Raw Vs. JPG

[masdog]

I searched for a thread on this, but didn't find anything out. Anybody have an opinion on using Raw vs JPG? Is is better to shoot raw, and then convert to jpg using PS rather than letting the camera convert to jpg. Or is it just better to have a smaller JPG file to work with from the beggining? Most people I have heard from say shoot JPG.

The answer is...yes. And the answer is also no. There is no correct answer to the question. What you end up shooting in will depend on the type of photography you're doing, the amount of time you have to post process, the amount of creative control you need, and the limitations of your equipment.

Generally speaking, JPEG is suitable for most tasks, but it isn't always the best. I generally shoot all my portrait, landscape, and creative shots in RAW while my sports photography is always in JPEG.

[jorgemonkey]

I'm pretty much with Masdog on this one. When I shoot my own stuff or portraits & stuff like that, I shoot RAW. I've started printing out some bigger images and like to squeeze out as much detail and stuff from my jpgs as possible. Of course I just blew up a jpg from my 3 meg camera to 11x14, and it came out great!

When I shoot sports on the other hand, I shoot jpg since its just easier and faster to edit.

[yakkosmurf]

Generally speaking, JPEG is suitable for most tasks, but it isn't always the best. I generally shoot all my portrait, landscape, and creative shots in RAW while my sports photography is always in JPEG.

I played with the RAW format for the first time right before I went on my current business trip. I didn't play much with the software's capability, but I saw how much was there, and I was impressed. I've been following the same approach while shooting pictures this trip, and I think I'll be happy with it. When shooting in RAW, my camera records the RAW file and a JPG of the picture at the same time. Is this not common? From some of the comments above, it sounded like some were having to decide between the two, and not get both. I hope that's not a dumb question, I'm just getting into this stuff.

[Erik Stiegler]

When shooting in RAW, my camera records the RAW file and a JPG of the picture at the same time. Is this not common? From some of the comments above, it sounded like some were having to decide between the two, and not get both.

Some cameras record a JPEG at the same time as RAW, some don't. Even if a camera doesn't, you can always make a JPEG from a RAW image.