Raw

I've just shot 80 pics in Raw and that's my lot.Jpeg for me.
To my poor eyes Jpeg looks as good as raw and is a damn site easier to process.
I expectI'll be savaged but I don't care.

I should not worry about what other people say. Shoot in the format that you like to shoot. I personally - at this point in time in my life - have no desire to sit in front of a computer hours on end. There are a few folks on here who do, but some of those folks are also retired and have lots of time on their hands, lol As long as you are happy, that is what counts

They both have their purposes. Just never say "never again".

I shoot in dual mode, and then use the JPEGs 90% of the time, especially for the first edit, sometimes the saturation/sky/etc is not looking great after my edits, or some details in the shadows are lacking,, and hence, I'll pull up the RAW to the rescue.

If I really like a shot... then I'll redit in RAW just to see if I can beat the edit.

but the RAW is like insurance,, its there when needed. but if not taken, well then just out of luck.

stmv said:

I shoot in dual mode, and then use the JPEGs 90% of the time, especially for the first edit, sometimes the saturation/sky/etc is not looking great after my edits, or some details in the shadows are lacking,, and hence, I'll pull up the RAW to the rescue.

If I really like a shot... then I'll redit in RAW just to see if I can beat the edit.

but the RAW is like insurance,, its there when needed. but if not taken, well then just out of luck.

Click to expand...

And there's the rub. With RAW you have non-destructive editing, so even when you screw up you can always go back. With jpegs you either run the risk of screwing up, or you're left stacking versions and have multiple files to deal with. There's a simplicity and consistency to be found in working with RAW that takes more than a few images to learn, and it helps to have tools that aid in their management - like Lightroom.

With the quality of today's cameras, the in-camera editing (JPEG) isn't much different than what you'd get with basic editing on a RAW photo.

I shoot all RAW, but I really don't see much better quality over JPEG.

Maybe it's just my eyes.

The only thing you have to remember is that EVERY TIME you save a jpeg file under the same file name, you reduce the quality of your picture. But, if you always save it under a different name ex: copy1-2-3-4, then you keep the original with the original quality. The other thing is if you have some burnt highlights where raw will forgive you a little more (more recovery possible).

Otherwise, I agree with others that camera processing of jpegs has been getting better and better with technology advancements.

I don't see it so much as a "quality" thing as a malleability thing. I know news pros that shoot nothing but jpeg because they know how to set their camera for a shot and the amount of post-processing is minimal, so they can do what they need to in-camera before sending it off. Shooting RAW would take too much time after the fact and delay getting their work in. But if time constraints aren't major it's possible to get a great "as shot" RAW image that can will provide all sorts of future flexibility should you want to tweak and retweak down the road.

sometimes, I just like the "starting" point of the Jpeg.. I shoot in Vivid mode for my JPEG setting. and find it nails a lot of shots. so,, yes, can do everything in RAW,, or not.

AC016 said:

I should not worry about what other people say. Shoot in the format that you like to shoot. I personally - at this point in time in my life - have no desire to sit in front of a computer hours on end. There are a few folks on here who do, but some of those folks are also retired and have lots of time on their hands, lol As long as you are happy, that is what counts

Click to expand...

Ahem brother

If you are nailing the jpegs; good exposure and sharpness than thats okay. At our computer club I have been teaching (free) PSE from version 4 through 10 and basic DSLR and P&S. Generally they are the same attendees for both classes.I usually tell them not to go in the attitude I will photoshop it later but todo it right the first time in the camera.We then go into the "teeter totter" the relationship of aperture and shutter speeds and the rest.Later when some come to the Elements class we do RAW but explain RAW is like the negative and that all you see is the jpeg thumbnail. If you do jpegs it the highest that you want to use and just like the others said save as and if you are doing layers save the layered one and then save as new or copy jpeg.We had a member of our club buy a new camera for a once in a lifetime trip to South East Asia but she set up her camera to a mid level jpeg. Card are cheap relative to what you spent on camera and lenses so don't short change yourself. Now RAW saved me on sunday as I was shooting a Pine Wood Derby during one part of event I laid my camera down to change lenses but inadvertently my external flash came loose. Although I just got the D7000 I am still using my other branded flash in manual mode. It took one okay then the next three I did not notice that the flash did not fire. Reseated the flash for the rest of the race. When I got home to process the files I saw the three I was able to pull them out; now I am shooting with the flash f/6.3 at 1/100 sec so you know a gym is not bright even though at ISO 400. With the RAW I was able to salvage it.If you come from film and slides this is my analogy a jpeg is like a slide (positive negative) and you do not have a lot of latitude over or under exposure but a negative like RAW you have more latitude it getting it.Now the newer versions of Elements and Photoshop will let you open a jpeg in the RAW converter and will give you some more tools to work with.Just have fun.My 2¢ Lou Cioccio

Here are 3 screen captures one is in bridge, and two in camera raw.