One of the most surprising findings in the report is that the four applications all use different colour spaces, resulting in different colour read-outs, potentially confusing users in the process. The report also found that some of the colour adjustments and correction tools are not as accurate as expected.

In desktop publishing as well as web and other publishing environments, images play a crucial role. And most images in magazines and on web sites are not drawings or cartoons, but they are photos. Photograph or image management software therefore is at the core of any publishing workflow, be it DTP or other, and many users rely on at least one of these 4 mainstream applications

"In desktop publishing as well as web and other publishing environments, images play a crucial role. And most images in magazines and on web sites are not drawings or cartoons, but they are photos. Photograph or image management software therefore is at the core of any publishing workflow, be it DTP or other, and many users rely on at least one of these 4 mainstream applications," said Erik Vlietinck, Publisher of IT Enquirer and writer of the report.

"Based on our measurements and the export and output quality obtained from the different programs, we found that the most discerning users will want a combination of DxO Optics Pro 4.5 with one of the catalogue-capable applications," said Erik Vlietinck. "DxO Optics Pro is superior in the area of corrections that are based on camera data and RAW conversion quality. It comes with a number of plug-ins that tightly integrate the software with Flickr and Lightroom."

If only one applications is considered, then Lightroom has the distinct advantage of being available on Windows as well as Mac OS X, while offering support for a vast array of cameras. Aperture is said to be the best for its asset management and colour read-outs which resemble those of Photoshop the most.

According to the report, Capture One Pro is a good choice if working with Phase One digital backs and when tethered shooting is considered. The report praises its powerful colour adjustment help application, but calls its interface outdated and its workflow the least efficient.

The Executive Summary can be found at: http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/cameraraw_rep/

People who are interested in reading the whole report, can click a download link following registration.

About IT-Enquirer
IT-Enquirer is an online publication for digital designers in all industries. It contains reviews, technical background information, and feature and trend analyses in the areas of graphic design, photography, layout design, web design, print production, video production, etc.

Erik Vlietinck has over 12 years of experience as a freelance journalist for magazines in Belgium, the Netherlands and Great-Britain. Besides his journalistic work, he has written manuals for software such as Smart Connection Pro and Enterprise, the Unisys Hermes system, DMPartners' linguistic editorial system and technical and market analysis papers for the photo- and large-format printer divisions at Hewlett-Packard and Ricoh.