Apple Aperture, 5DMKIII and unsaturated images

[almograve]

Hello,

Hope you'll pardon my ignorance, I'm new to Aperture (moving from iPhoto), new to RAW file format and new to my 5DMKIII...

When loading the pictures I take with my 5DMKIII to my Apple Aperture I find that all the pictures lack of saturation/colors.
Before the file is completely loaded (I see the loading phase) I can clearly see that the colors are much better although the resolution of the pictures is very low. When my pictures are updated in my iCloud/Photostream the results on my new iPad are much much better (I know, the resolution of the screen is nothing to compare to my full HD Dell monitor), I get a nice contrast, color balance and saturation.

I understand that a RAW file is not really meant to be seen but I would still like to view something in Aperture that is close from a typical "good" JPEG conversion. Is this possible? Am I missing something?

Thank you,
regards,
almo

[neuroanatomist]

I'm not sure, but I suspect the image you see briefly in Aperture, and that you see in your iCloud stream may be the jpg preview image embedded in the RAW file, and that's recorded with the Picture Style and other settings you select on the camera (Canon's Standard picture style is 'punchy' - fairly saturated and contrasty).

You can set default import parameters for RAW files in Aperture to your taste.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I'm not sure, but I suspect the image you see briefly in Aperture, and that you see in your iCloud stream may be the jpg preview image embedded in the RAW file, and that's recorded with the Picture Style and other settings you select on the camera (Canon's Standard picture style is 'punchy' - fairly saturated and contrasty).

You can set default import parameters for RAW files in Aperture to your taste.

It isn't just aperture, Lightroom is exactly the same way.  Unmodified Raw images will not have the punchy look that a jpeg does unless you set your software to apply those settings on import.

[bchernicoff]

Neuroanatomist is correct. You initially see the same image preview that your camera displays when you review pictures you have taken. When shooting RAW it's best to set the camera's picture style to Neutral to get a realistic preview of what the RAW file will look like. This affects the histogram the camera shows, so keeping it neutral makes the histogram more accurate.

[almograve]

Neuroanatomist is correct. You initially see the same image preview that your camera displays when you review pictures you have taken. When shooting RAW it's best to set the camera's picture style to Neutral to get a realistic preview of what the RAW file will look like. This affects the histogram the camera shows, so keeping it neutral makes the histogram more accurate.

I see. I'll try to follow the best practice.
However, that means that you guys are constantly interpreting/guessing what could be the picture with the right saturation/levels right? This makes reviewing pictures a little bit harder I  believe.
Right now, I rate my pictures by looking at my iPad sync (thus jpeg) that gives me a much better understanding of the potential of each thanks to it's 3MPX resolution.
I would to be able to do the rate process completely and directly on the iPad without having to move the picture TO the iPad....

[bchernicoff]

However, that means that you guys are constantly interpreting/guessing what could be the picture with the right saturation/levels right?

When I have a conversation with another photographer I ask about their workflow and I have found that everyone does what works best for them. When doing an initial review after a shoot, I ONLY focus on the image's composition and the subject and not the lighting / color.  I have spent enough time playing around with RAW images that I know it's possible to create nearly any look... from natural as the scene appeared to lots of color contrast for impact...anything is possible. The one key factor in achieving that is making sure the RAW image isn't over or underexposed...which I do while shooting by using the Neutral picture style and RGB histograms to check that there are no clipped shadows or highlights.

If you prefer to review the images with one of Canon's picture styles you can use Digital Photo Pro to batch convert to JPEG while applying any picture style you want (even if you shot them with the Neutral setting). Alternatively, if you want to stick with Aperture for the whole process, import your RAW files, apply some contrast/saturation to one image and then use lift/stamp adjustments to batch apply it to all the others. Then you can export JPEGs for your iPad. Either way it involves an extra step but not as much time as you might think.

Most importantly... play around.. figure out what works best for you.