I gotta tell ya, people are lovin’ that free “Instant JPEG from Raw” utility Michael Tapes and Imagenomic created! Michael, if you were running, I'd vote for you! My thanks once again for doing something so cool and useful for our community! Scott Kelby, Sept. 26
Whew! Talk about a great start for our new website! Last week I had the honor of being the Wednesday Guest Blogger over at Scott Kelby's great blog. I wrote about my new (and free) utility called Instant JPEG From Raw (or IJFR). To say we had an enthusiastic reception would be an understatement. Thanks so much to Scott Kelby and his readers for making me feel so welcome.
Here is the link to my original post. And here is the link to the follow-up by Scott.
Today, I will explain a little more about IJFR based on some of the questions asked over in the comments section of Scott's Blog. Most of this information will also be ported to the FAQs on the site for easy reference.
- IJFR is not an application. Let's call it a utility that attached itself to the Win or Mac Operating System. That means that it is not associated with any specific application.
- In Windows (XPsp2+/Vista32), you unzip the download file, and run the .msi installer. There is no application installed. The registry will be modified, and a DLL will be placed in c:\Program Files\Instant JPEG From Raw. That's it. Right click on a raw or folder of raws to invoke IJFR.
- In Mac (OS X 10.4+), you unzip the download file, and drag the "plug-in to \Library\Context Menu Items. The IJFR plug-in is attached to the finder. Reboot or Force Quit the finder and you are set. Right click on a raw or folder of raws to invoke IJFR.
- IJFR is not a raw converter. It does not develop an image. It extracts the existing embedded JPEG that was developed by the camera and inserted into the raw file container. We just get it out for you.
- This is not a new concept. As pointed out in my blog post at Photoshop Insider, there is a long history of the embedded JPEG, and many applications have had this feature over the years. Some still due. The point of IJFR was to bring this workflow enhanced to the public (it has been a closely held secret for some reason), and format it so that it was as easy to use as possible. And I decided to make it free, as a give back to an industry that has been good to me.
- As I said there is a lot of history behind this, but in terms of IJFR, I could not have done it without my friends at Imagenomic. The guys and girls behind the great Noiseware and Portraiture plug-ins. After paying to have a Windows based prototype built, I decided that IJFR should be cross platform, both for Windows and Mac. My subcontractor could not do that so I mentioned it to my friends at Imagenomic who write both Windows and Mac code all day long. I asked for a bid, but based on it going to be a free utility, they decided to donate their services, again in the concept of giving something back to the photographic community. I am grateful for the donation of their time and expertise. Please take a look at their fine products (I say that because I use them!) if they are applicable to your work.
- IJFR supports almost all raw formats including DNG. Some cameras that we missed are Canon 50D, all Sony .arw, and Canon sRaw. We do not support medium format digital files, although someone has asked me to look into supporting Phase One files.
- IJFR does not work within Windows Explorer in Vista 64, but if you open a file dialog from a 32 bit application, you can right click on the files or folder there and use IJFR with this slight work around. We will look into compatibility directly with Vista 64.
- IJFR has no control over the look of the file. Since the file was created by the camera, it was the settings on the camera at the time of capture that rendered the file into what it looks like. In the case of a DNG exported from an application like Lightroom or ACR, it is the adjustments in that application that will affect the look of the rendered JPEG that is stored in the JPEG (it is called the Preview image).
- IJFR does have control over the size of the image. The largest size (native size) is determined by the camera or DNG exporter. But IJFR can render smaller sizes based on its resize feature.
I am going to cut it off here so I can get this posted and do some paid work <g>. If you have more questions or observations please just comment on this post. Thanks again for your kind reception and let me know what you would like to see on my blog.
MT Out..