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doncarlito May 26th 2008 edited
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TheLeggett
May 26th 2008
Actually doncarlito, Fredrik has written an article on RAW which will hopefully be published by the end of this week. You'll probably be really interested in seeing what he has to say about it!
Be sure to subscribe to our feed on the front page, and we'll email it directly to your inbox! -
Fredrik
May 26th 2008
I have written a tutorial on RAW, but it's yet not published.
To break it down a little before the full article is out:
When you photograph, the camera captures the image as RAW (all cameras do this) but then if you have your camera set to save photos as JPEG or if the camera doesn't support RAW files the photo will be converted in the camera (using the cameras processor to decode and convert a the raw data into a compressed JPEG).
What this means is that if you shoot in JPEG the photo is already compressed before you even open it up in your photo editing software — in which you will re-save it and that means a second compression and loss of quality. If this loss of quality is visible is depending on several facts such as if it's for digital or print, what size and so on.
Also, with a RAW file there is no adjustments made to it, so you have full control over white balance and such adjustments that the cameras processor would add to the photo if you used a JPEG file. A RAW file also contains a wider range of colors and shades, so adjusting levels, contrast, sharpness and these types of settings will not affect the image quality in the same way a JPEG file would.
However there are drawback of RAW, one is that the files can be much larger (depending on what camera). They also take longer for the camera to save after capture, meaning that the camera will have to buffer after let's say 10 photos instead of 20 (again, very different numbers depending on what camera model you have). The last real drawback is that you will have to put a lot of more time into post-processing your photographs since it's a raw file and not adjusted.
Personally, I always use RAW and would never ever go back to JPEG. The majority of the professional photographers that shoot in JPEG are sport photographers when you need to take a lot of photographs in rapid bursts. Many journalistic photographers also shoot in JPEG since there's often not enough time to edit the photographs before they need to be printed. -
Iceberg May 26th 2008I have a question. Since all cameras capture images in RAW, can Adobe Photoshop open the image in that format in order to adjust and edit the photo, or do I have to convert it to JPEG before editing?
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Fredrik
May 26th 2008 edited
To clarify, all cameras record the photo raw so to speak, but then either save the output as a RAW file or a JPEG - so you can't get the RAW file from a camera that doesn't support RAW nor if you'd photographed in JPEG. I'm sure you understood, just wanted to make sure so I don't mislead anyone.
Adobe Photoshop now comes with the added Camera Raw (available as a plug-in to some older version of PS). This is an interface that automatically opens when you open a RAW file in Photoshop, where you can make adjustments like white balance, sharpness, lens distortion etc etc — I haven't used Camera Raw for quite some time and have forgotten most of its features.
I personally use Apple Aperture for RAW handling, and sometimes also Adobe Lightroom (have that installed on my field laptop). Another solution is Phase One's Capture One software. There are others, some better some worse. If you just want to edit RAW files individually the Adobe Camera Raw will do just fine, but if you want a whole library and great work flow for your RAW photographs I recommend software like Aperture, Lightroom and Capture One.
In all cases, you do your editing on the photo when it's "RAW" and then convert it to another format such as JPEG or TIFF when you want to print it. Don't convert a RAW file before you edit it, unless it's for like a small web gallery where image quality isn't an issue. -
doncarlito May 27th 2008fredrik,thanks for some explanations,it really help me understand about RAW..cant wait to learn more from your upcoming article..im a newbie at photography and im greatfull theres people like you helping some bigginers like me.
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MikeWilson
May 27th 2008
I talked to a professional photographer earlier this week looking at the D300, and he really likes Lightroom, but he said Aperture does the same thing. Never heard of Capture one, so ill check that out. (By the way, those programs have lag issues, because you are handling, in real time, maybe hundreds or thousands of files that are 5-50mb's. He had 5 gigs of ram, so he was fine. -
TheLeggett
May 27th 2008
Just a heads up to all interested: The Camera RAW Tutorial by Fredrik will probably be up this Saturday, so you can get a full dose of what shooting in RAW is all about then!
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Fredrik
May 31st 2008
The tutorial on RAW is now published, read it here.
If you have more questions or there is anything special you find missing in the tutorial, please let me know and I'll add more to it.
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hello,i read alot of reviews and forums,they keep on discussing about raw and some prefer taking pictures in raw..is there a tutorial how to in this site or can some one give me a link where to learn it..thanks in advance..