Shooting Survey - What Quality/Size

V

Venomator

Suspended / Banned
Messages
12,599
Edit My Images
No
:Ponders: As there are a number of 'surveys' around at the mo, and following on from a query raised in another thread I started wondering what do others use as their 'normal' modus operandii for shooting quality/size ? :Ponders:

I wonder primarily because I still have to determine for my own purposes exactly what and why the various preferences are there in the first place - although I do understand the fundamental differences between RAW & JPEG ! :smilenod:

As seems to be custom & practice interrogator goes first - ;)

Was using RAW & JPEG Fine with large size with the D70s - until I realised how extraordinarily large the file size was now the change to D200 ... like mega huge ! Heaven knows how will the PC cope in a few months time ? :Ponders:

So, now it is either RAW only or JPEG Fine only with large size format ! But still incredibly large files in RAW ... :dizzy:

What do you guys use as your normal picture gathering method ? :thumb:
 
RAW & Fine Large JPEG
Basically Im an obvious beginner and find that in some cases when I screw up the exposure I can salvage something.

Also space isnt really a concern, I try not to take the Japanese tourist approach and instead trying to look for features and compositions - one to slow me down, and also to give me more control over what I find, opposed to just trying to shoot lucky.

Space isnt an issue as my main rig has approx 1.5Tb, DVD writers, external HDDs, etc.

Another factor is that obviously higher res files allow more opportunity to crop smaller details that may not be possible with lower res files.

If I shot alot of fast moving stuff I might go for JPEG only to increase the burst capacity - and if stilll necessary may drop the resolution for further gain in speed, but Im fairly slow and clumsy in my photography so big files dont pose many problems for me;)
 
Pretty much the same as Warspite. RAW plus large JPG always. JPGs for immediate viewing on Picassa or TV and RAW for working on. Space isn't a problem for me either.

regards
 
RAW Only.

I very very occasionally shoot in JPEG, but only when it's in throwaway mode, ie I'm not really depending on keeping the shot (things like showing someone on the net a photo of outside my window etc).

Anything where I may require to edit the photo, print it, or do anything with it, (ie most other times) I shoot in RAW.

I use Rawshooter to browse through and convert them, and also Adobe Bridge to browse through (although still try and keep the conversions to Rawshooter).

I tried RAW + Jpeg for a while, but couldn't think of the benefit of the extra JPEG.
 
Raw for me too, like Marcel, i did try raw + jpeg but couldnt understand the need for the jpeg image.
 
Large fine jpg most of the time. Switch to RAW if I think I need it.

Search for last time we discussed RAW v jpg for my reasons if you want to go into the whys.
 
Have just converted to RAW only. As Warspite said, I also try to to stop myself just shooting away, and take time over composing and thinking about the shot. Now I have discovered the benefits of RAW, I won't go back to JPEG :) Space isn't an issue at the mo as my pc has more memory than I know what to do with, and I only hang on to the good shots.
 
If you are shooting RAW then you don't need jpg (if you have a RAW file you can make as many jpgs as you like) the 300d doesn't allow you to turn them off altogether so I choose the smallest most compressed jpg and shoot RAW all the time.
 
RAW all the time, unless it's a simple throw-away shot
 
JPEG currently for me. I simply don't have the storage space to be able to shoot in RAW. Only got 640mb of memory cards at the moment which works out at about 80 shots on my 4mpx S5100.
 
RAW only.....saved me god knows how many times from wrong intial exposure. With storage being so cheap these days in terms of Camera memory, or PC Hard Disks it's a no brainer for me, if you are after the ultimate quality shot......which is why we got DSLR's isn't it ? :whistle2:
 
DJW said:
which is why we got DSLR's isn't it ?
Click to expand...
Well, not everybody here has a DSLR. Sure most do, but a few of us are still muddling along with the best we can afford and making the best of a situation that isn't ideal.

The shots I take just don't compare to most of the other stuff I see here. A lot of that is to do with hardware limitation. I've outgrown my S5100 but I can't afford to move on yet.

