Caterpillar
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Apr 18, 2005, 9:40 PM
Post #3 of 5
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Hi guys i'm new to photo and i'm wondering what's better RAW or JPG to work with and get a better quality pic.
thanks Digiv,
Both can be "better" if you compose properly, color balance, and expose properly from the onset. The advantage of RAW is that it allows you to recover or backout of a mistake or bad situation. WB and incorrect exposure are the 2 most common errors or corrections where RAW can help you recover. With RAW, you can still pick the exposure, color, etc. Of course, if your mistake is about 3-5 stops from the desired exposure, well, it won't do miracles!  But at least you can approach it without too much loss or degradation unlike jpg.
But there is a trade off with RAW. File size, extra post processing. You have to also know what those sliders or buttons you have to adjust when you are converting your RAW to jpg or some other format. Should you convert it jpg? 8-bitt tiff, 16-bit tiff?
Now, having said these, we use both. We switch to RAW if the situations such as lighting or the shot is so critical (e.g. couple's kiss, or vows) and in group shots where detail needs to be preserved and we need the lattitude to back out of a situation. Editing in 16-bit tiff, we get better details and control before we finally output it back to jpg for printing.
BTW, RAW will not help in OOF or Out Of Focus shots.
RAW should not be used to correct. It should be used to enhance the image, not to pull yourself out of a rut. It is not an excuse to be shoddy with your composition, color, exposure, etc. We use it only for insurance and for getting the most out of certain shots that need it (group shots, or shots we expect to be enlarged to 11x14 or beyond).
Other than that, jpg will do fine. We shoot 95% of the time in jpg fine.
-Caterpillar
Caterpillar
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