First Impressions: Leica M8 and Adobe Lightroom

I have been a film photographer for over 20 years, shooting with Leicas the last two years. Because really good lenses (the foundation of a great image) are so expensive, then the natural progression for me from film into digital was with a Leica M8. I still love film and will use it equally as much as digital depending on the shooting conditions.

However, I have taken some of my first images with an M8 and imported them into Lightroom 2.0. Here I'll share with you some initial thoughts and few interesting tidbits I discovered on the web.

First, I'll tell you that I am NOT comparing the M8 to any of the Cannon and Nikon DSLR's. My presumption here is that you are interested in the M8. This is not a review, but more of a hands on experience. However, I am comparing this to using images from Leica DLUX3 which is one of only a couple of pocket cameras that produce a RAW image file. Remember, we're talking file size, not quality of lens or components.

Yes, if any of you are familiar with the DLux3, the save speed on the camera is slow. The other issue I have noticed is a slight red shift in certain landscape photography, most noticeably high contrast images such as snow. However, shooting landscapes I typically have a moment longer to wait and Lightroom does a great job of shifting the red back into alignment. I use the DLux3 to see what the resulting images look like before committing some to film. The point is the resulting RAW file sizes and the transfer speed to my Lightroom catalog.

Native DNG

The first thing I noticed about the M8 was that it saves images in a native DNG format. I understand that Adobe initially created two methods of creating a DNG and Leica being one of the first, picked up a slightly different method than is used more commonly today. In fact, for the really scientific minded, there is a great article posted on The Riddle of the M8 DNG File. But be warned it is technical!

Here's the key. The M8 is saving the images directly as a DNG file whereas the DLux3 was saving as a RAW file. The result is the M8 immediately has smaller filesizes. If you can convert these in Lightroom, what is the big deal? ANSWER: the speed of SD cards and USB connections is realtively slow compared to memory and CPU speeds. So, if we start with a smaller file size, uploading into a Lightroom catalog is exponentially faster. In the case of the DLux3, RAW images were about 30mb (10 mega pixel camera x 3 channels, R, G, B). The M8 produces the same 10 mega pixel image, but by saving the image as a DNG file, the size is only 10mb. Thus, the upload speed to Lightroom from an M8 card is 1/3 that of the DLux3 card.

Even Smaller Filesize

Previously, with the DLux3, I would import into Lightroom and convert the RAW image to a DNG format to save filespace. I was already waiting awhile to import the 30mb image files, so a little longer to convert the file was fine with me and the smaller file size in the catalog made reading the file in Lightroom faster too. So what about the M8?

As it turns out, the main difference in the M8 DNG format and the Lightroom DNG format (remember, Adobe created two methods for the DNG early on), is that the M8 stores a lookup table in the DNG file. See the Riddle article above for more on the lookup table. The result is that the M8 DNG file can be FURTHER compressed while it's being imported.

Using the Lightroom import, convert the DNG files from the SD Card to, yes it's redundant sounding, a DNG file. The resulting new DNG files in the Lightroom catalog can vary in size from 3.5mb to 5mb depending on the range of tones and colors in the image. In fact, I took a photo of the moon with a 90mm Elmarit at f/4.0 and 1/1000 of second.


Because of all the black around the image, this DNG converted to 3.2mb. Astounding considering the beginning RAW data was over 30mb!

There are a few considerations, however. In terms of Lightroom and Photoshop CS3, no problems. I am sure there are other imaging software packages that also have no problem. After all, the resulting DNG file is an Adobe DNG image file. However, the Capture One LE software that came with the M8 will no longer read the DNG file. It was designed to read the M8 DNG file with the added lookup table. Since I don't use that software, I don't mind.

If you use Capture One (or C1 as it can be called), there are reports that using the software key that came with the M8 will also allow registration of Capture One 4, which is said to read the converted DNG file from the M8. I haven't tried this, so I don't know.

Importing Workflow Tip

I have long read posts about how slow some digital cameras are at importing images into Lightroom. The DLux3 is certainly one of those cameras. However, since the beginning of my digital photography work, I have always taken the memory card out of the camera and performed my imports through a card reader. Why? Because technology consistently changes and typically it becomes faster. SD cards become faster (100mhz vs 133mhz). USB ports become faster (1.1 vs 2.0). All the while, our digital camera guts remain the same. So by removing the card from the camera and using the latest card readers, the fastest file transfer times can take place. You will not have to rely on the interface built into the camera by the manufacturer, which, by the way, may be an older technology for compatibility purposes.

