ACR vs DPP

Workflow LR → DPP → LR

1. LR
   1. import CR2
   2. filenames are set automatically
   3. pick and delete images
2. DPP
   1. correct: exposure, WB, cropping(?), etc.
   2. output TIFF images
3. PS droplet
   1. auto-contrast
   2. 16-bit → 8-bit
   3. Save as JPEG (max quality / lossless)
4. LR
   1. archive/delete CR2
   2. import JPEGs
   3. touchup and export for web/print

Workflow CR2 → JPEG

This gives the highest quality output.

1. LR/DPP: Export 16-bit tiff with the widest available gamut.
2. PS: Convert to 8-bits
3. PS: Convert to sRGB
4. PS: Save as Maxium quality JPEG (lossless).

It's important to use the widest gamut available for the TIFF export or you can lose detail in shadow/highlight areas. I saw this when I compared JPEGs made from a LR tiff 16-bit ProPhoto RGB vs sRGB. Using 16-bit vs 8-bit also makes a difference, but very slight. Using a wide gamut is far more important.

I couldn't see any difference comparing JPEGs made from ProPhoto RGB and Adobe RGB sources.

It's important to note that detail level we are talking about here is very low level. You almost cetainly can't see any of this stuff when the image is shown at a scale for on-screen viewing. All these results were discoverd during high zoom comparisons.

JPEG quality

In general, the only way to see the difference between jpeg images is to be zoomed in around 200% and mostly (?) only affects darker red colors. That said, the camera produced jpeg definitely has some problems and should probably be avoided for your most important images.

• The camera produced jpeg can have some minor pixelation and detail loss in the reds.
• The DPP JPEGs can have some minor pixelation.
• The LR JPEGs can have some detail loss in some shadow/highlight areas.
• The PS JPEGs are the best.

Note: 16-bit tiff sources have very slightly better quality. This quality improvement is only noticeable when you are zoomed in at 200% and looking at some dark red areas. In those cases, there are slightly finer detail / smoother gradients. Otherwise there is no difference.

File sizes

Biggest: 69.7MB

• DPP Tiff 16-bit

Big: 34.9MB

• DPP Tiff 8-bit

Medium: 11MB - 18MB (generally these are comparable to each other)

• CR2
• DPP Tiff 16-bit → PS 8-bit (lzw)
• DPP Tiff 16-bit → PS 8-bit (zip)
• DPP Tiff 8-bit → LR
• DPP Tiff 8-bit → PS (lzw)
• DPP Tiff 8-bit → PS (zip)

Note: ZIP compression takes a much longer time and the space gained can be almost nil.

Small:

• DPP JPEG (medium quality jpeg)

Smaller (in order):

• DPP Tiff 8-bit → LR JPEG (high quality jpeg)
• DPP Tiff 16-bit → PS JPEG (highest quality jpeg)
• DPP Tiff 8-bit → PS JPEG (high quality jpeg)

Smallest:

• Camera produced JPEG (lowest quality jpeg)