21d • General discussion
Raw vs. JPEG: What’s the Difference?
One camera setting that can confuse new photographers is the difference between shooting in Raw and shooting in JPEG.
A JPEG file is processed by your camera. The camera makes decisions about color, contrast, sharpening, white balance, and compression. JPEG files are smaller because they are a compressed file and are smaller. Compression is the process of making a digital photo file smaller so it takes up less space on your memory card, computer, or website. With JPEG photos, compression reduces file size by removing some image information, which can slightly lower quality if the file is compressed too much. JPEG photos are easy to share, and ready to use right away. They are great for snapshots, quick sharing, and situations where you do not plan to do much editing.
A Raw file is different. It is like a digital negative. It keeps much more information from the camera’s sensor, which gives you more control when editing your photograph later. With a Raw file, you can usually recover more detail in bright highlights and dark shadows, adjust white balance more easily, and create a higher-quality final image.
The downside is that Raw files are larger and need to be edited before they are finished. Each camera manufacturer has their own Raw file opening software or you’ll need to use Photoshop of Lightroom. If you are using one of the online photo editing website like PhotoPea.com, you can’t open a Raw file there.
My recommendation is if you are just starting out and am comfortable using software, try shooting Raw + JPEG. This gives you a JPEG to use right away and a Raw file to practice editing later.
Photography is about learning one step at a time. Understanding file types is one more way to take control of your camera and create better photographs.
Post any photographs that a Raw file helped create a much better image.
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Raw vs. JPEG: What’s the Difference?
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