RAW or Jpeg – which is best for you?
Even if you don’t shoot in RAW already you may well have heard of it, if only in the form of other
photographers swearing they never shoot in anything but RAW. Most serious photographers prefer
RAW shooting, but there’s quite a bit of controversy over whether or not it’s always a good idea. So
should you be using RAW? Or is Jpeg good enough?
What exactly is RAW, and what are the differences between the two?
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RAW files are the ‘raw’ data that your camera produces when you take a shot
Jpeg files are what your camera presents you with after it’s done some basic processing on
them. This processing happens after you take the shot and is extremely quick, so that most
of the time you don’t even know it’s happening. (Jpeg stands for Joint Photographic Experts
Group, who were responsible for creating this as a standard format.)
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RAW files are much bigger in size than Jpegs. RAW files are uncompressed – eg, if you have
an 8 megapixel camera, you’ll get something close to an 8 MB file.
Jpeg files have ‘unecessary’ data removed from them – eg, an 8 megapixel camera might
produce a Jpeg file of between 1 and 3 MB. This ‘unecessary’ information is actually very
useful if you want to get the best out of your shots.
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RAW files don’t look so good in the camera and aren’t really suitable for printing without
further processing.
Jpeg files will usually benefit from further processing, but can be printed successfully
without it.
RAW files need initial processing with RAW conversion software. You’ll find this in
Photoshop , Elements, Lightroom, and many more of the main photo processing software.
Once this processing has been done, they can be imported into your photo editing software
for further processing or resizing.
Jpeg files will open in any photo processing software, even the most basic.
Now let’s look into this in more detail.
Shooting in Jpeg
When you shoot in Jpeg, your camera’s internal software will process the image before it gives it to
you as the finished shot. In the course of this processing, it loses some colour, brightness, and
resolution, and depending on the camera, may even give a noisier result than the RAW image.
It processes the data by dividing the image into blocks, which usually measure 8 x 8 pixels. Then it
removes data which is less perceivable to the eye – similar to what happens when an MP3 music file
is produced and the parts of the original that are less perceivable to the ear are removed. The lower
the quality of the Jpeg setting you use, the more information is thrown away. What this can mean is
that a row of 24 pixels with 24 different tones might now only have 4 or 5 tones in it, and of course
this will affect colours as well. You can imagine how this would significantly change the final quality
of a print.
The tones, or levels of brightness, are the number of steps from black to white in your photo. The
more tones you have, the smoother the transition from one to the other and the better it will look.
Jpegs capture in 8bit, while RAW captures in either 12 or 14bit. What this means is that a Jpeg file
will record 256 levels of brightness, while a RAW file will have somewhere between 4,096 and
16,384 levels. Quite a difference!
This has a big effect on your images, as the extra levels of brightness allow you to adjust exposure,
shadows, blown areas, contrast, colour, and brightness without significantly reducing its quality.
Shooting in RAW
When you shoot in RAW, the camera doesn’t do any processing and you’re given the image with all
its data intact. You then have to process it yourself on a computer. Not only does a computer have
far more sophisticated abilities than a camera, you are in total control of what’s done to the image.
This means you can – to some extent, at least – correct poor exposure, change the white balance,
and correct other in-camera faults in a way that’s impossible with a Jpeg file.
Because the original data is raw and unprocessed, when it comes straight from the camera it will
look less sharp than a Jpeg and much ‘flatter’ and less contrast-y – in other words, it won’t look
nearly as good as the Jpeg will. Novice photographers are often not prepared for this and think they
get better shots in Jpeg, which in one sense is true. If you click on the following link, it will take you
to an article where you can see the difference between a straight-from-the-camera shot taken in
RAW and one shot in Jpeg: http://www.slrlounge.com/raw-vs-jpeg-jpg-the-ultimate-visual-guide
However, because all the data is preserved in a RAW file, after processing the end result is likely to
have better colours, better tones, and higher quality than even the best of Jpegs, and this is why the
majority of professional photographers always shoot in RAW. You can see for yourself how much
difference it can make if you have a look at the photos of the rocks in this article:
http://photographylife.com/raw-vs-jpeg (Scroll towards the bottom of the article and you’ll see the
same shot as a Jpeg taken straight from the camera, and then the processed Jpeg as compared with
the processed RAW file.) A more in-depth article with visual comparisons of the differences
between the two file formats can be found here: http://froknowsphoto.com/raw-vs-jpeg-side-byside-comparison/
Converting RAW files
You’ll need special software to convert RAW files. It’s outside the scope of this article to go through
the process step by step, so I’m just going to talk about the software itself for the moment.
