PEF/DNG and sRGB/adobeRGB

[Kusum Kangguru]

Hi all,

After playing with JPEG on my k200d, now I want to try to shoot RAW

A few questions for the Pentax laojiaos and photo gurus please

Is it better to choose PEF or DNG for my RAW format?

For the color space, sRGB or adobeRGB?

Is it true that if I shoot RAW, I don't have to bother with in-camera settings like sharpness, color balance, saturation, hue, ... ?

Is the supplied Pentax Photo Lab sufficient for RAW processing, or is it better to get ACR or other 3rd party software.

Please forgive me if these questions have been asked for the umpteen time.
Thanks.

PS. Oh ya, one more question. I want to get a bigger storage for my k200d at Sitex. Is a normal 8GB SD card sufficient? Do I need to get those super high speed SD/HC card?

[Limited]

First, I'm not laojiaos and photo gurus... I still learn from laojiaos and photo gurus around the world. Haha...

I set my setting to;
1. PEF : Pentax inhouse RAW format. I feel there's a colour different, and I like to use the Original.

2. sRGB : Most consumer's monitors, web, softwares and printers use sRGB.

3. In camera Jpeg setting : Not affected RAW, but your in camera setting will recorded into the RAW file, so when you import RAW file to the software, the software will set the setting in that program, unless you set the camera setting to all "0".

3. Pentax Photo Lab : Is sufficient for uses, I just dun like their broken windows.

4. SD Card : To me, 4GB is enough. But the price between 4 & 8 is not much.

Please point out if I wrong.

Have a nice day!

[Gengh]

I try to answer some of your questions.... but I don't have a K200D, so I can't be sure of some of the things.

Pentax Photo Lab is ok, and IMHO gives the best colour rendition without requiring excessive tweaking, but the interface leaves much to be desired. Noise handling and sharpening control also not that great. But you should definitely try it before moving on to other raw developers, it's possible that that's all you need for a while. I recommend Silkypix 'cos it produces similar but better results than Pentax Photo Lab (which is based on the Silkypix engine). Lightroom also looks like a pretty attractive option, but my experience with it is limited. Best to download the various demos to try if you're serious about finding a good raw software to suit your needs.

adobeRGB gives a wider colour gamut, so many people like to work with it when doing editing in the computer. However, you'll still want to convert to sRGB before posting on the web, as not all browsers can read adobeRGB, and the picture will show up with dull colours instead.

When shooting raw, you only die die have to nail the exposure and composition. Other things can be corrected or tweaked later. In fact, you get a bit more headroom in the exposure too.

The rest, I'm not too sure. I remember that there's another thread in the Pentax subforum where currently there's a discussion about the SD card to use/buy, maybe you can find some info there.

[Kusum Kangguru]

Thanks all the laojiaos and photo gurus for your replies!