Shooting Raw?

[MattXT]

I've heard this term used on numerous occasions and from the context it was used in it sounds like its really beneficial. I googled it and I'm still not to sure what it is so if anyone could simplify it for me I'd be very grateful to you!
thanks for any help in advance.

 

[iflynething]

Have you searched on TFP?

~Michael~

 

[tirediron]

The search funciton on TFP will return a multitude of posts on the subject. In brief, RAW is the actual raw sensor data recorded by your digital camera with little or no in-camera processing applied to it. It records far more data than a .jpg, allowing greater lattitude in exposure, infite WB control, and post-processing. It's also a lossless format, so unlike .jpg, you can open a RAW image, edit it, and save it with no loss of IQ. In short, unless you have a reason not to use it, the benefits far outweigh the negatives which are larger file size, and [slightly] more in-depth post-processing.

 

[chrisburke]

yea, your probably not going to get many people to respond to this, because its one of the most talked about topics on TPF.. people are getting tired of repeat threads.. theres probably 50-100 or more already here... I'd do a search here on TPF

 

[MattXT]

OK, I completely forgot about the search haha my bad.

 

[Samanax]

I've heard this term used on numerous occasions and from the context it was used in it sounds like its really beneficial. I googled it and I'm still not to sure what it is so if anyone could simplify it for me I'd be very grateful to you!

Basically, when you shoot in RAW you get a file that contains all the data that the image sensor was able to capture for a given shot...so with RAW you get everything the image sensor "saw" and it has to be processed and converted with a photo editing program on your computer into a image file you can use (like JPEG). The benefit is you have much more latitude when editing and you can adjust things like white balance and even exposure during the post processing stage rather than being stuck with whatever the camera decided to give you in a JPEG file.

A JPEG image file has already been processed by the in-camera image processor. The processor take the RAW data from the image sensor and then compresses (removes stuff it thinks you don't want or need) and converts it into a JPEG image file. The problem is that the camera has more control over the image than you do...I rather have that control over my image so I shoot in RAW and edit and post process the image as I see fit.