JPEG vs RAW

[captpackrat]

My camera can take save images as both JPEG and RAW at the same time. In this example, the JPEG is on the left and the RAW on the right.

JPEGs save much faster, take up much less space, are usable just as they are, can be opened by just about anything and Windows can automatically display a thumbnail of the image. The biggest drawback of JPEG is that it is a lossy format, and working with a JPEG just makes things worse.

RAW files, on the other hand, contain the unprocessed data directly off the image sensor. They are higher quality, offer finer control, are generally 12 or 14 bit (vs JPEG's 8 bits) and are lossless. The drawbacks are its enormous file size (7 times larger than JPEG on my camera) and a proprietary format that might be difficult to open in the future.

In this particular image, notice the sky is a truer blue, there is more contrast in the clouds, the ground haze is more visible, the tractor wheels and clouds are whiter and the grass a bit greener on the RAW side.

Comments

[twigmouse.livejournal.com]

RAW should look exactly the same as the JPEG in most cameras, until you make changes to the RAW file in the software on your computer.

The advantage of RAW is that you can make changes to the raw data from the CCD before saving it as a JPEG. If the RAW file when saved to a JPEG looks better than the JPEG out of the camera, it just means that the software on your computer is doing a better job of tweaking the settings than your camera does.

I do all my shooting in RAW+JPEG. The camera saves two files for each photo I take. When I first open the RAW in the Nikon software, it is identical to the JPEG from the camera. I then go and tweak the black and white points, contrast, white balance (this one comes in VERY handy when using flashes or shooting in mixed light) dynamic range, etc.

[tiggerfox.livejournal.com]

How can we tell the image you linked is a jpeg =P

I shoot in DNG myself for archiving and save to jpg or png later depending on what I am doing with the file, such as posting to the web. Storage space is a non issue imo.