AppleIO Raw Rendering problem?

[ron_hiner]

I shoot Nikon NEF (raw) files and frequently edit them in Capture NX2 from PM.  Then use PM to generate JPGs. Great workflow, and I'm mostly happy with it.

One issue, however...  When I edit the file in NX2, then return to my PM contact sheet, I see the image on my contact sheet with my edits plainly visible.   Looking good so far.

Then when I use PM to 'Save As' (which converts the NEF files to JPG files),  my NX2 edits are not represented in the exported JPG.

A little bit of experimenting led me to discover the "Enable Raw Rendering (using Apple's ImageIO)" checkbox in the preferences.   Unchecking that checkbox , then doing the "Save As" again, generated JPGs that accurately represented my NX2 edits.

So this leads me to two questions: 
1) what is ImageIO, and why would I ever want to check it if it caused my generated JPG images to be incorrect? 
2) Why would the images displayed on contact sheet not use the same rendering techniques that are used to generate the JPG files?

In my years of using PM, I don't recall ever hitting this problem... but then I've never messed with that checkbox.  So perhaps it got checked by accident, or perhaps something in a recent release of PM or OS X changed a relevant behavior of PM. 

Thanks!
Ron

PM 5.0.13507
OSX 10.8.2

[Kirk Baker]

Ron,

I shoot Nikon NEF (raw) files and frequently edit them in Capture NX2 from PM.  Then use PM to generate JPGs. Great workflow, and I'm mostly happy with it.

One issue, however...  When I edit the file in NX2, then return to my PM contact sheet, I see the image on my contact sheet with my edits plainly visible.   Looking good so far.

Then when I use PM to 'Save As' (which converts the NEF files to JPG files),  my NX2 edits are not represented in the exported JPG.

A little bit of experimenting led me to discover the "Enable Raw Rendering (using Apple's ImageIO)" checkbox in the preferences.   Unchecking that checkbox , then doing the "Save As" again, generated JPGs that accurately represented my NX2 edits.

So this leads me to two questions: 
1) what is ImageIO, and why would I ever want to check it if it caused my generated JPG images to be incorrect? 
2) Why would the images displayed on contact sheet not use the same rendering techniques that are used to generate the JPG files?

1) ImageIO is Apple's image rendering library used by iPhoto and Aperture.  It is capable of rendering a variety of formats including many RAW file types.  Since you use Capture NX, there is no reason whatsoever to enable it.

2) There are a number of settings in PM on Mac OS X that control how thumbnails and previews are rendered that are separate from how images are saved in Save As.

In my years of using PM, I don't recall ever hitting this problem... but then I've never messed with that checkbox.  So perhaps it got checked by accident, or perhaps something in a recent release of PM or OS X changed a relevant behavior of PM.

It is unlikely that a change in the OS caused it.  I'd suspect you accidentally set it in the Save As dialog.

-Kirk

[ron_hiner]

2) There are a number of settings in PM on Mac OS X that control how thumbnails and previews are rendered that are separate from how images are saved in Save As.

-Kirk

1) please tell me more about that.  As my teenage daughters would say: "dish!"

2) shouldn't all image rendering outputs (contact sheet, preview, Save As, FTP, etc)  use identical rendering techniques?  I like to think that what i'm sending is what I'm seeing.   It adds a step to the workflow to check to see if PM's output is the same as what is shown on the contact sheet.

thx!

Ron

[Kirk Baker]

Ron,

2) There are a number of settings in PM on Mac OS X that control how thumbnails and previews are rendered that are separate from how images are saved in Save As.

1) please tell me more about that.  As my teenage daughters would say: "dish!"

See the RAW section of the Photo Mechanic Preferences dialog.

2) shouldn't all image rendering outputs (contact sheet, preview, Save As, FTP, etc)  use identical rendering techniques?  I like to think that what i'm sending is what I'm seeing.   It adds a step to the workflow to check to see if PM's output is the same as what is shown on the contact sheet.

I guess that depends on your perspective.  We want to give people the flexibility to tune PM to their needs and control their output.  If you want the look of the embedded JPEGs, make sure that your source for output is always set to use the embedded JPEGs.

-Kirk