I just discovered RAW mode!!!

nikki2291 · Jan 20, 2009

I just found out that the disk that came with my camera has a RAW editor and converter with it. So I was playing around and I love it! You can change pretty much everything. I am still a little sketchy about shooting RAW though because I dont know a whole lot about it. I did google it though, but it all seems so confusing. Think anyone can kinda explain RAW to me in simpler terms?...lol.

~Nikki~

MikeBcos · Jan 20, 2009

Raw is like a negative. You can take it straight out of the camera and print it and you'll get a pretty decent photograph.

Or you can act like you are in a darkroom and tweak and adjust the image to get exactly what you want, darken areas, lighten areas, crop, sharpen, etc.

christm · Jan 20, 2009

RAW is great if used properly, I think it can mean that many people don't adjust the settings on the camera as much but do more digital processing.

Just a shame my 50D's RAW formatt isn't yet supported on the mac

SlimPaul · Jan 20, 2009

haha, have fun with RAW!

alarionov · Jan 20, 2009

nikki2291 said:
I just found out that the disk that came with my camera has a RAW editor and converter with it. So I was playing around and I love it! You can change pretty much everything. I am still a little sketchy about shooting RAW though because I dont know a whole lot about it. I did google it though, but it all seems so confusing. Think anyone can kinda explain RAW to me in simpler terms?...lol.

~Nikki~

can you set it to RAW + JPEG? that way you have it in both versions but it takes more space on the memory card though.

ANDS! · Jan 20, 2009

MikeBcos said:
Raw is like a negative. You can take it straight out of the camera and print it and you'll get a pretty decent photograph.

Or you can act like you are in a darkroom and tweak and adjust the image to get exactly what you want, darken areas, lighten areas, crop, sharpen, etc.

You can not print a RAW file. You can print a JPEG converted RAW file, but printing a RAW file is not possible.

Ken Rockwell · Jan 20, 2009

I'm not much of a Twiddler so JPEG's about all I need.

RAW's a great editing format. Enjoy it!

pauliec · Jan 20, 2009

Should any novice (like me) use RAW? One the one hand it sounds kind of intimidating, but on the other hand I wouldn't have to fiddle around the camera settings so much.

christm · Jan 20, 2009

An added note: I shoot both at the same time. This should be on your cameras menu somewhere.

Josh66 · Jan 20, 2009

pauliec said:
Should any novice (like me) use RAW? One the one hand it sounds kind of intimidating, but on the other hand I wouldn't have to fiddle around the camera settings so much.

It can't hurt. It will mean more time sitting in front of the computer though. Every single photo will need work (converting to JPG or TIFF at least). You should still try to get as much as possible right "in camera", it will make processing the files much easier and less time consuming.

I think it opens up some options that are not as easy to do with a JPG. Note that I said not as easy - I think you could still do the same thing to a JPG, it just might take a little more work.

Use JPG + RAW a little, see if you like RAWs. I think you will wind up shooting in RAW sooner or later, might as well learn it now.

Samanax · Jan 20, 2009

nikki2291 said:
Think anyone can kinda explain RAW to me in simpler terms?...lol.

~Nikki~

In the most basic terms...RAW is everything that the image sensor captures and puts into a file that the RAW editor can work with.

The JPEG that comes out of your camera started as a RAW image but was edited by the in-camera processor...it decided what to keep and what to throw away, how much sharpening to apply, the amount of contrast and color saturation to use, etc... when it compressed/converted it to JPEG.

With the RAW file you get to use everything the image sensor captured and you decide how you want to edit it, not some image processor.

As an experiment, take a few shots in RAW + JPEG Large and then edit the RAW file and convert it to JPEG. Compare that JPEG with the one that came out of the camera and you'll see it's much smaller than the one you converted from the RAW file. Compare the images closely (pixel peeping) and you'll see that the JPEG you converted from RAW has much better image quality than the JPEG that came out of the camera.

sabbath999 · Jan 20, 2009

O|||||||O said:
Use JPG + RAW a little, see if you like RAWs. I think you will wind up shooting in RAW sooner or later, might as well learn it now.

+1

nikki2291 · Jan 20, 2009

I do have RAW+JPG in my camera. I will definitly experiment with it and try it out. I kind of figured out my editing program. It gives me way more options and has opened up alot for me. If I can do everything right...lol...then I will probably end up shooting in RAW mode more often or at least RAW+JPG it just means that I'm gonna need a bigger memory card. Heres a picture I took in RAW mode and tweaked up...it looks WAY better then the original did believe me...just a snapshot though...

~Nikki~

Samanax · Jan 20, 2009

nikki2291 said:
I do have RAW+JPG in my camera. I will definitly experiment with it and try it out. I kind of figured out my editing program. It gives me way more options and has opened up alot for me. If I can do everything right...lol...then I will probably end up shooting in RAW mode more often or at least RAW+JPG it just means that I'm gonna need a bigger memory card.

One good thing about RAW is that you have much more latitude when editing...you can adjust white balance and exposure, something you can't really do to a JPEG without the image getting all messed up.

Digital Photo Professional is a good RAW converter and basic image editor, but eventually you may find yourself wishing you could do more with your images. That's where programs like Photoshop Elements 7, Lightroom 2 or Photoshop CS4 really shine. You can't correct a tilted horizon in DPP but you can in Photoshop. And once you start using layers you'll really be surprised and amazed at what you can do to an image.

nikki2291 said:
Heres a picture I took in RAW mode and tweaked up...it looks WAY better then the original did believe me...just a snapshot though...

That is more than just a snapshot. Nice capture.

ANDS! · Jan 20, 2009

Picassa can open RAW files, and it is free. If you want the robust editing that comes from the manufacturer, download ViewNX from Nikon (free) and edit your options in there. There isn't a whole lot of reason to NOT use a RAW file unless you just really DONT want to take that extra JPEG conversion step.