Working with Images after Download
Once you have loaded the EFS-1 software, established a connection to (e)port, and can download images the next step is Image Management. The EFS-1 offers a number of features and capabilities that enhance the EFS-1 imaging experience.
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The most important concept to master is the fact that EFS-1 Digital Negative files (DNGs) never change.
You may:
- Change their name
- Extract images from them (multiple times, if desired)
- Modify (or specify) the application of color science applied to each image
- Transfer them to applications in either 8-bit or 16-bit mode
- Save them as other file formats
- Assign information and properties (metadata) to them
- Open them months from now and apply new color science
- Archive them
Regardless of any operation you perform on DNGs (other than delete) the raw image data within each DNG file never changes. Since the image data never changes you may always recover your image data in case you make undesired changes, or if you would like to experiment and try several different several different approaches to post-processing. Digital Negatives are like photographic negatives (or positives) except that digital negatives do not fade, deteriorate over time, nor are they susceptible to environmental degradation during storage. Your DNGs are as robust as the storage media upon which you store or archive them.
The following sections discuss some of the many things you can do with your EFS-1 images.
- Open a Digital Negative or Vault
- Thumbnail Images
- Delete an Image
- Rename an Image
- Close an Image
- Undo and Revert
- Transfer Images to a TWAIN-aware Application
- Save As... a Common Image File-Format (JPG, BMP, TIF)
- Image Information - Adding Metadata to an image
- Searching Your Image Metadata
- Preferences
Open a Digital Negative or Vault -
Using the UI/DS in either Stand-alone mode or TWAIN mode you may open Digital Negatives and Vaults that you have download previously and saved. Using the EFS-1 UI/DS you can open a DNG or VLT file using the menu commands: "File", "Open Digital Negative" or "File", "Unload roll from vault". Or you may use the respective tool bar buttons:
Due to the unique nature of EFS-1 digital negatives the EFS-1 UI/DS is the only software utility that can open a DNG, apply final color science algorithms, and present a thumbnail. Once you have opened digital negatives in the EFS-1 UI/DS you easily convert your images to common file formats.
(For more information, refer to the section "From Digital Negatives to Common File Formats.")
Thumbnail images are small representations of your image files. The purpose of the 100 x 80 pixel thumbnail images is to allow you to recognize, select, and manage your images. EFS-1 thumbnails are only partially-processed. To expedite the display and presentation of thumbnail images into the EFS-1 workspace, only a limited subset of the EFS-1 color science has been applied to each thumbnail image. Since some, but not all, color science has been applied, thumbnails are not fully representative of the final image. To experience the image in full-quality with all color science applied, either transfer the image(s) to an application, or save the image as BMP, TIF, or JPG and view the final file using your preferred image viewer.
Thumbnails are not rotatable within the UI workspace. To rotate an image transfer it to an application and perform a rotation on the full image within your imaging Application.
From the EFS-1 UI/DS workspace you may delete Digital Negatives.
After a "Transfer to App" or "Save As" operation, you may decide to delete the original Digital Negatives. Whereas deleting digital negatives frees 2 MB of disk space, there are compelling reasons to retain and archive your digital Negatives.
If you are absolutely certain you wish to delete a Digital Negative, you may select and delete one or more Digital Negatives at a time using the command menus or by right-clicking on a selected image.
When Digital Negatives are deleted, they go to the Windows recycling bin, so you will have another opportunity to recover them if you should so decide. Do remember to empty your recycling bin occasionally, however, as Digital Negative files are about 2 MB each. A roll of 24 Digital Negatives consumes 48 MB.
To delete selected Digital Negatives use the command menus "File, Delete Image"
Or, you may also right click on any of the images you have selected for deletion and then left-click on "Delete Image".
When images are downloaded from a roll (or from a roll within a vault) the default numbering scheme is: image01, image02, image03, image04, .....etc. The sequential numerical suffix correlates with the number of image you have captured. This will help you remember your shots is the chronological order in which you took them.
After you have downloaded images, you may rename an image to a more appropriate name of your choosing. Regardless of the name you select, the extension (file type) will always be DNG.
It is a good practice to rename your Digital Negatives with a more logical name. There are two compelling reasons to rename your Digital Negatives:
- It will be easier to locate your images in the future (lest they all be named image01, image 02, etc.)
- When you select thumbnails within the EFS-1 UI workspace and "Save As" TIF, BMP, or JPG the image file name is retained.
