Which format is better than raw or jpeg. RAW vs JPEG: A Complete Guide. The main disadvantages of RAW

All SLR cameras are capable of storing images in at least two formats. JPEG is the most widely used format. These files are easily readable by almost any electronic device. The RAW format is familiar to fewer people, but offers many more editing options. Some more cameras can save images in TIFF format, this is a kind of intermediate link.

JPEG and RAW images have different sizes... Moreover, the difference is sometimes colossal. This alone suggests that much more information is stored in the RAW file. Large volume was previously considered a serious disadvantage. But now the situation has changed, as memory cards for 32 and 64 GB have appeared on sale. Some cameras are equipped with two memory card slots, so the amount of disk space can be increased to incredible amounts. RAW files weigh 20-30 MB. It's easy to calculate how many will fit on a pair of 32GB cards.

Jpeg-file owes its weight to special compression algorithms. When saving, the camera cuts out a huge amount of information, some of which would be useful in the future when editing a picture. In theory, the photo can then be tweaked. But in any case, this will lead to some deterioration in quality, not to mention the fact that sophisticated methods have to be used for correction.

JPEG images are only good for their simplicity. They can be easily opened on a tablet, smartphone, computer, game console... Now it is simply not possible to count the number of devices that support viewing JPEG images. Also, it is these images that should be sent to the Internet to your website or to a social network.

Concerning RAW-format, it is very specific. Displaying an image recorded in RAW requires decent hardware resources. Only because of this, such files cannot be displayed on a mobile phone (let's leave smartphones with multi-core processors outside the brackets). In a RAW file, you can work with the data received by the camera sensor. Technically, this is not the final snapshot yet, but only "raw" data. The user can easily change the white balance - this will not lead to a deterioration in quality. Many other parameters can be adjusted without too much loss.

If you saved your photo in RAW format, then you don't have to worry about its future. If a mistake was made during the shooting, then it can be corrected. For example, this applies to shooting in bright sunlight. In the viewfinder window, it's easy to overlook that some areas of the frame are washed out in white due to the slow shutter speed. In a JPEG image, there is nothing you can do about it; with any adjustments, the white color will remain that way. RAW image contains large quantity data. Almost certainly, a special converter can find out what color the matrix originally received in a given illuminated area. This way you can make the picture darker in certain areas without any loss. It will immediately become prettier. This is why all professional photographers prefer to save their images in RAW format.

Even on a computer, a special program is required to view such photographs. It usually comes on a CD with your DSLR camera. Also, the converter can be downloaded from the website of the camera manufacturer. Such applications were created primarily for novice users. Therefore, the interface is designed in an intuitive way. On the left side of the window there is a photo, on the right there are various sliders for adjusting certain parameters. Sometimes such programs are even supplied with an "Auto" button. Pressing it allows you to automatically change different settings to get the correct exposure.

If you regularly use the program Adobe photoshop, you can use it too. As part of this graphics editor, there is a separate converter called Adobe Camera RAW. With it, you can adjust even more parameters. If you learn to work with this converter, then you can work wonders with a snapshot.

The Adobe Camera RAW interface won't scare a beginner either. Here you can easily change the white balance or make exposure compensation. Many brightness settings are available, there is a histogram and digital noise scale. You can change absolutely everything in this program, up to correcting chromatic aberrations caused by low-quality optics. In doing so, you are working with data provided by the matrix, and not with a compressed JPEG file. Therefore, all changes have almost no effect on the image quality.

It is recommended to save all important images in RAW format. It will then take time to process such photographs. But in the course of such actions, even the smallest flaws can be corrected. If the image is made soundly, then it will take only a few seconds to convert it to JPEG format.

The new generation of SLR cameras has learned to save images in two formats at once. It is this mode that is recommended for beginners. So you can quickly see all the benefits of RAW format.

While shooting, many novice photographers probably wondered "What format should I shoot, RAW or JPEG?". However, few people know the advantages and disadvantages of each file format. Therefore, in this article we will tell you which is better, Raw or Jpeg. And we will clearly show the difference in the use of formats in post-processing.

