Do you keep your Raw files after PP??

I don't suggest you keep them. Save the PSD or TIFF versions only. Why? RAW files are proprietary and camera manufacturers stop supporting older RAW file versions from time to time (and don't tell you!). Once you bring in the RAW file to your lossless editor (such as PhotoShop), the RAW file isn't necessary. Saving the RAWs on DVD isn't a bad idea, but do not assume that you'll always be able to edit the RAW files because you won't.

Doesn't everybody? =_) Yes. I always keep them. Back them up on 2 dvd's. I store my jpegs created from them along with the raws.

RVsForFun wrote in post #3177326
I don't suggest you keep them. Save the PSD or TIFF versions only. Why? RAW files are proprietary and camera manufacturers stop supporting older RAW file versions from time to time (and don't tell you!).

Give me an example of a RAW format not supported by current software.

If indeed you subscribe to Adobe's propaganda about proprietary RAW formats and want to run around like Chicken Little, convert to DNG so you still have a RAW file.

To the OP: If you're like most of us, you'll continue to learn and improve your post-processing skills. A year from now, you'll want to be able to go back to some of last year's images and re-work the RAW files a new way. If you delete them now, you may regret it later. If harddrive space is an issue, burn them to DVD.

sootyvrs wrote in post #3159902
Do you keep all your RAW files after PP conversion?

KEEP your RAWs!! Digital photography is in it's infancy. Who knows what capabiities PhotoShop CS8 will have?
You may want to re'process' what are currently unprocessable RAWs some day in the future. Yet to be developed future RAW converters may be able to process you files better.
You may want to give a different 'interpretation' of your RAWs (different to the ones you just processed)
Maybe jpg will be replaced by a new sleeker format and you may need to convert all your RAWs to this new format - even if it be 10 years from now.

Unless you are a photoshop guru I am certain you may learn a few PS tricks in the future that might make you wish you could have another go at some of your RAWs.

Curtis N wrote in post #3177404
Give me an example of a RAW format not supported by current software.

If indeed you subscribe to Adobe's propaganda about proprietary RAW formats and want to run around like Chicken Little, convert to DNG so you still have a RAW file.

To the OP: If you're like most of us, you'll continue to learn and improve your post-processing skills. A year from now, you'll want to be able to go back to some of last year's images and re-work the RAW files a new way. If you delete them now, you may regret it later. If harddrive space is an issue, burn them to DVD.

While I agree with you regarding RAW formats not being supported I must say that there are reasons to use DNG besides what you say here. I prefer DNG because I don't have to keep up with sidecar files when I edit my RAW files. This was a bigger issue before Lightroom came into my workflow but I still like theidea of only worrying about one file should I choose to move files around.

Curtis N wrote in post #3177404
To the OP: If you're like most of us, you'll continue to learn and improve your post-processing skills. A year from now, you'll want to be able to go back to some of last year's images and re-work the RAW files a new way. If you delete them now, you may regret it later. If harddrive space is an issue, burn them to DVD.

I never thought about this. Yes my PP skills are still very much in it's infant stage and I'm sure there is so much to learn!

I will definately keep them all now. Thanks all for your replies.

Yes always keep them, you never know when you might want to process an image for another print or process it in a different way than before.

Nick

Always. I consider the Raw files just as I do negatives. I never tossed out my film negatives and doing so for digital just seemed wrong. With storage as cheep as it is it just strikes me as a bad thing to do.

I hear what you're saying - hopefully there were always be "readers" for the Canon RAW files. I do keep them on DVD but to save them as PSDs would suck up humongous storage.

Right now each of my RAW files is 12-16MB. When I do open them as PSD they balloon to around 30MB each. I've reconciled myself to the fact that I'll be collecting hard drives for some time ( ) but I'm in no hurry to rush into this process big time .

RVsForFun wrote in post #3177326
I don't suggest you keep them. Save the PSD or TIFF versions only. Why? RAW files are proprietary and camera manufacturers stop supporting older RAW file versions from time to time (and don't tell you!). ..........

Only ones I throw away have been the COMPLETE rejects (out-of-focus, blured... shots with lens cap on, shots of my feet... )

Even in the two years I've been shooting RAW, I've gone back in Lightroom or other programs to recover some shots that I thought were good, and now was able to make print worthy, simply because of being able to recover the highlights there compared to what DPP could do.

If you shot much film in the past, you likelly have shoeboxes of negatives around... and only ONE copy of them, nonetheless.

With RAW you not only have the camera's "negative"... its an unprocessed-untouched negative... and you can make multiple perfect copies of it' that means you can have PERFECT "negatives" in multiple locations in case of fire, disaster, etc.

ALWAYS keep your RAW files. Sooner or later you really will want to go back to one and process it in a different way.