qimage raw - a guide r6

8/14/2019 Qimage RAW - A Guide R6

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QIMAGE RAW PROCESSING A GuideRev. 6 Date: 04-03-09

Author: T J Mann Page 1 of 5

SCOPEThis document covers the work flow required when using Qimage Studio Edition to process RAWimages.It is assumed that the user already has a basic knowledge of Qimage.

PURPOSETo give guidance to Qimage users who are not familiar with RAW processing.

INTRODUCTIONWhen Qimage opens a raw image, either for viewing, printing or conversion, it is automaticallyprocessed on the fly. Each image is smart processed for exposure, not to some nominal pre-setvalues, but by reading the image data and adjusting exposure accordingly.This process works in a high proportion of cases but occasionally, no more than three additional stepsare required to refine the exposure and white balance. This is done with a single mouse click in two ofthe steps and a slider for the third.

WORK FLOW STEPS

1. Set Up

1.1. Set the RAW processing preferences.

This is a one-off action although some checks with differentSharpening and Noise Reduction combinations may be required toget the best result from your camera. Once set it should not benecessary to make any further adjustmentsInformation about the RAW preferences is given in QimageHelp\Contents\Qimage Functions\RAW Format Options.

1.2. Set up your camera custom profileThis is a one-off action and optional; instructions for this will comewith the supplied profile; it should be copied to the Profiles folderof the Qimage program directory.

1.3. Set Views and Thumbnail Quality.Full and Optimise for Quality are recommended so that theseviews reflect any refinements to the raw image. (fig 1)

1.4. Set File Types to include RAWView\Thumbnail/File Browser\Include File Types Make sure theRAW option is dotted.

2. Open RAW Image(s) in the Refine Window

2.1. Hover mouse over a thumbnail and select Refine Raw Exposure(current thumb)single chequer green iconOR

2.2. Select several thumbnails right click and select Refine RawExposuredouble chequer iconOR

2.3. Place several images in the queue, right click preview, chooseSelect All and then Refine Raw Exposure - double chequergreen icon.The Refine window will open after any of the above actions.See figure 3 below and note the refine controls bottom right andthe 9-segment grid.

Detailed Help is available from the Refine window by clicking theblue?When several images are selected it is possible to move fromone to the next and copy settings to the rest of the group. Usingthe queue has the advantage that you can choose the sequenceby which images are refined.

RAW Preferences (Fig 1)

Right Click Menu (Fig 2)


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3. White Balance CorrectionThis is usually recommended as the first action in the refine process but may not always benecessary.

3.1. Select the WB button (dropper icon)

3.2. Click on a grey part of the image with the dropperDifferent grey areas may be tried but if it is difficult to select such an area it is possible to

highlight near grey areas by using the CTRL key or middle mouse button, the lighter the area,the closer it is to pure grey.Different highlighted areas can be tried and the grey area highlight function can be used tocheck progress.The RGB values of a point can be seen by right clicking on the image which is useful to see howcool or warm a near grey area is.

Here is an illustrated example, figures 3 to 6 below: -

Original - No WB correction (fig 3) Original - near grey highlighted (fig 4)

WB corrected image (fig 5) WB corrected - near grey highlighted (fig 6)

3.3.

In the example above, a region of grey cloud was chosen as shown in Figure 5. Different regions of

grey cloud would give warmer or cooler tones depending on the photographers taste.

Note the red lines by the WB button which indicates it has been set.

A particular setting can be removed by right clicking on the icon or slider.


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4. Exposure Correction & Refine Exposure

Qimage SEautomatically corrects the exposure for thewholeimage. However, there may be occasions when the auto exposure correction needs to be based on one

area of the image and for that reason the Refine Window divides the image into 9 rectangularsegments.

The feature is particularly useful for highlight recovery.

4.1. Click the exposure correction button (upward pointing arrow icon).

4.2. Click within a segment of the grid that is the most important for exposure correction.It is very easy and quick to try different segments and check the result.The RGB values of an area can be read using a right click

The example above (figure 5) has blown highlights in the top left segment and this was used torecover them; illustrations below, the blue rectangle shows the segment outline that was clickedto do this:

Blown highlights segment (fig 7) Recovered highlights with one click (fig 8)

5. Exposure Correction & Fill LightIn the example above, the use of exposure correction to recover highlights in a particular area hasresulted in the image being too dark in the shadow areas. Fill light control enables this to becorrected over the whole image. Fill light can be used in the opposite way with negative values todarken and increase the contrast of the whole image.Whatever level of fill is chosen will be a matter of personal taste to some extent

5.1. Drag the Fill slider to the rightlighten to the shadows or to

the left to increase contrast.Clicking at the ends of theslider bar changes the fillvalue by 1 unit.

Final result with a Fill value of +9 (fig 9)


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6. Copy SettingsThis is useful, particularly for White Balance, where only one of a set of images taken under similarconditions has a suitable area for WB or where consistent appearance is required.TIP: take a photograph of a grey/white object at the time of shooting and use that for raw WBsetting.

6.1. Select multiple imagesMultiple images must be selected either

in the thumbnail grid or in the queue.

6.2. Refine the first imageNB. By using the queue, you can choosewhich image is first, e.g. the image to beused for master white balance

6.3. Copy setting to all the selected imagesClick the Copy Settings button.

6.4. Select which settings to copy and OK

6.5. Click the arrow to move to the nextimage.

7. Another Refine ExampleThe first example had a modest range of tones and although exposure was set to accommodate thebright portion of the sky, the amount of fill light required was also modest.The next example has a much higher range of tones and again camera exposure was based on thebright sky.The example shows how the refine process can be used to get different results depending on whichportion of the image is regarded as most important. In this case, is it the sky or part of theforeground?

7.1. Correct White balance

Image white balanced only (Fig 11)

Grey cloud top rightsegment used for WB

Copy Refine Settings (Fig 10)


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7.2. Refine for Sky Refine for sky (Fig 12)

Exposure correctionin top left segmentwhere highlights wereblown. Full recoverywas not possible.

Fill set at +20 tolighten dark areas andmaintain contrastthere.

7.3. Refine for foreground Refine for foreground (Fig 13)

Exposure correctionin bottom centresegment on thepeople walking.Fill set at +1

The sky is completelyblank but there ismore contrast in thebuildings andforeground

This is an extremecase but if, forexample, over-

exposed areas wereto be cropped out ofthe final image, itwould be a betterapproach to refine theexposure on the areato be used.

8. Next StepsThe processed image can now be:-

8.1. Used to make a print direct from the raw file.8.2. Converted to another format for further editing, e-mail or web use.

Use Convert, E-mail-Web Copies or Print-to-File functions.8.3. Edited using the Qimage Batch Filter functions.

Use batch filter for cropping, adding or subtracting saturation - in fact, most of the filter functionscan be used on the raw image.

qimage raw - a guide r6

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