Question about shooting raw

I hope I have posted this question in the right forum. The raw conversion and workflow forum seems to deal with the post processing aspect.

I have a question in regards to shooting landscapes and wildlife in raw mode. I have recently made the switch to digital and now feeling comfortable with photoshop and processing to try shooting raw.
What settings should I use with raw? Should I shoot in the raw+jpeg format or only in raw format?
Also, what image quality should I use..fine, normal, large, small, low compression? How about other settings such as white balance, contrast, sharpness, saturation, and color tone? I was not sure if I keep the same settings that I use when shooting in Jpeg.

I would appreciate any advice as I will be shooting in raw format this weekend in the mountains.

Thanks,

Hello Lori,

Lori Cash said:

I hope I have posted this question in the right forum. The raw conversion and workflow forum seems to deal with the post processing aspect.

I have a question in regards to shooting landscapes and wildlife in raw mode. I have recently made the switch to digital and now feeling comfortable with photoshop and processing to try shooting raw.
What settings should I use with raw? Should I shoot in the raw+jpeg format or only in raw format?
Also, what image quality should I use..fine, normal, large, small, low compression? How about other settings such as white balance, contrast, sharpness, saturation, and color tone? I was not sure if I keep the same settings that I use when shooting in Jpeg.

I would appreciate any advice as I will be shooting in raw format this weekend in the mountains.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

Welcome to OPF and LWT! More Carolinians always welcome (I'm north of Charlotte).

The other forum might also be an appropriate place for this post, but since you're here, I'll have a crack at it:

I am a firm believer that shooting Raw enables you to get the maximum quality out of any of your images, so in my opinion, you've made a good decision.

With regard to Raw Format in general, I have a lot of information on my website that may be of help to you as you get started:

Raw Format Workflow

You'll need to decide which Raw Convert to use, and this will effect, to some degree, whether you shoot Raw or Raw+Jpeg. This more a workflow related question, and will not have any effect on your final image quality. That said, I use Capture One, and since I have no other need for a camera-created Jpeg, I shoot Raw only, not Raw+Jpeg. Some people want to have an instant source of Jpegs for various purposes in their particular circumstances (clients, for example), but other than something along those lines, there's really no need to shoot Raw+Jpeg with modern Converters, and they just take up precious card space.

And with regard to other camera settings: White Balance, Saturation, Contrast, Sharpness - this has no effect on the Raw File itself, other than to provide the default settings for conversion, which can be changed as need be. Those settings will be used to process the thumbnail Jpeg that your camera shows on its LCD. So you can leave them at your usual settings, and not have to worry about it.

I'm sure you'll have more questions as you work your way through it, so just repost as necessary.

Good luck this week-end!

Don,
I appreciate your input and will check out your info on the raw format workflow on your website.

Thank you!

What Don said as for compression sizes, there aren't any in RAW - so you don't need to worry about it. Make sure you find a RAW converter you like. Adobe Raw Converter is pretty good but my favourite is RSP. RSE (Raw Shooters Essentials) is free. if your interested have a look at pixmantec.com My reason for liking it is it's speed and workflow.

Hi Lori!
as Don said, shooting raw+jpg is really a workflow issue, and unless i am under severe time constraints in processing i shoot only raw. that said, it's always a time saver in processing to shoot with the settings as close as possible to what you want (ie, white balance, exposure). but when i do mess up (or don't have time in the heat of the moment!) raw is a life-saver! the key for me is using CaptureOne Pro (http://phaseone.com/) for batch processing large quantities of photos to jpgs. i think the major difference between C1 Pro and the LE version is that the latter can only batch 20 shots at a time. it's available as a demo so you might want to give it a try if you're looking into raw converters. there are additional 20d (and 350d) profiles available for purchase from Magne Nielsen for improving your conversion in C1 (http://www.etcetera.cc/pub/index.php/article/archive/3/). he also did the profiles in the color engine of RSP. i have a 5d (and before that a 10d) and i swear by magne's profiles.
i liked your recent osprey shots...the little ones are fun to observe growing up, practicing flapping their wings, and finally learning to fly, which happens up here arounf mid-late july.

