Photos In RAW Format.

[laffinorse]

Hello Everyone,

Reading through replies to threads etc, I notice there are a lot of references to RAW format, what it is and what can be done with it.

Being a complete novice with this format,would it be possible for someone to post a general guide HOW TO,

Procedure from RAW image to finished image and how to reach final image , or is there something on the web that outlines this.

For many others and myself would find this of assistance

Thanks for reading and hope this makes sense

Cheers

[John]

Originally Posted by laffinorse

Hello Everyone,

Reading through replies to threads etc, I notice there are a lot of references to RAW format, what it is and what can be done with it.

Being a complete novice with this format,would it be possible for someone to post a general guide HOW TO,

Procedure from RAW image to finished image and how to reach final image , or is there something on the web that outlines this.

For many others and myself would find this of assistance

Thanks for reading and hope this makes sense

Cheers

I think that is an excellent question. I am almost certainly going down the DSLR route myself soon and this sort of information would be very useful to a total novice like me. I look forward to the experts answers.

John

[glsammy]

When you shoot in jpeg mode, you camera compresses the RAW data to produce the jpeg file. The RAW image is uncompressed and shows the image exactly as shot, without any balancing of exposure, white balance etc.
The advantage of RAW is that should you have made a mistake with the exposure or the white balance, you can, with the correct software, make these adjustments later, and produce your own corrected jpeg or Tiff image.
The disadvantages are that the RAW file produced is huge plus it slows the camera down in use. With the 20D, my RAW images are about 8mb in size. This obviously is different from camera to camera, depending on the sensor size and the subject matter shot.
No doubt others will give more detailed info.

[rlchew]

I bought my first DSLR in April of last year and have always taken photos in jpeg format.

I am also currently trying to get to grips with what RAW means and what is required in terms of additional software and post processing .... and skill.

All advice and assistance will be gratefully received!

Richard

[eeyore]

download a copy of raw shooter essentials from here pixmantec its free and very easy to use (andy rouse assisted with its development)

pretty much it is just a case of using sliders to adjust white balance, exposure etc etc before out putting your image as a .tiff for further work in photoshop if needed.

adobe have bough pixmantec and incorporated rawshooter in the new lightroom application they are putting out - this is also available free as a beta copy from Adobe

[Jon]

Originally Posted by laffinorse

Hello Everyone,

Reading through replies to threads etc, I notice there are a lot of references to RAW format, what it is and what can be done with it.

Being a complete novice with this format,would it be possible for someone to post a general guide HOW TO,

Procedure from RAW image to finished image and how to reach final image , or is there something on the web that outlines this.

For many others and myself would find this of assistance

Thanks for reading and hope this makes sense

Cheers

I agree with Eeyore, the pixmantec RAWSHOOTER is good and EASY. I also have Photoshop CS which is the proverbial Ds Bs. I sometimes use Rawshooter and others I use photoshop, usually I end upusing photoshop.
Rawshooter coverts the RAW files to TIFF files which are even bigger than RAW files. They convert the image from RAW and the TIFF image can be subsequentlly saved as a JPEG.
So why use RAWSHOOTER? well it is quick and covenient and it can simultaneously save the converted files for you. The control offered toadjust exposure colour sharpnes and saturation is very simple to grasp.
I suspect an expert Photoshop user would say it is not as good as Photoshop, something I am prepared to believe but RAWSHOOTER is very simple and quick, and GOOD. The only issue for me is that you still have a TIFF File, so do you want to save it? Do you want to save it and the RAW file or save the TIFF and the JPEG or the RAW and the JPEG?
The advantage of the TIFF is that you have optimised the image and you could still make further changes if you wish. The RAW is the unalterd file you can do want you want with this and it is still smaller than the TIFF. The JPEG is in many instances the working image you need. You can debate all around this but I personally decide to keep all RAW Files and the only JPEGS I have are those for WAB database, because I know I can recreatethe same image to a higher quality (say for a print) if required from the RAW file.
The RAWSHOOTER is quick simple and cheap and allows quick coversion of RAW files that my be subsequently further edited by Photoshop elements or similar. Depending upon your camera your RAW files may be modified directly in Photoshop or similar in which case you may not need RAWSHOOTER. RAWSHOOTER is however free and worth a go. I sense I am rambling as I have just been for a pint, hope this helps! Jon

[eeyore]

I think there maybe slight confusion here as rawshooter and photoshop are not supposed to be an either or proposition. Rawshooter is a Raw Converter/Browser (photoshop will not open Raw files although plugs in are available that will) which should be used to make white balance , exposure, sharpening etc corrections before generating a .tiff (other raw browsers/converters include capture one, and erm others)

photoshop is an image editor and is the next stage in the workflow and should be used for retouching, cropping , colour correction, resizing, etc and if desired converting the tiff to .jpeg (other image editors include paintshop pro , and GIMP)

Adobe lightoom which is still under development will bring the two together in one bit of software as does apperture on the apple mac platform

[Wilf]

Photoshop CS2 is shipped with Adobe camera raw, which is a raw converter. I have not used it that much as I also prefer Rawshooter.
I am not sure if Raw shooter supports the latest DSLR's like the 30d and 400.

[matt_xyz]

Originally Posted by Wilf

Photoshop CS2 is shipped with Adobe camera raw, which is a raw converter. I have not used it that much as I also prefer Rawshooter.
I am not sure if Raw shooter supports the latest DSLR's like the 30d and 400.

Unfortunately Rawshooter will not recognise RAW images from the 400D, not sure about other newish DSLRs.

Matt

[speckled wood]

Laffinorse's camera is a Fuji 5000 I think, Raw Converter LE may have come with it and I think that any Photoshop Element from version 3 onwards is likely to open RAW files from the 5000 anyway.