When Should You Shoot RAW?

When should you shoot RAW?

If your photos were edited from the original, it’s not always obvious if a photo has been altered or not, so it’s good to be prepared. The more you learn about your camera, the more control you can have over how your image comes out, but there are lots of variables that can affect the outcome, such as aperture, shutter speed and focus.

There are two kinds of photography: shooting in-camera (as RAW) and post-processing in-camera. When you shoot a RAW image, the camera captures the light as a digital file and stores it on your memory card; when you open the file in your computer software, you have more control over editing the image. There are pros and cons to each method, but if you’re a beginner, it’s best to get into the habit of shooting RAW.

The main reason to shoot RAW is to get the most out of your camera. In-camera, RAW images are usually smaller than JPEGs, so you get more detail and more room for adjustments.

Shooting RAW is easy, just follow these steps:

1. Open the menu, navigate to Photo Shooting Menu/Photo Shooting Menu/Image Quality and choose RAW from the list.

2. Take your pictures.

3. Save your memory card.

4. In your computer, open the file.

5. Make any changes to the photo and save.

If you shoot JPEGs, you’ll find the image quality is lower, so you get fewer adjustments in-camera.

Shoot RAW when there is no option, e.g. you can’t afford a decent camera. In such cases, you need to take a lot of images and the difference between file sizes is minimal. However, if you can afford a more advanced model, there is no reason not to use the best possible quality setting for your photos. For example, shooting RAW files with a professional camera will yield higher-quality images than JPEG files shot using a camera with a lower specification.

In fact, even if you shoot JPEG, it is a good idea to shoot RAW files and process them later. This allows you to remove unwanted artifacts and improve the overall image quality. If you are using a smartphone, you will need to do this on the computer.

The benefits of shooting RAW images are two fold:

Better image quality

The main advantage is that you can easily perform image editing. With RAW images, you can correct problems, such as dust spots, and make adjustments. In addition, you can correct for chromatic aberration, adjust the white balance, apply exposure and contrast correction and tone mapping.

Reduced file size

When you convert the images to another format, the resulting file size will be smaller, which means you can send your images over a mobile network faster or save them on a memory card with less storage capacity.

There are many reasons for shooting in RAW but one of the main ones is to be able to easily apply a RAW conversion to your photos. The RAW format has a much greater dynamic range than other formats and a wider range of settings available to you.

When you shoot in RAW the camera saves both the raw file (unconverted data) and a jpeg file (which has had a specific set of adjustments applied). By default, the camera uses the camera’s auto settings, but you can access the Raw Settings menu, shown in figure 1, to select additional adjustments for the image.

In the Raw Settings there are two modes available: Standard and Expert. These settings control the amount of processing applied to the raw image. The Raw Settings allow you to alter three different aspects of the image. First, you can choose the Auto Mode. This determines the camera’s approach to adjusting the exposure, white balance and color of the image. Secondly, you can set the White Balance Mode, which controls how the camera sets the white balance. There are nine choices including: Auto, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Flash, Incandescent, and Custom. Thirdly, you can select the Color Mode, which controls how the image is colored. There are seven choices including: Monochrome, Gray, Grayscale, Red, Green, Cyan, and Magenta.

The difference between the standard and expert modes is that in the standard mode you are given the choice of a few basic adjustments, whereas in the expert mode the choices are limited to only the three that you have selected from the previous page. However, the standard mode gives you the most flexibility.

To convert your file into a usable format, you need to open the camera software (usually included with the camera), go to the menu option and then the RAW menu. The RAW menu allows you to make further adjustments. In figure 2, below, we’ve chosen the Auto Mode.

The RAW Settings menu allows you to alter three different aspects of the image.

First, you can choose the Auto Mode. This determines the camera’s approach to adjusting the exposure, white balance and color of the image.

Secondly, you can set the White Balance Mode, which controls how the camera sets the white balance. There are nine choices including: Auto, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Flash, Incandescent, and Custom.

Thirdly, you can select the Color Mode, which controls how the image is colored. There are seven choices including: Monochrome, Gray, Grayscale, Red, Green, Cyan, and Magenta.

To sum up, What are the advantages and disadvantages of shooting RAW files?

There are a number of reasons why shooting RAW files is advantageous. For starters, it allows you to manipulate the data in the file after you have captured the image.

There are a number of advantages to shooting RAW files. For starters, you can convert the file to another format, such as JPEG or TIFF. Once you are happy with the image, you can print it or make it smaller. You can also work with the image on the computer, adding text, cropping and rotating it.

When shooting RAW files, you will need to open the image in a RAW editor. After that, you can adjust the image however you wish. Once the editing is complete, you can convert the file to JPEG, TIFF or other formats.

There are several drawbacks to shooting RAW files. For starters, you need to invest in a RAW converter. It’s not difficult to do but it does mean more work. Additionally, it’s harder to do a one-to-one comparison between two RAW files. This means that you will need to compare the two images with each other and work out the differences. There are some excellent RAW converters available, including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw.

There is also the potential to lose the image quality if the image is not saved as a RAW file.

Should you be shooting RAW?

Shooting in RAW mode can result in large files, and may mean that your pictures have to be compressed when you edit them. RAW files are much larger than standard JPGs and are intended for post-processing.

The image sensor used in a digital camera converts light into electrical signals that are stored in the memory. The size of the sensor determines how many pixels are recorded per photo. A typical DSLR has a sensor that records between five and seven million pixels. When you press the shutter button, the light is converted into electrical signals and then recorded onto the memory card. The sensor must be able to record detail across its entire range – from bright lights such as the sun to dark shadows. It is this ability to record a wide range of brightness that makes a camera’s sensor unique. A well-equipped camera also has a built-in light meter (which measures the light falling on the sensor) that enables the camera to make decisions about the best exposure settings. This means that you don’t need to rely on a flash for taking pictures in low light situations.

The number of pixels captured by a camera can be divided into three main types – resolution, megapixels, and file size. Resolution refers to the number of pixels in the final picture. The higher the resolution, the finer the details and the greater the clarity of the picture. For example, the Nikon D90 has 12 megapixels. A typical digital camera has between five and seven million pixels. Megapixels refer to the size of each individual pixel. Smaller pixels result in sharper images, and the higher the resolution, the more detail is captured. A higher resolution also means that the file sizes are bigger and that it takes longer to transfer the files onto your computer.

File sizes are measured in megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes. A standard format, like the JPEG file, stores photos as 8-bit files (this means that each pixel is either black or white). However, when you take a photo, the sensor captures a range of colours and not just black and white. When the image is captured, the camera uses software to compress the image into a smaller file size. The compression process reduces the amount of information in the file. So the 8-bit image is converted into a 9-bit file that has lost some information. Most cameras compress their images to JPEG format. RAW formats offer a better chance of capturing more detail in the original image. Some cameras allow you to use both RAW and JPEG files. If you use RAW mode, you can choose to capture a 9-bit file. It is possible to convert the file back to a 16-bit file. But this means that you lose a lot of information and the photo will be a bit less clear.

Shooting in RAW mode is not recommended for beginners. It is useful for experienced photographers who want to adjust the color balance, contrast, sharpness, saturation and white balance of their images. It also allows you to do lots of creative adjustments. If you are using a compact camera, it’s often easier to shoot in RAW mode. If you have a DSLR, you need to decide whether it’s worth the extra hassle of converting the RAW files to JPEGs when you want to print the pictures.