First off, it is worth noting the organization and intent of this book is very close to that of the edition for CS3 so reviews of the CS3 version may be of use to you even though this newer edition of course contains lots of new material related to the new features of ACR 5.2.
Second, note I said ACR 5.2 above. 5.2 was a bit unusual for Adobe in that it actually introduced some very important new features over 5.1 rather than just new camera profiles. Fortunately publication of this book was held until 5.2 was released so that these new features could be covered here.
Third, one should very much be aware that really only a portion of the book is specifically dedicated to the Camera RAW controls and how to use them (specifically Chapters 4 and 5). The earlier parts of the book mostly focus on RAW shooting and conversion in general and the later parts of the book focus on a work flow using Camera RAW and Bridge. This seems appropriate since discussing the concepts of RAW shooting in general is applicable to Camera RAW and many photographers use Camera RAW primarily because it fits into a Photoshop based workflow so smoothly. That said, do yourself a favor and use the look inside feature on this book to examine the contents and get an understanding of how much of the book is dedicated to these "ancillary" topics! If you already know about RAW and shoot it extensively then chapters 1-3 may be of limited interest to you. If you don't process so many photos that workflow is an issue for you or you already have a workflow that you feel is so mature you don't need any more ideas or input then the later part of the book might not be of interest to you.
With those qualifiers out of the way I can easily give this book five stars. Written by someone "on the inside" of the development of ACR and with a structure that still follows the now departed Bruce Fraser's previous excellent work there is little to find fault with. All of the features of ACR are thoroughly covered and great examples of their use are given. ACR itself has come along way to now being an incredibly full featured converter, perhaps one of the most feature laden in the market, and like other Adobe products benefits greatly from third party documents such as this book.
Again, perhaps my only reservation is that so much of the book is not about ACR itself and not everyone may find the related information useful. That said, it is hard to call this "bonus" material a fault since the information on ACR itself is complete and comprehensive. Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4
Given the spectacular improvements and advances incorporated into Adobe Camera Raw version 5.2, I awaited the arrival of this book with great expectations. That it does not disappoint is meant as the highest praise from my perspective. That it already addresses ACR 5.2 is most welcome, as the feature set increased very substantially from 5.1 to 5.2.
Mr Schewe is to be commended for keeping the fundamentals laid out by the late, lamented Bruce Fraser, as well as for covering what's new in a thorough, clear and understandable way.
If you're shooting RAW, this book is essential reading. The leap forward in this version of ACR is astonishing, and one would waste a great deal of time in trying to figure everything through any other means. Warmly recommended.
As I was reading this book, I was reminded of the small child's review of a book about penguins: "This book told me more about penguins than I really wanted to know." Except of course that for the intermediate user of Photoshop, you should want to know what this book has to say.
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is a plug-in built into Photoshop CS4 (PSCS4) that provides adjustments to digital images taken in the RAW mode. Most PSCS4 books include a chapter on the use of ACR that will useful for those just getting used to the plug-in. However to get the full benefit of ACR's capabilities for the rapid processing of images, it helps to consult a book dedicated exclusively to ACR.
This book is credited to Jeff Schewe and the late Bruce Fraser. Fraser, a well known and liked PS guru, was responsible for earlier versions of the book and his hand is still visible. The book includes not just instructions on the use and capabilities of all of ACR's buttons, sliders and options, many of which are not immediately obvious, but also chapters on Adobe Bridge, the control center for PSCS4, as well as chapters on workflow, metadata and automation. The book does a fine job of clearly explaining all of these tools and even expert users may find that ACR has help that they didn't know existed. Even though most of ACR's functions can also be accomplished in the main PSCS4 software, ACR can be faster, adjustments are never destructive, and you will need a converter anyway for raw files.
Although the book contains a lot of useful information, the chapter which showed actual examples of the use of ACR to adjust particular images really helped to understand the usefulness of the plug-in. The chapter on metadata opened up some new ideas about the uses of this "information about information".
Although the book is quite comprehensive it was by no means exhaustive. For example, I felt that the section on configuring Bridge could have used a few more examples but most users will probably be able to figure out the possibilities with a little thought.
One issue not covered by the authors is the comparison between ACR and Lightroom. The camera raw functionality is just about the same (with the exception of a point tone-curve in ACR) but the Lightroom interface is so much easier to use, and you get an asset management program as well. On the other hand you get ACR when you buy PSCS4 and you have to lay out additional money for Lightroom.
ACR can speed up your processing of files and has lots of capabilities. This is a good place to learn how to maximize its use. - Digital Imaging - Digital Image Processing - Camera Raw - Acr'
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