What is Raw and how does it work?
Foto: Henningklevjer. Raw or rawformat have been used for so long as digital SLRs have been. Few compact digital cameras have the option of saving in Raw, although there are some who can. Rawformat or Raw will look different depending on which camera you have chosen, but the idea is that you post the setting with the white balance, temperature, contrast and much more so that you can concentrate on image composition.
Rawformat is different depending on which camera you have, but what are the files containing information from the CCD or CMOS element that captures light and recorded as a voltage. It is actual the tension that is stored in raw file. It makes you get all the information and can process it later. Rawformat require conversion so that you get an extra step forward to the finished image.
Most cameras are otherwise store images in JPG format. It is important to be aware that the Jpg is a lossy format that is if you save an image several times, then the compressed and thus destroy the information each time. So if you upload a jpg image in your image editing program so the image becomes more compressed and therefore have less information when you then save it again as jpg. If you make the process, the picture continues to deteriorate. Try it. This is not true with Gimp, but many other programs.
Which format should I then use the Raw or Jpg?
It depends a little on how you shoot and what you want with your photos. In the beginning when I had bought my camera so I photographed lots and LOTS pictures were weird and blurry. I recommend novice photographers to shoot jpg and shoot lots. It also enables you also see directly what the settings do for the image. Use jpg-format early to get to know your camera and the various options. Additionally, the workflow becomes easier because the image does not need any pretreatment. You probably get back to Jpg as you learn to expose right.
When one begins to learn to deal with his camera and its image-editing tools so I think you definitely should move on to take photos in Rawformat. Mainly because you are not so dependent on you after the event can adjust the picture as you want it without losing any information. Go back to Jpg if you shoot with Olympus, while Raw is better if you use Canon or Nikon.
When you want to get started, it is important to think about what they feed on their edits to streamline the whole thing. It so far has been a little circumstance is to handle many images at once. Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture for a simpler workflow with Rawformat.
Conclusion
Use jpgformat to learn your camera or if you are sure to use the images only on the Web or to the family album. Use Raw if you want to be sure of getting the right exposure and be able to work with the pictures afterwards. If you would like a fast workflow may still be preferable jpg and if you want full control as Raw is better. The only one who can say what you want to use you depending on your needs. There is no right or wrong.
Hint: Both IrfanView and XnView is good for an overview of your Rawbilder and manage simple, quick edits and transfers the images to jpg format.
Update: Rawtherapee 2.4.1 is free to download and use.
Lightroom costs about 2800 SEK.
Read more about Raw: Wikipedia, Wikipedia about Jpg; Luminous Landscape “Understanding Raw files”, Ken Rockwell about Jpg vs Raw, Photocritc says his meaning about Raw
