Raw or Tiff

[cherrybee]

I am now much more used to my new camera and have now switched to taking RAW photos.I had a converter in the finepix software which coverts to Tif.The question is that when I save my originals(before editing)that are worth saving is it best to save the raw file or tiff or should I save as jpg. Both Raw and Tif are so large.I like to save the best originals as well as the edited but there is only so much space on my hard discs and on a dvd or cd .What do the experts do please.Oh and is it better to shoot in raw as the seems a little bit of delay before I can take a second shot.Also it takes ages to convert the files.Excuse me for going on a bit but I am new to raw and need to know the best way to go.

[Kev Lewis]

Originally Posted by cherrybee

I am now much more used to my new camera and have now switched to taking RAW photos.I had a converter in the finepix software which coverts to Tif.The question is that when I save my originals(before editing)that are worth saving is it best to save the raw file or tiff or should I save as jpg. Both Raw and Tif are so large.I like to save the best originals as well as the edited but there is only so much space on my hard discs and on a dvd or cd .What do the experts do please.Oh and is it better to shoot in raw as the seems a little bit of delay before I can take a second shot.Also it takes ages to convert the files.Excuse me for going on a bit but I am new to raw and need to know the best way to go.

Never touch or modify the raw file and certainly don't delete it after you have the TIFF file, it is your negative
Shooting in Raw is definately better than jpeg more detail and colour range is available and you can set the WB during the conversion.
Convert the raw to 16 bit TIFF and process the file in PS. Save to 16-bit TIFF file after you have done what processing you need BUT before you resize and sharpen it (which should be the last operations). From then on use the 16-bit TIFF as your master

[cherrybee]

Originally Posted by Kev Lewis

Never touch or modify the raw file and certainly don't delete it after you have the TIFF file, it is your negative
Shooting in Raw is definately better than jpeg more detail and colour range is available and you can set the WB during the conversion.
Convert the raw to 16 bit TIFF and process the file in PS. Save to 16-bit TIFF file after you have done what processing you need BUT before you resize and sharpen it (which should be the last operations). From then on use the 16-bit TIFF as your master

The software that came with the camera included a converter which only converts to tiff anyway.If I want to print is it better to print the tiff or change to jpg.Can I upload Tiff to WAB and can the save quality options be changed as jpg can (compression) I use PSPX ,or is it best to change to jpg for web.Thanks Kevin I seem to have a lot of questions
I just want to get it right although my photos will never be as good as yours but I want them as best as I can get them.I had better buy a lot of discs for backup.Luckily I have a large DJ case to store them

right I have just looked at options in saving.looks like jpg better for resizing and saving for wab.do I sharpen before or after resizing

oh and altering white balance is that with levels

[Kev Lewis]

Originally Posted by cherrybee

The software that came with the camera included a converter which only converts to tiff anyway.If I want to print is it better to print the tiff or change to jpg.Can I upload Tiff to WAB and can the save quality options be changed as jpg can (compression) I use PSPX ,or is it best to change to jpg for web.Thanks Kevin I seem to have a lot of questions
I just want to get it right although my photos will never be as good as yours but I want them as best as I can get them.I had better buy a lot of discs for backup.Luckily I have a large DJ case to store them

right I have just looked at options in saving.looks like jpg better for resizing and saving for wab.do I sharpen before or after resizing

oh and altering white balance is that with levels

If you are printing from Photoshop leave it as a TIFF, not that it really matters as the printing is one at 8 bit etc etc. You will need to resharpen once you have resized it for the print size you want. IMO best way to get the correct resharpening is to view the image at 50% and slightly oversharpen when viewed at 50%, this should give you a good sharp print.

For WAB resize and then resharpen (sharpening is always the last operation). Always save as jpeg in sRGB colour space for web work or the colours will look odd when viewed in explorer.

White balance should be set in the Raw convertor. Levels in PSPX allows you to set the white and black levels to get the best 'tonal' range in the image

[cherrybee]

Originally Posted by Kev Lewis

If you are printing from Photoshop leave it as a TIFF, not that it really matters as the printing is one at 8 bit etc etc. You will need to resharpen once you have resized it for the print size you want. IMO best way to get the correct resharpening is to view the image at 50% and slightly oversharpen when viewed at 50%, this should give you a good sharp print.

For WAB resize and then resharpen (sharpening is always the last operation). Always save as jpeg in sRGB colour space for web work or the colours will look odd when viewed in explorer.

White balance should be set in the Raw convertor. Levels in PSPX allows you to set the white and black levels to get the best 'tonal' range in the image

Thanks Kev but the finepix raw converter hasn't got the option to alter WB or anything else.It looks to be pretty basic. You can only convert to tiff with no other options.I searched the web to find raw converters and they look far to pricey for me.I would rather save the money for a telephoto lens and a macro.Might take me an awful long time though I am very pleased with my photos I am processing at the moment and its not as if I want to publish I am not good enough

[eeyore]

CB , you could try raw shooter essentials which is a very easy to use and well specified raw converter which is avalable free and can be downloaded here Photo-Freeware.net - RAW Shooter Essentials Download

however be aware that since adobe bought pixmantec at the end of 06, RSE hasnt been upgraded to suport the newest camera models (for instance it doesnt support the canon 400D but does support the 350D) - if you bought your camera before the end of 06 you should be fine however - if it is newer than that it would be worth checking if its raw files are compatible before you go to the trouble of downloading.

[cherrybee]

Originally Posted by eeyore

CB , you could try raw shooter essentials which is a very easy to use and well specified raw converter which is avalable free and can be downloaded here Photo-Freeware.net - RAW Shooter Essentials Download

however be aware that since adobe bought pixmantec at the end of 06, RSE hasnt been upgraded to suport the newest camera models (for instance it doesnt support the canon 400D but does support the 350D) - if you bought your camera before the end of 06 you should be fine however - if it is newer than that it would be worth checking if its raw files are compatible before you go to the trouble of downloading.

thanks Pete I will give it a try.I have the Finepix S5200.I don't think it is one of the most recent models especially at the price I got it so I am now off to check it out.I must remember when shooting Raw there is a delay before I can take a second shot and I managed to blur most of what I took in the garden today.Mind you it was only a couple of green finches.The ones of 2 of my grandchildren came out fine.Practice makes perfect as they say I hope every one had the same glorious weather as us today.Sat on my sunbed watching the birds and the kids and fell asleep in the sun

[glsammy]

Regarding the saving, If your short on space I'd save just the RAW image. You can always re-create the Tiff or JPEG again if needed, but lose the RAW, and your always reducing the quality every time you work and resave a JPEG. You could I suppose save the TIFF, but that will be even bigger than the RAW.

[eeyore]

although you could do all the work with the file in tiff form then resave it as a jpeg - mr rouse reckons that it takes about ten resaves (at min compression) for jpeg resave damage to become an issue

that said external hard drives are so cheap now that there is no reason for space to be aproblem even for those on restricted budgets

[cherrybee]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Regarding the saving, If your short on space I'd save just the RAW image. You can always re-create the Tiff or JPEG again if needed, but lose the RAW, and your always reducing the quality every time you work and resave a JPEG. You could I suppose save the TIFF, but that will be even bigger than the RAW.

Thank you Graham.I was sorting my images out and realised that the RAW was smaller and had already decided that.I am not short on space yet but if I am to carry on with raw.I just needed to know.I am sooo slow it was pretty obvious really
I have a internal spare hard drive where I save everything on to any way which is 40g That is why when I had to reformat I didnt have to worry as I keep a copy of everything I want to save on there, which I do every day.Thanks Pete and Graham now I am off out to see what I can photograph