Raw file rendering problems with Canon EOS 5D in Aperture 3

Hi Ernie--

If I open the original RAW files in Preview they look the same as the files in Aperture. (The greenish yellow cast.) I gather there is something amiss with the RAW decoding process that Apple is using for the 5DMKIII...

Thanks for your insight.

--D.

This would put the finger on the Digital Camera RAW itself and not Aperture.

Could I have access to one of these files. Since I am sure the RAW is too large to email, could you provide via YouSendIt? Or somewhere with a link to download from? I would like to open this RAW file in several alternatives I have.

My email address can be found by clicking on my name, and looking in the bio line of the resulting Profile.

Ernie

I have replied to previous posts with the same green issue -

and then finally with the issue apparently resolved after updating Aperture and my OS.

The issue has become less obvious for some reason, but is NOT resolved completely.

While we all continue to wait for a real fix, I have resorted to the following.

A. Shooting Jpeg when I can manage it - arghhh....

B. Using the new White Balance tools to correct 90% of what I see in a

poorly executed Apple Raw conversion. The White balance tools in 3.4.1 especially

the Skin Tone tools, used with the sample tool they are almost a one click fix to these casty

RAW files. Totally not what I want to be doing, but I will do so for "a bit longer"

to see if Apple formally addresses this crazyness and start to prepare for the

switch to Lightroom it is not resolved in a reasonable timeframe.

Hi Ernie,

Will do. Keep in mind that this problem I'm describing is, to most folks, very subtle. There is not a heavy green tint to the image, but rather a consistent green cast that gets added to the images (not at all visible in the JPEG previews) when they are converted to RAW.

Best,

David

Thanks for the reply, Bob. It's helpful to know that others are experiencing the same frustration. For my shoot tomorrow I will shoot RAW + JPEG just as a backup. Unfortunately the images are going to print so I won't be able to use the JPEGs, just as a reference for the problem.

I am going to reinstall my OS tonight (then reinstall Aperture again) and see if that helps.

Best,

David

David,

Struggling to capture everything I want to investigate -- more later. But can you tell me what your Preferences setting is for Preview size? I am wondering how you acquired this RAW file to send to me, and whether it would in fact contain the JPEG preview written by the camera?

Ernie

Hi Ernie,

The Aperture preview setting is "Fit within 1440 x 1440" and the quality is 12 (High).

The RAW file is untouched from the camera--it was stored on a hard drive--and was not imported into Aperture or exported out in any way.

The only way I have been able to see the preview file is when the file loads into Aperture, it displays briefly, then shows the RAW conversion. (The greenish one.)

Thanks,
David

David,

Thanks for the addition info. The reason I ask is because I know from previous tests that when I import from the memory card, and have not yet viewed an image in Aperture, I can first do a Show Package Contents on the Library, look at the Preview folder, and see the size and other info for the pre-rendered file's Preview. With file, it appears that file size is matching my Preview setting -- I have found this on two different Macs with different Preference settings.

My purpose in doing this was to permanently capture the JPEG preview from the camera before Aperture's RAW decoding refreshes it. I am thus far not successful in finding what should be the version from the camera. Also, I cannot witness the normal phased change seen with natively imported files.

Ernie

Update:

I reinstalled Mountain Lion OSX. No change, the problem persists.

I am close to giving up on this, now that I've exhausted every potential solution that's been suggested, both online and by the folks on the phone at Apple.

Bottom line: professional photographers will not be able to use a RAW converter that does not handle color properly. To make matters worse, green is probably the single WORST color cast an image can have, as skin tones are never meant to be green. (Unless you're photographing Kermit the Frog or someone with severe motion sickness.)

😟

--D.

Hi,

I've been having the same problem, except it is not a matter of camera as I've had this happening with both a 5D Mark II and recently the 1D X... I've talked to the Canon guys and they say only them have the complete raw converter. While waiting for Apple to wake up and correct its raw converter, the solution is to import raw files in DPP, export them as TIF and re-import them in Aperture.

This is clearly a big problem as it adds hours of unnecessary work to the workflow...

My setup :

Canon EOS-1D X

Macbook Pro 17"

Moutain Lion 10.8.2

Aperture 3.4.3

Hey Matthew,

After a few weeks of back and forth with the folks from Apple (including a few phone calls with some of their engineers) I arrived at the exact same conclusion as you. It happens with 5DMKII and 5DMKIII, so it's definitely not confined to just the one camera, and yes, the problem does NOT occur with Canon's proprietary DPP software.

Agreed that the workaround you suggest adds lots of unnecessary hours to the workflow, and that Apple needs to correct the issue with their RAW converter. I do have reason to believe that they are working on it, based on the exchanges I've had with their Aperture team, but I do hope they fix it fast, because it is a serious issue.

Regards,
David

Hi David,

Thanks for the heads up. Hope they do too!

I'm using Aperture for few year. I got my first shoots with 5D MkII and got this greenish style on the pictures!!

Did you find any solution?

Thanks

I found a solution, switched to Light Room. Saying this kind of feels like talking to your former in-laws about your new spouse, but I love the images. Sorry Apple, I tried, I really tried to make it work, but after 3 years, hundreds of hours and thousands of images the love just isn't there.

Sorry to say, but LR renders better images and I save time since I no longer have to overcome whatever it is that Aperture does that just drains the life out of images. The interface, the DB, all of the look and feel of the Aperture is awesome and up to the usual Apple standards of excellence, but regardless of any other attribute of the software, the only thing that matters is can the software bring a "wow" moment to you as the creator and those with whom you share the image. Aperture consistently brings you almost there, but never all the way. As reluctant as I was to try it, and even more reluctant to admit it, LR delivers where Aperture doesn't. Don't know why and don't care really, I just want to make and share great shots.

I have been contemplating the same move. Sorry Apple. The thing holding me back is that I don't want separate image libraries and have no clue how to get all my images out of AP without losing all of the work I put into developing thousands of images... 😟