RAW vs. JPG

[wyldfireman703]

Need some educated opinion here ...
Is there any significant benefit to shooting candids in RAW format ?

Filesize is not a major issue to me - but added time to transfer, convert, and process is.

I have read all about the pros / cons - and have played w/ some RAW files from my D40 w/ a freeware program.
I have PS7 which doesn't support the adobe plug-in for D40 RAW.

I may play around w/ "RawTherap*e" some more - but just want some educated opinion on the matter.

Is it really worth the added time, effort, and filesize ?

[^tyrant^]

ya, raw is uncompressed and holds all the data from the picture that you shot, you then can manipulate the image better if it is in raw vs compressed already to JPG... Raw processing you have so much more control over everthing

[DaveK]

I'd say 'yes' if you are doing something like upskirts or DBs or something where you really need to bring out some fine details that might get hidden in the shadow or compressed out of the picture in a Jpg.

Personally, even if I had the option, I wouldn't shoot raw just because I find a high res Jpeg is good enough for me 99% of the time. and that other 1% i'm not even sure if raw would have saved the shot.

Maybe give it a try for a day, tinker with the results keeping in mind what the JPG would have turned out like and see for yourself.

[utter]

Well.... not to totally be the converse of dave, but I'm at the stage where I know that i'll be shooting predominantly in raw, rather than jpg alone (see my comparison shots in this thread)

The main reasons being that; in varying light conditions the camera's idea of what constitutes a properly balanced shot, might not be exactly what you had in mind, and whilst adjusting the levels and what-not in Pshop can make things better to a certain extent, you are limited to making adjustments to what the camera decided to do with the raw info when it converted it to jpg format using it's own compression and adjustment algorithms. I much prefer the versatility of being able to make my own mind up on issues such as saturation, exposure, fill-light correction, etc, before I make the decision to compress the information to jpg format (you actually do end up losing a ton of information, even at the highest quality settings, that isn't retrievable once the camera has discarded it based on it's pre-programmed interpretation of what to do with the shot you just risked jail for.)

dammit, that was probably too long-winded an argument. Time to lay of the espresso.

(you should consider an upgrade of photoshop to cs3 or cs4 if you have no moral issues with 'acquiring' a copy, or y'know.... paying for one - lol)

[Dakota 1974]

I shoot in jpg simply because I don't have the time to convert the raw files and manipulate them.

[utter]

I shoot in jpg simply because I don't have the time to convert the raw files and manipulate them.

lol - yeah, i guess i'm just an obsessive compulsive detail-freak with too much time on his hands....