About doing and undoing RAW edits.

Can I get an edited RAW picture back to the original 'As Shot" state with a single comand?

Sometimes I get very far into adjusting a RAW picture before the conversion. I would like to go back to the original shot to save it and then go back to the fully edited shot, always in RAW and save and convert it as well.

Is that possible?

If it is possible, it is a short cut to be used as a comand for a flip back and forth?

Hugo

Which software are you using??

Adobe Camera Raw allows you to revert to the original camera settings, there is a small popup menu to the right of the ACR control pane that has this option. You can also save the settings you have got to, then load/revert/load etc to compare "before and after" states.

For other software I am not so sure.

The easy way would be "Save as" and use a new name.

I would like to go back to the original shot to save it and then go back to the fully edited shot, always in RAW and save and convert it as well.

This would preserve the original, without modification, and save the changes you've made.

I am excessively anal, though, and if I think the image is good(usually why I'm working with it) I will copy and rename the original file first; then, work on the copy. I am just too forgetfull and prone to a:

<selects "save" from menu>

<"click">

<heard in room> "Oh noooooo! #*%?##!!

All the best, James

A RAW file is never actually altered. When you do a conversion to a TIFF or JPEG, you are telling the converter to apply a number of settings to the file during the conversion.

If you want an "original" then when you open the RAW converter, select the "as shot" parameters and output a JPEG or TIFF. Save this one - something like yourphoto.tif

Then adjust to taste, and output another TIFF. Some converters will save this second file as yourphoto_1.tif

After that second conversion - if you are using Photoshop and a PC - the converter will generate a small settings file, with a weird extension - something like yourphoto.xip This file just helps the converter "remember" your previous settings next time you open the file in the raw converter.

Cheers

James

Thanks for the answers.

I was looking for a simple comand to flip back and forth from the edited RAW to the as shot RAW without converting or going out of the RAW state. Just to help me decide if before the conversion I may want to try editing in a different direction.

I gues the only way is to save the settings as Craig mentioned.

Hugo

I think Photoshop Elements 4 has a panel function to see "before" and "after" results side by side.

In Adobe RAW converter, you can alternate between the edited and original version by alternating between "Camera RAW Default" and "Custom" in the "Settings" drop-down list.

If you're doing more or all the adjustments in Photoshop directly, not in Adobe RAW Converter, and you want to see the original compared to the edited version, just press F12 (the Revert command). This brings back the original version. You can then press Ctrl+Z to alternate between the original and edited version.

Godd luck,

Mat