Re: [Gimp-user] CR2 files

[Gary Aitken <gimp dreamchaser org>]

On 02/12/13 13:09, Matthew Miller wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 03:03:38PM -0500, Kevin Cozens wrote:
> > > I photographed the aurora while living in Alaska in RAW format which
> > > produces a CR2 extension. Why will GIMP not open these photos?
> > You need either the dcraw or ufraw plug-in for GIMP. I prefer the
> > dcraw plug-in. The ufraw plug-in has too many options about what
> > should be done to the image when it is loaded. I don't know what I
> > might want/need to do to the image until after I load it and look at
> > it.
>
> So, the downside of this approach is that the decisions you make *during*
> RAW conversion are generally lossless operations; you can go back and do
> them differently with no destruction of data. If you start from a file
> converted in a certain way, you've already lost a lot of flexibility.

Whoa! :-)  That is hardly a downside.  RAW conversion is something you can dorepeatedly without degrading the 
image, as it always starts from the original
raw data and never modifies it.  You don't need to do anything with the ufraw
options *when the image is loaded*; you can tweak them after it is loaded into
ufraw.  The main reason for tweaking them during the load process is if you
have a fixed set of parameters you generally use for images from a given camera,
such as color profiles, etc.  Maybe I mis-interpreted your statement?

"If you start from a file converted in a certain way" and that conversion is
unsatisfactory, reopen the file from gimp, using the ufraw plugin, and convert
it in whatever different way you want.

What is a pain is that the ufraw plugin does not allow for saving a .ufraw
file, an option you have when starting ufraw stand-alone.  So if you want to
preserve the options you work out in ufraw, you need to set up a pipeline /
shell script to run ufraw and then feed the result into gimp.

Is your objection that the ufraw tweaks are not part of the undo history stack?
The ufraw process is an advantage, although an inconvenience, in this respect. 
The gimp undo history stack is wonderful, but it is (unfortunately) not saved 
with the xcf image.  Once you save and quit gimp, reloading the image you have 
lost all of the history.  The ufraw tweaks are totally repeatable and modifiable 
without degrading the image.

Gary