shooting in RAW

[Ecas32]

today was the first day i decided to try and shoot in RAW.
i liked that afterwards, you could change the white balance, then ofcourse the other things (saturation, sharpness, and contrast, etc..) that you can do in a regular jpeg image.
but i was just wondering if there were any other changes/ options you could make in RAW format post shooting.

thanks in advance
-ethan

 

[dxqcanada]

Always shoot in RAW.
You do not loose any data that the CCD captured. You get everything that the CCD recorded.

If you shoot in JPEG then the camera does preprocessing of the image before it saves it to flash ... because of this you will loose some data that the CCD captured ... so in post processing you are working with a reduced image.

 

[Ecas32]

ok i think i get you
thanks!

 

[Josh66]

but i was just wondering if there were any other changes/ options you could make in RAW format post shooting.

With the right software, just about anything you can think of.
(Of course, the same could be said of JPG too... I would just rather work with the RAW)

 

[stsinner]

My problem with RAW is that every single picture taken needs addressed.. Either saved as JPEG or modified and save, or etc.... It's just annoying.. Sometimes I don't look at pictures I've taken 'til days or weeks later, but in RAW, you really need to pay attention to every single shot....

As an amatuer, I'll stay with JPEG..

 

[Turnerea]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but I don't have to mess with every picture I've taken in RAW. When I switched over to digital, I just stuck with RAW, as I read so much about why it's superior. Many of my pictures come out just fine using an Canon XSi and Lightroom to edit/save as DNG.

I've heard that other cameras will have the RAW always be a bit underexposed? If being able to get good quick results is your goal maybe you could just compensate for what you're always fixing in RAW when you shoot, then you have a good shot right away, but still the RAW to edit fully later if you have the time?

 

[prodigy2k7]

Canon uses CMOS sensors in their DSLR line-up

 

[prodigy2k7]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but I don't have to mess with every picture I've taken in RAW. When I switched over to digital, I just stuck with RAW, as I read so much about why it's superior. Many of my pictures come out just fine using an Canon XSi and Lightroom to edit/save as DNG.

I've heard that other cameras will have the RAW always be a bit underexposed? If being able to get good quick results is your goal maybe you could just compensate for what you're always fixing in RAW when you shoot, then you have a good shot right away, but still the RAW to edit fully later if you have the time?

Well normally, your camera makes adjustments to your JPG image when you take the picture such as color, saturation, sharpness etc... Well in RAW, you dont get any adjustments, yes the picture can come out fine in RAW.

 

[Flash Harry]

As far as I'm concerned I shoot raw to give me the best file possible, a digital negative, the raw format can allow you to slightly correct exposure and other problems (WB) etc but predominantly it allows the photographer full control over the output image, pretty much how we worked with negs in the old days, the analogy, for me anyway, is that snappy snaps can produce your pictures but a photographer will produce photographs from the same negs. H

 

[ksmattfish]

...pretty much how we worked with negs in the old days, the analogy, for me anyway, is that snappy snaps can produce your pictures but a photographer will produce photographs from the same negs. H

Yeah, but then some jerk comes along and says something like "Real photographers shoot slides."

There are a million articles on the web (hundreds if not thousands in the TPF archive) explaining the advantages of raw. Simply it comes down to this: Digital cameras always shoot raw. If the camera is set to jpeg the raw file is processed with in-camera software. If the camera is set to raw the file is delivered mostly unprocessed. The premise that raw is superior depends on two things: 1) you have access to more sophisticated processing software out-of-the-camera that allows more options and precise control than the in-camera software. 2) you know how to use and take advantage of such software.

If you shoot a Canon DSLR raw, and then run it through Canon DPP raw processing software set to the same parameters as a jpeg in the camera, then the result will be pretty much identical to shooting a jpeg in the first place.

It doesn't matter what other people tell you is better. All that matters is what is actually better for you. If you like the way your jpegs look better than the way your raw files look then shoot jpegs.

 

[BTilson]

For me, it depends on what I'm shooting. If I'm just shooting pics at a birthday party or something, I'll shoot .jpg but if I'm doing a wedding or a portrait session or something, I shoot RAW so that I can have more creative control over the final output. It does take more time, but for critical shots it's DEFINITELY worth it. The only thing I don't like about RAW is that the files are way bigger.

 

[lockwood81]

I shoot RAW because I don't want the camera making adjustments to the image. I want control over what happens to the image with a computer which has far more power than a camera's firmware.

 

[viridari]

I look at it like this, for post processing purposes. Comparing digital to film, and what you have to work with in JPEG vs RAW:

Shooting in JPEG is like having a print to work with for touch-up purposes. You only have what you see in front of you, and any enhancements made in one area often come at a cost to degradation in other areas.

Shooting in RAW is like having a negative. You haven't yet made the print! And you have an awful lot of leeway in how to make that print without losing anything of the original image.

 

[Dmitri]

Upside of shooting in RAW: You can fix most things afterwards. Exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation, temperature, etc etc etttttc.

Downside of shooting in RAW: Have fun with the noise!

 

[tsaraleksi]

Upside of shooting in RAW: You can fix most things afterwards. Exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation, temperature, etc etc etttttc.

Downside of shooting in RAW: Have fun with the noise!

Uhm, if you're getting more noise in raw than with jpeg you're doing something really wrong.