ASP beginner questions

[MikeFromMesa]

I am a registered PSP X4 user so I received an upgrade offer for ASP about 2 weeks ago. When I finally did download, install and try ASP I was very pleasantly surprised. The interface is well designed, the controls are all easy to access and use and the software handles my Canon 7D RAW images amazingly quickly. But the more I used it the more I realized there were things I did not know or could not seem to do. I was hoping that someone on this forum could answer some of these questions. Here goes:

1) The GUI contains 3 anti-noise areas - RAW noise, Noise Ninja and Noise Ninja Registered.
a) Is Noise Ninja significantly better than RAW noise for RAW images? Or for different types of problems? Is one better for really high ISO shots (I sometimes find myself using 3200 or higher)?
b) Does Noise Ninja Registered have any extra functionality beyond Noise Ninja? Or is it only a more finely adjustable set of controls?
c) How does one go about getting the Noise Ninja Registered functionality? I went to the Noise Ninja web site but saw nothing about buying functionality for ASP and also saw nothing on the Corel site about it.

2) How does the ASP raw conversion functionality compare to the functionality in X4? Or CS5? From what I gathered on the forums Bibble was a very highly respected company but not doing particularly well financially. I assume this means that the raw conversion functionality should be first class but I don't know.

3) Is there any built-in connection between ASP and X4 as there is between LR and CS5?

4) Is there any place to post bug or crash information? I have had ASP crash on me and have started to gather crash information for posting if I can only find out where to do so.

I am still working with ASP and finding new stuff but would appreciate any help I can get with these questions (at least to start ...). Thanks.

[SteveCase]

c) How does one go about getting the Noise Ninja Registered functionality? I went to the Noise Ninja web site but saw nothing about buying functionality for ASP and also saw nothing on the Corel site about it.

Thanks.

If it hasn't changed.... This might help as far as how to get NN registered to work.
http://support.bibblelabs.com/forums/vi ... 98&t=19464

[elslunko]

1)You can check out the release notes for bibble 5.2.3 : http://support.bibblelabs.com/forums/vi ... 62&t=18573

Before this release the only noise suppression tool that shipped with Bibble was noise ninja. NN can be a little more aggressive than RAW noise if you want it to be. Purchasing and registering NN allows for more luma and chroma controls as well as an unsharpen mask to bring back details.

3) You can set any external editor in the preferences. Then you just hit ctrl+E (by default) to render an image, automatically adds itself to the catalogue, and opens up in your editor.

[afx]

a) Is Noise Ninja significantly better than RAW noise for RAW images? Or for different types of problems? Is one better for really high ISO shots (I sometimes find myself using 3200 or higher)?

Experiment and find out.
Raw impulse noise handles dead or blown pixels....
What mix of raw noise reduction and NN is best for your images is something hat needs a bit of experimentation.
Or try the Wavelet Denoise Plugin, especially if you only want a bit of chroma noise reduction.

b) Does Noise Ninja Registered have any extra functionality beyond Noise Ninja? Or is it only a more finely adjustable set of controls?

More controls. I personally think that NN without the additional controls is a joke.

c) How does one go about getting the Noise Ninja Registered functionality? I went to the Noise Ninja web site but saw nothing about buying functionality for ASP and also saw nothing on the Corel site about it.

Buy any NN license, it really does not matter. As I do like the standalone NN for my slide scans I bought the standalone license, but a PS plugin license would work equally as well for AS.

2) How does the ASP raw conversion functionality compare to the functionality in X4? Or CS5? From what I gathered on the forums Bibble was a very highly respected company but not doing particularly well financially. I assume this means that the raw conversion functionality should be first class but I don't know.

No idea...
Bibble was he first independent raw converter on he market....

3) Is there any built-in connection between ASP and X4 as there is between LR and CS5?

Nope. Currently AS is just an improved Bibble 5, consider it Bibbble5+.

4) Is there any place to post bug or crash information? I have had ASP crash on me and have started to gather crash information for posting if I can only find out where to do so.

Try this: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASPFeedback

I am still working with ASP and finding new stuff but would appreciate any help I can get with these questions (at least to start ...). Thanks.

You might want to follow the kickstart link in my signature.

cheers
afx

[brucet]

I find NN to be rather aggresive in Bibble 5/ASP without the plug in. If I use it at all I use it on a very low setting. Like all noise applications it will be a compromise between detail/sharpness and noise reduction. I prefer to go to PSPx4 and treat noise on a selection by selection basis.