RAW format- This is the raw internal format of the camera, which is a "digital negative" for subsequent photo processing. An image in RAW format is raw data received directly from the camera's sensor and does not undergo any processing, compression or correction by the camera's processor. In RAW, additional information is saved thanks to which you can draw out details from shadows or overexposed areas, and also makes it easy to adjust the white balance.

JPEG format- this is finished image which is compressed and processed by the camera itself from RAW format and is available for viewing and printing. It contains a minimum of additional information, so it takes up much less space. However, this type of file is much more difficult to process and extract the necessary details of the image from shadows or overexposures.

Now, for comparison, consider the main pros and cons. this format photos.

Benefits of RAW format

It is possible to easily change the white balance of a photograph during processing, without loss of quality and detail.
More bitness of the image, which is 12-14 bit / channel versus 8 bit / channel for the JPEG format. Higher bit depth allows you to record more shades and midtones, which makes it easier to pull out details in shadows and highlights.
More advanced noise reduction and sharpening algorithms can be used.
More options when processing photos. The ability to change each specific color and shade in the photo, work in detail with shadows and light, adjust the contrast and saturation of the photo.
The ability to convert lossless quality and compression to formats such as JPEG, PSD, TIFF, DNG.
There is no way to accidentally alter or spoil a RAW file - it always stays consistently raw.
The photo is saved without any loss in quality.
I personally noticed that during continuous shooting, the camera starts to "choke" after 5 frames in a row, while shooting in JPEG it happens after 3 frames. this item may differ from camera to camera.

Disadvantages of RAW format

The file size is 4-5 times larger than the raw JPEG format. In this connection, much fewer pictures can be saved.
It is impossible to immediately view the photo on the computer without special program, it is also impossible to send a RAW file for printing.
It takes more time and resources to process random access memory computer.
Not all photo editors support RAW format.

Now let's take a look at the better and worse known JPEG image format.

Benefits of JPEG format

The photo immediately after shooting is ready for printing and viewing on a PC and any other media.
Significantly less file size due to compression by the camera processor and the lack of additional information about the photo.
The photo can be processed with absolutely any photo editor

Disadvantages of JPEG format

When you save a picture, compression, noise reduction, an increase in contrast and brightness are already applied to it, which may not always be appropriate.
Less opportunity to draw out details from shadows and Re-highlights.
It is more difficult to correct the white balance.
There are fewer shades and midtones in the picture compared to RAW, due to the lower bit depth of the file.
When shooting in JPEG, fine detail is lost. This will be very noticeable when printing photos in large format.

Let's take a look at the format comparison and their processing with examples for more convincingness.

Here is one photo that was taken in RAW + JPEG mode at 1/40 shutter speed, f / 2.0 aperture, ISO 400 and exposure +2. It was specially shot so that the photo came out overexposed, imitating the unsuccessfully set camera settings. The JPEG format came out more overexposed because the camera applied an increase in brightness to it when saving. Now let's try to correct the exposure through Lightroom and see what happens.

As you can see after adjusting the exposure at -1.5 - RAW looks much better than JPEG. Due to the lack of additional information in the JPEG image, details in bright colors were lost. In the first version, were these details? therefore, it was not difficult to pull them out of overexposures. Plus, during the processing, the skin color in the right picture suffered. Still asking "Why is RAW better than JPEG?", Then let's move on!

Second illustrative example... Here is a photo taken in RAW + JPEG mode. no processing was applied to it.

Now we will process both formats in the same way in the Lightroom photo editor and see what happens. It can be seen that in the left image, information about the light part of the image of the sky and clouds is lost, and color is also lost in the clouds. In the right photo, it turned out to be restored and the sky does not look very white and overexposed.

Due to the higher bitness of the "raw" format, you can get more detailed and deep images with smooth transitions of tones and shades. Also, 12-bit will allow you to use this image format to create a photo with a high dynamic range, in other words - HDR.

Output

Now, after weighing all the advantages and disadvantages of these formats, I hope you understand how the raw format differs from jpeg. Let's summarize:

RAW format- ideal for professional photographers. Since their photos are subject to mandatory processing in photo editors. The quality and detail of the picture is very important for them. If you are serious about photography and love to do, then you should definitely shoot in RAW.

JPG format- it is more suitable for someone who does not want to bother with photo processing, spending hours on it, and immediately get a ready-made version and publish it on social media. network or print.

