Question on Raw Mode

Not sure which thread to ask this in so it'll start here and I guess it'll get placed properly if it's in wrong thread.


I noticed on my 40D I have a sRAW and RAW mode I have been shooting in RAW I understand that sRAW is just a smaller file. Now I guess the question is do you loose details on sRAW over RAW? I'm basically shooting photos and posting the ones I feel are the best for the net and maybe now and then print out a 8.5x11
If I can get away with the smaller raw file I'd prefer it but then if it looses alot of detail then I'll stay on the larger format and look for more cards.

Which Mode is best to use for my use?

The info is a little hidden in the manual, but if you look at page 181 you will see that a sraw is ¼ the number of pixels as a raw, thus the files are much smaller, roughly ¼ the size.

An sRAW would be o.k. for web posting or a 4x6 inch print, but 2.5 Mp (1296x1944 pixels) is rather small for 8.5x11 (152ppi).

40D sRAWs are typically about half the size of the RAW files - I reckon the manual is wrong - because the ones I've been taking tonight have been around 6-7 mb compared with 10-14 (and up to 20!) mb for standard RAW.

I had to switch to sRAW when I was running out of memory at a footy match, and noticed an immediate and noticable downturn in quality when I started to process them. Emergencies only for me. Nice to have the adjustments tho'.

I would rather switch to Large JPG before using sRAW. I think one would be losing to much information to be bothered losing data over it. While you don't have as many pp options than in RAW at least I am getting the same amount of data captured, hence being able to print out bigger if needed.

The only file options I am likely to use on the 40D is RAW and Large JPG, anything smaller is just a waste