On holiday, do you go RAW or JPEG or both?

I shoot always in raw (especially during trips and tours) simply because are situation that you can repeat and the raw could help at least in some case.

I have choose even this:
I choose RAW and/or jpeg when I decide it's best
because is a more generalistic answer.
In generall if sometimes I'm shoot in jpeg is because I'm not particural interest or I'm a lot annoyed ... for example when i see an interst subject but is impossible obtain a good shoot (for example because there are a big camion in front of the subject, boring signals map, tourist in front of the subject ..., etc.

I add that I have as backup a multi-card reader with internal hdd.

I never shoot raw+jpeg but only raw (or few times jpeg) because i could use a script for an automatic conversion between raw into jpeg so i can save space.

Note:

skygod44 wrote in post #8668195
To help a fellow POTNer who asked the question earlier (*here*), here's a simple poll.
...

Very good idea, i see many topic where it would be nice has had added a pool.

Funny.......
I don't see The Stealthy Ninja anywhere, and yet there are 2 votes on the Ken Rockwell option! That's worrying!

skygod44 wrote in post #8669810
Funny.......
I don't see The Stealthy Ninja anywhere, and yet there are 2 votes on the Ken Rockwell option! That's worrying!

He's probably being stealthy.

Use to shoot Jpeg, until the wife read about RAW, here on POTN, now I shoot only RAW. Hate it when the wife is right.:o

gcflora wrote in post #8669871
He's probably being stealthy.

Calicajun wrote in post #8670009
Use to shoot Jpeg, until the wife read about RAW, here on POTN, now I shoot only RAW. Hate it when the wife is right.:o

Know what you mean...though as we have larger and larger sensors producing larger and larger jpeg files, I'm wondering if, for example, a large jpeg set to medium res. on a 5D2 would actually outperform a RAW from a 30D (my current body - which still takes excellent pics!) in terms of resolution and IQ.

If so, as long as you know what you're doing, to massively increase storage (ie, while on holiday) using a 5D2 or the new 7D, you "might as well" mix 'n' match RAW with jpegs...?

Thoughts anyone?

I shoot RAW+JPG for good reason.

The screen on the 5D classic is pretty small, so it's hard sometimes to figure if something has the focus you want it to have. While travelling I keep my memory card reader with me. This allows me to plug it into any available PC and have a quick look at the JPG shots (as it'll be rare for me to find a PC that can read RAW) I then work out which are really crap and delete both the RAW and JPG's of those crappy ones. Once I'm happy with the rest I'll delete the JPG's and keep just the RAW's on there.

This saves me space in the long run by allowing me to get rid of the ones I really don't want, and having the flexibity to preview in any PC that's around

mellowd wrote in post #8672926
I shoot RAW+JPG for good reason.

The screen on the 5D classic is pretty small, so it's hard sometimes to figure if something has the focus you want it to have. While travelling I keep my memory card reader with me. This allows me to plug it into any available PC and have a quick look at the JPG shots (as it'll be rare for me to find a PC that can read RAW) I then work out which are really crap and delete both the RAW and JPG's of those crappy ones. Once I'm happy with the rest I'll delete the JPG's and keep just the RAW's on there.

This saves me space in the long run by allowing me to get rid of the ones I really don't want, and having the flexibity to preview in any PC that's around

Sounds like a plan, but have you seen the comments above about memory card risks due to deleting before downloading?

skygod44 wrote in post #8674457
Sounds like a plan, but have you seen the comments above about memory card risks due to deleting before downloading?

I have, but I've never heard of this and never experienced it.

I also travel with a number of 4GB cards instead of 1 or 2 16GB cards. This way if the unfortunate does happen and 1 gets damaged somehow I don't lose everything.

I generally shoot sports in jpg because: less space, so with now only 10 gb of CF storage, I won't run out; larger buffer - more continuous shooting; and because it requires less editing in jpg. Other than that, raw all the way!

mellowd wrote in post #8672926
I shoot RAW+JPG for good reason.

The screen on the 5D classic is pretty small, so it's hard sometimes to figure if something has the focus you want it to have. While travelling I keep my memory card reader with me. This allows me to plug it into any available PC and have a quick look at the JPG shots (as it'll be rare for me to find a PC that can read RAW) I then work out which are really crap and delete both the RAW and JPG's of those crappy ones. Once I'm happy with the rest I'll delete the JPG's and keep just the RAW's on there.