Of course, the choice of shooting format depends on your type of shooting and circumstances. If you are shooting the next feast or booze, then there is no point in shooting in a raw format and processing, since such pictures are one-day - they will be watched and forgotten in a couple of days. Plus, none of your friends will notice the difference in image quality. If you are shooting for a magazine or agency or any other client who needs the best quality and color reproduction, then of course you should look towards RAW. In reportage photography, JPEG is also often used to immediately send a photo to the editorial office and publish it in the news without wasting time on processing.

As a result, we came to the following conclusion: if you are going to process photos - shoot in RAW, if not - in JPEG.

Do not forget that many cameras have the ability to shoot in two formats at once by enabling the RAW + JPEG option in the settings.

RAW or Jpeg - what's the difference and what format is the best for shooting?

How to ensure high-quality color reproduction - this question is of concern, probably, to any photographer. There are two ways to adjust the color rendering:

Shoot in JPEG format and use camera settings - white balance, saturation, brightness, image contrast
Shoot in RAW format (if the device allows it) and adjust the color rendition when processing photos on a PC

Both of these methods have their pros and cons, I will try to briefly tell you about them. But before we get into practice, let's first define what is the difference between JPEG and RAW formats.

JPEG format

The format gets its name from the acronym Joint Photographic Experts Group - the organization that created this format. JPEG is by far the most popular photo storage format, so all cameras without exception can save images in this format, and all picture and video playback devices (personal computers of all varieties, media, DVD, BlueRay players, digital photo frames and other devices ) are able to read this format and display the image on the screen. Compatibility with a large number of playback devices is the main advantage of the JPEG format. In addition, JPEG files are of moderate size compared to other graphic formats - BMP, TIFF.

However, JPEG has some drawbacks. When a picture is encoded in the JPEG format, the data is compressed, as a result of which part of the data is lost. With a high degree of compression, the quality of the picture suffers seriously, so-called artifacts are visible on it, that is, distortions caused by the loss of too much information during compression.

The picture, I think, needs no comments.

Of course, the camera has several levels of image quality, for example, standard (standard, normal), good (good), best (fine, superfine). In standard quality, the photos are of a moderate size (a lot of photos can be placed on a USB flash drive), but in some cases artifacts may be noticeable in the photos. The most susceptible to deterioration in the quality of photos, replete with small details - in this case, compression can significantly degrade the detail of the image.

Photos taken in best quality have a larger size in megabytes, fewer pictures can be placed on a flash drive, but the detail on them is noticeably better. When asked what quality it is best to shoot in JPEG format, I definitely recommend using the best quality. Flash drives and hard drives are not so expensive as to save money on photo quality. Photos taken at "standard" quality may look good on a computer screen, but even with little processing, you can get frustrated.

If the conversation turned to detail when shooting in JPEG, one cannot fail to mention the setting of the photo resolution. If the device has a resolution, for example, 12 megapixels, then its maximum image resolution is about 4000 * 3000 pixels (this is enough for printing 30 * 45 cm). However, in the image quality settings, the resolution of the photos can be changed. Usually, the settings are marked with letters:

S (English small - small)- the smallest resolution, which is barely enough for printing 10 * 15 cm. As a rule, it corresponds to 2-3 megapixels.
M (English medium - medium)- medium resolution. Photo resolution can vary from 5 to 10 megapixels, which corresponds to a print format of 20 * 30 cm.
L (English large - large)- the maximum resolution corresponding to the matrix resolution in megapixels. Modern devices have up to 36 megapixels, the print format is up to 90 * 60 cm.

The ability to print photographs on huge canvases is a dubious advantage for the average amateur photographer. However, by saving photos at the highest possible resolution, we get additional features by cropping the image without visible loss of print quality. This is the decisive factor in favor of the L mode, in which photos are saved to a USB flash drive at maximum resolution.

So, in order to get the maximum resolution combined with the best detail, in the photo quality settings, select the mode - maximum resolution (L) with minimum compression (best, superfine).

Sometimes, instead of verbally describing the compression ratio, pictograms are used. Here is an example of a quality selection menu for a Canon DSLR. For now, we are looking only at the left column:

We see that before the letters L, M, S there are pictograms with a smooth left edge and a stepped one. A pictogram with a smooth edge corresponds to less compression, with a stepped one - more. In the right column - different variants shooting in RAW format, which will be discussed below.

