Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

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Raw Photo Processor
Chapter 7 ■ RAW Converters 81
Vendor: Andrey Tverdokhleb
Purpose: Mac-only RAW conversion for almost all digital camera RAW and DNG formats
Description
Raw Photo Processor (RPP) is a Mac-only RAW converter that offers some advantages
over the standard Adobe Camera RAW processing in Photoshop and Lightroom. It is
especially good at bringing out detail in heavily underexposed images and in getting
accurate rendition of subtle blues and grays. It supports custom camera profiles; has
excellent four-channel white balance control; uses high precision math to preserve shadows
and highlights; has a facility to increase contrast without greatly impacting overall
tonality; and offers a sophisticated monochrome mode for producing black and white,
sepia, and other monochrome styles.
RPP supports several different ways of working with white balance—automatic detection,
“as shot” (taken from camera), custom white balance from neutral areas, and color
tone adjustments on a “cold/warm” scale. Its treatment of color saturation differs from
others by taking a more sophisticated approach, according to its developer Andrey
Tverdokhleb (who does not elaborate on this topic). However, the first-rate result speaks
for itself.
Comments
As the developer readily admits, user interfaces are not his strongest suit. That said, RPP
is an excellent processor in nearly all other respects. It has won a following from hordes
of DSLR photographers, particularly from users of Fuji cameras who strive for exceptional
dynamic range. RPP maximizes the in-built advantage of the Fuji S3, S5, and so
on, cameras with their special highlight-gathering sensors. It also helps to bring other
cameras closer to the Fuji standard by helping to recover lost highlights. It is especially
good at eliminating purple fringing, although there is no special code in the software to
do it. (“It just works,” says the developer.)
Version: Raw Photo Processor 3.7 (2008)
OS: Mac OS X (10.4 or 10.5)
RAM: 256MB
Supported file formats: Most RAW
Price level: Free
Address: San Francisco, California, United States
www.raw-photo-processor.com