archiving/cataloging workflow?

arossphoto

• August 18, 2006 14:31

I've been happily using C1 for sometime now, but I've been putting off the development of a proper searchable image archive with keyworded images, etc.

I've been investigating the various options, and have read the iView MediaPro & Capture One workflow overview, as well as Peter Krogh's DAM Book. From everything I've read it seems very difficult to incorporate Capture One into a proper archiving/cataloging workflow.

For example, in the recommended iView workflow you do not assign any metadata (caption, keyword, location, etc) until the end of the workflow. If I understand this correctly the metadata is only applied to the converted tiffs or jpegs, and possibly the original RAW files if you remember to choose the "Export annotations to original files" option.

The major problem with this is that only converted files would be cataloged, but not RAW files that have not been converted.

Will this problem only be solved when and if C1 ever decides to implement DNG support? Does anyone have any other suggestions for a viable archiving/cataloging solution using C1?

Cheers,

Andrew

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  arossphoto

  • August 22, 2006 15:24

  Does anybody have any advice at all? Surely this must be a concern for other users?
  
  Thanks,
  
  Andrew

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  Nicolas221

  • August 22, 2006 20:01

  My current "tentative" approach is now based on cataloguing everything directly in IMatch (it could be iView Media Pro). RAW files when I shoot RAW files, JPEG when I shoot JPEG.
  
  I do all the keywording in IMatch. Often, I just browse the folders of my catalog with Capture One for RAW conversion to a temporary folder.
  
  For larger projects, I select the raw files in IMatch first. The selection could be based on keywords or bookmarks and the files could be in several folders. I then use a hombrewn script to create hardlinks to these files in a temp folder. Hardlinks appear like copies of the original files but are actually pointers to them. Creating them is lightning fast and does not take additional disk space. It is then easy to browse that selection with Capture One. When processing is done, I can delete these hardlinks.
  
  Unless I do significant further post-processing after conversion (very rare these days), I don't bother keeping converted files. Capture One remembers the settings anyway so it is quite quick to regenerate TIFFs/JPEGs if I want to publish or print an image. I said "tentative" above because I'm not sure it is safe only keeping proprietary raw files (NEF in my case).
  
  My data disk (well, most of it) is regularly mirrored on an external HD (only powered on for the copy). And then I archive everything on DVDs when I have time (not often I must admit).

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