Setting the quality and compression ratio is half the battle ... Now you need to make a number of adjustments to ensure the best possible color reproduction. Color reproduction is adjusted in two steps:

Setting the White Balance
Adjust image parameters - contrast, saturation, sharpness.

White balance

You may have noticed that different light sources have different color shades. The candle gives yellow light, the setting sun is reddish, the fluorescent lamp is bluish. Our eyes and brain are designed in such a way that under almost any conditions a sheet of white paper will be perceived as white - even if it is lit on one side by a candle, on the other - by a fluorescent lamp. The brain will "force" itself to tell itself that the eyes are seeing a white object because it knows the paper is white.

Unfortunately, such a number will not work with a camera matrix. The camera does not know what color the objects we are used to have, therefore, in unusual lighting conditions, significant color distortion is possible. The most common example is when shooting without a flash in a room lit by incandescent lamps, the photographs often turn yellow.

To avoid such color distortion, it is in our power to "help" the camera decide which object should be "considered" white. This is done using the white balance setting function.

The easiest way to set white balance is to choose one of the preinstalled programs... Typically, a camera has several presets. They are usually as follows:

Sunny
Mainly cloudy
Sunset Dawn
Incandescent lamp
Fluorescent Lamp
Flash
Custom white balance

In auto white balance mode, the camera itself tries to detect the type of light source and adjust the color rendition accordingly. Most often, he succeeds, but you should not rely on this function 100%. She especially loves to make mistakes in mixed lighting, for example, an incandescent lamp (yellowish tint) is on in the room, and it penetrates from the window daylight(bluish tint). In this case, no one will insure against the appearance of yellow, or, conversely, blue faces in the photo.

This photo shows the auto white balance error in mixed lighting. To avoid such errors, in some cases it is required to resort to forced installation white balance according to the prevailing type of lighting. In this case, setting the white balance "incandescent" would help. The landscape outside the window would turn a little blue, but the yellowness in the foreground would disappear, making the color reproduction closer to reality. Of course, there is a way out - each time to set the white balance in accordance with the source of the main lighting. We entered a room lit by incandescent lamps - set the white balance "incandescent lamp". We went outside - set, depending on the weather, "sunny" or "cloudy".

In cases with mixed lighting, when there is light from a window on one side and light from a lamp on the other, flash is often helpful. If it has sufficient power, it is able to "crush" other light sources and illuminate the scene with uniform light. In this case, the white balance must be set to either "flash" or "auto" (when the flash is on, the device will itself determine it as the main type of light source). The best results are obtained with an external flash, but for amateur “household” photography, the built-in flash is sufficient in most cases.

Manual (custom) white balance

Although the preset white balance modes cover most commonly used light sources, there are situations when none of the proposed modes is suitable. Take an incandescent light bulb, for example. High-power lamps (75-100 W) give light closer to white, while weak lamps (25-40 W) have a yellowish tint. A special case - energy-saving lamps, especially cheap ones, whose spectrum is such that even the human eye is sometimes unable to adequately assess the color picture.

Some devices have the ability fine tuning white balance, relative to the preset one, however, in order to optimally adjust the color rendition for the given lighting conditions, you need to take several frames with different settings and choose the setting with which the color rendition is as close to reality as possible. This takes a long time and is not always effective, since you have to focus on the picture displayed on the LCD screen, the color reproduction of which is not always ideal.

It's much easier to use the manual white balance function. To do this, you need to photograph some white object (or just a sheet of white paper), and then indicate to the camera this picture as a sample by which the white balance should be set. I see no reason to describe in detail how this is done - different devices have their own sequence of actions, so I recommend using the instructions, everything is described in steps specifically for your device.

Most cameras can store one or more custom white balance settings. If you regularly have to photograph in specific lighting, it makes sense to keep the white balance setting so that later you do not have to worry about photographing a white sheet.

To illustrate the possibilities of manual white balance, I propose to compare the color rendition in two photographs:

Automatic BB

Handmade BB (white jacket of the left character was used as a sample of white)

The result is noticeable - in the first case, the photo has gone yellow, in the second, the color rendition is close to reality.

