But, is there clearly one format that is superior? Absolutely! Don’t let anyone tell you that JPEGs are just as good as RAWs, because the bottom line is that they are not! There is a vast difference in the amount of information retained in a RAW file compared to a JPEG as you will soon come to see.īeing that RAW is a clearly superior file format, does that mean that you should always be shooting in RAW? Absolutely not. When To Use RAW and When to Use JPEG (JPG) While programs like Lightroom may be set up to automatically add contrast and brightness to a RAW file, this is what a “zeroed” RAW file actually looks like straight from the camera. Notice that the image above on the left is flat, it lacks contrast, deep blacks, and is also much darker coming straight from the camera.
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RAW images need to be viewed and processed using your camera’s software, or in more commonly used, robust software like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, etc prior to being ready for display or print. Because RAW files are unprocessed, they come out looking flat and dark, as you can see above. RAW – RAW files are unprocessed and un-compressed data files that contain all of the “image information” available to the camera sensor. While we could do additional post production work to soften highlights, smooth skin, this shot is totally print-ready straight from the camera. with raw defaults (in Lightroom) on the left.įirst, notice that the shot is usable directly from the camera! It has a good amount of blacks, decent contrast, and has good brightness.
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RAW vs JPEG Example 1 – The image below was shot at 1/80th shutter, f/2.0 aperture, ISO 200 and is shown as shot straight from the camera on the right, and. Dynamic Range detail in JPEG files is significantly reduced as compared to RAW. Dynamic Range is simply the amount of tonal range detail from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights. You may hear the term “Dynamic Range” used a lot when discussing RAW files vs JPEG. Remember, because the image is compressed and saved to JPEG which is a “loss” file format, much of the initial image information and detail is discarded and cannot be recovered. These files are finished and can be viewed and printed immediately after shot.
While color temperature and exposure are set based on your camera settings when the image is shot, the camera will also process the image to add blacks, contrast, brightness, noise reduction, sharpening (which you can see in the example above) and then render the file to a compressed JPEG. How exactly they are processed varies from model to model. JPEG – JPEG files are processed right within the camera. Keep in mind that, while you may be shooting on a different camera, be it a DSLR or an advanced point-and-shoot with RAW capability the principles discussed here apply to all cameras although the differences may vary slightly from model to model. Also, let me thank Justin Lin of Lin and Jirsa Photography ahead of time for being our helpful model. We will be using images shot from the Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 50mm F/1.4 prime lens for all of our examples.
In the following video, Pye Jirsa explains the differences between the RAW file format at the JPEG file format, with demonstrations using beach landscape photography.
Shooting RAW vs JPEG is a question that every photographer faces at some point.