Full Version: RAW Format
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#3]
14 Jun 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#1] 15 Jun 2006
Raw is the unprocessed digital negative , you can do anything with raw
Raw is like getting the milk and making your own cheese vs buying a block of cheddar. Jpegs out the camera have been processed by the camera and there is little you can do to correct white balance and various other issues.
If your wife is shooting a super expensive 5d and has spend the money on "L" lenses or primes , she should be using raw to get the best out the camera. The 5d , cos it's a Full frame camera , tends to vignette with various lenses shot wide open (Its actually light drop off in the corners due to the lens) and the only really good way of correctig this is using a Raw processor.
In terms of Raw processors , there are many , but my tests and some others seem to think the Canons DPP offering that came with the camera gives the best results in terms of colour , dynamic range and noise on Canons raw files.
I have tried many other Raw processors but still come back to DPP - if you do use DPP , your wife must go to Tools - Preferences and under the general settings tab set operating mode to quality priority.
You can shoot both raw and JPEG in the camera (you need a decent 2-4gig CF card to do so , raw files are round 13mb) and choose which one to use giving you the best of both worlds. Jpeg normally does fine for less than critical work .
For those special shots , use the raw file.
Workflow with raw is a little more complex as you have to manually do what the jpeg processor in the camera does and thats why a lot of folk dont use it , but once you start and see the image quality attainable , you generally never go back to shooting jpeg.
One nice thing about raw is that if a new raw processor comes out that post processes the raw file better , you still have the raw digital negative and can run it thru the new processor to get an even better rendition of the shot than before.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#4]
15 Jun 2006
To: Shaddy [#2] 15 Jun 2006
Good information.
I enjoy photography, but I'm a dabbler and more of a shutterbug. :-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#5]
15 Jun 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#3] 15 Jun 2006
Thank you Rodney.
I wasn't asking the questions on my wife's behalf. In fact, when I read some of your response to her, she asked why I was preaching to the choir. :-)
I was asking for my own benefit and knowing that the "choir" consists of more than one person, the benefit of our forum members.
As we've seen, through examples of laser engraved photos and sublimated murals, etc., photography does fall under the Awards & Engraving umbrella, although it's a topic we don't often cover.
What's your personal interest in photography? Do you enter competitions? Submit photos to stock photo houses? Pure enjoyment of photography?
EDITED: 15 Jun 2006 by DGL
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#6]
15 Jun 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#5] 15 Jun 2006
RAW format is nice in that it gives you basically the raw data from the sensor. So you get typically more bits per pixel (ie: more colors per pixel) than with the jpeg or tiff format. The data in the RAW format isn't filtered, sharpened, white balanced, etc... It really is raw.
The only disadvantage of RAW is that it takes a lot more space on the flash card, so you can take a lot less pictures on a card.
One of the things I like about RAW is that you can shoot a series of photos, and take one reference photo with a gray card in the picture and then when you process those images in a program like Adobe Camera RAW (a free plugin for the latest Photoshop) you can use the reference image with the gray card to calculate the correct white balance for the lighting and then automatically color correct all the other pictures in the set with the click of a button.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#7]
15 Jun 2006
To: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#6] 15 Jun 2006
Thank you Dave.
The site Shaddy pointed out, mentioned the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in as being very good.
Good tip on the gray card.
EDITED: 15 Jun 2006 by DGL
From: Mike (BIGPIXEL) [#8]
15 Jun 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#7] 15 Jun 2006
All good advice. I shoot RAW almost exclusively due to all the reasons mentioned above. Another reason that adds to the above is that you can select 16 bit Tif as a file type in the converter, jpeg is only 8 bit. All editing will be finer, smoother if editing in 16 bit.
But you have to have enough computing power in this situation. When I convert my raw files to 16 bit tif I end up with a 69MB file. I also use PKS (Photokit sharpener) which makes from 3-4 layers while doing its thing. That prodices a work file of 400MB+ temporarily until you flatten the file down again. I'm getting by with a P4 processor, 2GB RAM and a dedicated drive for PS scratch disk but wish I had 8 gigs of RAM sometimes!
EDITED: 15 Jun 2006 by BIGPIXEL
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#9]
15 Jun 2006
To: Mike (BIGPIXEL) [#8] 15 Jun 2006
Ooof! Those are huge file sizes!
Fortunately, the cost of computers, peripherals and RAM, etc. has come down considerably, compared to years ago.
Still sounds as if a peron's going to make a serious run at digital photography, there's much more, expense-wise and equipment-wise, than meets the eye.
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#10]
15 Jun 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#5] 16 Jun 2006
I thought you might have been asking on her behalf as she has just aquired the 5d , RAW is not a format many ppl shoot in as most think it's too fiddly.
For shots for lasering etc , just about any 1/2 decent 3+ mpixel point and shoot will do.
My interest is mainly personal , Photography has been one of my hobbies since I got my first Camera , and that is a story in itself.
I was failing maths in standard 8 or near to failing , my parents were concerned , to cut a long story short , I made my dad sign an undertaking that if I got an A (over 80%) at the end of the year , he would get me a konica T3 slr - was 1973 I think - I came top of the whole grade (120 ppl) and got my A and got my SLR - never worked harder at anything in my life as that!!
In my school holidays I used to work in a custom developing lab and as a gofer for a very good pro photgrapher , so learnt a ton.
I used to enter competitions and have sold a few images to stock agencies , but these days mainly use my Canon stuff for pleasure and at work for our large format digital printing operation where I do a lot of studio type product shots for various applications like backlit displays , point of sale displays , Posters , vehicle wraps , billboards and the like. I also just like the gear and owning it and use the work application as justification for getting it.
South Africa and Cape Town , where I live , is a photgraphers paradise , as a family we go out one day most weekends to a place where I can shoot something and the rest of my family can enjoy.
EDITED: 15 Jun 2006 by RODNEY_GOLD
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#11]
15 Jun 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#10] 15 Jun 2006
A man after my own heart.
From: Mike (BIGPIXEL) [#12]
15 Jun 2006
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#11] 16 Jun 2006
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#13]
16 Jun 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#10] 16 Jun 2006
Thanks for the inside story. Sounds like you're making the grade, in more ways than one. :-)
From: basehorawards [#14]
19 Jun 2006
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#11] 19 Jun 2006
quote:
I also just like the gear and owning it and use the work application as justification for getting it.
Isn't that the definition of what it is to be a man?
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#15]
19 Jun 2006
To: basehorawards [#14] 19 Jun 2006