Okay so this is crazy. This is the first forum I can't find the search button so I'm just going to ask.
I'm on a mac using iPhoto and Apple Photos with no way of processing DNG files. I'm thinking of purchasing lightroom but wanted to get your thoughts on the RAW images.
I've owned cameras where like my GH3 the RAW is 10x better and others where I really can't tell a difference. What has your experience been in comparing the JPEG with RAW images?
Thanks!
Buy Lightroom. You won't be sorry. You can buy it unlimited (no CC) if you desire. Thats the way I play. I don't want the CC garbage so I go with non-CC options and the last (CS6) Photoshop sans CC is my last photoshop purchase.
Anyway, there are MASSIVE advantages to going RAW. MASSIVE. Far too many and technically deep to explain all of them but I will hit some of the highlights...
1. No data loss.
DNG files are direct sensor data. Its not converted to any lossy file format such as JPG. You get maximum quality with zero loss.
2. Maximum bit depth.
Jpeg files are RGB data encoded to 8 bits per color. I am unsure the bit depth of the DNG files out of the phantom but most raw files from DSLRs are 10 to 12bits per channel. Thats a MASSIVE color level detail you will NEVER achieve in a jpeg.
3. White balance really doesn't matter anymore.
With DNG files, you don't really have to worry about color balance when shooting. I have both my birds set to custom color at 5000k. I don't change them. I use a ColorChecker Passport which I shoot once before takeoff and use the color swatches there to mass color correct in Lightroom using the plugin for the CC Passport. You can still mass white balance in LR without a Passport but it really is worth it if you want to proprly color correct images.
4. DNG is read only.
At least in every app I have ever run across that handles DNG, they are READ ONLY. That means you can't and don't ever write to your original file. This means, no matter what you do, short of deleteing it off the HD, you can always return to your original image and start over.
5. DNG is not lossy.
DNG files store, using lossless compression, all the data given and you can get back that data as it originally was. Jpeg is a LOSSY compression format. Once the data is saved in jpeg format, you will NEVER EVER get the original data back. Never. Jpeg actually discards data as well as altering it to produce small file sizes. It is a SIZE format, not a QUALITY format.
That said, obviously you will need software capable of handling raw files. Lightroom is one. Photoshop of course is another. And there are many more from free to expensive out there to use. Your choice of Lightroom, IMHO, is a good one. I have used it since LR2. But, while it does have editing capabilites, those abilities are not photoshop so don't expect to start cranking out layers and overlays. Not happening. Its editing are based on Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). You can do a hell of a lot with LR. And later after you acquire another image editor, you can link to it in LR so you can use LR as your DNG converter and it will run TIFFs out to another program for you.
But, most importantly, people don't really realize what LR truly is. LR is a DATABASE program at its heart. With it, you can keyword your photos with meta data such as loctaion, objects in the image, where it was taken, what accessories you used (like strobes, beauty dishes, etc). You can also tag people, places, buildings, etc within images so you can find them later. You can set up smart collections so that every photo of your kids automatically gets added with no effort on your part. Then you can find every image simply by opening the collection (which looks like a folder) and there they all are. The keyword tree is fully under your control and you can organize it in any way you desire. If you get lightroom, PM me and I will export my tree which is fairly organized and mature and you can import that and adopt it to your needs.
Absolutely shoot raw+jpeg.
Good choice on Lightroom.