Newbie - Simple (and stupid) questions about RAW...

[oak3x]

Newbie to Digital Photography with some stupid questions based on RAW:

1. Camera allows setting to shoot on both JPEG and RAW at the same time?

A. Do all the more recent Canon's allow this function (XTi and 40D I am considering).

B. What is the main reason people would shoot JPEG & RAW for each photo they take? Is this something more common when learning RAW Post Processing?


2. When shooting RAW exclusively, do you still see the image of the shot on the LCD Display?


3. Does the included software which comes with the Canon 40D allow Post Processing in RAW.

Or, do you "have" to purchase a Third-Party-Software?

Thanks

[ChasP505]

1a. Yes
1b. Maybe as a "safety". Maybe so they can get preliminary proofs to a client immediately, then work on the Raw files later. Lots of reasons.

2. Yes, the camera will show the images with settings applied as if they were to be saved/processed as JPGs.

3. Absolutely. Canon's DPP (Digital Photo Professional) comes bundled with the camera, has free updates and is among the best available for Raw post processing.

[kevin_c]

A few quick answers :-)

1A - Yes, but only in the 'creative' modes (Av, Tv, P, M, A-DEP)
1B - jpegs can be useful for a quick slideshow 'on-site' without having to do any work on the raw files - These would be used later for the final edits.

2 - Yes, but only the 'in-camera' processed thumbnail.

3 - Yes DPP is provided and is free.



EDIT - you beat me to it Chas!

[oak3x]

Cool...thanks guys for the answers...

Most interesting is that I wasn't aware that Canons DPP Software was good enough for me to get started with some basic editing and RAW processing. This will probably be perfect for me to learn the experiment with the basics...

I have continually read about most people on this forum using Photoshop, Corel etc... and I thought that was the only way to go to learn RAW.

I will plan to get started with Canon's DPP, then move into maybe Photoshop Elements a little later. What do you think?

[kevin_c]

Canon's DPP is capable of extremely good results. It's one of the best raw converters out there.
A lot of people (myself included) don't particularly like the user interface and the way it works, but thats a personal thing. The new version 3 is a lot better though.

[ChasP505]

I will plan to get started with Canon's DPP, then move into maybe Photoshop Elements a little later. What do you think?

I think that if you start with a fairly well exposed shot, DPP will probably be all you need. But if your shot needs more work or you are applying special effects or filters, PS elements 6 is excellent.