Question on IDC

[Thincat]

I've just started to use RAW on my Sony A700 and I'm trying to edit a RAW picture from Picture Motion Browser. I've selected the picture and then clicked on the EDIT option, expecting a drop down menu of options, but all I get is something telling me the version of the software (2.0). Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

[David Kilpatrick]

Using Picture Motion Browser? It's a peculiar mix of advanced features and ancient Sony authorship. Use Image Data Lightbox instead, when you click on a thumbnail in IDL it automatically opens for raw processing in IDC if you have got everything installed right. PMB is really a JPEG only program for stills, mainly used for video viewing and GPS tagging.

David

[Thincat]

Thanks for the reply. I was using the info in Gary Friedman's A700 guide - is this now out of date and do I need to download Lightbox?

[Dr. Harout]

Using Picture Motion Browser? It's a peculiar mix of advanced features and ancient Sony authorship. Use Image Data Lightbox instead, when you click on a thumbnail in IDL it automatically opens for raw processing in IDC if you have got everything installed right. PMB is really a JPEG only program for stills, mainly used for video viewing and GPS tagging.

David

I use PMB for automatically downloading the pictures from my camera to the PC. It reads and displays all RAW files and from within I open any or a bunch of shots either in LR or Ps.
I use the Sony Image Data Lightbox merely to view my shots of before and during/after treatment and I find it very much useful.

[UrsaMajor]

Thanks for the reply. I was using the info in Gary Friedman's A700 guide - is this now out of date and do I need to download Lightbox?

That statement did not agree with my memory of what Gary wrote, so I just looked in his A700 e-book.

What he says - at least in the version I have - is:

"The folks at Sony have generously provided three pieces of software that perform Photoshop’s most-used functions at no charge to you!

The first software package, called Picture Motion Browser, provides an easy way to organize, view, and tweak your images. The second package, two programs called Image Data Lightbox and Image Data Converter SR, provide another compelling feature which can be found in precious few other software packages: It knows how to read and display (and post-adjust) the .arw RAW files – the highest-quality image format that your camera can capture. (RAW files were discussed in Chapter 8.)"

Looking at this, I can see how it might be interpreted as implying that PMB can be used for all editing - including RAW files - but I think that the specific mention of the additional ability of Lightbox and IDC to handle ARW files says indirectly that PMB cannot do so.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

[Thincat]

Thanks for the info. I see that the Friedman book goes on to talk about IDC a few pages on. It doesn't really make it clear that PMB can only edit JPEG.

So I've got the latest versions of everything and I can get to the editing of RAW files in IDC - although from PMB it's fairly tortuous since you seem to need to select the "Manipulate" drop down menu and then select edit and then select IDC. The problem I now have is that there are a lot of options and the explanation in the HELP is pretty useless. Why do companies spend a fortune on developing clever software and then just leave it for the user to find out what it does by trial and error? Is there any guide I can get on IDC - Friedman's book doesn't really go into any detail.

[Birma]

Hi Thincat. I found the exact same difficulty as you in using IDC. I used to read things intended for Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and try and translate these in to IDC which worked to a degree, but not entirely satisfactorly. This was one of the main reasons that I started using Photoshop Elements (which incorporates ACR). I found it easier to learn how to process RAW files once there was more guidance available (and there are several very good books on Elements). So, to start with I'd try looking in some books/magazines/the internet about RAW processing and see if that helps slightly understand what you are trying to achieve in IDC.