RAW to JPEG Batch Converter

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

From under the bridge
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Name
Paul
Edit My Images
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Hi Folks hope this is ok to post in here.
I shoot in RAW now and would like to locate some easy to use software that can batch convert all my RAWS in one fall swoop to the highest quality jpegs.

any thoughts.

idealy a product that has an input output folder type operation.

Paul
 
Are you looking for something free or do you mind paying?

Could always download the free Lightroom 5 beta until you find something you like as that will do it with ease.
 
Free is nice I do have PS6 can't use it mind you as I am a simpleton.

Just want a product that will do a straight super high quality conversion not fussed about file size.
 
Instant Jpeg From Raw will extract the embedded jpeg from a raw file and save it as a jpeg. For most modern cameras this is identical to the jpeg that the camera would have taken at the time of shooting. Just select the images to convert in Windows Explorer, right-click and off you go.
 
Not for highest quality.

But since you're a Nikon user, try out ViewNX2...

Mark files to convert, select menu "Files" -> "Convert Files" and you get options for all sizes, renaming, changing of extracted files location etc...
 
Surely any such converter would have to make assumptions in the conversion process that negate the value of shooting RAW in the first place? Why not shoot RAW + Jpeg, and use the in-camera Jpegs just referring to the RAW when you want to do something special?
 
Furtim said:
Surely any such converter would have to make assumptions in the conversion process that negate the value of shooting RAW in the first place? Why not shoot RAW + Jpeg, and use the in-camera Jpegs just referring to the RAW when you want to do something special?
Click to expand...

Quite true...
The whole purpose of shooting raws is to give each conversion individual attention.
If all you want to do is convert to standard Jpegs you might as well shoot Jpegs in the first place.

If you shoot raw and use lightroom the shots will be converted anyway, using the same converter as in photoshop, but non distributively. so if what you see needs further attention you can go back to it later.

However Light room does not touch the file itself, it simply adds an instruction as to what to do next time the file is opened in lightroom. to make a permanent change the file needs to be exported from Lightroom, and can be saved along side the original file or elsewhere. I normally convert and save as tiffs.
 
Furtim said:
Surely any such converter would have to make assumptions in the conversion process that negate the value of shooting RAW in the first place?
Click to expand...

That's the joy of using an application that can recreate the jpeg that the camera would have shot - either by extracting the embedded jpeg (yes, it does have higher jpeg compression applied, but it still produces an image usable in all but the most demanding situations) or by using a program that can read and apply the settings at the time of shooting. For Canon users DPP will do this (open a raw file and use the default settings to create a jpeg identical to what would have been shot by the camera). I presume that other manufacturer's raw processors have a similar function.

Furtim said:
Why not shoot RAW + Jpeg,
Click to expand...

Because shooting both lowers frame rates, reduces card capacity, complicates file management (you have to move two files each time) and is, as explained above, redundant. The only time I would contemplate it would be if I needed instant access to the images.
 
Thanks, I want to do it an external application as I am not sure I am getting the highest quality JPEG out of the camera.
 
If you have CS6 then you don't need another program to do what you want. :shake:

Open Adobe Bridge, browse for your folder with the RAW files in, click Ctrl+A to select all the files. Go to Tools > Photoshop > Image Processor. Click on Save in Same Location. (or any specific place you want to savei iin) Save as Jpeg, Quality to 12 (highest setting) and click Run.


Unless you are processing the RAW files, then by default they may not look as good as the Jpegs straight out of the camera, as the Jpegs will have had Picture Control setting applied, sharpening, contrast etc which non manufacturer software can not reproduce exactly. :shake:

So you could run the Nikon Capture software which came on the CD with your camera to do bulk conversions, (I think it can do bulk conversions) and also apply any camera setting that were set in the camera exactly. Whether you would see any difference to the Jpeg straight out of the camera is another thing. :shrug:

The power of RAW is that you can make changes and keep the quality, and enable more drastic changes with less degradation to the final image. You can save straight to a Tiff if you wanted maximum quality from the conversion process if you wanted too.

I think it would be hard to see the difference between a max quality Jpeg out of the camera and a RAW file saved at max quality in Nikon Capture with no changes made. :shrug:

An unprocessed RAW just saved at max quality in other RAW software may not look as good because it hasn't had the camera settings applied. RAW files tend to look a bit dull and flat because of that. Most RAW files need some processing in non manufacturer software. So you process the RAW file to get the best image you can. And every RAW file needs to be processed and saved as a Jpeg. But you don't normally need to process every file, just the good ones. ;)

But if you do have a lot of images you want to convert into Jpegs, then if it is the same changes made to a load of images, then you can convert 10s, 100s, 1000s, of files in one go though.

I like to make my good pics the best they can be, so I don't need to bulk convert very often, as there is a not a huge number of good pics from each shoot. :( :LOL:
 
Just to add to the above, you can select a number of images and batch process them in Adobe Bridge, applying the same adjustments to each image at the same time, and then save to JPeg in any size, to any location!
 
Another option, if you don't mind paying, is DxO Optics Pro - can get some very good results with this.
 
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