RAW, And a trip of a life time

Roba · Sep 17, 2014

Ok guy's need some advice please.
I'm an Englishman who's moved to New Zealand, who's going to Australia, who has his dad flying in from England to watch the V8's racing at Mt Panorama Bathurst.
Can you tell I'm excited?
Now I've been shooting with a d7000 only in jpeg, and I've picked up a new 32g and a 16g card.
My plan is to use the 32 for RAW and 16 for jpeg. Plus I have a couple of 8g cards as well.
My question is, do you think somebody who's never used photoapertureroomlight before So knows nothing about photo editing, should bother going RAW? Or I've got to start somewhere, so go for it?
Whats your process go through the jpegs, choose the shots you like, then edit the RAW pic?
I'm just after some great shots to go with the great memories I'm going to have from this trip.

Thanks Rob

Usul · Sep 17, 2014

It's worth. Cards are cheap but you never will be able to repeat this trip or go back to make a shot again. I regret that I didn't use raw 1 year ago, some pictures I like could have been saved if I had shot raw then.

Bobby Ironsights · Sep 17, 2014

Yes, by all means shoot raw + JPEG or shoot raw then batch convert to JPEG in a second file once your done. Remember, RAW formats are proprietary to the camera and are constantly being changed and uptdated but JPG's will never be unreadable.

Also, save your good images in the cloud on a service like Photobucket, computers fail, cards fail, houses burn down or get flood damage; the internet is eternal, (at least until the zombiepocalypse).

pthrift · Sep 17, 2014

Shoot raw even if you don't know what to do with it. You may find later on that you want to edit the photos and with raw you have a lot more options

Roba · Sep 17, 2014

Bobby, how do you mean RAW constantly changes and updates?

CameraClicker · Sep 17, 2014

Roba said:
Bobby, how do you mean RAW constantly changes and updates?

Raw files are sensor data, each camera has its own version of raw file and needs its own converter. In theory, really old cameras will not be supported by newer software.

The other side of that is, the camera throws out over 90% of sensor data when making a JPEG. If you want to change white balance or need to get shadow or highlight detail a raw file will give a lot more adjustment room.

I used to shoot JPEG, then raw + JPEG, now I just shoot raw unless I need JPEG while still in the field with no computer. At night I download the cards and back up to a passport drive. Current computers are fast enough that I don't need the camera to make JPEGs.

Designer · Sep 17, 2014

Roba; I presume your reluctance to capturing RAW files stems from your fear of filling up the memory cards too quickly.

I'd say you have enough memory capacity now to shoot both RAW and JPG.

Use the JPGs to cull your images and use the RAW for any extensive editing.

Or, you could just shot RAW exclusively, because the RAWs as displayed will look very much like the JPGs you would have gotten anyway.

In short; I just wouldn't worry about it.

Patrice · Sep 17, 2014

Bobby Ironsights said:
... save your good images in the cloud on a service like Photobucket, computers fail, cards fail, houses burn down or get flood damage; the internet is eternal ....

I would not rely on online sites for long term safekeeping of important data of any kind, including images I'd want to safeguard against loss or theft. From my limited experience (I was around when the 'internet' was nascent) sites and services come and then they go, they get hacked, they get bought and sold like commodities, user agreements can change overnight…etc.

There is no 100% fail safe guaranteed against all perils way to store anything. As for long term storage of images your best bet is a backup in a fire box and a third copy off site like a bank safe deposit box or maybe your grandma's attic. Cloud storage is very handy and cost nearly nothing but you are not in control, someone you've never met is, and can do as they please with the site and the data it contains.

Ido · Sep 17, 2014

Experiment with it before the trip. Start shooting in Raw format, and download a free 30-day trial of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Learn how to use it, and then see if you like it or not. Maybe you won't even shoot JPEG during the trip.