Can you you shoot in raw format?

[atbp1020]

do you shoot in raw? what are the advantages in shooting in raw format

what are the advantages in shooting in raw format?

 

[truthsforme]

Gives you more headroom to edit your photos. When you edit photos in jpeg, you can quickly reach a point where you start seeing a lot of artifacts. Also, since RAW photos contain more data, you can get better results when you're pulling highlights/ shadows to recover details lost in the brightness/ darkness. This is especially useful for (single exposure) HDR photography, if you want a more natural look compared to jpeg version where you will quickly find halos all over your subjects.

 

[msirapian]

Re: do you shoot in raw? what are the advantages in shooting in raw format

Yes I shot exclusively in RAW. Advantages ?

- You can change the white balance afterwards
- You can process what was captured by the sensor as you wish. This can allow for instance to underexpose a bit when shooting, then re-exposing differently the shadows and highlights. The result is that you'll have both highlights AND shadows preserved. Without RAW, a HDR is often required.

And I prove it. See below this first picture. It was shot, with a tripod, with a Nokia 808. HDR. So 3 shots.

Natural History Museum - HDR by Massis__, on Flickr

Now this is a different one, I shot in August, with the 1020. Handheld, in RAW.

Natural History Museum (2) by Massis__, on Flickr

Of course, RAW demands more time to process, you have to "develop" the RAW. This is a major "drawback" if you want to quickly share the picture (but you still have the JPG double captured with the DNG). The other drawback is the size of the RAW on a 32GB 1020. I had my Surface 2 with me during this summer holidays to load the pictures to the tablet from time to time.

A last example of what RAW allows, in terms of mastering shades and highlights:

Revelation by Massis__, on Flickr