When you try to open a RAW file in Photoshop or Elements (among others) the RAW software will
automatically fire up and your file will open within it – it’s that easy. Then, depending on what the
program offers, you’ll have a choice of adjustments you can make. Ideally you should do as much as
you can in the RAW conversion software and then just fine tune it afterwards in Photoshop.
If your camera has the capability to shoot in RAW, the manufacturer will have supplied you with
some RAW conversion software when you bought it. The quality of this software varies widely, and
you’ll usually be better off using a more sophisticated software package. However, if this is all you
have access to, then it will work just fine. Once the RAW file has been opened in the converter and
adjusted, it can then be saved in an alternative file format such as Jpeg or TIFF.
If your camera has been bought quite recently, and your existing software is considerably older, then
you may find that it won’t open your camera’s files. This is because every manufacturer has a
different RAW file format and they also update this format on a regular basis. This means that older
software can’t open the newer formats. The way round this is to download Adobe’s DNG
Converter. DNG (Digital Negative) is a type of generic file that will open in any RAW conversion
software and the download will convert your image so that your software is then able to deal with it.
You can find the download here: www.adobe.com/dng Alternatively, you may be able to download
a plugin that will update your software with the new camera file information.
Which RAW conversion software is best?
The software your camera came with This is usually a bit basic and often rather clunky, so not the best choice if you have another option.
However, it will do the job if that’s what you happen to have.
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements Photoshop’s RAW converter is built in to the Photoshop software and is called Adobe Camera Raw
(ACR). It offers a huge range of features. Adobe CS5 (Creative Suite 5) for instance, has a healing
brush tool for removing dust spots and a good black and white conversion option, among many
other enhancements, and most of your processing can be done without even taking the image into
Photoshop proper. Elements has a cut-down version of ACR that doesn’t offer quite so many
options, but will still take you a long way.
Adobe Lightroom, Apple Aperture or Capture One Express/Pro 6 These programmes are useful if you regularly need to process and organise large batches of images
– for example, if you’re a wedding photographer. They have sophisticated RAW conversion
capabilities similar to Adobe Camera Raw. If you’re used to using the layout and features offered by
Photoshop or Elements, then Lightroom will be the easiest for you to work with as it’s based on the
same ACR software. The main advantage to these programmes is that they offer a smoother and
easier workflow if you’re dealing with batches of images rather than individual ones.
Software like Capture One is a standalone RAW converter, unlike Adobe Camera Raw which you can
only get by buying the entire Creative Suite (which includes Photoshop).
Other software options A search on the internet will throw up many other software conversion options – too many to cover
here, but you can read the reviews and make up your own mind. Many of these are standalone
software that can be used to make the conversion before doing your final image editing in a
different programme.
Pros and cons of shooting RAW and Jpeg
Reasons to shoot Jpeg
It might seem by now that RAW is the only way to go, but there are actually many reasons why Jpeg
might be better in certain circumstances.
 A Jpeg file is perfectly capable of producing very high quality prints – to the casual eye
there’s often little or no difference between Jpeg and RAW.
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File sizes are much smaller – if your memory card is not big enough or it’s nearly full, or you
have an old computer without much spare memory, then you may not have much choice but
to shoot in Jpeg. Remember that you can switch from RAW to Jpeg at any time, so that if
you run out of memory card space and need to squeeze a few more shots in, you can do it
by changing back to Jpeg for the last few shots.
The image quality of Jpegs is more than sufficient for many kinds of shots – eg, family
photos, newspaper photos, online sharing, etc.
You may not have the time or inclination to do the post-processing that’s required when
shooting in RAW. Many Jpegs will need minimal or no post-processing if you’ve got your
exposure right.
You can open Jpegs in virtually any photo processing software, while RAW files come in so
many versions that you must make sure you have the right software to be able to open
them.
Reasons to shoot RAW
 You can change the white balance after shooting, which is not possible with Jpegs; you can
also adjust the exposure to a much greater extent, and in many cases pull back detail in
shadows or ‘blown’ areas – this detail has been discarded by the compression algorithm
used to create a Jpeg and simply isn’t there to be restored. Many more enhancements and
adjustments are possible with RAW which would not be possible with Jpeg. Basically, RAW
files offer you many more options.