Welcome to RAW, I guess,
As for the settings, as others have mentioned, color/contrast/size, are for JPEG version, so they do not effect your RAW image. However, since the image and the histogram you review on the camera's LCD are based on a JPEG interpretation of your shot, they are affected by the JPEG setting when you shoot in RAW. The actualy difference in the histogram is very small though.

As for the White Balance, your initial shot will be in the WB format you selected. However, you can easily adjust it in the computer. Unless you are in a tough lighting situation, I'd probably use the AWB mode and if the color is off, I'd adjust them on the computer.

Lastly, some prefer to shoot RAW with a JPEG, so that they can quickly review the JPEG version or what not.
I shoot only in RAW. Using RawShooter Premium is quick enough for me and it allows me to preview them on my computer in a manner very similar to JPEG images with other programs. It's really a personal decision though.

Lori Cash said:

What settings should I use with raw? Should I shoot in the raw+jpeg format or only in raw format?

Click to expand...

Depends on your workflow, but just remember that Raw offers more capability than JPEG, so you can create better JPEGs when you start with Raw.

Also, what image quality should I use..fine, normal, large, small, low compression? How about other settings such as white balance, contrast, sharpness, saturation, and color tone?

Click to expand...

Except for exposure, all other camera settings are postprocessing for Raw conversions (with the exception of cameras that offer different sized Raws, and some noise suppression options). You'll find that Raw usually gives something like another stop of headroom for highlights, so you may want to adjust your metering when shooting exclusively Raw.

The camera settings only influence the "As shot" preview (and thumbnail) when you open the Raw in a Raw converter. Some Raw converters apply automatic initial suggestions when opening the Raw, but it is your choice to either accept or change.

One more suggestion, shooting nature often means you'll have difficulty in finding the correct White balance, especially when it is set on automatic in the Raw converter. Make sure you shoot one image with a known neutral gray or white subject. With that you can always click the White balance in the exact correct setting.

Bart

Thanks everyone for your advice and insight regarding my post on shooting in raw. I got some great shots of the NC mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway this weekend that I shot in raw. Now to the task of processing them.

Thanks!

Excellent!

We'll be looking forward to seeing the results.

As for a simple and effective processor, consider RawShooter Premium. It has a free trial period. If you like it you can pay for it then. If not you can delete it.

If you are, by any chance, using a Nikon dSLR you can choose between RAW compressed and uncompressed, the former is said to be visually lossless - which I can confirm. Nikon admits there can be situation when the compression algorithm leads to visible artifacts, I've never seen an image with it. Nikon is, TMK, the only manufacturer giving you the choice of compr vs. uncompr, all others compress automatically.

Although most settings do not directly apply to RAW files it is still a good idea to get the usual (exposure for instance) and the not too obvious (White Balance) correct when shooting. the closer your settings match the appropriate ones the less work afterwards. Thom Hogan warns that blown channels in NEFs may give unforeseeable colour shifts if you set WB after the fact.*

NEF+JPEG is not necessary if you use a D2x or D200 and do not open/change/save resulting images with Nikon Capture 4.x or Nikon View. These cameras, perhaps other as well, already contain a full-size JPEG in Normal quality, which will be discarded by Nikon's sw for a smaller one (labeled, incomprehensibly, 'large'). I've yet to see a camera JPEG for which Fine will be a real enhancement over Normal. In the case of other manufacturers the qualities in question may be called Fine and Superfine. There are several programs which can extract the original JPEG from the NEF (BreezeBrowser Pro; the free Preview Extractor).


*Thom Hogan. Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon D2x, v1.03, 2005. p273f.

I only shoot raw . Shooting raw plus jpeg just wastes space on you cf cards . You can do a lot to recover a raw image that is a little off but there are less options shooting jpegs so why bother . My current camera only shoots raw and I am fine with that .