Quote Originally Posted by Medley
I'm not going to deny that Raw is certainly the more flexible format. But Jpeg still has it's place as well.

An 8-bit Jpeg contains has a dynamic range of 1:255. A 12 bit raw has a d.r. of 1:4095. But the human eye can only detect about 200 tonal variations, so the dynamic range of both exceeds that of normal visual acuity.

And whichever dynamic range you use, the dispersal of pixels is the same: the histogram doesn't change simply because you have more steps between black and white. Each stop contains the exact same amount of information.

The difference then, between Raw and Jpeg is editibility. Many of Photoshop's edits are destructive, and Raw gives you a much greater ability to lose information before the eye detects it. Also, having more steps in each stop gives greater control over the information distributed there. And since Raw records the exposure, but doesn't lock it in, you can achieve better effects with tone-mapping a single exposure. Lastly, because Raw is a proprietary format, you can get a bit better color reproduction by using a Raw editor that knows how to use the proprietary color information (ie, one supplied by the same manufacturer as the camera).

The main advantage of shooting Jpeg is a much smaller file size, which equates to a faster transfer time, and greater fps shooting rate. Many of Raw's advantages (white balance, exposure control, etc,,,) can be overcome by the skill of the photographer. There is still a trade-off, but in some instances it's worth it.

- Joe U.
"And whichever dynamic range you use, the dispersal of pixels is the same: the histogram doesn't change simply because you have more steps between black and white. Each stop contains the exact same amount of information."

More steps between black and white IS more information - it's the detail. Actual, that's all the image information there is in any RGB file.

Higher dynamic range means having more steps within the stops at the black and/or white ends. If you have an area of an image that is all black and increase the dynamic range enough, there will be areas that aren't black - detail. If you could increase the dynamic range enough, there probably would be NO black areas in the image.

Terry