. I apply this preset to all K20D images to be developed as the first element of my workflow.

CAUTION: Apparently, the Embedded profile does not exist for all cameras. The Embedded profile is not available for K2000 images. In that particular case, I use the "Pentax 1.0" profile for all K2000 images to be developed.

I'm quite happy with the results of both camera profiles.

Should you be using this? Has it been updated?

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-processing-printing-software-darkroo...they-come.html