Conclusion

My digital Lightroom work is not only faster now with the M8, but also takes less disk space. Remember that my film work is all scanned with a Nikon negative scanner. This results in 40mb TIFF files which can be slow to work with. The next tests I'll run will deal with the noise in the M8 images under the new 2.0 firmware. I'll compare mostly night shots with bright contrasting lights to look for dark shadows containing little noise. I'll also develop some noise files for the M8 that can be used with NeatImage which is the noise reduction software I have used. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Backup, Import, Backup

There are so many details to think about when deciding how to store images, how to label image files, how to backup images and which images should be imported into a library program. This article discusses an overview for the method of getting images from a camera (or scanner) into a Adobe Lightroom while maintaining an appropriate level of backups. This article will not discuss the pros and cons of different media, but overview the need for using multiple medias as backups.

The title of this article is really the summary of the entire workflow. Backup, Import, and Backup again. The order is also important, but mostly because of a limitation of many digital camera interfaces today. This article was also developed based on some of the other detailed work done in importing images into Lightroom and to give a further framework in the Image Conversion Workflow.

The speed of many digital cameras is very slow when uploading images. Only a negative scanner seems slower. Be that as it may, Adobe Lightroom seems to magnify the slowdown when importing directly from a camera. Thus, the first step: Backup.

Backup

The first step in our workflow is to backup the images from the digital card. If you use a negative scanner, then the first step is to scan the image to a backup medium. In my case, the backup is a USB mirrored hard drive attached to my workstation.

I use a Leica DLux3 which is a remarkable pocket camera that takes RAW images. I use the SD card reader in my computer, insert the SD card and copy the images to my external hard drive. See the article I wrote on naming directories for digital negatives and slides to determine how you will organize the image files. This is the fastest method for copying images from a camera - no additional processing in between. Next, we import.

10/13/2008 EDIT: Also see the article that discusses Backing Up Rejects.

Import

The importing function in Adobe Lightroom is a powerful tool. With a little practice and some digging, many options are available through the import dialog. If you copied your images to a backup in the first step, then the import step should use the 'copy the files to a new location' option.

If the files are RAW then you can also check the option to convert the files to DNG. Adobe's Digital Negative format continues to undergo improvements. The two primary reasons to consider using DNG formats are a) Adobe has made the format open source and it should be around for a long time to come and b) DNG formats are smaller than RAW formats because of some lossless compression routines. For TIFF files, JPEG formats and others, the DNG format doesn't offer much, but for RAW files, DNG is worth a look.

At this point you can also choose a MetaData preset or create one on the fly. Thus, we can be importing images from a soccer game shoot and automatically set the photographer's information as well as the soccer match information in the MetaData. Presets for MetaData are like bulk copies. They instantly make an array of changes to a group of files while they are importing. This saves mutliple selections and later typing.Also, keywords can also be added at the import stage. Similar to the MetaData presets, images can have basic tags created to get started.

This is not to say that further refining will not be necessary. In fact, changes should be necessary. There should be some title and description information put in the MetaData for each image. There should also be some keywords that will apply to some images and other keywords for other informations. The point is that much of the repetitive information can be input easily for all the images. This is the whole idea of an efficient workflow.

Backup

The last section almost could have been labeled Import-Backup. The importing dialog is the perfect time to make a copy of the images for our last backup. Simply setting the end of the dialog to copy the files to a CD when finished will add some time to the process, but will provide us with a moveable copy that could even be stored off site.

The copy to CD routine in Lightroom 1.4.1 seems to copy the images to a temporary directory and then burn them to a CD. However, the temporary files are not removed from the disk directory. Yet, when you export a new set of images to burn to a CD, Lightroom removes those old files first.

Exporting to CD can be done at a later time, but backups tend to get delayed if they are not completed when the images are added to the library. Then you find yourself getting busy and wanting to review the images. Who needs another backup? Well, the first backup is on a hard drive and the working copy is on another hard drive. Hard drives are prone to eventual failure, or in my case, prone to electrical failure from lighting strikes. So, to truly protect your images, using a backup that can be separated and that is not prone to descrtuction like the others.

Conclusion

The whole point of this article is to let us sit back and evaluate our current import strategy. Using the concepts above we have several advantages. First, we make a quick copy of our images and secure the location they are stored. Then we import them using presets to save lots of typing and reviewing. Finally, we make another backup to a CD or DVD as the import is taking place.

Next, we will delve into the details and choices available in the exporting dialog. Stay tuned!! ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Lightroom 2 Beta - Cannot Import Catalogs Yet

I was hoping to begin a review of Lightroom 2 Beta today by importing my catalog from version 1.3. Unfortunately, that feature isn't available yet. If you use the File, Import Catalog menu and choose a catalog file that is created in a version less than 2.0, then you get the dialog box above.

