Raw vs. Jpg

If you have a digital SLR, you have the choice to shoot in Raw or Jpg file format and on most cameras, one of each at the same time, which might be good to start with so you can compare them.  Shooting in Raw has certain advantages because it is a true "digital negative". You get all the raw data captured by the sensor so you get more picture information as Raw images capture 12 or 14 bits of data vs. 8 bits of data for jpg images. 

With jpg images, your photos are processed by the software in the camera. Things such as sharpness, color correction, and even exposure compensation are directly applied to your images. This often results in nice-looking images that are ready to be printed or shared.  However, if you or the camera makes a mistake guessing exposure or color (white balance), if you have over- or under-exposed images or areas within images, then you don’t have much leeway in post-processing to fix them like you do with Raw images. In addition, jpg files are compressed and therefore much data is lost in the process which limits what you can do with the images without degrading image quality. If you enlarge your images significantly, say to 16 x 20, or print often at large sizes or heavily crop your images, I definitely recommend that you shoot Raw because the quality will be better.

When shooting Raw, if the camera records 12 bits of data then each pixel can record 14,096 brightness levels and if 14 bits it can record 16,384 different brightness levels. These are both commonly referred to in image editing programs as 16 bit images.  Jpg only records 8 bits of image data, or 256 levels of brightness. What this means is that you have more tones of brightness and shades of color in 16 bit Raw images. Raw images therefore have greater dynamic range of light to dark tones than jpg images and are less likely to cause clipped highlights with no detail in high contrast images.

Raw images will need some form of basic post-processing because it is the raw data with no in-camera processing. To make them look their best (snappy and sharp), just run them through your Raw Converter and adjust the exposure, color balance, brightness and contrast and sharpen them a bit using the easy sliders.  You can use the software that comes with your camera if you are budget-minded, but most photographers prefer to use Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or other commercial Raw image processors like Lightroom, Breeze Browser Pro, or Aperture for Macs although many Mac users prefer Lightroom. Canon's Digital Photo Professional does a good job on Canon images but many photographers find it slow and tedious and count me among them. If you only shoot a few images at a time, it would work fine for you and there are tutorials available on Canon's website and probably on a CD that comes with the camera. Nikon's paid version of their Raw converter is very good. I don't know much about the one that is included with the budget models, so if you have it, try it.

Which is best for you?

Every photographer has different needs and expectations.  Some of you may be perfectly happy with in-camera processed jpgs, especially if you are able to get good exposures and colors on a regular basis.  Others prefer to get as much out of each photo as possible with a little more work.  It’s up to you as to the amount of time and effort you want to put into your photos.

If you choose to shoot Jpgs, then you should read your manual and see how to set different parameters in the camera's Menu to control color, white balance and sharpening to get the best images possible out of camera.  You should have several choices for sharpness, color, and saturation to choose from. Once you get the adjustments set to your liking, you should be able to get great prints from your images. 

There are several reasons why people choose to shoot jpg:

1. Image files are smaller and therefore more of them fit on a card and on your hard drive(s).
2. Image quality is usually fine for family snapshots and for sharing on the web. It depends on your camera as some have better jpg results than others.
3. You don’t have the time or inclination to convert and process Raw photos.

Reasons to Shoot Raw

1. A raw file is exactly what the camera sensor recorded. This means that the photographer is able to extract the maximum possible image quality, now or in the future and any processing is appended to the image as a separate info file and does not affect the actual image.  In the future when better Raw converters come along, and they are continually being upgraded, and your own skill improves, you can go back and process your Raw images again with better results. A Raw file is a true "digital negative" that can be processed several different ways but the original is not altered.
2. Raw files do not have white balance set even though you may have chosen one at the time of shooting. This allows you to set any color temperature white balance you prefer after the fact with no image degradation. Once a white balance color setting has been applied by the camera in a Jpg there isn’t as much leeway for changing it.
3. You have greater dynamic range and thus more capability to fix exposure problems and to adjust brightness, contrast and color saturation and remove noise.
4.  There is more image data to work with in 12 and 14 bit images than in 8 bit images producing more tones of light and more color gradations. Raw images have a larger Dynamic Range, i.e. more tones from light to dark and better ability to capture the darkest and lightest tones without losing details in the shadows or blowing out the highlights.  A Jpg is more likely to lose detail in shadows and blow out highlights in high-contrast photos.
5. Raw images tend to have less noise (graininess) than jpgs from many DSLRs. 
6. You don’t have to spend as much time trying to get a “perfect” exposure because you know that you can fix minor problems later.  (But don’t use this as an excuse to not try to get it right in camera!)
7. And last but not least, you spent a goodly sum for a nice digital SLR and quality lenses, and to get the best out of them, you should shoot Raw. 

Photo Editors with built-in Raw converters:
Adobe Photoshop The newest version is CS4
Adobe Photoshop Elements Version 7 is the current version; version 6 may be better suited to older computers so read the specifications!
PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate

Raw Converters that come with cameras
 Canon Digital Photo Professional
Nikon View NX
Pentax, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Olympus should come with Raw converters but I am not familiar with them

Commercial Raw Converters (some have photo editing capabilities too, so you can get a finished image upon saving images)

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 (my favorite! New version just out. Also catalogs all your images and searchable by keywords, etc.- very fast processing if you shoot a lot of photos such as birds, sports, weddings and other events, etc.)
Lightroom Learning Center Check out the new features in version 2 especially the Adjustment Brush!
Breeze Browser Pro Image browser and digital processor
Nikon Capture NX2 for Nikon Cameras only

Links for more information on shooting Raw:

NatureScapes Article (with illustrations)

Why Shoot Raw vs. Jpg? from PhotoWalkPro

Why Shoot Raw? fromCanadian Geographic Photo Club

Buy Adobe academic software cheap if you meet the proof requirements as a student or teacher/educator at academicsuperstore.com!

Lightroom 2 $95
Elements 7 $65