Can I shoot in raw?

[ladysue]

I got my first DSLR, a Nikon D60, a couple of months ago. I am just getting used to it and what it can do but I am wondering now how I start shooting in raw, what the advantages are and whether it is complicated. I have photoshop elements and paint shop pro.Can anyone advise me please?
Thanks
Sue

 

[Fuuudge]

If you go to the Menu and the second option down ( the little camera), the second option again will be image quality, just change this to RAW.


You can also do it by pushing the bottom button on the left hand side (when using the classic layout which can be selected in the 'Info display format'), and then selecting the the top right option on the screen menu.

 

[Strangways]

Hi Sue, there seem to be mixed views about this. I am in the can't decide mode at the moment and my camera is set to take both RAW and JPEG. The RAW is definately better if you want to spend time processing the pictures because it holds more information than a JPEG and you can change a lot of your camera settings while you process it and see what the results would have been and make a JPEG from that. On the downside it does take processing time and if you are just taking pictures for your own pleasure I have found tweaking a few settings in the camera like sharpen, contrast etc.. has given me some pleasing shots straight from the camera. I think the best thing to do is try it out and see if it suits you. Remember RAW files are a lot bigger than JPEG.

Gordon

 

[ladysue]

If you go to the Menu and the second option down ( the little camera), the second option again will be image quality, just change this to RAW.


You can also do it by pushing the bottom button on the left hand side (when using the classic layout which can be selected in the 'Info display format'), and then selecting the the top right option on the screen menu.

Hi Sue, there seem to be mixed views about this. I am in the can't decide mode at the moment and my camera is set to take both RAW and JPEG. The RAW is definately better if you want to spend time processing the pictures because it holds more information than a JPEG and you can change a lot of your camera settings while you process it and see what the results would have been and make a JPEG from that. On the downside it does take processing time and if you are just taking pictures for your own pleasure I have found tweaking a few settings in the camera like sharpen, contrast etc.. has given me some pleasing shots straight from the camera. I think the best thing to do is try it out and see if it suits you. Remember RAW files are a lot bigger than JPEG.

Gordon

Thank you both for your comments. I need to read up about it I think as I am not sure what you have to do once you have the shots in your camera. I think you process them in the camera but I dont know. Can anyone else help me on this one please?
Thanks
Sue

 

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

I always shot in jpeg until a couple of yeas ago when I went into the desert in Arizona and spent a day taking a few hundred shots along Route 66.

The shots looked great on camera (it was a very sunny day so the colours weren't particularly vivid, I was checking composition and looking for blown out skies more than anything) but when I got back to the computer I realised that my White Balance was set to Tungsten and all my shots were in weird colours.

:bonk:

Had I been shooting RAW I could have just moved the slider in PP to put that right, in jpg I was left with 400+ wasted shots.

I never shot in jpg again.

 

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

Thank you both for your comments. I need to read up about it I think as I am not sure what you have to do once you have the shots in your camera. I think you process them in the camera but I dont know. Can anyone else help me on this one please?
Thanks
Sue

Sue, you need to process the RAW files off camera with a compatible file convertor/editor. I'm not sure about Nikon but Canon bundle a RAW convertor/editor with the camera and Photoshop has a range of plug ins for different cameras' RAW files.

 

[PsiFox]

Which version of elements do you have?

You also need to download the Nikon codec for your pc operating system to allow you to view thumbnails and run slideshows in windows

http://www.nikonimglib.com/nefcodec/

 

[Fuuudge]

A good reason to shoot in RAW, thats a lot of shots to lose, I would have been gutted as well.

You can batch process the RAW files using presets in applications such as LightRoom, so don't be put off thinking you need to process each one individually.

 

[ladysue]

Sue, you need to process the RAW files off camera with a compatible file convertor/editor. I'm not sure about Nikon but Canon bundle a RAW convertor/editor with the camera and Photoshop has a range of plug ins for different cameras' RAW files.

Thank you. I'll have a look at the stuff that came with the camera

Which version of elements do you have?

Thanks for your advice. I have elements 2.0

You also need to download the Nikon codec for your pc operating system to allow you to view thumbnails and run slideshows in windows

http://www.nikonimglib.com/nefcodec/

Thank you for that. I have now downloaded it

A good reason to shoot in RAW, thats a lot of shots to lose, I would have been gutted as well.

You can batch process the RAW files using presets in applications such as LightRoom, so don't be put off thinking you need to process each one individually.

Thank you for your advice.

I always shot in jpeg until a couple of yeas ago when I went into the desert in Arizona and spent a day taking a few hundred shots along Route 66.

The shots looked great on camera (it was a very sunny day so the colours weren't particularly vivid, I was checking composition and looking for blown out skies more than anything) but when I got back to the computer I realised that my White Balance was set to Tungsten and all my shots were in weird colours.

