RAW vs. JPEG

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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!
 
There is no comparison, RAW is always better if you have the software to process the file.

Lightroom is well worth the money.

You can also get a 9.99 a month package for Photoshop and Lightroom from Adobe.
 
For searching look for the magnifying glass icon in the upper right below the flag icon.
 
Major major difference, just look at the file size difference. If it's photography you are into the raw files are your only option and all decent editing software should help you see that. If you can't see the difference stick to jpegs
 
Thanks for your feedback. I'm going to start working with lightroom so I can shoot in raw.

As for the search button, I just realized that the search only shows up when you scroll down, otherwise it's not there.
 
IflyinWY (a very active member here) is always posting a very easy search shortcut in everything he posts, it's very helpful for new members and much better than the search bar. I'm sure he will either jump in here with it or someone will post the link
 
For searching look for the magnifying glass icon in the upper right below the flag icon.

I just brought up the search issue in the Off Topic section. I couldn't fathom why the search was there some of the time and not the rest of the time. If you are viewing from the top of the page, there is no search button. If you scroll down the page even just a small amount, the search icon pops up. A very strange way of handling it.
 
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!


FWIW, all digital cameras shoot in "RAW" format. When they deliver a jpeg file, that simply means the software in the camera has processed the RAW file for you. Getting the RAW file simply allows you to do the processing on your own.

If your camera delivers poor looking jpegs, it is not necessarily the camera - it is the jpeg processing software in the camera. That is why you will see a big difference when comparing different camera's jpegs.

I don't use the Adobe DNG format. I have found it problematic and lacking full support. Unfortunate, as it was touted as a "universal" format and should have been as common as PDFs. It would have been nice to see a good cross-platform "standard" for digital photos.

For most people, jpeg is the way to go. RAW, by its very nature, requires additional work to get a usable photo. Aperture made it easy - "Photos" not so much. If your camera has good on-board software, stick with jpeg (unless you have a need to do much editing after the fact). If your camera doesn't produce good jpegs, you are stuck with RAW.

Adobe did/does have free Mac software to convert DNG files (DNG Converter?). Check out their website and you might find something. Convert your files TIFF or some other lossless "master" format that is widely supported. The more common the format, the better chance you will be able to access those photos 20 years from now.
 
I have not worked with DNG RAW, but it is the only mode I shoot in with my camera. If I have to hand the customer an SD card at the shoot, I shoot RAW to one card, JPG to the other card which I give to the customer. The biggest plus to me of RAW (in my Nikon world) is exposure compensation. There is a huge difference between adjusting the exposure of a picture than changing the brightness.
 
There is no comparison, RAW is always better if you have the software to process the file.

Lightroom is well worth the money.

You can also get a 9.99 a month package for Photoshop and Lightroom from Adobe.

I always shoot RAW and post process in Lightroom. RAW support was the main reason I upgraded from the P2. If you are not doing it professionally I would recommend buy Lightroom outright vs the subscription or try free software first such as FastStone, not sure about Mac compatibility though since I use Windows.

Adobe also offers a DNG codec: Adobe - DNG Codec : For Windows : Adobe DNG Codec 2.0 but it's for Windows, they may offer a Mac version. The codec lets you view DNG files using native photo viewers. To edit, you still need a DNG capable editor.
 
I have a phantom 3 pro I just set up to shoot 4k / 24p, white balance 5000, saturation -3, contrast -3, sharpness -2, color log after trying to record a video all I see on the micro sd card is a mp4 file
does it mean the raw file is a MP4?
 
Raw files are for pictures only. MP4 is a video format. d-log is a setting where the video is flat and it is recommended if you are going to post process (color grading).
 
I'm a photographer, the DNGs are terrible from this device. They have a little more latitude than the JPEGS sure, & it is worth shooting in DNG, but the images have zero sharpness out of the box (I have to use a deblur mask in Photoshop to get any detail). ISO over 100 is pretty poor as well.

As an aside I have a Phantom Standard before I got the advance, different sensor (Panasonic Vs Sony). For images the Standard was better on sharpness, had some odd colour noise, but overall was better than the advance.

Worth noting that afaik there isn't a distortion correction available in LR, & distortion is pretty bad!
 
RAW + JPEG is how you should be shooting. Save raw files of your favorites for processing when you have the tools. You won't regret it.


Phantom 3 Pro / iPad Air 2
 
RAW - is a digital negative.


Phantom 3 Pro / iPad Air 2
 
Also use the dng clean up tool that DJI supply - it makes a real difference removing noise from the picture. I can't say I've noticed blur afterwards either.
 
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.
 
RAW + JPEG is how you should be shooting. Save raw files of your favorites for processing when you have the tools. You won't regret it.
Fully agree, if you don't know yet what is RAW, just shoot RAW+JPEG and work with your JPEGS. The files will have the same name but different extensions. Once you learn Lightroom or Photoshop, then, edit the RAW file, and you will be able to do magic with your pictures: change exposure, white balance, see shadows, improve colors and sharpness, eliminate camera distortion, etc.
 

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