RAW versus JPEG

By Brad Denoom

             Quite a few people have approached me with a common question, so instead of going over it hundreds of times I thought doing a little research and posting this on the site would be a better avenue of approach.

            RAW versus JPEG, which is better? This is a question of the ages; and moreover, entirely up to the photographer.

 What is RAW anyway?

            A very common question that most people already have an answer to. RAW format is digital photography’s negative: It contains the untouched or “RAW”, (thus it’s name), information stored in the pixel, straight from the camera’s sensor.

            What most people don’t understand is that regardless of what file format they shoot…they are shooting in RAW format.

             Yes, you read that right….you are shooting in RAW format even though you have your camera set to JPEG.

            Here’s why….

             When you have your camera set to shoot JPEG, your camera will take the image in RAW format then the processor in the camera will interpret where it thinks the red, green and blue values are meant to go; normally there is little or no problem with this and things work out just fine.

            However,

            Let’s say for example you are shooting a small bird on a tree branch against a blue sky, exposure is set to overexpose the foreground so you can see the bird.

            The computer in your camera is good; however it requires a greater level of computing power to interpret such distinct variances in shades and hues of color. The common result will be a purple fringe around the branches of the tree and what appears to be grains of darker color in the clear blue shy, (better known as noise).

            Another common issue between RAW and JPEG is that the camera’s computer and its weaker processing power will tend to soften your images focus. Fine lines will tend to merge more so than the RAW format as the computer is trying to interpret the best balance for the red green and blue pixels.

 White Balance

            White balance by definition is the process of removing colors that are unrealistic; thereby objects that are white in person will be white in your photograph…nuff said.

            Incorrect color casting can be removed in a JPEG after the image has been shot, however the cost is a loss in bit depth (detail) and or color gamut (colors will appear flat and lack texture). This is because the white balance will have effectively been set twice, once by the cameras processor, and then by you in your editing software.

            RAW files give you the ability to alter the white balance after the image has been shot, without losing bit depth or color gamut.

 Dynamic Range

            Ansel Adams had “Zones”; the digital age has ushered in a new term, “Dynamic Range”. It’s all the same. Light to dark, White to black.

            Depending on how the camera creates its JPEG, RAW format normally offers a considerable increase in dynamic range.

            Because the RAW image has not had the RGB(red, green, blue) assigned, you have the ability to alter your exposure after the image has been taken with little or no loss in image quality.

            Altering your exposure after a JPEG is taken normally results in blown out highlights, loss of detail or excessive noise.

Sharpening

            Wanted to have that image a little sharper in the focus huh? Can’t go back and re-shoot the image? Just take the image into the home computer and hit sharpen..Right?

            Wrong.

            RAW format images will allow you to sharpen in post process (in your home computer) and this will cause fewer “Halo” effects and what is known as “artifacts”. These are caused in JPEG images due to previous interpretation of information by the processor in the camera compounded by the processing from the home computer.

 Compression

            In my opinion, the greatest advantage of RAW format.

            The RAW format uses what is known as “lossless” compression, this is to say that as you make changes to your image and save it, you lose no information, and as such you will not become victim to what is called “compression artifacts”.

            RAW files simply contain more information than JPEG and will achieve better compression than TIFF files without the compression artifacts of JPEG.

Disadvantages of RAW Format

             Yes, there are a few of them.

• RAW files are much larger than JPEG, therefore fewer will fit on your memory card.
• RAW files are very time intensive. They require manually effecting each conversion step.
• RAW files do not write to the memory card as quickly as JPEG’s; this is due to the greater amount of information. High speed shooting (Sports mode) is especially affected.
• RAW files require a greater amount of memory in your home computer, slower or older machines may not be able to handle them.
• Most RAW formats are proprietary; this is to say that they are not standardized. You cannot use Canon software to develop a Nikon RAW image.

Summary

             In the end it completely depends on the photographer, what you are shooting and what you would like to accomplish.

            RAW format offers a great number of advantages; however the cost needs to be balanced as the requirements are greater as well.

            JPEG is user friendly and quick, however it offers much less adaptability and artistic freedom.

            This article is not designed to answer every question obviously; the primary aim is to show the basic difference between RAW and JPEG and hopefully spark some questions in the group.

Your choice…………………

Brad Denoon