RE: "Raw" for dummies ?
Judy, On Mon, 19 Feb 2007, Don Bryant wrote: > .... the image quality > is good, as long as light level isn't low or the noise is quite high, > and it does give you RAW: the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1. Sorry to correct you (or perhaps your e-mail client), I did not write the above. > AFAIK, the picture quality of my Canon (I forget the numbers & keep them taped up, but I think PS 5) is fine, though I never have done RAW -- I haven't felt the need. I've been told it's more trouble than it's worth, which I sincerely hope is true -- but that could be my ignorance. > If you are pleased with the JPEGs you are getting now, then you probably won't or don't need to capture RAW file images. > Could someone do a very brief "raw for dummies" -- once over lightly, why I should use it, why it's better than just ad hoc touch-up/ adjustments in Photoshop (and sometimes not even that)? How much do folks really use it, or is it mostly just nice to know it's there ? > Simply put, a raw file is the recording of the data captured by the camera sensor without any intervening data processing by the camera software. RAW files allow you to make post exposure decisions about the image that your camera may otherwise make for you, such as adjusting the white balance or accessing particular features that your camera software allows such as color rendering or capture in B&W and so on. Of course this requires software of one kind or another (commonly called a RAW converter). Different RAW converters produce different results, different vendors make subjective decisions about how to render a RAW file. Of course these decisions may be tweaked by the user by adjusting settings in the RAW converter software. A RAW file may be considered to be akin to an original in camera negative. As the late Bruce Fraser points out, JPEG files are relatively inflexible when compare to a RAW image file. All digital cameras produce RAW image data but not all allow the user to save it to file. > I'm not aware of any "noise" problem, though washed out highlights are rampant. Can "raw" help that? > RAW capture probably won't help correct over exposed captures. Some RAW processing software includes noise reduction features to help remove noise, which is usually present to one degree or another depending on the camera settings used at image capture time such as a high ISO setting. > Anyway, it seems to me you have to know in advance... to choose either raw or jpeg format when shooting. But how do I know if I should have done it in raw until I've seen the file on the monitor? > With some cameras, simultaneous RAW + JPG is possible if the user wants that option, of course at the expense of consuming more compact flash memory storage. Don
|