Do you prefer DPP or Lightroom

[John_SD]

I haven't tried Lightroom, so I cannot comment on its benefits or shotcomings. I am just starting to dip my toes into DPP, and while I am far from conversant about it's intracacies, benefits and quirks, I feel that for now it will be sufficient for my needs. 

A real benefit of DPP, in my view is that it's free -- and it seems robust in its abilities, of which I haven't yet scratched the surface. But so far I like what i see.

Do you guys feel stongly about one product or the other? If so, why? 

[Peter]

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@TTMartin wrote:

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@TTMartin wrote:

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@Peter wrote:

In my opinion DPP is a good start because the images look like the ones in your camera. With a few adjustments your images are ready to be exported as jpg. What I really miss with DPP is a good shadow/highlight tool. 

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In DPP 4 use the vertical bars with the white triangles in the histogram to control shadows and highlights.

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That's only the beginning. There are also sliders for brightness, contrast, highlights, shadows, and saturation. And you can adjust the color values either globally or with three separate adjustments for each of six colors.

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Most people only try the sliders which give a very limited (fine tuning) range of adjustement. It is the histogram vertical bar adjustments which match what you can do in Lightroom. That is what people unfamiliar with DPP think it lacks compared to Lightroom.

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That's me.

I have a raw file here https://myfile.org/2dW6B0beb7/IMG_1322.CR2 from a Canon M5. Please make the changes in DPP4, save them and reupload the raw file and I will open the file in my DPP4.

[TTMartin]

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@Peter wrote:

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@TTMartin wrote:

Most people only try the sliders which give a very limited (fine tuning) range of adjustement. It is the histogram vertical bar adjustments which match what you can do in Lightroom. That is what people unfamiliar with DPP think it lacks compared to Lightroom.

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That's me.

I have a raw file here https://myfile.org/2dW6B0beb7/IMG_1322.CR2 from a Canon M5. Please make the changes in DPP4, save them and reupload the raw file and I will open the file in my DPP4.

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Just a quick edit.

Brightness adjustment -2.00 to eliminate overexposure of the sky.
Gamma adjustment Midpoint -3.75 to bring up the shadow area with door.
Color saturation +4.00 because it looked washed out otherwise.
No other adjustments.

[Waddizzle]

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@TTMartin wrote:

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@Peter wrote:

In my opinion DPP is a good start because the images look like the ones in your camera. With a few adjustments your images are ready to be exported as jpg. What I really miss with DPP is a good shadow/highlight tool. 

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In DPP 4 use the vertical bars with the white triangles in the histogram to control shadows and highlights.

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Have you ever noticed the horizontal contol bars?  Along the top and bottom edges?

[jrhoffman75]

If you call Adobe you can buy the perpetual license. It doesn't have all the features as CC version. If you are happy what it has then you would be all set.

[TTMartin]

Peter, I'm on the road between FL and OH, taking our time driving a day camping two nights, with a day of hiking and photography in between. Right now we are at a campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'll process your picture as soon as we are settled in Ohio.

[RobertTheFat]

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@TTMartin wrote:
Peter, I'm on the road between FL and OH, taking our time driving a day camping two nights, with a day of hiking and photography in between. Right now we are at a campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'll process your picture as soon as we are settled in Ohio.

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I looked at it with DPP 4. It doesn't really need much. You can futz with the picture style to alter the relative color strengths, but it's certainly not a rescue job. So I doubt that it could provide much insight into the relative capabilities of DPP and LR.

[Peter]

I hear you have a better sample to upload and share for the purpose

[jrhoffman75]

Tutorial

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/product/canon_software/dpp_video_tutorials.do?utm_source=newslet...

[KBeat]

Hey, 

I'm new to this forum but have a great deal of experience with RAW editing software. Between Apple's Aperture and Adobe's Lightroom, I've processed nearly a quarter million RAW files in the last 5 years. I have also returned to DPP time and time again, after each update, to check on its progress and to compare corrections against Canon's native adjutments.

Sadly, even in version 4, DPP just isn't in the same class as LR, and I'm NOT a LR fan. The interface in DPP is about 10 years behind the times, and its performance with large RAW files is abysmal compared to LR and other RAW editors. As far as editing tools go, without an adjustment brush, you're very limited compared to what you can do with LR.

Where DPP has an advantage is that it's free and it produces reliably good images. You can use it as your only tool if you're on a budget and get the job done. However, that wasn't the question. Compared to LR, it's a second class citizen.

Now, you didn't ask, but if you did I'd tell you neither. These days I prefer DXO Optics Pro with the occasional trip to Pixelmator. I can do everything (better IMHO) that I did with the Adobe software and I don't have to pay rent. The noise reduction in DXO is far and away the best in the business and is worth the price of admission alone if you do a lot of high ISO photography.

Now excuse me while I go pour one out for Aperture, my lost love... 

[BurnUnit]

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@KBeat wrote:

Now, you didn't ask, but if you did I'd tell you neither. These days I prefer DXO Optics Pro with the occasional trip to Pixelmator.

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I've never used Lightroom but I'll also admit to becoming a big fan of DxO Optics Pro. DPP4 seems to work well for the most part but in certain situations it goes bog slow. Optics Pro's interface is a bit overwhelming at first but it does allow you to customize your work area and prioritize the tools you use most.