If you want to start a ding-dong in a group of digital photographers (after you’ve settled the Windows vs Mac argument) just say out loud: “Who shoots RAW and who is happy with jpeg?” (Most compact cameras don’t capture RAW, so point and shooters won’t know what the fuss is about.)
The fastidious pixel peepers will shout their enthusiasm for RAW while on the other side of the room the sceptics are arguing that the visible difference between file format output is so small that it’s not worth the after-camera effort.
Actually the effort argument doesn’t hold water. Opening a RAW file in a photo editing program is no more complicated than opening a jpeg. And you have the advantage of the better image detail and colour and the chance to make corrections.
At the risk of teaching Granny to suck eggs, the difference between RAW and jpeg is that when the electronic information from the camera sensor is converted to colour in the camera, and compressed to take up less memory space, the saved file is called a jpeg. With RAW capture the unprocessed, uncompressed information is saved to the memory card. It must then be processed in the computer using a RAW converter. All cameras capable of RAW capture come with a converter included in the software in the box, but most people use third party programs to do the job.
The most popular converter is Adobe Camera Raw, a free download that installs as a front-end to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Because every RAW format is different, varying not only from maker to maker but also from model to model, ACR is constantly updated to include the latest cameras.
For Mac users iPhoto handles RAW file conversion but without the sophisticated pre-editing controls in ACR.
Two of the big guns in conversion software are Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture. Bibble Labs also make a widely used converter. And here is the point of the story.
Bibble has been acquired by Corel, the makers of PaintShop Pro. Corel has tweaked Bibble and given it a new name – Corel Aftershot Pro. Right now you can download a fully functioning 30 day trial version from tinyurl.com/892vjvw This software is for Windows and Mac.
Not to be outdone Adobe are offering a functioning trial of Lightroom 4 beta. This trial period ends in March. (tinyurl.com/6rr947k)
There will be a considerable difference in price when the trial periods end, with Lightroom being much more expensive. However it is a more complex and fully-featured program to justify the differential.
This is an opportunity to try out two of the best RAW conversion and editing programs. It’s also a chance to settle for your own satisfaction the question of RAW v jpeg.
Just for the record, we always capture RAW. For most conversions we use ACR for convenience, but when we are really fussy we use the camera maker’s software. We also use Lightroom and we are trying Aftershot.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Terry,
I read your piece in the green guide about RAW V jpeg but I am none the wiser.
The software that I have seems to be able to make adjustments to a wide variety of parameters regardless of whether it is dealing with a jpeg or raw.
What I would like to know is what camera settings influence the jpeg and which of these cannot be be reversed or modified unless you have the raw version. Focus issues can never be solved after the event, white balance – I am not sure but I don’t think so. Now gamma? start writing about that and you will really scare the horses. Hue and saturation, colour balance, brightness and contrast, shading compensation, noise reduction and sharpness, only Terry knows.
On another note my EP3 seems to prefer an ISO setting of about 1500/ What difference does this really make to the captured image ( raw ) and the produced jpeg? I have not noticed any “graininess” but I am not sure what graininess looks like in a digital image.
When you shoot RAW in the camera, the ISO and EV Comp affects the image (it is the amplified sensitivity of the sensor) and focus certainly (because that is the lens throwing light onto the sensor). Nearly every other setting – white balance, contrast curve (similar to gamma), sharpening (not sharpness – that is lens), hue, saturation, noise reduction are all JPEG engine parameters in the camera. They are stored as metadata in the RAW file so that Olympus Viewer will be able to read them and compose an initial look – since this is separate metadata (cooking instructions), they are not cooked in and can be tweaked in the RAW editor.
You can take the EP-3 off iAuto (most cameras’s Auto won’t let you change anything). Use P instead of iAuto so you can change things. One thing you can change is to take the ISO off Auto ISO – you can then pick a static ISO value like 200 or 400 etc… For the PENs, ISO above 800 will noticeably be grainier. You can prove it to yourself by fixing ISO at 200, snapping one, then fixing ISO at 3200 and snapping another – then compare side by side. Of course, the f/no, shutter speed of the camera needs to be relevant to keep the same brightness of the image.
If you are an Aussie or more relevantly in Melbourne, and on Facebook, feel free to knock on the door of the Melbourne Olympus Enthusiasts group where we hang out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/melbolyfans/