Why you should start shooting in Raw instead of jpg?
Why should you fuss with using Raw format? There are a few compact cameras with Raw otherwise it is most SLRs, which use it. There are several reasons to use raw format, but there are also reasons to use .jpg . You have to ask yourself what you value most in your photography and what conditions you have. With the raw format is different depending on which camera you use so you get more information and more opportunities in post processing. It also takes much more memory space and may require a little more after work. Post processing has become much better these days and is constantly being improved.
The advantages of .jpg format is that it is faster and takes up less space. A memory card can hold lots of pictures in .jpg format, but are filled pretty quickly with Raw. You can take it directly into Photoshop or Gimp for post processing work. The files are visible and easily managed in operating system. With Raw you can do more advanced changes to the information without losing data. Jpg contains only 8 bits of information.
Memory is now less important in your decision, the file format you should shoot with. Today, there are cheap hard drives that you can use for storage and backup. Both internal and external, where some may even have the slide show function. I also know that many photographers use JPG because it has a fast workflow and they feel sufficiently secure in his photography. I myself uses Adams zonesystem and therefor exposure is not as vital. Do you use JPG, you can not do nearly as large retrospective adjustments.
To learn more about Raw vs Jpg: Ken Rockwell, Popphoto, Luminious Landscape , .jpg follies, DPS
Selection of different software
Digital Photo Professional
(Mac and Windows)
Nikon Capture NX —
(Mac and Windows)
Lightroom —
(Mac and Windows)
Aperture —
(Mac only)
Bibble
(Mac, Windows and Linux)
LightZone
(Mac, Windows and Linux)
Camera Raw (plug)
(Mac and Windows will work with Photoshop CS3)
2010-03-20 , kl. 10:51 am
I am a total raw convert. I love the quality they provide. My raw images have come on no-end now I use Nikon capture at the start of my work flow, then into PS4 if needed.
2010-03-20 , kl. 1:01 pm
Sure is true when using Nikon and Canon…though I started to use only JPG and Gimp than…Raw and Bibble…but then i know how to expose and use the Zonesytem more…
Then i also use Olympus that is much better converting to JPG…than Canon and Nikon…
2010-03-21 , kl. 7:32 am
Is memory card/harddisk space really a problem nowadays? If you say that jpg has a faster work flow, that depends on the software and how you manage your workflow. With software like Aperture and Lightroom, there is no workflow difference between raw and jpg. If you’re using software like Aperture or Lightroom, there is really no advantages for jpg, just a lot of drawbacks.
2010-03-21 , kl. 8:29 am
It is always one step more if you choose to edit with Photoshop or Gimp…The arena is changing though since Raw have become more common. But being able to get the picture in to your picture editor is always faster without the step of conversion…
Being forced to use a hardrive as backup may always being a problem. As discs are more reliable than harddrives. Thus memory is still a problem when backing up…
2010-05-17 , kl. 3:32 am
I noticed that under LightZone you have it for Mac and Windows, but it also supports Linux now.