? about RAW and compression modes

[Arni Stefan Arnason]

I am still at the point not quite to understand
the difference in quality between RAW and JPG mode when shooting and saving. I understand that there are benefits shooting raw but were can I read about it. Is there a good quide somewere on the web.

Second, the compression modes.
What is the difference in them and how can I see the difference. What compression mode do I use for highest quality immages. ....and were can a read about that as well.

+++ were is the best place to read about digital basic-advanced photograpy on the web.

Best wishes from Iceland

Árni
www.islandia.is/arnistefanarnason

[Eric F.]

Arni,

Setting for the highest possible images would be 1. RAW followed by 2. Large and Superfine settings.

Unless you are taking pictures to be used only on the web these settings should always be used. The object is to have as much data as possible when you get the photo to the computer.

I am not sure of the best place to read about photography on the web, but I am sure there are others on this forum who can answer this question for you.

Regards,

[canchi]

Arnie,
The RAW mode is the highest as far as quality goes. It is uncompressed and in addition does not go thru' the white balance/sharpness {software based} filtering that would happen should the image be compressed into JPEG. On the other hand the file size is huge and many beleive that there doesnt seem to be much difference in pic detail betweem the RAW and superfine large JPEG which is next best in terms of quality but is a compressed pic and therefore the file size is lesser.
Regards,
Canchi

[jim9tan]

Hi Guys,

The main reason I use RAW is for the editing possibilties.

1) RAW is 10-bit and captures more information.
2) A RAW file is very clean and can be edited easily.
3) If I edit an image several times, I start again each time from the original RAW file.

That said, RAW has some limitations. The conversion of RAW to TIFF is very slow. I only use RAW for fine detail work, like macro or landscape. I print 11x14.

If you photograph for general purposes and don't print larger than 8x10, you might not miss RAW.

Note that digital zoom is not enabled for RAW.

[steelduck]

Here is an Excellent RAW workflow:

http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Kristian

[Alexandre]

I mainly agree with the other guys.
If I go to an outdoors event or something, and plan to shoot lots, RAW is not worth it, or else I switch to RAW for the important shots only. Do notice that RAW files can be converted to Jpeg on the computer. You need only convert them to large TIFF files if you need the best quality for large prints. I too print 11x14 and I use RAW for those critical files.
You can also change colour balance of RAW files (and see results before converting), this could get tricky with a jpg file.