JPG vs RAW file !

What is the real difference in using Raw and Jpg's when it comes to photography? I was told that RAW files are more pro , that u can change many aspects of the picture before closing down the file and that Jpg's are loosing some quality issues (?)etc. But at the end of the day I must say that you can do pretty much the same things with high res jpgs in Photoshop and get same result as RAW shots ! Besides , dedicated RAW programs are really poor when you compare it with PS !

Anyone using RAW files here regularly ? Will be happy to hear you opinion !

 

To plagiarize myself from this thread,

Additionally, RAW files most often have better color density than JPG images produced in camera (12- to 14-bit versus 8).



In any case, I shoot RAW exclusively (when I use my DSLR, that is), and I use photoshop (Camera RAW) to process my shots.

 

Blackwood, I just started shooting raw and I have question since I saw you use PS, is there an easy way to save a .nef(nikon raw) from Bridge as JPEG and resize it, without opening PS? I find it is a pain if I want to show someone a picture I have to open Bridge, open PS convert and resize to jpeg.

 

Sorry, I don't know.

When I work mine, I drag about 30 RAW files into the photoshop window at a time. The CameraRAW window opens and shows me thumbnails which I can set to delete, save, open, or do whatever in batch.

I'm probably not as efficient as I could be.

 

Alright thanks anyway, I like RAW but when I go to a track day I don't want to sit down and go through 600 pictures.

 

Raw files offer the ability to control more within the photo when it hits PS. Raw takes up three to four times more memory than JPEG because it store more information. You better have a large card if you plan to shoot raw. Most professional photographers only shoot in raw because they do most of their altering in PS anyway and like to power you get once the photo is imported. JPEG does not allow for as much altering. JPEG is fine for most of what you do.

I currently have a 5D, D200, D300 and shoot mostly in Raw, unless I have limited memory left on the card.

 

I wish i could use RAW more often.

My computer freaks out whenever i try to open a RAW file on it...

 

do you have a mac? You can use automator for that


Antony

 

I have RAW mode on my XTi, but i use JPEG, because RAW is like 8mb for 1 picture and a JPEG is less the 1mb...

 

Less than 1 MB...LUCKY!!

All of mine are 4 or more!

Major resizing is always required.

 

Then you are using lower quality settings, I “mostly” shoot in jpg and my jpg files are on average 3 mb’s on my XTi

 

I shot a Cowboy game using the raw and Jpeg setting, and have been unable to open any raw file in the Nikon Capture NX program. I get a pop-up that say it cannot open the nef file. What am I doing wrong?

 

I came back from Tahiti with 3000. THAT took a while

(but really, it was only 1000, because I bracket every shot).

 

I haven't used the Capture program, try updating it???

 

Blackwood's point about the color balance is important. You can literally choose any color balance after the fact with a RAW file. I like that because I inevitably shoot indoors with an outdoor setting and outdoors with an indoor setting!

 

Is it possible to manually correct that with a JPEG in PS?

 

Yes, but not losslessly.

 

nope, im just using large "best quality", but i have a 1gb card only, that MIGHT explain why, ill get a 4gb soon.

 

ok so im new to all of this but when you say you backet all of your photos is that like makng a hdr, if so dont you have to shoot evry shot on a tripod or have an extremey stedy hand?

 

I could make HDR images with my bracketed shots, but that's not why I do it, so having the exact same framing on each isn't a concern.

 

crap... nvm its like 2.5-4 mb...

 

RAW is very useful as you can manipulate the white balance.

You can also recover a bit of lost highlights.

 

Yeah I was going to say the size of the card does not have to do with the file size of the pictures, but figured you would figure it out on your own.

 

the D40 can't shoot JPEG+RAW? i have a D70 and a D200, both of which shoot RAW + a JPG version @ the camera's smallest resolution and quality [obviously to be used for reference only]

 

Here is a good article from Ken Rockwell's site about shooting Raw vs. Jpeg.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm

Cheers,

Nick