Picture style setting

The "picture style" function is, probably, in all cameras. With its help, you can adjust the brightness, contrast, color saturation, picture clarity, as well as "force" the device to shoot in b / w, sepia.

As a rule, the device already has a set of preset picture styles - landscape, portrait, natural tones, accurate reproduction of tones, and so on, as well as several "empty" cells for custom settings. Here is an example of the "select picture style" menu item for a Canon EOS 5D camera:

All presets are a combination of parameters:

sharpness
contrast
saturation
tone color

It is somewhat reminiscent of the TV picture setting function :) With contrast, saturation and tone color, I think everything is clear. Sharpness refers to the software "enhancement" of the contours of objects, due to which, the picture will appear sharper. The key word is "seem". In fact, software sharpening does not increase image detail. If the object in the photo is slightly blurred initially (out of focus, or the lens could not convey all its nuances), no software algorithm will be able to "come up" the missing details. In the hope of improving the quality of the photo, you should not turn the "slider" of sharpness to the full.

As you can see, setting up your camera for JPEG shooting for the best results is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. This is precisely the main disadvantage of JPEG over another format - RAW - about which there will be a speech Further...

RAW format

What is RAW for and why is it better than JPEG?

The format gets its name from english word"raw", which stands for "raw, unprocessed". In principle, this is quite consistent with the essence of the matter. When using the RAW format, the signal taken from the matrix is written as a file to a USB flash drive (the file extension may differ for different cameras). At the same time, the camera does not do any processing, allowing the user to process information on a PC using a special program - a RAW converter. This gives a huge advantage - the photographer does not need to worry about the white balance, brightness, contrast, saturation of the image - all this can be adjusted later on good monitor... "Raw" data contains a large amount of redundant information, which, if necessary, will allow you to adjust all these image parameters as accurately and correctly as possible.

In the JPEG format, all "extra" data is discarded to ensure the smallest file size, which severely limits processing capabilities. If the brightness and contrast can still be adjusted, then incorrect white balance is much more difficult to correct, especially if the error is large. In this case, you have to sacrifice the naturalness of the colors. Here's an example where a yellowed photograph was pulled from JPEG and RAW.

Original version

Corrected version (JPEG)

Corrected version (RAW)

As you can see from the above examples, when trying to correct the white balance in JPG, the picture acquired a somewhat unnatural tint, as if the photo was taken on a cheap negative film that was scanned with a consumer scanner. Note that in this case, I did not make any special efforts to bring the colors closer to real ones, but this required several operations in Adobe Photoshop. You can read more about editing white balance in JPEG in this article /article45.html. The essence of the article boils down to the fact that it is possible to correct a minor white balance error in JPEG, but this is a rather non-trivial task. In case of a serious error in the white balance, it is, alas, impossible to restore the color rendition without any visible loss of quality, working with the JPEG format.

Main features of RAW

Instead of describing the possibilities of RAW here, I'll show you an example of how one initially unsuccessful photo was saved. During a summer trip to St. Petersburg, my wife and I visited the Hermitage, naturally, taking a camera with us. As in all museums, flash photography is prohibited in the Hermitage. Anticipating this situation, I took a fast Canon EF 50mm f / 1.8 lens. But the main trouble lay in the fact that in different rooms there was different lighting - in some there was daylight from the windows, in others - artificial lighting. If I was shooting in JPEG format, I would be tortured to set the white balance. Looking ahead, I will say that the shooting was carried out in RAW and it was possible to simulate the situation, what would be the result with certain WB settings in JPEG. So let's start from the beginning:

Auto white balance:

A terrible mixture of yellow and red! Such photographs are often obtained when the room is illuminated by a large number of incandescent lamps of relatively low power, in which case the photograph is colored yellow. Well, let's try to set the white balance "Incandescent" ... Here's what happened:

A bit better. The yellowness has become less, but incomprehensible greenery has appeared. The result is also unsatisfactory.

Option with manual installation white balance is very time consuming, since this procedure will have to be carried out in almost every new room. Fortunately, there is a RAW file that allows you to set the correct white balance on your computer in 1 click.

