Asset Management for RAW files

[Paul]

I've been shooting the S2 for a little over a week now and I like the camera very much. Currently I working on a project where I'm shooting, documentary style, little kids in a nursery school - everything available light. I plan to make large prints, 16 X 20 or larger, so I'm shooting everything in RAW format, converting with EX. Do I need to convert all the images if I wish to use an asset manager program like Portfolio? I like the contact sheet layout provided by the FinePixViewer and I wish I could "save" these sheets and somehow use them as a way of cataloguing what I have for RAW files. If I have to convert everything in order to catalogue it I suppose I will but it would impose an onerous workflow. Any suggestions?

[ichiro]

My suggestion is Adobe PDF Writer.
To make contact sheet files, I'm printing to "PDF Writer" from the FinePixViewer.

[Paul]

That sounds like a promising idea but I'm afraid I don't know exactly how I print to "PDF writer". I do have the Adobe Acrobat 5, the application, not just the reader, but I rarely use it. I assume I must employ it somehow to enact this "print to PDF writer" procedure? Thanks for the initial suggestion and for any further guidance.

[kevroc]

You shouldn't have to convert first. There is a sizeable image (jpg I believe) already in the RAF file. It's the same thing you see on the LCD if you review the image. You could simply use any JPG browse and print a contact sheet out.

Yes, you would need Adobe 5 to get the PDFWriter.

Thumbsplus lets you output a "Contact Sheet" to a file. The other thumbnail programs probably do as well.

Kevin R.

[rwniel]

Hi Paul,

Have you investigated the 'CD Album Maker' accessible from the Finepix viewer? ( I don't have my 'S2' yet so can't check, but from reviews I've read it sounds like it could be useful in your situation). You could copy the files to a folder rather than it being necessary writing them to a CDR. You would need to convert your images to JPG from RAF or TIFF because it can't handle those file types directly, but this could be done as a batch using the 'EX' converter to minimise your workflow.'S2 review' (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujis2pro/page11.asp)

Another idea might be to use QImage Pro, since you can lay out multiple images to a printed page. The latest beta handles 'S2' raw files directly, so you wouldn't need to implicitely convert them.
QI Pro (http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/)

Regards

Robert

[kari]

if i'm right you can see those raw files with finepix viewer, if so there is in "file" index print where you can print contatc sheet strait to a printer, it takes time but it will come out just fine

[Lita]

Hi Paul,

I'm about to shoot a job with the S2 from which I'll need to make large inkjet prints, maximum 50 x 70 inches. When I shot in RAW format for a test the other day, I got a 65MB file after conversion.

I think I need about an 85MB file to do larger prints, what do you suggest?

Someone told me about Genuine Fractals, but I have not tried it yet.

[Paul]

Hello Lita:
Yes, I have used Genuine Fractals and I do think it works very well, but I haven’t used it extensively. Up until very recently, I’ve been shooting film, 35MM & 2 1/4, mostly E6. And the times I’ve used GF have been with files that originated from film. Now that I am using an S2 I expect GF will do an even better job interpolating images that were created digitally. Incidentally, the 65MB file you created from your RAW file is 16 bit, which for most cases cannot be fully advantaged with current outputting options so you need to convert to 8 bit which will reduce the file size by half. And then if you need to you can interpolate upward to the specs required for your prints. Also a colleague recently told me GF works best if you interpolate incrementally, that is doing it in steps.
Best,
Paul

[Lita]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply. No wonder the RAW files were so big, whereas when I shot RGB TIFFs, they were only about 35MB.

I visited a digital lab here in Manhattan and what the guy told me there was that I can just *res up* the file in Photoshop and it will work well, no need for GENUINE FRACTALS.

I'm asking these questions because I'm shooting this job on Monday, and I have shot for this client before. Like you, I have mostly shot on medium format (Hasselblad) so this is the first time I'm attempting to shoot such an assignment on digital 35mm.

My test shots looked good, but I'm worried about how large the inkjet prints can go. Of course I realize this all has to do with the inkjet printer resolution (I think the one I will be using is 100ppi or so) so I guess that will answer my question.

So GENUINE FRACTALS can really make my RAW file good enough for a 50x70 inch print?

Thanks a lot for your help.

[carrickp]

I make inkjet prints at least that big all the time on a Roland FJ52 with even less resolution than the S2 provides. I just "res up" in Photoshop, but I also have used Genuine Fractals. The inkjet printers are surprisingly forgiving.