- For example an image named "flower.dng" will become "flower.tif" if you select the file and "Save As" .....and specify the TIF format. The same holds true for JPG and BMP.
Note, when transferring a Digital Negative to a TWAIN-aware application the file names are not transferred to the Twain-aware application despite using the rename feature. Images are transferred by Twain are as transferred as memory maps and often appear in the Twain application as "Untitled 01", "Untitled 02".
Selecting File, Close Image closes all selected images.
If no image(s) have been selected the close menu will be grayed out:
The Undo and Revert menu functions are always grayed-out. In the initial release of EFS-1 Undo and Revert have no function and therefore will always remain dormant. The Undo and Revert menu items are reserved for future product releases and revisions that may include some new and compelling features.
Transfer Images to a TWAIN-aware Application
- First, open a TWAIN-aware application. (Which applications are TWAIN-aware?)
- Call the EFS-1 UI/DS. (Making a TWAIN call)
- Open a Digital Negative or Vault file. (As explained in the "Open" section of this page.)
- Select image(s) to be transferred to the TWAIN-aware application by clicking on the thumbnails. (You make use CTRL+click to select additional thumbnails, or Shirt+click for selecting a series of images)
- From the File Menu, click on:
- File
- Transfer to App
Save As... a Common Image File-Format (JPG, BMP, TIF)
Images which appear as thumbnails in the UI workspace (digital negatives you have opened) may be saved directly as TIF, BMP, or JPG files. (Without the need to transfer them to an applicaion.) You may open Digital Negatives and save them in 8-bit TIF, BMP, or JPG file formats. Similarly you way open a Vault file from Compact Flash or disk and select any of the Digital Negatives from the vault and convert them to any of these formats.
The EFS-1 User Interface/Data Source allows you to select multiple Digital Negative files and perform batch processing operations. Conversion is accomplished using the File, Save As.
For more information on this subject refer to the section:
"Converting Digital Negatives to Common File Formats..."
For information about file sizes refer to the section: "EFS-1 file sizes."
The EFS-1 UI/DS allows you to add metadata information to your Digital Negative files. You may enter data in the fields of:
- Name
- Camera
- Lens
- ISO Speed
- Flash Type
- Keywords
- Project Description
- Exposure
- f-Stop
- Date
- Time
- Photo notes
There two ways to add metadata to your Digital Negatives:
- Enter metadata to individual Digital Negatives using the Image Information dialog box
- Apply pre-defined metadata to images as they are downloaded using Preferences
You may enter any alphanumeric data into any field up to the limit of that field. Adding metadata to your digital negatives is a great way to annotate your negatives for purposes of recording notes and information about each shot. Metadata is particularly useful for searching for a particular image in the future. As you accumulate more and more images, the ability to search images for metadata keywords will become increasingly useful.
Whereas, metadata is exceptionally useful to annotating and searching digital negative, please note that the metadata information only applies to Digital Negative files. Meatdata is not passed along to files created using the Save As function, nor images transfered to a TWAIN-aware imaging application using the Transfer function.
Note also that Date and Time fields are already populated with data. The EFS-1 UI/DS will automaticaly enter the date and time at which the images were downloaded to your computer, using the system clock information on your computer. The time and date are not the time and date of image capture (inside your camera) but rather the time and date of image download. You may change the time and date like any other metadata.
There are two ways to invoke the Image Info dialog box:
- Utilities
- Image Info
The EFS-1 UI/DS includes a search feature that allows you to search your Digital Negatives metadata. You may search for any of the data you have included with your Digital Negative files.
This is a particulary useful feature to help you locate images amongst many that you have downloaded and archived.
You may search for any or all keys (keywords), or by date range.
You may use the Preferences feature to apply metadata (globally) to images as they are downloaded. If you establish a Preference file you may enter metadata which will be applied to every image downloaded from (e)film, or opened from a Vault file.
The Preferences feature is a time saving feature. Preferences is much easier than applying metadata to each individual Digital Negative.
Preferences may be used in conjunction with Image Info. You may desire to apply common data to every image (your name, camera, etc.) using Preferences and then apply unique metadata to individual Digital Negatives.
You may also wish to establish multiple Preference files (with extension sf1) and apply them as appropriate.
Does not apply to existing images - use the info function for that
To use: 1) create a preferences file
a) open pref box, b) enter data to be applied when using this preference
c) click on Save.
Trun Prefs ON by selecting"Make this the default.
Turn off by clicking "Disable all defaults"
. extension is sf1.
space deliminted use no commas unless thsi is a literal character