JPG vs RAW

What is better? (just kidding!!!!)


I shot a few pictures with my 20D pnm RAW + L fine at ISO 3200

I noticed that the .JPG pictures has a little les noise...

But the pictures in RAW are sharper and has better colors.

Anyone else notice this? More noticeable noise with RAW at high ISO or even expanded?

No.

No, cause I shoot RAW +no JPEG.

the compression is probably hiding some of the noise.

I accidentally shot jpeg a few days ago. Being lazy I turned my XT onto portrait mode and shot my stepson's birthday party. As it turned out the focussing wasn't so hot in portrait mode. The exposures were pretty decent though. No need for RAW with those photos. It's where there are extremes of brightness/darkness that RAW is invaluable.

eh...who shots jpg these days
Lol

Do you have noise reduction turned on? That would account for both less noise and softer images in the JPEG.

In2Photos wrote in post #3423587
Do you have noise reduction turned on? That would account for both less noise and softer images in the JPEG.

That muct be it! Thanks! I forgot thjat only works for jpg.

Actually, in-camera noise reduction (the kind you can turn on and off) is applied only to exposures of 1 second or more. However, part of the camera's conversion of RAW data to jpg does incorporate a dose of automatic NR. In fact, the conversion algorithm is an important factor in the presence of noise and the choice of converter can be significant. However, any good converter nowadays allows user selected changes to some varibles in the algorithm in order to adjust noise reduction, even DPP in a somewhat primitive fashion. As always, however, there is a trade-off between sharpness and detail extraction on one hand and smoothness and blurring on the other. And, of course, any sharpening applied by the converter will also influence noise. So to sum up, you should tell us more details about the exposure itself and the RAW conversion you did.

tzalman wrote in post #3425105
Actually, in-camera noise reduction (the kind you can turn on and off) is applied only to exposures of 1 second or more. However, part of the camera's conversion of RAW data to jpg does incorporate a dose of automatic NR. In fact, the conversion algorithm is an important factor in the presence of noise and the choice of converter can be signicant. However, any good converter nowadays allows user selected changes to some varibles in the algorithm in order to adjust noise reduction, even DPP in a somewhat primitive fashion. As always, however, there is a trade-off between sharpness and detail extraction on one hand and smoothness and blurring on the other. And, of course, any sharpening applied by the converter will also influence noise. So to sum up, you should tell us more details about the exposure itself and the RAW conversion you did.

All I did was take the pictures and open them in lightroom. How does that effect them?

Nightscape wrote in post #3426294
All I did was take the pictures and open them in lightroom. How does that effect them?

A RAW data file is the raw material used by a converter to construct a color image. This involves the performance of a series of operations and until they are performed no color image exists. For several of the operations there are varible parameters. Somebody, the author(s) of the software, decided what will be the default values for those actions. You can interface with the converter and change some of the operations or you can leave them at their default positions. But even if you leave it at default, there will always be an affect on the output that is characteristic of that converter.

tzalman wrote in post #3426688
A RAW data file is the raw material used by a converter to construct a color image. This involves the performance of a series of operations and until they are performed no color image exists. For several of the operations there are varible parameters. Somebody, the author(s) of the software, decided what will be the default values for those actions. You can interface with the converter and change some of the operations or you can leave them at their default positions. But even if you leave it at default, there will always be an affect on the output that is characteristic of that converter.

Do you know how I can change the operations of lightroom?

tzalman wrote in post #3426688
A RAW data file is the raw material used by a converter to construct a color image. This involves the performance of a series of operations and until they are performed no color image exists. For several of the operations there are varible parameters. Somebody, the author(s) of the software, decided what will be the default values for those actions. You can interface with the converter and change some of the operations or you can leave them at their default positions. But even if you leave it at default, there will always be an affect on the output that is characteristic of that converter.

Probably one of the best descriptions I have seen.

Very good points - worth reading carefully.


And the reason I shoot RAW, is that I have some control - rather than leave it to the in-camera processor to make my decisions.

Now a counter to this might be, "you can make those decisions with JPEG too". My reply would be, "I can make more decisions with RAW than with JPEG - I don't mind making decisions".

Whether one chooses RAW or JPEG is each person's choice and decision to make.