Format Wars – Should I Shoot in RAW or JPEG?
Ever since the advent of digital photography, the Format War has been raging. All one need do is search a few online forums and you can see for yourself the amount of vitriol concerning the best format in which to shoot. The question is, “Should I shoot in JPEG, RAW, or RAW + JPEG?” Different file formats have both advantages and disadvantages as stated in Picture File Formats in the Digital Age. However, the main question of which format is best suited for shooting in the camera has yet to be answered. Fortunately, there is an answer, and here goes…
RAW vs. JPEG
The RAW file format, while slightly different with each make of camera is essentially the raw information gathered by the camera from the image sensor. This is where the name originates. The RAW format gathers all of the information or data that the image sensor has gathered allowing for a greater dynamic range. In fact, RAW files can generally provide a dynamic range of approximately eight stops. With JPEG images, the amount of compression only allows for about five or maybe six stops of dynamic range. What this translates to in the real world is the difference between a grossly overexposed or underexposed image that cannot be fixed in post process.
If a shot is slightly off on exposure with the RAW format, it can be fixed rather simply in the RAW editor. With the same shot in the JPEG format, it is a throw of the proverbial dice. Chances are that there will not be enough data to process the image correctly and the shot will not be able to be used.
Another reason that RAW is superior to JPEG has to do with in-camera processing of images. When you shoot in JPEG, you are essentially telling the camera to make your decisions on how the image should appear for you. It will make adjustments, color enhancements, and compression of the image based upon a complex mathematical algorithm. When you shoot in RAW, it technically is not even an image file. Rather it is basic information; raw, unprocessed, analog, black, and white image data. However, this data contains everything the image sensor could hold. It is a digital file that contains an image when translated by software, but not truly a finished image.
This is part of the reason why it is necessary to have a program that will allow you to edit your RAW image files. Sometimes, the program is a standalone piece of software, and other times it will be part of another image editor.
White Balance
Another reason you should be shooting in RAW is white balance. White balance is not something that had to be done in the film days, but today, in the digital age, if you are not performing a white balance, AND you are not shooting in RAW, you are asking for trouble down the road. White balance is a way of telling the camera what true white is and how to interpret the light entering the lens. The color temperature of the lighting will dictate where ‘true white’ falls in the spectrum of your shot. Once ‘true white’ has been established, the rest of the color spectrum will line up properly. If you shoot in RAW and forget to white balance prior to the shot, the dynamic range and the raw information will help you to do easy color correction in your RAW editor. If you are shooting in JPEG, there will not be enough information to make the correction, at least not quickly. Pictures shot in JPEG that then have color correction applied can look very over processed and ‘fake’ where RAW images are nearly impossible to tell from correct exposure and white balance.
All of this is not to say that JPEG has no place in the camera. There is a time and place to use JPEG after a fashion.
RAW + JPEG
Many photographers today, especially in studio, use their laptops tethered to their cameras. Every time they snap off a shot, the image is displayed on their laptop within a couple of seconds and they can see the image on a large screen instead of the smaller lcd screen on the back of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the tethering software will require a JPEG image in order to be displayed. This is where the RAW + JPEG format comes into its own. With RAW + JPEG ever time you take a shot, you are saving two separate image files, one in RAW and the other in JPEG. The tethering software will look at the JPEG image to help the photographer make decisions about exposure, framing, composition, DOF, white balance, and focus. The RAW image is there to allow the widest amount of latitude and most control to the photo editor after the shots have been taken.
Some people will point out that RAW images take up a lot of space on memory cards. While this is true, this really is not a limitation for RAW. The price of large capacity memory cards is very inexpensive, and some DSLR cameras today have two memory card slots allowing you to store twice the images without having to swap out memory cards. Even if your camera does not have dual slots, it doesn’t take much time to pull one card out and replace it with another.
However, much of the argument is moot. A 16-megapixel camera with an 8-gig memory card should be able to hold 143 pictures. At 16 MP, each picture is around 48MB in size. You could spring for a larger card and move up to a 16-gig memory card and double that amount to 286 pictures. Even if you get two 8-gig cards, you should be in a good position to swap back and forth and not run out of room.
By way of comparison, with the same camera and the same 8-gig memory card but shot in JPEG, the card will hold approximately 1,430 pictures. Yep…that’s right a 1:10 ratio RAW to JPEG. You can see why RAW is preferred by most pros when you consider the amount of information that goes with each shot.
The basic rules of thumb should be as follows:
- Shoot in RAW
- Edit in RAW
- Convert to TIFF for printing
- Convert to JPEG for use on computers or web
Many people can do just fine shooting in JPEG, but if you are truly interested in getting the most out of your camera and images, it only makes sense to get as much information from each shot as possible. Instead of letting the camera make decisions for you when it comes to color, sharpness, and the rest, it only makes sense to make those decisions yourself on a large screen with a more powerful computer than the camera contains.
In the end, people are going to do what they want, and the Format Wars are not likely to end anytime soon. However, for those interested in capturing images and controlling the outcome, the best course of action is to shoot in RAW. If you are not shooting in RAW…you should be.
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There are 2 comments on this post.
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feedthanks for the very good tutorial. I like the raw file, despite having a very large file size
I shoot in RAW, but used to shoot in RAW + JPG. Having in-camera generated JPG’s was a quick way to get files to websites for news stories and blogs, but RAW is sort of like film, it takes time to process. And if someone’s intended use is strictly for web based use (using the more limited sRGB color space), then the benefits of raw are less apparent.
The dynamic range is largely dependent on the camera sensor, more so than the RAW vs. JPG choice. High end cameras have about 12 to 14 stops of dynamic range, a huge improvement over cameras years ago. There’s one camera coming to market that boasts 20 stops using some sort of in-camera HDR technique.
For Dynamic Range of mid to high end cameras, see
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Camera-Sensor-Ratings/%28type%29/usecase_landscape