So many beginners want to know whether to shoot in Raw or JPG.  The answer is not always as simple as this one or that one.  It all depends on what you shoot, for who you shoot, and what you are shooting for (what you are going to do with your shots once shot).  In certain circumstances JPG has the advantage while in others Raw walk all over JPG.  Let's talk about JPG first ...

          JPG is a file format that is very small and convenient.  Therefore one can work with them very quickly and they do not take a lot of space on your computer.  They come already processed by the camera which saves a lot of time.  If you shoot sports you are shooting at a very fast frame rate (7 - 10 ten shots per second).  If you are shooting for a news agency they need those images up on the web or to the news paper within minutes after the game (even after half time).  Some outfits will need the images as you shoot (file transfer or tethered shooting).  There is no time to process.  Decisions are made in seconds.  In these cases most of the photographs are used for the web where processing is not that important.  In situations such as this JPG is the clear winner.

          Raw is a file format that gives you what the sensor saw; unprocessed.  To work with raw requires more time because the files are large and need to be developed.  The camera did not process these files, you are going to.  Working on a powerful computer with great software can produce images better than what a camera can process.  JPG's are processed as 8 bit files by the camera while raw's are processed as 16 bit files by a computer.  This means that there are millions more colors available in 16 bit files as opposed to 8 bit files. This really shows up when there are smooth gradations between colors.  Because of the wider color pallet a person can do more in post processing to raw files than one can do to JPG's.  When you are shooting for yourself and have time to process these files, raw is far superior.  Here is why.  With raw files you can:

• Change exposure after the shot was taken (yes, at home);
• Change white balance after the shot was taken;
• Bring back your highlights and push your shadows;
• Remove chromatic aberrations;
• Use software to correct lens distortion;
• and many, many more.

          You can see why raw is great for cooking your images.  Landscape photographers always shoot raw (yes, I know there are some exceptions out there).  Typically sports photographers and photo journalists shoot JPG.  If you are a landscape photographer shoot JPG consider giving raw a go.  I will deal with the basics of processing next week.  Hard disk space is cheap, do not let the file sizes bother you.  We want the utmost in quality; that usually starts raw and is cooked slowly.

          Landscapers go raw ...

Pierre