I guess I will import whatever pictures I currently have on my digital camera and go from there! I will post more in the upcomming days. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Lightroom Tip #5 - Faster Imports

Imports take a significant amount of time for large raw files or tiff files in any volume. This is especially true through a usb cable and a camera. There are a few steps you can take to increase the speed of the import if you are sitting and waiting to get started in Lightroom.

1. Leave the box unchecked in the import window to preview the images. This takes a large amount of processing time to load the images to show. This is the whole point of the import - to bring in the photos to look at. Using this option is a wasted step when time is important.
2. Manually build the previews for any size except the library thumbnail. Building the 1:1 previews takes a long time and you may never view some of the images at that level. Allow Lightroom to build those as you view them. Note that once you view the image at 1:1, Lightroom saves the build and doesn't recreate it each time. This can be another time saver.

... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Importing - Information to Apply

Part of the Importing Dialog Box in Lightroom is the Information to Apply section.

This section houses the presets that can be applied for Developing, Metadata, Keywords and Initial Previews.

Developing Presets on Import

In Progress.

Metadata Presets on Import

The metadata contains copyright information and other locational information that can easily be setup to post to each image on import. See a description of how to apply this metadata during import.

Keywords Assigned on Import

In Progress.

Initial Previews Assigned on Import

Previews are the pictures viewed in the Library mode. Specifically, the Group mode shows thumbnails of each image and a larger image is seen in the Loupe mode. These images have to be generated for the first time. You can choose how much to generate upon import, although the larger the images generated, the longer the import. I am generally to impatient to see everything, so I choose minimal and then the larger images are rendered as I veiw them. The speed of your computer and how quickly you want to be working will determine your taste for this setting.

Conclusion

There are many significant ways that the developers of Lightroom tried to make the image workflow efficient. Using various presets when importing the images goes a long way towards making the tedious work of imaage management more bareable. Use these presets and spend the time creating them up front. It will payoff in the long run. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Applying Metadata to Imports in Lightroom

The metadata is the information about the camera, exposure, copyright, photographer, location and other data about the image. Universally, it is stored with the image and is separate from any development or image altering effects. The camera and exposure data is automatically populated from today's digital cameras. Also, if you use a negative scanner, the camera may be listed as the scanner, but no exposure information will be stored.

Adding the photographer information and the copyright information is easy to do in Lightroom and is best done at the import stage. We will use a metadata template to apply this information effortlessly each time.

When the import dialog box is shown, as we saw in the article on Importing Images into Lightroom, the third block is Information to Apply. The metadata item has a drop down box which defaults to None. It is here where we will create our template. Click on the drop down box for metadata and select New.

You will be presented with this dialog box. Here we will be able to input any standard information you wish to include with all your basic image imports.

Here it is important to note that only ONE metatdata template can be applied for each import. This means you don't want to create a template for the photographer and one for the copyright because you would have to apply them separately and only one can be applied at import time.

At the top I labeled my preset as Basic Info so that I knew it was the most basic information for all my imports. Then I input the copyright information by typing the copyright symbol and other information. I typically use All Rights Reserved in the rights usage terms, but your conditions might be different depending on what your images are used for.

Then I input the creator information which is me. I use my business information and any web site for the company, etc.

When you are done, click the Create button and the template is saved. Now you can choose this template in the metadata drop down list for importing. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Importing Images Into Lightroom

After scanning our images, importing the images into lightroom is the next step in our Image Conversion Workflow. Fortunately, Lightroom has a powerful and easy to use interface to accomplish our import.

By pressing the Import button at the bottom of the Library view or by using the File, Import Photos from Disk menu item, we choose a source for our images and access the dialog to the left. Note that you can bypass these menu items by dragging a folder or files from Windows Explorer directly onto the Lightroom Library. The import dialog box will open with those files already selected.

There are a plethora of options in this dialog box and all of the options are customizable. The power of this import workflow from Adobe is that after setting up some basics, importing becomes easy instead of a dreaded task.

We will cover these options over several articles as they are grouped in the dialog box. These are the File Location, File Naming and Information to Apply.

After importing our images, we will move on to applying metadata and keywords so that we can get the most efficiency out of our powerful new tool.

UPDATE: This article discusses the general concept of the import dialog box for Lightroom. We discuss a more detailed approach to importing of images, the backup process and any conversions desired in a new article: Backup, Import, Backup. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.