Editing RAW Images

[Blacktop]

Since we're making analogies.
Jpeg is like a 2 track tape. You can manipulate the over all frequencies with an EQ, you can make it over all louder or softer, but that's about all you're going to do.
RAW is like a 24 track tape , where you can change individual tracks to your hearts desire, then save it to 2 tracks (Jpeg).

 

[mac66]

I get everyone's point on RAW vs JPEG...My point is that no image is a wasted shot. We all learn from every image we shoot, no matter how crappy or good it may be. That said, I've still have lots of JPEG images that I have dolled up a bit with photo editing. I don't do much, maybe some light color enhancement or mid-tone...and always end with Clarify. Your right, in that it is not like RAW, but not everyone including me until recently, could edit the RAW files.

 

[Vixen]

I get everyone's point on RAW vs JPEG...My point is that no image is a wasted shot. We all learn from every image we shoot, no matter how crappy or good it may be. That said, I've still have lots of JPEG images that I have dolled up a bit with photo editing. I don't do much, maybe some light color enhancement or mid-tone...and always end with Clarify. Your right, in that it is not like RAW, but not everyone including me until recently, could edit the RAW files.

Totally agree. It's better to have a jpg image you can be happy with than a RAW image you think looks crap and you don't know how to fix it. If you cannot "get" pp'ing or don't want to be bothered with it (and lets face it, when you are learning to pp it takes ages, and not everyone WANTS to sit at a computer for hours getting frustrated coz things don't happen how they should) then there is nothing wrong with shooting jpg. Heaps of professionals shoot jpg coz it is money for less effort and I understand that entirely as an unexperienced PP'er.

I have to say tho, if you want to learn to PP, do it every day. Find a set of adjustments that work for you and use them so you remember how to do it. It does eventually get easier

 

[Vixen]

RAW is a bigger file; what you notice is the buffer filling up and the cam struggling with saving all to the disk. The shot itself is identical. If I take a 15 or 30s shot, I have to wait quite a while until the cam is finished writing.

I think my RAW shots are around 20Mb each, if you shoot + JPEG Fine, add another 10MB to that.

Maybe you should invest in faster SD cards. I bought the fastest I could find (I think 95mb/s) and NEVER have to wait for the camera, even with long exposure shots

 

[Michael J.]

I shot JPEG and changed to RAW cos I read a lot about it. After watching VDO's of Lightroom using from Lynda I saw that they use, JPEG, DNG and CRW files. So I switched back to JPEG and was pleased with my vacation shots. But some photos needed to correct more cos I took shots in the night and at dark places. This was the time where I switched back to RAW. And my cam stays on RAW.

I tested photos JPEG + RAW shots. I pp my RAW files and was more pleased with my PP compared to the Out of Cam JPEG's. I did some pp with those as well and still the RAW and my pp result was in my eyes better.


I read lots of articles but in the end I test and try everything by my self. Until I understand the subject.

OT - I am a hobby cook as well and cook for my family as well as for friends. I used a cooking book at the beginning. I just added some personal test in the recipes. At the end I realized that I don't need a cooking book. The books helped me to get the basic understanding of cooking but to make the food to my own I have to create it by myself keeping the basic ways in my mind.

When I started to cook Thai food, I used my eyes to watch what my wife, my aunts and neighbors are using. This was my basic. Learning by watching. Now I can cook Thai food as well.

But I have to say that I take every suggestion, every advise, etc. into my doing and if it turns out that the food becomes a better taste I will use it.

Long story short, I love shooting RAW and I like looking photos. Never mind the photographer use jpeg, nef, crw, ....

 

[J-see]

Maybe you should invest in faster SD cards. I bought the fastest I could find (I think 95mb/s) and NEVER have to wait for the camera, even with long exposure shots

I could try that but it's still strange I got to wait maybe ten, fifteen seconds after a 20s exposure shot while I shoot much more MB when firing fast continuous shots. There has to be a completely different reason for that.

Edit; I found the culprit:

"Before you enable noise reduction, be aware that doing so has a few disadvantages. First, the filter is applied after you take the picture, as the camera processes the image data. For pictures taken at a very slow shutter speed or at a very high ISO, the time needed to finish the noise removal can significantly slow down your shooting speed — in fact, it can double the time the camera needs to record the file to the memory card.While the noise-removal is in process, you see the message “Job nr” in the viewfinder, and you can’t take any pictures."

 

[Vixen]

From memory, my D80 would take as long as the exposure to process the shot ie 30sec exp took abt 30sec to show in the LCD screen. Can't honestly remember now if I had noise reduction on but I don't think so and I know I don't have it on now, on my D7100.

My old 4g SD cards that I used in the D80 are not big enough to use with the D7100 as you fill them up to fast, and they were just your average slow jobs. Got the fast cards, rarely have to wait any more than maybe 1 or 2 secs at most, even after a bracketed set of longer exp shots.

 

[aroy]

Even if you use a simple software like Nikon View-NX, you can convert all the RAW images to jpeg; with the camera settings; in a very short time. The only downside of shooting RAW is the card space and the limited buffer for RAW. If you are not using long bursts and have a modern card - say 16GB/45mbps then there should be no problem on either count.

I use RAW primarily for three things
. Change the exposure levels to my liking
. Lift shadows when required
. Crop

This gives me plenty of latitude in exposure and less headache thinking about settings. If I want Vivid then I just set it in RAW, if I expose for bright areas, I just lift the shadows. If the noise seems excessive use NR. In short if the shot is perfect out of the camera (a rare occurrence for me) then I just convert it to jpeg as is, else a few adjustments, a crop and lift the shadows and the image is ready.

 

[J-see]

From memory, my D80 would take as long as the exposure to process the shot ie 30sec exp took abt 30sec to show in the LCD screen. Can't honestly remember now if I had noise reduction on but I don't think so and I know I don't have it on now, on my D7100.

My old 4g SD cards that I used in the D80 are not big enough to use with the D7100 as you fill them up to fast, and they were just your average slow jobs. Got the fast cards, rarely have to wait any more than maybe 1 or 2 secs at most, even after a bracketed set of longer exp shots.

I rechecked the shots and while the article talks about double the writing time at high ISO, I shot mine at 15s, 100 ISO and it lasted ages before the noise filter was finally finished. It's the calculation instead of the writing since my cam is disabled until done. No preview, no LCD, no nothing.

I read too that disabling it has little use since it can't be fully disabled. When clicked off, Nikon just filters anyways but "less". Less is quite the exact description. ON = more, off = less. I hope we'll invent math some day.

 

[PaulPosition]

Long Exposure Noise Reduction, also called Dark Frame Subtraction, works by taking a second exposure of the same length but with the curtain closed. The idea is that the same pixels in the sensor will overheat and produce noise for the same exposure parameters. Which the camera software then averages with neighboring pixels.

If you're doing lots of similar exposures you can turn the function off and create your own 'dark frame' (same speed, keep the cap on the lens) which you could then use in post-process.