Recently, I’ve seen some discussion about whether to use Raw or JPEG as your digital camera file format.
Today’s digital cameras generally offer three file formats: RAW, JPEG and TIFF. RAW: is a camera manufacturers proprietary format. It is an image file that requires special software to view on your computer. The image you see on your camera’s LCD screen is a JPEG representation of the RAW file. The TIFF file format was originally developed for desktop scanners and is offered by some camera manufacturers. RAW and TIFF files are larger than JPEG using more of your camera’s memory card. All three support a maximum of 16 million colors, just right for photos.
OKAY, What DO YOU choose? If your photography is all about social media and you don’t want to get into using post-processing programs, then the answer is simple, use JPEG. If you think you might to do some post-processing a TIFF file might be a better choice. The reason is each time you post-process and save a JPEG file there is a small loss of quality in the photo. This doesn’t happen with TIFF files. There is no loss in quality. Both JPEG and TIFF files are processed by your camera’s algorithms and result in a finished photo that doesn’t require post-processing. However, if your desire is to be more creative and have great control then using RAW is the right choice.
More details about RAW the camera manufacturers’ proprietary format and require post-processing. Lightroom, Photoshop, and Capture One are a few of the many software programs that allow you to view RAW files and post-process the photo on your computer. Many camera manufacturers also offer free proprietary software for viewing and post-processing. The RAW files you view on your computer will lack contrast, brightness, sharpening, and noise reduction. They will appear dull and washed out. This is why you need to do the post-processing.
File extensions for some of the more popular cameras are; Canon: CRW, CA2, CA3, Nikon: NEF, Sony ARW, SRF, SR2 Olympus: ORF, and Fujifilm RA. Cameras that can shoot RAW often allow you to have a RAW and JPEG file saved at the same time, allowing you to have the best of both worlds. Remember, you will have two files: a RAW and JPEG resulting in your memory card filling up sooner.
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