The Pros and Cons of Using RAW Image Format
by James Somerset
Something that often confuses serious amateur photographers as they progress from compact digital cameras, through low-end DSLRs to the Pro choices is whether or not to shoot in RAW. Most Pros will speak of the advantages but the hassle involving in shooting in this format can often seem to be too much a price to pay. Let's discuss why RAW is usually the way to go and when it's not.
Few compact digital cameras give you a choice: it's JPEG or nothing. As a keen amateur photographer whose pockets won't stretch to a high-end DSLR yet you won't have needed to think about RAW. Most compact digital cameras do a decent job at producing JPEGs. So it can seem hard to justify the extra time it takes to shoot in RAW and then go through your shoots converting them to JPEG at a later stage. So what is RAW and why do so many Pros recommend it?
The internal processor that takes the electrical signals from the image sensor is normally factory set to convert your images to JPEG. That's a great choice as its probably the most widely used image format in the world. It's hard to find a screen or printer that won't happily accept a JPEG. Before the JPEG is saved your camera will have color corrected, sharpened and compressed your image to make it almost idea to share with family and friends.
An issue with the conversion to JPEG is that detail is thrown away. The JPEG format assume you have everything in the image that needs to be shown on screen. Shadow detail that would be hidden in the darkness is simply dropped. Highlight detail that can't be seen at the saved exposure is discarded to save space. Even detail within the main parts of the image that can't be seen at 100% scale is often removed.
If you save your images in RAW format, everything the camera captured is there. Nothing is wasted. You can now go home, load your RAW editor and try as many different color corrections, sharpening routines and compression algorithms as you like. And the editor will not damage your RAW image in the process. It will keep the RAW intact and save the result as a new file. If your image editor understands your type of RAW image file you will be able to edit using the original data so that dodging the shadows or burning in a highlight is likely to reveal some hidden detail not visible until then. With JPEG all that extra detail is absent.
So we've discussed the Pros. What about the Cons? RAW files take up a lot of space on your camera memory cards. This means you may need to change cards more often and need more memory cards. Then there's the time it takes to transfer these large images from the camera to the memory card. Sometimes it takes so long that it reduces the 'frames per second' firing rate of your camera - that's no problem for most people but sports photographers may be better sticking with JPEG.
Do you want to learn more about <a href='http://www.facebook.com/pages/photographyincyderinfo/511277978901356'>pro level photography topics</a>, then visit James Somerset's facebook page.
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New Unique Article!
Title: The Pros and Cons of Using RAW Image Format
Author: James Somerset
Email: articles@jamessomerset.com
Keywords: raw image format, raw image, professional photography, professional photographers, advanced photography, serious photography, photography, photographers
Word Count: 516
Category: Hobbies
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