 The RAW file acts as a digital negative that can be processed again and again with many
variations – as the processed RAW file is saved in a different file format, the original file
remains unchanged and can be re-processed to give different results. This feature also
enables you to create ‘faux’ HDR (High Dynamic Range) effects – by processing the same
RAW file at several different levels of exposure and then using specialist software to
combine them, you can increase the apparent dynamic range of the shot.
Comparison of memory card use in both formats
I’m often asked how many RAW files will fit on a memory card compared to how many Jpegs. It’s
impossible to give definitive answers as there are a number of factors that influence it, but as a
rough guide a 10 megapixel camera such as the Nikon D80, using a 1 GB memory card, will hold
about 1,500 low resolution Jpeg images, and about 54 high resolution RAW + Jpeg images. Most
cameras will display how many more shots you can expect to take, usually at the bottom right hand
corner of the display screen, based on the settings you’re currently using.
And what about TIFF?
There is another file format called TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) which is occasionally offered on
cameras as an alternative to RAW or Jpeg capture.
TIFF files are not compressed and therefore there isn’t any quality loss – in this way they’re similar to
RAW files. However, although it’s a great file format to use when editing and saving photos, it’s a lot
less useful for use in shooting as the file sizes are even bigger than RAW files. You’re best off sticking
to either RAW or Jpeg.
So which to choose?
It should be obvious by now that RAW offers a far superior file format in terms of quality, so does
that mean you really should be using it all the time? Well, no – each file format has its own pros and
cons and there are many situations where Jpegs are the more sensible choice.
Shoot in Jpeg when –
 You’re using Burst Mode/Continuous Shooting on your camera. As you fire off several
shots in succession, your camera’s buffer will fill up very quickly if you shoot in RAW, and
you may have to stop shooting while it deals with the backlog. It’s much quicker when it
comes to writing Jpegs to your memory card, so for fast action shooting it’s the better
choice.
 You hate post-processing or you simply don’t have time for it. Not all of use enjoy sitting at
a computer for hours to process files, and some of us just don’t have the time to do it.
Shoot in Jpeg.
 You have a lack of free memory space. If your memory card is nearly full and you don’t
have a spare, or if you have an old and slow computer, stick with Jpegs.
 You’re shooting for immediate use. If you want to send your photo straight to Facebook,
then Jpegs are the way to go.
 You don’t need super high quality. Not every image needs to have a full tonal range and
exquisite detail. If it’s just for the family album, to share online, or to use selling something
on Ebay, then Jpegs will be more than adequate.
Shoot in RAW when –
 You’re unsure you’ve got the exposure right. In difficult shooting situations where it’s hard
to get the exposure spot on, RAW files will give you a lot more flexibility afterwards and can
save shots that you might otherwise have had to delete.
 You want to print big. Every tiny flaw will show up more when you print really big, and a
lack of tonal range will be much more obvious.
 You have a very contrast-y scene. Again, RAW files will allow you to pull out the widest
possible dynamic range from the shot and also to create ‘faux’ HDR images.
 Journalistic style photography. If you’re shooting scenes where the situation and the light
are changing from moment to moment, then it’s wise to shoot in RAW - for example,
wedding or event photography. The exception to this is where you might want to use
continuous shooting.
Some final hints
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If you shoot in Jpeg, always use the highest quality setting.
Many cameras will allow you to shoot in both RAW and Jpeg at the same time. In some
ways this is the best of both worlds – you can use the Jpeg image immediately just as it is
and if you want to improve on or change it, you can process the RAW file. The big
disadvantage is that this takes up even more memory space on your camera and computer.
Remember you can switch back and forth between shooting in RAW and shooting in Jpeg on
the same memory card.
Use at least a 4GB memory card if shooting in RAW – anything less will fill up too quickly.
Leave your white balance setting on Auto when you shoot in RAW – you’ll be changing the
white balance in post-processing.
When you shoot in RAW + Jpeg the image on your LCD screen is an image of the Jpeg; when
you shoot only in RAW, it’s still a cut-down version of the RAW file. You can’t fully rely on
this to check your exposure and unfortunately you often can’t rely on the histogram either,
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as this is usually based on the compressed version. Use the histogram as a rough guide, but
don’t rely on it entirely.
If you shoot with your camera set to black and white shooting, the LCD screen will show your
shot as black and white, but the RAW file will still show colour when you open it up –
remember that RAW preserves all the data. You will convert it to black and white at the
processing stage.