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G2EWS

Hi Frank,

The best way of understanding RAW files for me is that they are large because they contain ALL of the data.

What that means in practical terms is that if record your picture in jpeg and have set your white balance for an electric light and you took the photo outside you are scuppered! Well you are if you don't want a photo with a blue tinge to it!

With RAW the photo is recorded in such a way that you can select every type of white balance that your camera is capable of recording. That way you can make a decision on which looks best for your image.

So RAW gives you total flexibility to manipulate the picture, simply because you have recorded everything you possibly could!

Down side is you have to be clever enough to make the necessary alterations to the final image! Oh and you need the time, especially if you took 500 photos at that shoot!

Regards

Chris

Pixelpusher

Removing a colour caste - which is essentially what an incorrect white balance results in - from a JPEG, is actually failry straightforward.

Some of the other things you can do with RAW, though, are not so easy - if at all possible with a JPEG.

Colin

G2EWS

Hi Colin,

Removing a colour caste is only easy if you know what you are doing. The RAW image contains this information and is viewable by clicking on each of the possible settings you may have made on your camera.

Sadly a lot of us, including me, may have super software like Photoshop, but don't have the time to learn it!

It is one of the reasons I like working with the Mac. If you want black and white you, well errr click on black and white! In photoshop there are a dozen different ways of doing it and every user/magazine/book will tell you their favourite and every one of them is different and takes a lot of work to get to it!

Regards

Chris

Pixelpusher

Chris....

Of course things are easy if you know what you are doing and while you may find it easy working with your MAC, it would probably take me a little while to get used it - but I wouldn't dismiss it just because I had to learn something. However, we need to work within our own comfort zone.

The RAW image only contains the White Balance setting used by the camera at the time the shot was taken. The processing S/W applies this initial setting when it decodes the image but it also allows you to change this and you can do exactly that with a JPEG.

So, while you've found the magic buttons to do that on your Mac there are magic buttons within Photoshop. Once you've found them it's easy.

For instance in Photoshop you can process your JPEG just as if it was a RAW image and you then have access to the White Balance, Exposure,Fill, Blacks etc that you normally have for RAW. Open the image and move the slider.

Or open it in Quickfix and move the Temperature Slider.

Same for Black and White - you can do this within seconds with Photoshop.

Photoshop can be daunting because of its extreme flexibility and one-stop solution for everyone approach but once you narrow it down to just what you need to do, it's fairly straightforward.

I'm not sure where you live but I run evening classes on Photoshop Elements for beginners. If you're interested just PM me.

Colin

G2EWS

Hi Colin,

I see! Why you find PS easy that is!

I learnt the Mac software in about 10 minutes! Anyone can do it!

The Mac does things far more intuitively than PS which is why it is a much better product for people like me who will only use it once a week or a month!

I am amazed at what PS can do, but feel that a lot of it is of the same end quality as iPhoto which as mentioned is only one click!

Many thanks for the offer of training but I have a wealth of DVD's and online packages not withstanding the very useful Stew!

It is interesting that your implication is that it is not worth using RAW. However, I have spoken to a number of professionals who have all said they would only use RAW!

For me RAW is just too time consuming and I am hoping that the new Nikon D300 which I have just picked up will help make me a better photographer anyway Laughing

Best regards

Chris

Pixelpusher

Chris....

I think you misunderstood me. I don't say that using RAW is not worth it - far from it because it's all I use. It's not for everyone though.

Cameras, equipment and software don't make good pictures - people do!

Which probably explains why I have lots of naff images Smile

Colin

EJB

Chris, It's worth rereading Artona's comments on Pro's/RAW.
PS Elements takes 4 or 5 clicks to do basic adjustments. This is as much as most amateurs need to do.
Whereas 3 to 4 weeks (2 or 3 hours a day) is more than enough to do virtually anything with an image.
Each to his own? Wink

G2EWS