One reason why I shoot RAW...

[OldSchool]

The shoot RAW vs. JPG question often comes up. I thought that I'd highlight one of the benefits of shoot RAW... And this is the greater ability to tease information out of areas that are blown highlights or deep shadows.

The attached image is a tricky exposure. It is a pool in a cave with a sun spot. This version is what the camera would provide if I shot JPG. Note that there is no information in the sun spot. It is a digital white (255,255,255). And, there is absolutely nothing you can do with that in a JPG.

However since I shot this RAW, I was able to back down the exposure while simultaneously pulling info from the shadows resulting in better compositional balance. The result is presented here:

Swimming with the Sun Rays

Just wanted to pass this case study along. I am purely a hobbyist here.
Cheers,
Tim

p.s. For those interested, I shot with a Nikon D70, ISO 9000, 1/60, f4.2. I used Nikon Capture to process, and Paintshop Pro to downsize and sharpen.