What quality do you normally shoot with?

[SCWIDVICIOUS]

I normally use the largest jpeg setting.

I have played with raw, but will probably stick with jpeg.

I have a 4 gig card, so it holds quite a load of pictures.

 

[YoungPic]

when i was learning how to use the camera i used JPEG, but switched to RAW just to see what it was like and i actually really perfer it,i find the quality much higher, and since you have that 4 gig card you should use it

 

[gmarquez]

I keep going back and forth between normal JPG, hi qual JPG, and raw...I haven't *yet* run into many problems with JPG "negatives" (such as jpg compression artifacts), and they take up less space, so unless I REALLY think I need a RAW shot, I'll just shoot JPG.

 

[taracor]

I don't ever shoot RAW. If you want to know why, look on Ken Rockwell's site (too lazy to find the exact link right now). I shoot large size of normal quality prints.

 

[The_Traveler]

I don't ever shoot RAW. If you want to know why, look on Ken Rockwell's site (too lazy to find the exact link right now). I shoot large size of normal quality prints.

Ken Rockwell will always have an opinion but may not always be right.
Correcting color balance and exposure is infinitely easier in RAW.

 

[Funky]

i shoot both at the same time, makes it 100% easier for me.

 

[Garbz]

Taracor is half right IMO, and really this topic is all about opinions and not right / wrong.

I always used to shoot in Normal JPEG quality. I could not tell the difference between fine JPEG or RAW. However... I now shoot exclusively in RAW. The reason being is that I can fit less images on the card. In JPEG I found myself going out and taking 400 mediocre images and having to sort through them afterwards. Since switching to RAW I often look at a scene in great detail before pressing the shutter, and when I realise that nothing good will come of it I leave it rather than adding another 30 seconds of reviewing and deleting time to my post processing.

The other benefit is if you ever need to adjust white balance, exposure, colout etc the quality difference between RAW and JPEG becomes very clearly noticable. Ken Rockwell like many photographers seems to just like taking pictures and has no concern of getting the highest quality out of them.

My suggestion is shoot in RAW and review the photos as soon as you get home. If they all look great which may be the case, just batch convert them all to JPEG and delete the RAWs. It offers you much higher flexibility and error lattitude.

 

[MikeR]

I shoot RAW but if you use Jpeg you should always shoot at the highest quality setting. You can always downsize it later for the web. But if you shot in a low quality setting you would not beable to get a decent print out of it.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

Highest quality JPEG for most shots, RAW for difficult shots or for shots that I really need perfect (one time shots, or shots for contests and the sort)

 

[AdamZx3]

I used to shoot raw before my aperture trial ran out
It was very handy to make an adjustment with it and you can shoot a raw and make 20 differant variations of that image (differants crops, BW, etc...) and it only takes of kb's of storage space because the parameters are stored in a text file. Now that I am back to the folder method previewing .raw's is slow on my macbook pro and i have to convert a .raw into another Jpg....that makes it a pain, untill I can scrounge for money for aperture I will be shooting jpeg unless theres a chance for under/over exposure.

just my .02

 

[firemedic0135]

If I really want to be sure I get the right shot I shoot raw+jpeg, and if I am shooting alot( sports) I just shoot jpeg.
I really hate the time it takes to post proccess so I usually just use the jpegs and I have about 25gb's of unprocessed photographs.

 

[Aquarium Dreams]

I now shoot exclusively in RAW. The reason being is that I can fit less images on the card. In JPEG I found myself going out and taking 400 mediocre images and having to sort through them afterwards. Since switching to RAW I often look at a scene in great detail before pressing the shutter, and when I realise that nothing good will come of it I leave it rather than adding another 30 seconds of reviewing and deleting time to my post processing.

:thumbup: Agreed. When I switched to digital, I was wary that I would start thinking less about shots, because of the ability to take so many images and see them right away. Shooting RAW makes me think about the shots the same way I thought about them when I was shooting film. Instead of coming home with 400 images, I come home with the equivalent of one or two rolls of film, and I end up using more of the images. That's a perk in addition to the obvious benefits of white balance correction and under/over exposure compensation, etc. Everyone makes mistakes, but corrections are easier and don't detract from image quality with RAW.

 

[gmarquez]

Shooting RAW makes me think about the shots the same way I thought about them when I was shooting film. Instead of coming home with 400 images

So....do you use a single 256M card when going out shooting, to force yourself to think about the shot you are taking (instead of bringing one or more 2Gig or 4Gig cards)?

I can understand the white balance issue (a little), but if you wanted to exercise restraint, couldn't you just shoot JPG on a much smaller memory card?

 

[benjikan]

I normally use the largest jpeg setting.

I have played with raw, but will probably stick with jpeg.

I have a 4 gig card, so it holds quite a load of pictures.

I always systematically shoot in RAW at the maximum resolution and import my image in to ACR at 16 bits. I will tweak my images and commence my PP in PS2.

Ben

 

[darich]

I used to shoot at highest quality jpeg and never had any problems with quality. I used that setting mainly because of limited space on memory cards - especially as my camera has been upgraded couple of times.

However, i bought a Wolverine Flashpac in NY (B&H) with 80gb drive in it. I now shoot RAW with small jpg. The small jpeg allows Windows to give me a thumbnail and the RAW image allows for more flexible post processing.