Remember those pictures from the old post comparing Canon vs C1Rebel RAW conversion utilities regarding noise reduction using a 30 min exposure?
FVU/BB using Canon libraries:
C1Rebel using its own libraries:
Well, due to the recent problems I'd with C1Rebel noise reduction, I've decided to test what happens with the CameraRAW 2 plugin of Photoshop CS. And this is the result (using Luma and Choma noise reduction during conversion and then Dust&Scratch noise reduction filter in PS twice, before and after resizing):
Yes, is noisier than the C1Rebel picture, but look at those shadows! And the resulting image looks more natural without the "overprocessed" look of the C1Rebel conversion.
Now, there is a problem. Exif data goes crazy. If you save the image after conversion in JPEG from Photoshop, the exif data generated only is understable by PS itself. I was able to generate a more standard EXIF headers, saving for web, and in the optimization dialog choosing "save with Image Ready" option, and in ImageReady I used the "save optimized as" with a custom profile, and in that profile I choosed to include exif data!!!. Complicated??? You bet! And still the exif data isn't 100% standard, but at least it's usable.
The other option is to convert the image also with BB, open that image in PS (with all the exif data ok), and paste over it the CameraRAW generated image, and then resave the picture.
As I've said, life is full of compromises, and this seems to be another one . In general images converted with ACR are very good, very sharp, and with a very customizable noise reduction parameters. Some lens distortions can be corrected too (as chromatic aberrations) very quikly, but now we have EXIF problems. And PS CS isn't cheap.
UPDATE:
I've tested the new Camera RAW plugin (v2.1) and the EXIF problem is almost GONE . Mostly all the EXIF data is present now when RAW files are converted using ACR, except some details as flash info. Strangely enough, flash info was preserved when S50 RAW files were used, but lost in dRebel RAW ones. Of course focusing point used is lost, but C1Rebel also loose it. S50 RAW files still have a pinkish look, and I still prefer C1Rebel for RAW conversion, but to have EXIF info is a welcomed news.