[KPhotoAlbum] Importing Canon raw files

[Robert L Krawitz]

   From: Shawn Willden <shawn-kimdaba at willden.org>
   Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 14:23:32 -0600
   Cc: Robert L Krawitz <rlk at alum.mit.edu>

   On Tuesday 09 May 2006 12:22, Robert L Krawitz wrote:
   > With the Rebel that workflow wasn't much of a problem since the JPEG
   > is embedded in the RAW file, and I could pick the size I wanted (well,
   > I could once I installed the Wasia firmware).  With the 20D it's a bit
   > more problematic with KPhotoAlbum.  The 20D seems to embed a 1.5
   > megapixel JPEG in the .cr2 file, but it's not quite the same as what
   > the Rebel did -- the embedded thumbnail is too low in resolution to be
   > of much use, and it's relatively low quality (about 500 KB, which is
   > the "normal" quality).  In addition, the embedded thumbnail doesn't
   > carry the EXIF data; it's stored in the .cr2 file (and in the
   > explictly saved JPEG).

   Your Rebel was the original Rebel, right?  It sounds like the way
   it works is different from the 20D and from the Rebel XT that I
   have.

   My XT embeds different JPEGs in the RAW file depending on whether
   I'm shooting RAW+JPEG or RAW only.  In RAW+JPEG mode, the embedded
   JPEG is the same as the separated JPEG (Large/Fine) with the only
   difference (AFAICT) being that the embedded JPEG does not contain
   the EXIF data.

Hmm.  I'm quite sure that I extracted it with Dave Coffin's parse
program, and it was 1.5 MB, but I've set my camera to large fine +
RAW.  I thought the 20D and XT did the same thing.  The original Rebel
was certainly different.

   If I shoot in RAW-only mode, then I get what you get from your 20D,
   a RAW file with a lower-quality embedded JPEG, also with no EXIF
   data.

   > I like to shoot both JPEG and RAW.  It's a lot easier to process
   > having the high quality JPEG around from the start, and the
   > current FOSS tools for RAW processing (dcraw, and my hacked up
   > dcraw) still have a ways to go.  However, it's a real pain having
   > KPhotoAlbum import both files, especially since it doesn't show
   > the filename extension so I can't tell which one I'm selecting.

   Hehe.  Use exiftool to strip the PreviewImage out of the RAW files,
   then you'll be able to tell the difference quite easily.  Of
   course, you won't be able to tell one RAW photo from another.

I never, NEVER edit the RAW file in any way.  My import script sets it
read-only as soon as it can.

   > The behavior I'd like is to import the JPEG file if it exists, and
   > otherwise fall back to the RAW file. 

   I think that's a good approach.  Ignore the RAW file if the JPEG is
   present.  I know it doesn't address all of the other multi-file
   scenarios that everyone else has mentioned, but it solves the
   problem RAW+JPEG shooters have very cleanly.

   Of course the mechanism to identify that RAW and JPEG files are the
   same image would be purely by filename.  If two files have idential
   names and paths, but differ only in the extension, they're
   considered to be the same image.

That's the right idea, at least in this case.

   > I'm tempted to hack my own 
   > version of KPhotoAlbum to ignore .cr2 files altogether for now; my
   > wife and I are going to Alaska next month and I expect to take
   > thousands of shots (all of them will be RAW+large fine JPEG) and I
   > need my workflow to be efficient during the trip.  Hopefully not more
   > than 8000 or so; that's about the limit of my disk.

   I've been considering either hacking KPA to ignore the CR2 files,
   or perhaps modifying my scripts to store the RAW files in a
   different directory tree, parallel to the one that stores the JPEGs
   and is seen by KPA.

   Actually, the more that I think about it, the more I'm considering
   just moving the RAW files out of the way.  That would have the
   advantage that I could more easily continue keeping copies of all
   of my photos on my laptop drive, by keeping the JPEGs and archiving
   the RAW files on my file server.  The RAW files are great to have,
   but I've had this 350D for less than a week and I'm already seeing
   that I'm going to have to start limiting the files on my laptop --
   or I won't have any room to store the files my employer gave me the
   laptop for!