Advantages of RAW shooting?

For those who shoot RAW mode, can you give me some of the reasons why you do and what is necessary (generally) to process the RAW photos?

I'm really very curious about this.

Thanks!

Check out the FAQs & Important Links sticky in the RAW and Post Processing forum, they'll do a better job explaining than what people will be able to put into a single post.

Cheers,
Kurt

Grimm75 wrote in post #3074118
For those who shoot RAW mode, can you give me some of the reasons why you do and what is necessary (generally) to process the RAW photos?

I'm really very curious about this.

Thanks!

Why: FAR more versatile than a jpeg , non destructive to file when editing, will always have the original to get hundreds of looks and color balance
more forgiving because of it's versatilty if you have incorect white balance.

What is necessary: the software that comes with Canon cameras DPP (free) or ACR if yu have Photoshop , or Lightroom if you want to spend an additona $199.

I'm not sure words can really explain the benefits of shooting in RAW as compared to actually experiencing it for yourself.

I used to shoot 95% JPG with a few RAW thrown in just for experimentation. Those RAW images rarely got touched because to me, it was so easy to just use the JPG's, and the results were good. Then I decided to try the Adobe Lightroom beta only a few days before it expired. From then on, I've done everything in RAW.

I would suggest that you try one of the free trial versions of any RAW processing programs and weigh the advantages for yourself.

simple: DYNAMIC RANGE!!!!

though it also helps to shoot in RAW if you didn't get WB quite right on the shot.

justincase724 wrote in post #3075597
I'm not sure words can really explain the benefits of shooting in RAW as compared to actually experiencing it for yourself.

I used to shoot 95% JPG with a few RAW thrown in just for experimentation. Those RAW images rarely got touched because to me, it was so easy to just use the JPG's, and the results were good. Then I decided to try the Adobe Lightroom beta only a few days before it expired. From then on, I've done everything in RAW.

I would suggest that you try one of the free trial versions of any RAW processing programs and weigh the advantages for yourself.

Although I am still am an amateur to the extreme, the lightroom experience also has turned me onto shooting RAW for virtually everything. I found frustrations before with PP the RAW pictures so i shot JPG, but LR made it such an enjoyable experiences i have since converted to RAW.

The reason why I always shoot in RAW mode
The fact is that it's simply not always possible to get the shot "right" in-camera. You might have mixed lighting, so much contrast that you have to underexpose to retain highlight detail (and pull up the midtones and shadows post-exposure), so little contrast that you'll have to "spread out" the tones in post-processing, you might be in a situation with fast-changing light and be underexposing to stay on the safe side, or, well, you might just make a mistake, no matter how hot a shutter jockey you are. The newbie
will blow the highlights in a high-contrast situation; the experienced digital shooter will know the correct exposure technique for this -- and will get a much better result, after post-processing.

For me its the extra detail that you get from your RAW image....the fact that you can edit without damaging the photo so you always get the most out of the image. And of course there are lots of adjustments you can make to WB etc if needed....all in all I personally feel that I get the most out of an image by shooting RAW and then processing in Lightroom.

How do you guys store those RAW files is hte better question!

Im interested to know about peoples workflows. Do you delete some stuff right in lightroom? Do you put those raw on dvd?

Well, I delete the rubbish convert in lightroom and store the converted files under a different name usually with LR as a prefix so I have the converted images and the RAW files stored...I upload the images to the printers who also store my images...that way if a disaster happens my best images are all stored seperately...may be not th emost efficient way but thats what I'm doing for now.

Check the link In my Sig.

Thats so useful!

I'm definately convinced raw is the way to go.

I'm now trying to find a good way to convert jpegs to under 2 mb in size through a workflow.

Do any raw packages have support for jp2 or microsoft HD files?