:bonk:

Had I been shooting RAW I could have just moved the slider in PP to put that right, in jpg I was left with 400+ wasted shots.

I never shot in jpg again.

I'll remember that.Thank you. My son is getting married in 2 weeks and I would hate to lose any shots I take,

 

[johngie]

When I first started in digital I shot "jpeg fine". But IMO there's no doubt that RAW's the way to go. And for your Nikon, in my view Capture NX2 does a better job than (say) Adobe Camera Raw, albeit that it's not especially cheap. It even, for example, automatically eliminates CA (chromatic aberration) even with non-Nikkor lenses. Now that's clever!

If I open a NEF file in ACR, I see CA and a certain disappointment in what I see. Open in NX2 - it's, well, GONE! After making any necessary adjustments in the RAW domain I then save as a TIFF for further work in Photoshop.

johngie

 

[ladysue]

When I first started in digital I shot "jpeg fine". But IMO there's no doubt that RAW's the way to go. And for your Nikon, in my view Capture NX2 does a better job than (say) Adobe Camera Raw, albeit that it's not especially cheap. It even, for example, automatically eliminates CA (chromatic aberration) even with non-Nikkor lenses. Now that's clever!

If I open a NEF file in ACR, I see CA and a certain disappointment in what I see. Open in NX2 - it's, well, GONE! After making any necessary adjustments in the RAW domain I then save as a TIFF for further work in Photoshop.

johngie

Thank you for that. I dont think I can afford to buy Ca at the moment. I will have to make do with what I've got.I am going to take some raw shots today and see what I can do with them.I'll no doubt be on here later asking for help. It seems silly but I am really quite nervous about trying it, and I'm not a nervous type.

 

[Suvv]

Did you get a copy of Picture Project with your camera?

If so it will open and edit the raw files from your camera. Nikon raw files are NEF files, i.e. they will be called something like DSC_1234.NEF.
Picture Project is quite basic but it does allow you to make a few important adjustments to the raw file.

Some people have very strong views on raw or JPEG but IMO both have their uses, it depends on the situation. If you understand and get to know the camera settings then JPEG, where all adjustments are carried out in camera, can give excellent results without much time spent on the computer. Lots of professionals shoot JPEG for that reason - if you are working to a deadline you do not want to spend time on PP. You can edit JPEGs on the computer but not as effectively as raw files as they contain less data. Each time you save a JPEG the changes you made are fixed you cannot go back and undo them without the quality suffering.

If you want to edit the picture on the computer then raw is better. The raw image contains a lot more data and you can make finer adjustments than the camera processing does and it also allows you to see the effect of an adjustment and then change it if you want. If you get the camera editing settings wrong you can just change them without a problem. The edits to a raw file do not change the actual image data but act as a kind of filter which the image goes through before it is shown on screen or printed, you can therefore remove or change the edits without the picture quality being affected.

Have a look here for more info on raw http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/articles.htm the raw articles are down the bottom on the RH side, if they are a bit technical just read the last bit of Why RAW -- Part III.

Above all don't worry about it, just take a few shots around the house or outside in raw and have a play.

 

[ladysue]

Did you get a copy of Picture Project with your camera?

If so it will open and edit the raw files from your camera. Nikon raw files are NEF files, i.e. they will be called something like DSC_1234.NEF.
Picture Project is quite basic but it does allow you to make a few important adjustments to the raw file.

Some people have very strong views on raw or JPEG but IMO both have their uses, it depends on the situation. If you understand and get to know the camera settings then JPEG, where all adjustments are carried out in camera, can give excellent results without much time spent on the computer. Lots of professionals shoot JPEG for that reason - if you are working to a deadline you do not want to spend time on PP. You can edit JPEGs on the computer but not as effectively as raw files as they contain less data. Each time you save a JPEG the changes you made are fixed you cannot go back and undo them without the quality suffering.

If you want to edit the picture on the computer then raw is better. The raw image contains a lot more data and you can make finer adjustments than the camera processing does and it also allows you to see the effect of an adjustment and then change it if you want. If you get the camera editing settings wrong you can just change them without a problem. The edits to a raw file do not change the actual image data but act as a kind of filter which the image goes through before it is shown on screen or printed, you can therefore remove or change the edits without the picture quality being affected.

Have a look here for more info on raw http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/articles.htm the raw articles are down the bottom on the RH side, if they are a bit technical just read the last bit of Why RAW -- Part III.

Above all don't worry about it, just take a few shots around the house or outside in raw and have a play.

Thank you for that advice. It was very valuable and much appreciated. I found the menu setting to process the raw images on the camera and tried it out today with my first RAW photos from yesterday. I am going to put some of them in a separate thread for help with doing it better.
Sue