New to RAW- a few questions

dinneenp

Hi,
I'm going to shoot some photos in RAW and see what it's all about.

I know there's a lot of info on the web about it but just wondering:
do you shoot in raw?
Why? (probably for more flexibility in PP)
What software is best to use? I heard of Rawtherapee here so might try that you.
I have Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS 5, can I use them for converting the files?
Do you recommend andy specific sites, information etc to help?
Anything else?

Cheers,
Pa.

artyeva

i use lightroom 3 and i can just import the raw files direct, PP them and export as jpegs. simple as. not sure what else you'd need to know, that's all i knew when i started shooting in raw.

magicbastarder

don't talk to me about RAW - i've just copied 928 raw files onto my computer which i've to now process.

Paulw

I always shoot raw. Much more scope for processing.

Lightroom won't treat raw much different from jpg (but you have greater scope).

Photoshop CS5 will also deal with raw well (using Adobe Camera Raw).

thatsnotmyname

I agree with arteya
Lightroom 3 is great for processing raw files !

For the last eighteen months I have been shooting entirely in Raw

I suppose the only drawback I can think off is the amount of memory they take up.
It hasn't caused a problem yet !
but I try and make a habit of doing sweeps of recent shoots
and delete anything that I feel aren't up to scratch.

CabanSail

Shoot RAW 99% of the time.

CS5 will directly import the files via CameraRAW without a problem. The only things I adjust in a RAW converter is exposure & White Balance. You can do more than one conversion and blend the exposures if needed.

Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness etc are then adjusted in PS.

oshead

There's nothing to know really. Shoot raw, import into lightroom, make necessary adjustments, then export (if you like). Really is that simple. On the surface it's just the same as processing any other file type except easier.

AnCatDubh

I shoot with the RAW plus JPG option. In terms of why - I use RAW predominantly to recover highlights and shadows when needed. There is more scope in it. That said, I actually like a couple of the in camera stuff like it's vibrant settings, in camera black and white with high contrast pushed to places they shouldn't go, or to go for a "duo tone" experience. That is when JPG comes into it's own. Well that and speed of processing and space savings. RAW is the safety net or if you just want to worry about how the resulting image should look a little later. If I don't include the JPG, the camera will shoot the in camera setting such as black and white but when you open it up in image processing software, the RAW is magically converted into a "vanilla flavour" at the image processing software's behest. I think the embedded RAW JPG might still have the in camera JPG embedded in it, but i've been too lazy to investigate. JPG's relatively speaking don't take up too much space anyhow.

Borderfox

do you shoot in raw? Yes but only for weddings, everything else in jpeg
Why? (probably for more flexibility in PP)Yes
What software is best to use? CS5 and Bridge
I have Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS 5, Yes
Do you recommend andy specific sites, information etc to help? Lots of tutorials on youtube to help

dinneenp

artyeva wrote: »

i use lightroom 3 and i can just import the raw files direct, PP them and export as jpegs. simple as. not sure what else you'd need to know, that's all i knew when i started shooting in raw.

I suppose just wondering how much extra effort it takes? At shortest is it just convert in whichever software programme, which I presume you can do in a batch?
At longest- presume can't answer as it's down to how much time you spend working on the image...

jpb1974

I suppose just wondering how much extra effort it takes?

Why don't you just go ahead and try it and find out the best way?

homerun_homer

dinneenp wrote: »

Hi,
do you shoot in raw?

Yes, pretty much always since I started. It's only by accident or lack of Card space when I've have to use Jpeg.

Why? (probably for more flexibility in PP)

The difference it can make on a photo without ruining the file is amazing, it's changed so many photographs in which if shot in Jpeg only the same effect or look couldn't be achieved.

What software is best to use?

I just got Lightroom 3 and it's the business. Used to used Photoshop CS3 and work 1 file at a time and it would take forever to convert and save each file as required. Now it's a doddle, and that is just based on me using it for the first time last night.

Nforce

I'm another who only shoots in RAW. I import the files into Lightroom 3 for basic editing...anything that requires further editing I'll export to PS CS5 via Lightroom. Once happy with the images I'll usually export them as lower resolution Jpegs ready for uploading to my online photo storage accounts.

Thecageyone

I always shoot RAW, the only reason i can see not to is to save space on your memory cards.

You have a lot more control, the detail is there, even if the Jpeg might look similar. The ability to change the white balance in processing is enough to go with it.

LR3 is great, so simple to use, and does almost as good a job as Cs5. I always open my RAW files in LR3, do most of the processing in there, export as large Jpegs and sometimes finish up in Cs5 [high pass and Unsharp mask layers mostly - I find cs5 better for sharpening, unless the file is very, very clean and already sharp LR3 can make a mess of it at times]

Once I've finalised the images, I dump most of the RAW files. I only keep ones I think I may want to re-process in future, or any that are really importrant, one offs. Otherwise, RAWs just take up too much HDD space.

oshead

Here's a good review of the top 5 raw processors. Well worth a read.

Aperture-Bibble-CaptureOne-DxO-Lightroom

mehfesto

The great thing about RAW is that even if you save a file, you can always go back to the original. It's not an image file per se, but rather a set of digital instructions. You can't do this once you've saved a .jpeg. It's mad handy!

I've started to open them with Adobe Bridge - for quicker access to previews of the images. Not really necessary, but great if you have it.

I just use camera RAW to edit them and then import into photoshop for the rest.

I save them as a .DNG file then to preserve quality, unless I have to export to web!

CabanSail

This is a photo straight out of the camera. It is close to what a Jpeg would have been. There is scope for PP here but it's limited.



With the RAW data I was able to arrive at the shot below. There is a lot more information available to work with. This was about 10 minutes work in PP because I spent some extra time.

dinneenp

jpb1974 wrote: »

Why don't you just go ahead and try it and find out the best way?

I will but don't have time at the moment so was just wondering....

magicbastarder

quick question - are there any tips for processing RAW files shot under sodium lights, so you get the best detail out of them? the shots are pretty much monochromatic, but not completely so, so would i be best just picking the best exposed channel?