Converting RAW images

Tilz

Tilz

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Tilly
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I've just started to have a go at shooting raw and wanted to ask what file format people saved the converted raw file in. My cameras dummies guide says to save as tif not jpeg, is this right. This has probably been asked loads of times so sorry about that.
Thanks
 
I keep the original raw file, and a converted "master" tif which has global adjustments applied (that would be needed for absolutely any image thereafter). I then use the tif to produce any images i need after that, with adjustments relevant to the image size and what the image will be used for.

I keep the original raw because converter software improves over time, as does my technique.

Tif is used because it has 'lossless compression" which doesn't potentially lose image detail, like jpg can.
 
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All depends on the destination. Posting for web sites, a tiff file is much larger than the same resolution jpg file.

Some sites won’t even allow tiff uploads, only png, bmp or jpg.

You can always return to your edited raw file and re-export for the image destination (print, web etc).

Cheers,
Dougie.
 
It could depend on your workflows for differing end purposes. If your entire processing is done in a RAW processor, without any further work to be done in a pixel editor (Photoshop et al), then jpg could well be appropriate, being suitable (at different sizes) for web or photo-print.

Whether or not you intend to keep your RAW originals could also be a factor. You could keep your RAWs and export for specific purposes on demand, which might involve re-sizing if nothing else.

But if you're going to delete the RAWs after initial processing, then to archive the images I'd save as tifs, which are more amenable to pixel editing (ie will degrade less during multiple operations) than jpgs.

Maybe the answer is to think about end purposes and work back.
 
if you are working on a shot then save as tif if you are finished then it depends on what you are going to do with it. I keep the finished tif and save as jpeg for printing or the web
 
Depends on the workflow to be honest.

If I do all of my adjustments in the raw converter (Lightroom) then I’d export as jpg if uploading online.
Printing is done from LR so no exporting required.

The only time I’d export to a tif file is if I send the file to Photoshop for pixel based adjustments.
 
Short answer - TIFF.

Longer answer, as said above, it all depends on which software you are using for conversion and your final use of the image. If using something like Lightroom then there is no need to output a TIFF or JPEG unless you have a reason to do so, i.e. publish on the web etc. or if the image needs work that cannot be accomplished in Lightroom.

If using other software then exporting a TIFF file, preferably 16bit and in aRGB would be good practice... plus archive your raw files so that you can always go back to them.

Edit - Elliot beat me to it...
 
Thanks for the replies guys they've been very helpful. I think I'll probably go for saving the unedited RAW file and depending on what the final image will be used for decide whether to save as a Tiff of Jpeg. Most of my shots just get posted on here so I guess I'll use jpeg most. The Canon software let's me save as both simultaneously so I can always do that if I'm unsure for now.
Thanks again for the help guys
 
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