Regards.

[afx]

I prefer to go to PSPx4 and treat noise on a selection by selection basis.

How about using NN or WS in AS in regions?

cheers
afx

[MarkZ]

2) How does the ASP raw conversion functionality compare to the functionality in X4? Or CS5? From what I gathered on the forums Bibble was a very highly respected company but not doing particularly well financially. I assume this means that the raw conversion functionality should be first class but I don't know.

I think the consensus among Beta testers (certainly my feeling) is that ASP is far better for RAW conversion than PSPX4 and in general quite satisfactory. A version of SilkyPix that came with my camera I think is marginally better than ASP and I would use that for photos I would want to submit for competitions. And I remember reading others' notes that the software with Canon cameras is slightly better. But the ASP RAW converter is not bad at all and Corel has worked on improving it.

[brucet]

ASP and NN is great for overall noise reduction but I know PSPx4 much better and I'm simply more comfortable using the PSPx4 features. By creating layers and selections I can more easily target any problem areas. I guess with a bit of practise I could learn to use ASP but so far I haven't the need or the time.

At the moment, subject to each photo, I put the slider for NN way down to just 2. Now that's a nonsense because it all depends on the subject matter, ISO used, camera used and end result required. So how can one reccommend a setting? I think the key is er on the side of caution and use any noise reduction very gently. IMHO.

Regards

[elslunko]

I'll say that even at a low setting (NN) it does a good job of getting rid of chroma-noise for my images.

[fotojrb]

This is--I think--a completely new question or set of questions, not a follow-up from the preceding.

I'm a total newbie to ASP, never used Bibble, but I have many photographs that I need to be able to access more easily than just by memory, so the keyword feature is the first thing that caught my eye. I have, for example, hundreds of pictures of musicians in concert. Say I want to be able to track down a given musician. I've tagged a lot of my pictures now, but I'm not sure I've done it the most efficient way. If I use the Catalogs search for "john smith," I get him, but I also get anybody else named Smith or Johnson or John So-and-so. If I go to the Keywords list in the Metadata Browser, he's there, with no unwanted results, but I have to scroll through lots of names to find him. There has to be a better way. Any suggestions?

I don't find the ASP Help/User Guide particularly helpful. Is there any more comprehensive documentation that could take me from beginner to a higher level?

Thanks.

[afx]

If I go to the Keywords list in the Metadata Browser, he's there, with no unwanted results, but I have to scroll through lots of names to find him. There has to be a better way. Any suggestions?

Get a real DAM ;-(
Unfortunately, the current state of the catalogs is not brilliant. A decent query interface is missing, and usability of a browser list for keywords is dubious at best as you already found out.

Hierarchical keywords could help, but that is yet another mess...

I don't find the ASP Help/User Guide particularly helpful. Is there any more comprehensive documentation that could take me from beginner to a higher level?

Marco and I are working on an update of "The Bibble Survival Guide", but that will take a while....

cheers
afx

[fotojrb]

Thanks, afx, that helps, although I have to confess that I don't know what a DAM is.

When confronted by my huge list of names in the Keywords list, I've thought that maybe a set of letter tabs--one for each letter of the alphabet, or perhaps A-D, E-G, H-K, etc.--would make it a lot easier. Then I could look at a subset of the keywords, instead of the whole list. I think I'll suggest that.

[afx]

Thanks, afx, that helps, although I have to confess that I don't know what a DAM is.

Digital Asset Manager. Quite euphemistic for something that mostly manages only media files often really only images.

When confronted by my huge list of names in the Keywords list, I've thought that maybe a set of letter tabs--one for each letter of the alphabet, or perhaps A-D, E-G, H-K, etc.--would make it a lot easier. Then I could look at a subset of the keywords, instead of the whole list. I think I'll suggest that.

While it would help, it would not cure the fundamental problem of using a browser interface to a one dimensional keyword store.

cheers
afx

[fotojrb]

How do you delete a folder from a catalog? I had put all my images in the default catalog, but that's proving to be too many for a single catalog, so I've now created subject-specific catalogs (Music, Family, Wildlife, etc.).

[afx]

As far as I know, there is no official way to drop a folder from the catalog ;-(
Of course, you could try to hack the SQLite DB, but that is not for the layman.

cheers
afx