For RAW processing, we used the Digital Photo Professional software that came with the Canon camera EOS 5D (software CD). As for other devices, I am more than sure that something similar is given to them.

The program has a very simple interface, so it will not be difficult to understand it. In fact, it duplicates the color reproduction settings of the camera, and also has a number of other functions.

To set the white balance, take an eyedropper (shown with a red arrow) and poke it at the place of the photo, which should look white or light gray. In this case, it was my jacket. What colors have become in the photo, you can see from the picture. The result obtained cannot be compared with the one obtained only standard settings camera.

Digital Photo Professional allows you to "retroactively" set the color reproduction of the picture, which are available through the menu of the camera. Thus, you get the opportunity during shooting not to waste time on setting the white balance, choosing the picture style. This is especially true for reportage photography, where every second counts. The program allows you to do some things that are simply not available through the menu, for example - adjusting noise suppression, adjusting sharpness, correcting chromatic aberrations and distortion (distortion of straight lines at the edges of the frame). The only condition under which it all works is the photo was taken in RAW format. Most functions are not available with JPEG.

I must say that the Digital Photo Professional program has relatively little functionality compared to the popular Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, but it should be borne in mind that licensed Adobe Photoshop Lightroom costs about $ 200, and updates to new versions of this program are paid (about $ 100 ). Digital Photo Professional comes to us completely free of charge and updates to newer versions just as free. However, there is a nuance - the program itself cannot be downloaded, it must be installed from the disk. Only the update to the latest version can be downloaded from the Canon website.

I see no reason to write a manual for Digital Photo Professional here for two reasons - firstly, it will be of interest only to owners of Canon devices, and secondly, such a manual already exists - http://www.ixbt.com/digimage/canon_dppix.shtml

Even if the JPEG version has the correct white balance, it is likely that the RAW version of the photo will have better quality. The reason is simple. The performance of a computer processor is much higher than the performance of a camera, and it can handle more complex image processing algorithms - improving detail, filtering noise, and other processing. Even if the processing takes some time, it is not scary for the computer - the user can wait. In photography, every second is worth its weight in gold. As a result, the algorithms used by the camera for processing the image taken from the matrix are squeezed into tight time frames so as not to reduce the speed characteristics of the camera. For example, those actions that a computer can do for 10 seconds, the device must complete in no more than 1 second. This inevitably affects the quality of processing, especially when the device does not have the most modern and high-speed processor. This is why the result of shooting in JPEG is almost always worse than properly processed RAW.

There is one more technical aspect that cannot be ignored. When shooting in JPEG, pixel color information is encoded in 24 bits, when shooting in RAW - from 30 to 42 bits. It's not hard to imagine how many more color shades can be encoded in 42 bits instead of 24.

What are the main disadvantages of RAW format?

RAW is not available on all cameras. Owners of DSLRs and "top-end" cameras can be calm, but those who have relatively inexpensive compact devices may be disappointed - they most likely lack RAW support.

RAW files cannot be opened on any device other than a PC with dedicated software installed. Media players, digital photo frames, tablet computers RAW photos will not be displayed. To do this, they need to be converted to JPEG format (on a PC, using RAW processing software).

The program for processing RAW, which comes with the camera on disk, has a rather meager set of features. More functional software most often paid.

File size is about 2 times the best quality JPEG. If you go on a long trip in which you intend to photograph in RAW, stock up on a flash drive with an increased volume.

What is RAW + JPEG format?

In most devices, it is possible to select such a mode when photos are recorded on a USB flash drive in the form of 2 files - one RAW, the other - JPEG. This can be useful in cases where the main shooting is in JPEG format, but you need to be on the safe side so that in case of anything you can "pull" the wrong image out of RAW.

If the results in JPEG format are satisfactory for the photographer (or customer), RAW files can be removed painlessly. As you can see in the picture, you can choose different resolution and quality for the JPEG option. Keep in mind that when shooting in RAW + JPEG, the flash drive will run out faster than just RAW.

What format to shoot?

If you are interested in getting the most out of your camera in the best possible photo quality, I highly recommend shooting in RAW. All further chapters of the tutorial will assume that shooting is carried out in this format.

Questions for self-control

If your camera can shoot in RAW:

1. Install RAW processing software on your computer (if not already installed). If you do not know where to get it, look for it on the disc that came with the camera.

