JPEG Vs RAW

[Tazzers]

My take on this is that if you do not intend to do any editing beyond cropping, resizing and removing dust spots etc then carry on shooting jpeg. If you are going to do more detailed editing the shoot raw.

[ianpinion]

When I asked the question as to whether to shoot in Raw or Jpeg the answer I got was, if you're only ever going to be producing low resolution images then shoot in jpeg, but if you want to produce a high resolution art print then you need to shoot in Raw. I would think for your course, shooting in Raw would be the answer as they are likely to teach you some of the advanced image editing techniques that can only be done successfully using a Raw image.

[wavemachine]

Slightly off topic, I am surprised that with a beginners course they are shooting in RAW, I recently subscribed to an intermediate course and the entire sylabus seemed to be based around things like how to switch red eye reduction on and how to get the photos off the camera. This I felt was better placed on a begiinners course.

Back on topic though, you didn't say what camera you are using this does make a difference as if it is not an SLR it won't necessarily support RAW, also if it is one of the Canon SLR's then you get a CD with the camera on which there is a piece of software called Digital Photo Professional, this is not a bad application and will give you the basic RAW editting capabilities. I found this a nice introduction to RAW and it is not daunting to use however it is reasonably powerful and supports things like recipies to assist with workflow.

One nice thing about RAW editting is the changes are not permanent (certainly with all the software I have used) so if you do decide later you have made a hash of things you can revert your changes.

Something I did was to invest in a few extra memory cards and shoot in both RAW and JPG, I am glad I did as I have now looked back on old images as my photoshop skills have improved and seen potential in then which I originally dismissed, having the RAW files available give me more control when enhancing them.

[chris-p]

Am I in the minority in that I have never shot JPEG?

I'll clarify that statement and say that once I'd bought a camera capable of shooing in RAW, I've never shot anything else. Opened the box, set it to RAW, went out and shot, came home, used the software and that was it.

[shank_ali]

Computer Memory and Time makes me always shoot in jpeg.The modern DSLR.can record as much detail in a jpeg as a raw file and no-one will convince me otherwise.It's the oldest wives tale in photography !

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by shank_ali

Computer Memory and Time makes me always shoot in jpeg.The modern DSLR.can record as much detail in a jpeg as a raw file and no-one will convince me otherwise.It's the oldest wives tale in photography !

Erm... Do you know what jpeg actually is?! You don't gain data or resultion shooting RAW but you do loose some data, and hence resolution, during jpeg compression. However you do get the benefits of the in camera curves, sharpening, noise reduction etc.

[wavemachine]

For me the biggy is when the camera gets the white balance wrong, it is a lot easier to sort out in the RAW than the JPEG. It can be very difficult to see as well when you review the shot on the small LCD on the back of the camera.

I agree they do take up a lot of space though but given the cheaper price of memory cards and hard disks for that matter I don't see it as a big problem. Although having said that I am going to have to have a ruthless blitz on my images some time soon

It is good to see all the pros and cons being thrown in here.

[chris-p]

This is an argument thats never going to be won because each format has it's own pros and cons. I think it depends on what you want out of your camera.

In camera JPEG compression losses varies between manufacturers as they all use different DCTs and different quantisation techniques. On the flip side, do you really need all the info in a RAW file? Perhaps? I shoot RAW because it gives me the most latitude and control. It doesn't mean JPEGs are bad!

If it is a big issue for anyone then shoot RAW+JPEG!

[shank_ali]

The time it takes a person to convert a Raw file to a 16 bit TIFF,i have finished checking my levels/curves and exposure and out shooting again =)

[ianpinion]

For speed and convenience and if you're only wanting a fairly low resolution final image then shoot in jpeg. If you're wanting to produce a high quality art print in a very high resolution then you must use RAW and if you can't make your mind up use both!