.JPG or .RAW

[John Holme]

Hi
I am new to DSLR Photography. I was wondering if in general people shoot in JPG or RAW, I have an Olypus E410 but image size drops to around 4meg per image using SHQ but in RAW it is at 10meg rated for this camera.
What are the pros and cons relating to JPG and RAW file format.
I use Adobe Photoshop CS for my editing

[Professional]

JPG will be less in file size because it is compressed and you don't have full control with JPG in editing, and any time you save the same JPG file you loss image quality.

With RAW you can control the white balance and the color temperature and the picture style and the exposure mode and more, so why not take these advantages to your side and shoot with RAW? mostly those pro i sports or some studios prefer JPEG as faster to edit and faster to print and show clients or send it to press, but if you shoot as hobby and not for others [to be paid or so] then why not using RAW.

Go to: www.google.com and type in search box: RAW vs. JPEG or just RAW photo and you will see many topics about that you can read it.

[Medley]

I generally shoot Raw when possible, but there are a few exceptions.

The Pros of shooting Raws are numerous. Raw files record more information, but don't lock it in. You can, for example, adjust the overall exposure of the image +/- 4 full stops. For an amateur, that gives me a lot of leeway to make mistakes in exposure.

Most camera sensors record 12 bits per channel, or 4096 tones, or shades in each of the red, green, and blue channels. Raw files preserve all of this information. A Jpeg file only saves 8 bits, or 256 tones. You may not see the difference (the untrained human eye can only differentiate about 200 tones), but starting with more detail means a greater chance to finish with more detail. People often talk about losing information with different save formats, but you also lose information when you edit an image. More initial information means more editing leeway.

So with Raw files, it's all about starting with more information, and getting as much of that information as possible to the final print. However, more information means a larger file size, and taking so much control of the conversion and editing means longer editing times. These are the two biggest drawbacks for Raw files. With a Jpeg file, you can print the images straight from the camera's memory card, if desired. For Raw images, editing is mandatory. Many camera manufacturers include a Raw+Jpeg setting on their cameras so that you can print the Jpegs right away, and process the Raw images later for the best image quality. However, this eats up even more memory.

- Joe U

[John Holme]

Thank you for your advice. As a total novice I think it would best to start with JPG, and later progress to RAW...Learn to walk before you can run..as they say.
Thanks

[Keitht]

If your camera has the facility I suggest shooting in both simultaneously. That way you can make direct comparisons between the jpg and raw images and, assuming you are pleased with the appearance of the jpg, work on the raw version at your leisure to reproduce the appearance. That way you will also learn about the photo package you are using and how changes to saturation etc affect the final result.

[John Holme]

My Olympus E410, does have the option of shooting in .RAW
+ .SHQ. at the same time, I will be giving it a go next time I am out.
like you say It will give me the option of trying both formats.
Many thanks

[chongbscott]

These variations cause unquestioningly to circumstances that need selecting one over the other. For example, if you do not have much potential to shop pictures in photographic camera then capturing in JPEG will allow to catch 2 or 3 periods the number you could capturing in Raw. This is also a wise decision if you are at a celebration or some other occasion afterwhich you want to discuss your images quickly.

[Ava300]

The variety of formats for each camera brand is very high. For example, Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Sony have their own RAW formats, each of them offers a specialized software only with the manufacturer's camera.