2. Take multiple photos in RAW + JPEG format. If shooting indoors, try to avoid using a flash.

3. Download the shooting result to your PC and process the RAW files in installed program... Set the correct white balance (white area of the image), brightness, contrast, noise reduction level. Compare the results with the JPEG images.

If your camera does not support RAW

1. Check which image quality you have selected. Set maximum resolution with minimum compression.

2. Experiment with picture styles - change brightness, contrast, saturation, hue. Save your favorite settings as custom mode. How to do this - read the instructions for the camera.

3. Learn to set the white balance on a sheet of white paper.

A lot of newbie photographers shoot in RAW format and don't know why they are doing it. When asked: "Why?" - they answer: “What are you, this is cool! All the professionals of our time shoot in RAW format! " If you have the same opinion, then this article is just for you.

Imagine, you recently bought a camera, saw how to change formats and immediately went to the Internet, or went to your friends to find out in which format it is better to shoot ...

If you do not know in which format it is better to photograph, choose JPEG.

Why? - I'll explain now.

Jpeg(he is Jpg) the most famous and popular format for images. It is readable everywhere, even on your mobile phone. Any digital camera takes pictures in JPEG format, JPEG gives excellent quality when minimum cost time to process it.

RAW(eng. raw: raw) - a file that contains raw data directly from the camera matrix. Designed for further adjustments and processing.

This is how everything happens:

RAW - Designed for further adjustments and processing, a designer's paradise. You can tinker with it for a long time and tediously, for example, adjust exposure, contrast, brightness, change the white balance, and most importantly, all the changes you make do not significantly affect the loss of photo quality. Basically, you can change all the values that can be set on the camera before shooting.

The main disadvantages of RAW:

1) since the "raw" format it weighs several times more than the JPEG format, you will need a lot of space to store files in this format.

2) you still need to convert RAW to JPEG in order to show it to friends or print it.

3) time is money, and working with the RAW format will take you a lot of time, both for processing images and converting them.

4) different camera manufacturers have their own settings and standards for RAW files (this is noticeable by the extension of RAW files, for example: for nikon it is .NEF, for canon it is .CRW, for sony .ARW), of course, because of this there is a large the amount of software for editing RAW files, the problem is that in different RAW editors, the same RAW file will look different.

5) The speed of shooting in RAW is much slower due to the processing of larger files, as a result, you can miss the moment, for a photographer it is unforgivable!

Everywhere loved and read. A JPEG file is created from a RAW file, using your camera settings, such as white balance and color settings, which you can already change significantly during processing.

The JPEG format uses varying degrees of compression. On the camera, you can see JPEG Fine, JPEG Normal and JPEG Basic... The higher the JPEG quality, the more file takes up space. What kind of compression should you choose? It's up to you to decide which is more expensive - memory card space or quality. Take a closer look at JPEG Normal, since the difference in quality between Normal and Fine is almost negligible, and the space used in JPEG Fine is twice as large. I advise you to experiment before choosing.

RAW + JPEG

Most likely, if you know how to set up camera formats, you have seen the RAW + JPEG option. In this case, the camera will create two files: JPEG and RAW.

As a result, we get both, but the disadvantage is that this will require even more space and your time. Moreover, if you do not free up disk space, then you will have mountains of unnecessary copies that it will be a pity to delete ...

conclusions

If you have not decided in what format to photograph, definitely choose the JPEG format.

If you are designing, choose RAW format.

If you take many of the same photographs of the same object and then choose the best one from them - photograph in JPEG. If you only take one photo instead of a dozen, shoot in RAW.

Decide what you like, if you want to become a photojournalist - you need to get used to doing everything clearly and quickly, learn how to properly adjust the Camera. If you want to spend more time in front of the monitor than with the camera, shoot in RAW and learn photoshop.

Article and photos reprinted from Kostya Kakushi's blog:

06/05 8474

Surprisingly, many aspiring photographers shoot RAW without really thinking about why. If you ask them why he is so popular with them, they will immediately answer: “You know, this is so cool! All great photographers shoot RAW! " Good. If you think so, then let's check the correctness of your beliefs in our conversation today.

