[fevbusch]

I shoot in raw, then copy an image to gimp where I do some processing and sizing. When I save changes converting back to Tiff or Jpeg I can't find any exif info in my Picasa 2 program. This is annoying because I like to write on back of my printed shots how I arrived at each shot, like iso, etc.. Any way I can save the exif? Freddy

[aabram]

EXIF gets discarded when you copy your image via clipboard because you copy only image data, not metadata, which is present in the file. If you open raw directly with GIMP (using UFRaw) and then save, original EXIF info is saved too so Picasa can read it.

[slip]

In addition to what aabram says, if you ever decide to use photoshop the "save for the web" option also drops the exif file as well.

cheers

randy

[SpecialK]

Suggestion:

I use Pentax Photo Browser to save a CSV of the exif data, then add that into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet called..."PhotoExif" :-) That way, I always have a record regardless of what I do to the image later.

[fevbusch]

Guys, are you saying that I should save the raw shots directly from camera to the GIMP program. What I have been doing is to save shots directly from camera to Picasa 2. Freddy

[Mike Cash]

What I do is copy the folder containing the shots and then paste it into an folder on my hard drive. If I want to open a particular file in GIMP, I do it via the right-click menu, unless I already have GIMP open, in which case I tend to drag-n-drop to open.

[fevbusch]

Thanks for the help Mike. I'll try it out.
Checked out your shots: "Caught" is a gem! A woman's glance can truly light up the world. The "tightrope walker" is really special. Thanks for sharing these with me. Freddy

[MPrince]

Suggestion:

I use Pentax Photo Browser to save a CSV of the exif data, then add that into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet called..."PhotoExif" :-) That way, I always have a record regardless of what I do to the image later.

That's a GREAT idea, but doesn't it take forever? I mean, you fill up a 2 gb card, that's nearly 200 images. Or do you only do this for keepers?

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for the help Mike. I'll try it out.
Checked out your shots: "Caught" is a gem! A woman's glance can truly light up the world. The "tightrope walker" is really special. Thanks for sharing these with me. Freddy

You're very welcome, and thanks for taking a look. I must clarify that the "Caught" image is not mine, but was taken by another fellow who left a comment on one of my shots. The interface on that site can make it a bit unclear when moving from one person's material to that of another.

[Mr. The Guy]

I shoot in raw, then copy an image to gimp

The GIMP is a horrible program for processing photographs using your wonderful Pentax DSLR because you are limited to 8-bit colour. It also has no colour profiling capabilities. Use Cinepaint (CinePaint) when you shoot RAW. Use ufraw UFRaw - Home to convert to 16-bit TIFFs and manipulate 16-bit (or even 32-bit), not 8-bit files.Cinepaint also supports HDR.
Another amazing, free, 16-bit , free Linux program, is Lightzone. Light Crafts
To manipulate RAW info and embed colour profiles in your images, use exiftools. ExifTool by Phil Harvey. This program can also automatically file your pictures on your HD.
Another 16-bit Linux program is GraphicsMagick (http://www.graphicsmagick.org/), which is command-line based. I use it in conjunction with custom bash-scripts.
Here's an example of a picture processed exactly the same (except for size) using GraphicsMagick and a custom bash script I wrote. Bash scripting is easy and once you've written one script, you can use it over and over again. A massive Linux advantage. Notice the colour difference in the way the golden light is shining on the transformers. Every picture you process to 16-bit instead of 8-bit is clearly and remarkably better. Save your pictures to png to save a little space, keeping the 16-bit colour and making them accessible through your browser. A great way to view your 16-bit pictures is with qiv QIV - Quick Image Viewer - Homepage (for Linux, Sun, FreeBSD and HP-UX). Don't waste the capabilities of your camera using an inappropriate program like the GIMP. The GIMP is a tool for web developers or P&S users.

[aabram]

The GIMP is a horrible program for processing photographs using your wonderful Pentax DSLR because you are limited to 8-bit colour.

You do realise that this is very misleading wording here?
GIMP is limited to 8 bits per channel, not just overall 8 bits. There's a HUGE difference.

All adjustments made with UFRaw plugin will be made with all available bits. Only when UFRaw hands the tweaked image over to the GIMP, the successive work will be done with 8 bits per channel.

[MPrince]

Another amazing, free, 16-bit , free Linux program, is Lightzone. Light Crafts

I followed this link. I see no mention of Linux, and the program is hardly free--$150 for the basic version, $250 for the full version.

[aabram]

I see no mention of Linux, and the program is hardly free--$150 for the basic version, $250 for the full version.

Try here: LightZone for Linux

[WMBP]

Guys, are you saying that I should save the raw shots directly from camera to the GIMP program. What I have been doing is to save shots directly from camera to Picasa 2. Freddy

The problem is with Picasa. It can display your Pentax Raw files, but Picasa can't/doesn't read the EXIF data in PEF files.

I import my Raw files into Lightroom and do 99% of my post-processing there: adjusting white balance, tweaking contrast and color, etc., but also adding caption, title, keywords, and other info. The last step for me is to export JPEGs to another directory that Picasa is responsible for. I'm then able to create galleries in Picasa for uploading to Picasa web albums. If I import into Lightroom, then export from Lightroom to Picasa, the EXIF info is embedded in the exported JPEG and I can see it both in Picasa and later on the Web.

Will

[gepe9956]

In my ignorance and to enlighten me I should like to know, 'Whats the point in using both Lightroom ansd Picasa.

I thought both could be used for raw image developing and filing.

Am I wrong?

I am looking for a very slick workflow and if possible get rid of CS2. Maybe Lightroom and Elements.

Any thoughts.