Shooting in RAW

[orangetree]

This is a question i have thought about for sometime... I've used RAW and frankly i dont care for it. I havent used it much but i really like the look of my jpg file better. Im not totally sure what RAW is, but it almost seems like cheating to me. I had discussion with people who hate using auto setting on their camera but shoot in RAW. It seems like a contradiction to me... I dont use auto and i dont use RAW. I think my view is getting it in the camera right the first time, i mean thats the smartest route, right? I would some decent explanation of any of this thank you so much, if this has been discussed which im sure it has please point me in the right direction

Adam

 

['Daniel']

haha. You see the thing is RAW is less "cheating" than jpeg. RAW is una;tered data from the ccd and so is not compressed at all nor is any sharpness o contrast added unless you tell it to. jpeg loses some of the data and is less easy to do post processing on because it has already been compressed and processed.

RAW is less automatic than jpeg.

 

[duncanp]

A RAW image is the image exactly as the camera sees it, it hasnt been enhaced and it does not disregard some pixels like in a JPG so overall RAW are bigger and easier to edit and can porduce a bigger image but are slow and very big

Hope this helps

arrghh Daniel got here first...


but i was before rob...

 

[Rob]

I think you've probably grabbed the wrong end of the stick here and got it backwards.

RAW format files are the direct output of the CCD sensor in a binary type format. They have no processing and are not picture files: they are camera (and sometimes model) data directly output to a (often much larger) file. Programs such as Photoshop and your camera's software allow you to convert this raw data into an image. The RAW file is literally what the sensor saw, unedited and with no modification.

Most cameras, if not all, have in-camera processing capability. There are elements such as white balance, sharpness, convert to B&W, brightness, contrast etc. which are performed by the cameras electronics. It is likely that a JPG from the camera will look slightly different to the RAW file as it has been "optimised".

Some people don't like the idea of electronics messing with their images and they save everything RAW and fiddle with it when converting or importing into a program such as PS.

So, to summarise: RAW files are raw original data as the camera saw it. JPG files have been processed, compressed and altered from the original, according to the settings in your camera.

Hope this helps!

Rob

 

[Rob]

Outposted by two people there!!

Rob

 

[duncanp]

lol typing speeds...

 

['Daniel']

It's alright rob our sum posts is alot better than any 1.

 

[Rob]

I took the time to achieve correct punctuation, spelling and clarity in my answer though.

Rob

 

[duncanp]

True.. i just dont have the patience..

 

[ShutteredEye]

Yeah, what they said.

In like Flynn.

 

[Fate]

RAW is awsome, i find it espeically great for low-light shots. They add a colourful punch to the scene you want to capture.

 

[orangetree]

thanks for the answers but it has brought up more questions... sorry lol

first i guess automatic was the wrong word, it would be more like forgiving. If it is more forgiving then why wouldnt the on camera processor make the optimum image from the data to begin with when it converts to jpg... ive seen one image in raw that was decent and the same exact in jpg that was beyond repair... same light and exposure and what not.... why would that be?

Ill have to admit what ****es me off about RAW the most is it take up so much space, my memory cards would cost more than the camera if all i used was raw.

 

[orangetree]

RAW is awsome, i find it espeically great for low-light shots. They add a colourful punch to the scene you want to capture.

that statement just would just make a hardcore realists photographer cringe.

Ya know what i mean?

 

[JonMikal]

you loose quality during the conversion process. it's digital...you're compressing it. RAW files provide for greater flexibility.

is there anything else besides the "file size" issue that bothers you about RAW? can you see the difference between an image shot RAW vs. jpeg?

 

[orangetree]

file size is 70 percent of it...

then maybe the way the computer processes the RAW Image... i sometimes the colors dont look right... it seem i gotta mess with it more when i use RAW