Using both AccuRaw and AccuRaw monochrome is very similar:


The Windows


There are two key windows:

  1. The browser window, which presents a list of images. Note that the browser window can only browse folders that you have explicitly opened, or sub-folder of folders that you explicitly opened via the "open dialog". To go to a new folder, click the Folder icon in the top left corner of the window
  2. The develop window, which allows you to view and manipulate a single image. AccuRaw allows you to have multiple develop windows open at the same time, subject to available memory. You open a new develop windows by clicking an image in the browser, or by opening an image from the File menu.

In addition, there are subsidiary windows to display EXIF information, to manage camera profiles, and to manage presets.


Adjusting Images In The Develop Window


  • To zoom in and out, use the ⌘+ and ⌘- keys, or use the View menu.
  • To zoom to a specific zoom ratio, use ⌘F to fit the image in the window, or ⌘1, ⌘2, ⌘3 or ⌘4 for 100%, 200%, 300% or 400% zoom ratios.
  • To pan the image, click, hold and drag or use a two-finger scroll on a trackpad.
  • Sliders can be adjusted with with the cursor or the stepper controls. Also, when you're in a text box, you can use the arrow keys, shift arrow keys and page up/page down keys to change control values.
  • To reset a slider to its default value, double-click the text above it.



How to Crop Images


You can crop images by simply by selecting crop mode, and dragging the corners of the crop area.


The Demosaicing Controls


AccuRaw provides fine-grained control over over the parameters of the demosaicing process (these controls are disabled for cameras without ColorFilter Array or Bayer filters):

  • Artifact Suppression. This control provides continuous control over the trade-off between resolution in the Luminance domain, and the suppression of artifacts such as moire. Having these controls set to zero maximizes resolution, but may result in artifacts being visible, especially in images with sharp transitions, or specular highlights. Having these controls set to maximum minimizes artifacts, but results in some loss of resolution or smearing of the image.
  • Post-demosaic filter. AccuRaw also provides an adjustable post-demosaic filter. This can be useful in optimizing image quality for some cameras.

Note: In order to see the effect of the demosaicing controls, you must be at a 100% zoom factor or more.


Using Camera Calibration Profiles


AccuRaw uses the industry standard DCP (DNG Camera Profile) format camera calibration profiles. These can be produces by software such as Adobe's DNG Profile Editor, various of X-Rite's software packages, etc.


In order to use a camera profile, it must first be imported via the the Profile Manager (on the File->Manage Camera Profiles... menu).


Note that AccuRaw will allow you to use any profile with any camera. Note also that AccuRaw uses only the calibration information in the camera profiles. "Look tables" to create specific color rendering - e.g., "Vivid", are ignored.


The Processing Options


AccuRaw allows you to explicitly decide on processing:

  • Scene Referred. Raw images are usually processed with a tone curve that mimics human vision (for example, see "General-Purpose Gamut-Mapping Algorithms: Evaluation of contrast-Preserving Rescaling Functions for Color Gamut Mapping", Gustav J. Braun and Mark D. Fairchild). However this default can be overridden by deselecting "Scene Referred".
  • Preserve Highlights. Raw images are usually processed such that "whites remain white". This can be overridden by deselecting "Preserve Highlights".
  • Sensor CFA Removed (AccuRaw Monochrome only). If your sensor has been modified, e.g., by the removal of a CFA, such that the same light hits all pixel locations, tick the "Sensor CFA removed" box
  • Sensor IR/UV modified (AccuRaw Monochrome only). If you sensor has been modified in such a way that the spectral sensitivity of the sensor has been changed overall, e.g., by removal of the IR filter, or by the addition of an IR only filter, tick the "Sensor IR/UV modified" box


Using Presets


Presets are an important part of Accuraw:

  • To create a preset, click "New Preset" in the develop window. You can then chose which of the current image settings to use as part of the preset.
  • In order to manage presets, go to the File->Manage Presets... menu.


Exporting


Accuraw allows you to export in JPEG, TIFF or DNG format. JPEG images are exported in the sRGB color space, while TIFF and DNG images use ProPhoto.


Batch Operations


You can batch process images from the Browser Window:

  • Select the location for the processed files in the drop down menu.
  • Select all the images you want to process in the browser window. Simply use shift-click or cmd-click to select multiple files.
  • Click the action menu on the bottom left of the Browser menu, and select the preset to use in the processing. 

You can set AccuRaw to either overwrite existing files with the same name as batch processed files, or to create new names in AccuRaw->Preferences. New names are formed by adding "_n" to the existing name, e.g., "photo.nef" will be exported as "photo_1.jpg" if "photo.jpg" already exists. 


Integration with Other Applications


AccuRaw will work together with other apps as an external editor. For more information, see the page on App Integration.