Shooting Format Help and File Conversions

[Ambition]

Hi everyone! Noob here...So first question...I recently purchased the Canon T3i couple weeks ago for leisure and as a beginner. I read somewhere that the best way to shoot photos from a DSLR is in RAW mode which i have been doing, so my question is RAW mode the best way to shoot photos in? Second of all, since shooting in RAW I didn't know the files would be CR2 and would need to be converted since it does not work on most websites and what not. What is the best way to convert the pictures and to what format. ie JPEG, PNG, etc. I've been thinking about buying the AVS image converter and editor because it is easy to use and it is on sale for the month of June. Does anyone have any experience with it or would you suggest a different program? Thank you for your time!

 

[SCraig]

IF you aren't doing any post-processing to your images then there is no reason to shoot in RAW. RAW provides a more usable format for editing however if you don't edit your files there is no advantage to it. You would be better shooting in JPEG in that case.

RAW format is camera-specific and not all RAW converters are made equally. I don't know about Canon but Nikon provides some software with their cameras that will read and convert Nikon RAW files. Perhaps Canon does as well.

The best format depends on your use of the images. For printing I would recommend PNG, TIF, or JPEG with minimum compression. For displaying on the web I'd recommend JPEG with about 20% to 25% compression. The more compression you use in JPEG files the smaller they will become but at the cost of the loss of some of the image information due to the way the files are compressed.

 

[KirkS]

Welcome!

As said above, RAW is best for post processing work. Adobe Lightroom 4, and Photoshop are common and powerful post processing software, but may not be for everyone. There are free PP software out there that will be able to read and convert your current images while you decide on what you need. Gimp is (from what I understand) similar to PS, and free.

In the meantime, while you're waiting to get software, change your settings to record images in RAW + jpeg. It'll save a RAW copy that, if and when the time comes, you can edit without image degradation, and at the same time will save an image in jpeg format for you to you right away. It's in your menu settings, under quality.

 

[MTVision]

Hi everyone! Noob here...So first question...I recently purchased the Canon T3i couple weeks ago for leisure and as a beginner. I read somewhere that the best way to shoot photos from a DSLR is in RAW mode which i have been doing, so my question is RAW mode the best way to shoot photos in? Second of all, since shooting in RAW I didn't know the files would be CR2 and would need to be converted since it does not work on most websites and what not. What is the best way to convert the pictures and to what format. ie JPEG, PNG, etc. I've been thinking about buying the AVS image converter and editor because it is easy to use and it is on sale for the month of June. Does anyone have any experience with it or would you suggest a different program? Thank you for your time!

Your camera probably came with software that can read and convert Raw files.

 

[KmH]

The DPP software included with your camera can convert the CR2 files, or you can down load the fee, open source DNG converter from Adobe.com - Adobe - Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter : For Macintosh : Adobe DNG Converter 6.7
Adobe - Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter : For Windows : Adobe DNG Converter 6.7

Bit Depth
Tutorials – The RAW File Format
Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

 

[Hobbytog]

To get used to you camera put it on auto for a few days and shoot high resolution jpeg's. When you get used to editing, post processing then start to shoot RAW. Straight out of the camera untouched RAW images will not look as good as (in camera processed) jpeg's. The software cd that came with the camera will handle RAW conversions.

 

[Dao]

If you do not want to buy additional software, the best one is the one that comes with your camera. Digital Photo Professional (DPP). It allow you do convert, adjust photos such as white balance, exposure etc. It also allow you do load the Canon lens profile to correct Chromatic Aberration (CA) or lens distortion. You can do batch convert as well with DPP.


Currently, I am using Lightroom from Adobe and I like it better.

 

[rlemert]

I believe I have the same camera, and it came with the software necessary to process its RAW files. However, I've never used it. I started out doing everything in JPEG and used GIMP for any post-processing (free "open-source" program).

Now that I'm more comfortable with the camera I'm shooting more often in RAW, and I've found another "open-source" program - RawTherapee - has no problems with the Canon RAW format.

 

[sovietdoc]

I'd argue that being a photographer ,today, means working with software just as much as hardware. This probably depends on how far you want to go, but just like every professional artist needs to learn Photoshop in addition to his/her drawing techniques, I'd argue that every photographer needs to learn how to work with his or her photos on the computer. Taking a picture with your camera is just part of the process now.

I'd recommend going out and spending a few bucks on Adobe Lightroom 4. You can read about this tool online so I'll skip the details, but it will let you fix/edit your photos very easily. It can do a lot more than that and this is why I am recommending it. As you're growing with your DSLR and understanding photography better, Lightroom will help you grow with the software side of things.

 

[christop]

The DPP software included with your camera can convert the CR2 files, or you can down load the fee, open source DNG converter from Adobe.com - Adobe - Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter : For Macintosh : Adobe DNG Converter 6.7
Adobe - Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter : For Windows : Adobe DNG Converter 6.7

Bit Depth
Tutorials – The RAW File Format
Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

The DNG format has an open specification, but unfortunately Adobe's DNG converter is not open-source.

 

[Ambition]

Thank you everyone for all the tips and suggestions! I'll be sure to check out those programs as well.