Raw

[Tony Eeds]

Based on the very minimal amount of time I have been able to dig into CS2, I have learned that I will never again shoot that I don't make a RAW copy of every photograph I shoot.

The control available is out of this world!

Anyone have any websites or books that they have seen that are good resources?

Dayum, now I need a new box and monitor ... oh well I "need" a new machine for "work" anyway.

 

[trakkerman]

Since you bring it up:

What is RAW format? I'm assuming file size it much larger; therefore, camera performance will be slower.

How RAW formatting make post-editing better?

Will most editing software work with RAW format?

 

[Chili]

Here is a brief overview for you to scan. http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-raw-files.shtml

 

[Okiewan]

I shoot RAW exclusively. Rarely do I use multi-frame capture even when I shoot moto.

Raw files are larger. Good cams don't slow down except for sports shots, ie; fires about 3 frames per second in raw, 5 making just jpg with the 20D. For everything else, you can't tell the difference, except of course the number of images that will fit on a card.

RAW is the equiv. of a film camera's negitive, everything the camera see's is captured the way it sees it. White balance, exposure, etc., can be set after the fact. None of the camera's sharpening, contrast, saturation is used when shooting raw, all processing is done by you after the fact. You have WAY more flexibility when post processing, you can save marginal shots that you can't in jpg. Contrast, saturation, mid-tone contrast, etc., is all set before the image is saved to the compressed jpg format. Think of it in old school (film) terms. You developed film or used a polaroid, which made all the developing decision for you... you took whatever it gave you. In the darkroom with film you had MUCH more control over the resulting print.

If you are a snapper (point and shoot, snap-shot type pics) and don't want to spend time "developing" your images, it's best to just stay with JPG.

There are free RAW converters out there, for the PC a popular one is RawShooter. (http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter.asp) see the bottom of the page.

Photoshop CS2 also comes with ACR (Adobe Camera RAW). There are MANY more.

 

[Kawidude]

Very interesting stuff. I think I finally understand why so many people shoot in RAW now. I'm going to have to give this a shot. Once you've got the RAW image tweaked the way you want it, is it difficult to change it to a jpeg in order to post? Or is it just a simple Photoshop/RAW converter action?

 

[Chili]

Simple as "save as" and change the type of file.

 

[trakkerman]

Thanks for the info Okie. I'll give it a try.

 

[IndyMX]

I shoot RAW exclusively. Rarely do I use multi-frame capture even when I shoot moto.

Raw files are larger. Good cams don't slow down except for sports shots, ie; fires about 3 frames per second in raw, 5 making just jpg with the 20D. For everything else, you can't tell the difference, except of course the number of images that will fit on a card.

RAW is the equiv. of a film camera's negitive, everything the camera see's is captured the way it sees it. White balance, exposure, etc., can be set after the fact. None of the camera's sharpening, contrast, saturation is used when shooting raw, all processing is done by you after the fact. You have WAY more flexibility when post processing, you can save marginal shots that you can't in jpg. Contrast, saturation, mid-tone contrast, etc., is all set before the image is saved to the compressed jpg format. Think of it in old school (film) terms. You developed film or used a polaroid, which made all the developing decision for you... you took whatever it gave you. In the darkroom with film you had MUCH more control over the resulting print.

If you are a snapper (point and shoot, snap-shot type pics) and don't want to spend time "developing" your images, it's best to just stay with JPG.

There are free RAW converters out there, for the PC a popular one is RawShooter. (http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter.asp) see the bottom of the page.

Photoshop CS2 also comes with ACR (Adobe Camera RAW). There are MANY more.

You can even download a Windows XP Power Toy that will create RAW thumbnails when browsing your memory cards.

It's a real time saver.

 

[Green Horn]

I'll second the RAWShooter program. That's the one that was recommended to me a couple weeks ago and I love it.

 

[Kawidude]

I took my first shots in RAW over the weekend and I like what I see so far. The first is a shot of my gorgeous wife and adorable son (needed greater DOF) and the second is a shot of some boats in Monterey (also needed greater DOF). I'm getting carried away with my new 50mm lens so I'm forgetting so to close down the aperature on some shots.

I also discovered that there was some RAW conversion software that came with my 350D, so it seems to work pretty well.