This saves me space in the long run by allowing me to get rid of the ones I really don't want, and having the flexibity to preview in any PC that's around

That's where the newer cameras (50D and 5D MkII) have an advantage. The raw file conatins a full-size embedded jpg, so you can use the multitude of programs that can view them (like Irfanview and Faststone) to do your crap filtering.

hollis_f wrote in post #8675587
That's where the newer cameras (50D and 5D MkII) have an advantage. The raw file conatins a full-size embedded jpg, so you can use the multitude of programs that can view them (like Irfanview and Faststone) to do your crap filtering.

Yet another good point!

So...where are we at the moment in the poll?

The majority of voters use RAW on their holidays.
But roughly 12~25% in each bracket like jpeg.

You know folks, I'm wondering if bigger and bigger RAW files (from larger sensors) will result in more people using jpeg for non-critical shots, or where the lighting is easy to read and/or processing speed is needed.

I mean, just think about RAW/jpeg files from a 5D2 compared to RAW/jpeg from a 6.3MP Rebel 300D from 2003. And then consider the computer processor needed to cope with the 5D2 v 300D!!!

Only time will tell...............and now, back to the poll!

I've been shooting RAW since May of this year, and I find it's really easy. On Sunday (yesterday) in about an hour and fifteen minutes I shot 50 or so frames in RAW, adjusted them for white balance and exposure, and created a book/pdf of the 10 best to send to someone through email. If today's technology isn't amazing, I don't know what is.

We're going to Florida in November. I'll shoot almost entirely in RAW, and will bring my MacBook and an external hard drive to store and backup everything.

Just previewed my response and looked a bit at some of the other responses...

I occasionally take photos of aircraft taking off and landing at a local airport (DCA). Often I'll use continuous shooting, which is much faster with jpeg. Also, lighting is really easy and consistent. Jpeg works fine for that. I can shoot 1000+ photos in an hour and a half and get some great photos from that.

The aforementioned shoot on Sunday was in our kitchen, with an uneven mix of indirect sunlight, incandescent lights, and an external flash. While I love my XSi, it can't automatically get the white balance correct in that situation. Shooting in RAW allows me to choose what dominates. I don't know what I'll face on my vacation, so RAW gives me the flexibility to make the best of my photos.

I would seriously love to have a months holiday, would seriously be fun

I have 10gb worth of memory for my camera, that at my going rate with the amount I shoot, would just about last, I say a week, maybe two days if there was anything interesting going on if I shot in RAW

But RAW is the way I go all the time these days

mathogre wrote in post #8679731
....in about an hour and fifteen minutes I shot 50 or so frames in RAW, adjusted them for white balance and exposure, and created a book/pdf of the 10 best to send to someone through email....I occasionally take photos of aircraft...Often I'll use continuous shooting which is much faster with jpeg. Also, lighting is really easy and consistent. Jpeg works fine for that....

400dabuser wrote in post #8680094
......I have 10gb worth of memory for my camera, that at my going rate with the amount I shoot, would just about last, I say a week, maybe two days if there was anything interesting going on if I shot in RAW
But RAW is the way I go all the time these days

Great additions guys (edited to make some relevant points clearly for our viewers).
Mathogre states that when lighting is simple, jpeg can work, and of course can bang out more fps when it counts than RAW.
400dabuser states that RAW clearly uses up memory (10GB in 2 days?!?!?!) but is the way to go. Which I think is fundamentally right.

Looks like RAW and jpeg both have their uses, and the better we are at photography, the more likely we are to know when to use either. Though RAW is "better" when it counts.

More thoughts from anyone?

bohdank wrote in post #8669093
No...go ahead. I appreciate being corrected, if I am wrong.

Actually you are right.

Of course one should note that on a device with a fixed seek time fragmentation has zero performance impact, which is why nobody ever notices it or cares about it on solid state drives.

Have you ever seen Vista boot up to a full working desktop from a cold start in under 5 seconds? I have. Hooray solid state drives.

Edit: Also, I've recovered a failed RAID 5 set that was horribly fragmented. It's actually pretty easy to piece inodes together to create the original files. I recovered some odd 27500 files - everything there was in the set, and it's much easier when you're only dealing with some odd 200.