Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="paul_b" data-source="post: 321877" data-attributes="member: 15676">Yes you are correct. The purpose of RAW files is to allow yourself to make all of the developing decisions yourself, rather than having it hard baked in into a finished Jpeg by the camera. With a Jpeg you are virtually stuck with what comes out the camera, whereas with a RAW you can tweak all kinds of things before exporting to a final Jpeg (or Tiff). Therefore a Raw file contains a copy of what the sensor actually sensed without any bells and whistles permanently added (that may of been wrong had they been added, i.e incorrect white balance etc), ready for you to tweak and apply your own settings. This means you can change things like white balance and exposure easily, recover some of the details that may be lost by incorrect exposure etc etc. With a RAW file, it still contains the settings the camera would of used if it had made you a Jpeg but they haven't been applied yet, thus allowing you to tweak them first and make any needed corrections, so in effect you can go in and adjust things yourself before developing.If you export to Tiff instead of Jpeg, it's lossless too in respect to not being irreversibly compressed (data loss) like a Jpeg is each time it is saved or re-saved.Hope that helps.Would always be happy to advise you if your just starting off with Raws editing.</blockquote>