Imagine: you have just purchased a modern camera, figured out how to change the format and ... are faced with an unexpected choice. The most curious of you will immediately go to Google and begin to study different opinions. Those who value time will start asking questions to their "expert" comrades.

Since "Photo Search" is "rummaging" in photography, you can follow his advice: if you are in doubt about choosing a format, choose JPEG.

Why? Let's figure it out together. Today, JPEG (or JPG) is the most popular format for viewing images. He is universal. It can be read by any device inincluding your mobile phone... All digital cameras are "sharpened" for shooting in JPEG. The reason is quite simple: this format gives excellent quality with the least amount of time spent on image processing.

RAW (from the English raw - raw) - a format that is obtained by reading an image from a matrix without any processing or correction. Schematically, everything looks like this:

Purpose of RAW.

RAW is the raw material for designers. It is intended for special processing and adjustment. Usually it is subjected to the following operations:

exposure correction within certain limits;
changing the white balance;
adjusting brightness and contrast, etc.

However, all the changes you are going to make will not reduce the quality of the image. In other words, you can change all the values that were previously set in the menu before shooting.

Drawbacks in working with RAW.

1. Since this format is by definition a "raw material", it is several times heavier than JPEG and takes up a lot of space on the memory card.

2. Reformatting RAW to JPEG still cannot be avoided, because it needs to be printed or shown to friends.

3. For a photographer, time means money. And for processing and toconverting RAW takes a lot of time.

4. RAW itself has variations. The fact is that photo equipment manufacturers use different settings for RAW files:

Nikon - .NEF;
Canon - .CRW;
SONY - .ARW.

This, in turn, implies different software for processing and adjusting RAW files. It follows from this that different graphic editor work with information differently. As a result, your RAW will look completely different in someone else's program.

Purpose of JPEG.

Everyone loves him and he loves everyone. JPEG reads almost anythingdigital device. It is created from the same RAW file. When converting, all your settings set in the camera menu, such as color, white balance, are taken into account. It will no longer be possible to significantly change JPEG.

Since reformatting involves compression, nits different degrees are considered:

JPEG Basic; JPEG Normal; JPEG Fine.

As the JPEG quality increases, so does the file weight. Of course, the question arises: which one to choose. You will have to decide personally. But the choice here is between quality and space on the memory card. If you find it difficult to make a decision, then select JPEG Normal. The fact is that the difference between the Fine and Normal quality is almost imperceptible, but the weight of JPEG Fine is twice as much. To decide finally, it is worth a good practice. Moreover, no one has any problems with such a possibility today. For example, wedding photographers, children's photographers or corporate photographers will not always be able to "catch" a good or comical shot. But you are a completely different matter.

5. The processing speed of RAW files is much slower as they have big size... Much time is wasted because of this. Reportage will not forgive this, since invaluable footage will be lost.

Two birds with one stone: JPEG + RAW.

We have no doubt that your natural curiosity has led you to delve into camera settings. And you've already noticed the RAW + JPEG option. If you activate it, then your camera will create two files at once: RAW + JPEG.

The advantage of this option is that you will have both formats and the problem of choice will be delayed in time. But the disadvantage is that each image will now take up more space and spend more time processing. And for a photographer, as we said, time is money. Another problem arises: fast filling of the memory card with unnecessary duplicates. You will be sorry to delete them. This resembles a situation when people are afraid to part with clothes that have long and reliably gone out of fashion: they are almost new and the money has been paid for them, but it's awkward to wear. And throwing it away is a pity. And the closet is full for a long time.

Bottom line.

So, if you are undecided about the choice of format - definitely shoot in JPEG.

If you are a designer or an advanced Photoshop user, shoot in RAW.

If you need to make many identical shots of the same object, in order to choose one of them later, shoot in JPEG. Conversely, when you need to take one shot instead of ten, then it is better to set RAW.

But first of all, decide on your future in photography. If you are going to be a photo reporter or just a knowledgeable friend in your company (department, team, party), then learn to do everything quickly and immediately. Learn how to set up your camera correctly yourself.

If you are going to charge a lot of money for photo retouching, spend more time at the computer than with the camera - set RAW in the options and learn Photoshop. Different specialists are needed.

The main thing is to do right choice straightaway!

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