Flexcolor to TIF or DNG?

[Derek Jecxz]

I'm getting very comfortable with Flexcolor and right now I like it better than ACR. I'm PC based, so Phocus is not an option.

Here's my question, should I output from Flexcolor to TIF or to DNG?

Right now from TIF I'm going to CS3, and I'd like to start using Lightroom, but is there a need if I'm only doing TIF. Is LR really just for RAW files?

I make adjustments in Flexcolor, but when I Save As to DNG I do not see my Flexcolor changes when I open the DNG in ACR--is this supposed to be this way or am I saving it incorrectly?

Thank you in advance for you answers.

 

[steve_hendrix]

I'm getting very comfortable with Flexcolor and right now I like it better than ACR. I'm PC based, so Phocus is not an option.

Here's my question, should I output from Flexcolor to TIF or to DNG?

Right now from TIF I'm going to CS3, and I'd like to start using Lightroom, but is there a need if I'm only doing TIF. Is LR really just for RAW files?

I make adjustments in Flexcolor, but when I Save As to DNG I do not see my Flexcolor changes when I open the DNG in ACR--is this supposed to be this way or am I saving it incorrectly?

Thank you in advance for you answers.

Derek:

When you export to DNG, very little, if any adjustments from Flexcolor stick with the DNG file.

I exported a file as DNG after making white balance, curve and crop adjustments, and interestingly when the file first appears after importing into Lightroom, the adjustments show up for a split second, but then the file changes back to a raw file with no apparent adjustments from Flexcolor, including white balance - ACR may handle it differently. It seems I recall ACR at least holds the white balance.

At any rate, regardless of what adjustments would remain with the DNG, the best quality is gained by exporting files as tiff, rather than DNG. Flexcolor's conversion algorithms are superior to ACR/Lightroom on .FFF files.

Steve Hendrix