Can someone explain RAW to me?

[PlumTuckered]

I have a Kodak Z740 camera which has RAW capability but I have no idea what it is......can someone explain it in easy to understand terms? Purty please :-)

Michelle

[triciadoll]

Very simply...RAW is like a traditional negative. Nothing has been done to the picture...it is exactly what you took. When you shoot in jpeg, it compresses, makes adjustments, etc. Yesterday I bought an Adobe RAW book at the bookstore...it is huge...about 2 1/2 inches thick...just on RAW...so there is alot to learn.

I'm sure someone can explain it more in depth than I did.

[PlumTuckered]

Thank ya Ma'am :-)
I do believe I'm going to switch my camera from jpg and give it a try.
Michelle

[coloradogigi]

Michelle: I have just learned to shoot in RAW and let me tell you, there is no going back. I don't know everything there is to know about it, other than that it is like having the digital negative. When you DL your photos in PS or PSE3,4, and I assume 5 and probably even other photo editors, you get this neat little pop down menu with selections to change the white balance, the temperature, and all kinds of other goodies (even the lens). You can literally take a really bad picture and fix it. Yes, you can edit with JPEGs, but not to the extent that you can in RAW. Then you just say continue and the pic comes up in your regular editor and you can do all the things with it that you normally do to a JPEG, i.e., filters, etc.

If you have this feature, learn to use it. I'm sure glad I did.

[Angela]

I shoot in RAW and LOVE the flexibility I get with it. I can change exposure, sharpness, white balance, pretty much anything I need to tweak.

[PlumTuckered]

Thank you so much for all the input Ladies....as soon as my dang batteries charge up I'll be trying this out :-)
Michelle

[RatherBscrappin]

Michelle: I have just learned to shoot in RAW and let me tell you, there is no going back.
You took the words right out of my mouth!! :lol And I can't tell you how many times shooting RAW has saved my butt when I was too fast to snap a pic without realizing I was WAY under/over exposed!!

RAW RAWKS!!:cheer

[mamakimberly]

Okay, I may be the odd man out.... but I hate the extra time involved with RAW.

I am experimenting with taking some in JPG+RAW and seeing if it is TRULY worth it... LOL :)

[Kim2002]

A big DITTO to what has already been said. Keep in mind that shooting in RAW format will use up your memory card really quickly so be prepared to offload often. Shooting in the RAW is nice for those "must-have" photos, but everyday snapshots you may find it's just too much trouble to do all the post-processing. If you like doing that sorta thing, then maybe not. LOL

[lcbannon]

Those of you that use RAW might want to look into the beta program Adobe Lightroom, specially made to work with raw- works with jpg too but awesome with raw. can d/l at download.com

[Leila]

Okay, I may be the odd man out.... but I hate the extra time involved with RAW.

I am experimenting with taking some in JPG+RAW and seeing if it is TRULY worth it... LOL :)

I didn't care for the extra time involved either, then I tried Adobe Lightroom. Holy Frijoles! So much easier, so much control...SOOOOOOO worth it!!

[Pachimac]

I have a Kodak Z740 camera which has RAW capability but I have no idea what it is......can someone explain it in easy to understand terms? Purty please :-)

Michelle

I'm debating this one too - I really need help with my photos until I can get my Canon or Nikon!!!