Anyway, let's not take it OT...
 
RAW here too, for pretty much all the reasons mentioned above. I know people have the argument about being able to make many of the usual changes to Jpegs in Photoshop etc......... but for me the diffrence in quality you can acheive by doing most (nay all) of your adjustments on the 12bit RAW negative before conversion is a huge bonus.
 
RAW only here - unless I get spammed to do a Passport photo of the colonel's dog.

For those of us with high-end DSLR's (point well-made, GfK) it seem absurd to throw almost 1/3 of the information contained in an image away before you've even started.
Why spend £1k plus on a camera and lenses and then skimp on the peripherals, such as a decent PC and additional memory space?

I used to have the same beef with people buying Mountain Bikes (another life, another analogy) - why spend £900+ on an all-singing, all-dancing bike and then only pay £20 for a cheap, uncomfortable helmet?
 
It depends, RAW if I'm in a tricky exposure situation, or I know I'll be taking a limited number of shots.

Anything where I know I'll be limited by space goes JPEG.

To be honest though, I can't tell from a print or image on screen whether or not it was originally taken in RAW or JPEG.
 
Mainly JPG, most of the stuff I do is not likeley to be enlarged more than A3 and a lot of stuff gets sent to newspapers via e-mail attachments. The quality from a high end jpg is superb and when time is of the essence I don't see the point in messing around with converting raw images. (if you get the exposure right in the 1st place)
If I am shooting landscape I have started to use the raw settings as I will have the time to mess around.
 
Thinking about this - I probably bleed a bit of space using RAW + FineJPEG unecessarily, afterall I only use JPEG with the intention that it gives me a file that I can access on anyone PC no matter where I am, also for snap shots of people its generally quicker to printer/send them the file and forget about it.

On the otherside though I struggle with getting into a regular workflow pattern with processing my RAW images - I guess that if I were to switch to shooting RAW only I'll get a few extra shots (think its 80 with JPEG, and 120 with just RAW - on a 1Gb CF), but more importantly it would force me into a disciplined workflow process that I desperately need, but keep setting back.
 
Use RAW only for most shots. I only ever switch to jpg if I'm somewhere (say at a race meet or something) and I've taken loads of pics and there's not much room left on the CF card. Then I switch to jpg to get more pics on.
I only have 1 CF card, but when I get another I won't need to switch to jpg.
 
RickMezza said:
Use RAW only for most shots. I only ever switch to jpg if I'm somewhere (say at a race meet or something) and I've taken loads of pics and there's not much room left on the CF card. Then I switch to jpg to get more pics on.
I only have 1 CF card, but when I get another I won't need to switch to jpg.
Click to expand...

I do the same. I try and use RAW exclusively, but I only have 1x1gig card (and 2 256's)

When it's looking like I'm going to run out, I do switch down to JPEG, but only as a last resort, and it's only if I'm out for the full day.
 
I use RAW + Small JPG, so I have something I can flick through quickly on the PC to check which images it is I want, then once that's done, get rid of everything except the RAW files I want to keep.

This seems to give a nice balance for no. of shots on a 1Gb card, I get about 105 with a 20D
 
minimeeze said:
Awww.... :p
Click to expand...

...my wife uses all the money before I can get me hands on it...:innocent:
 
RickMezza said:
...my wife uses all the money before I can get me hands on it...:innocent:
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah...heard it all before..lol
 
GfK said:
Well, not everybody here has a DSLR. Sure most do, but a few of us are still muddling along with the best we can afford and making the best of a situation that isn't ideal.

The shots I take just don't compare to most of the other stuff I see here. A lot of that is to do with hardware limitation. I've outgrown my S5100 but I can't afford to move on yet.

Anyway, let's not take it OT...
Click to expand...

Wasn't taking at a dig at non DSLR owners btw....... just a generic statement assuming high % of cameras able to take RAW are DSLR's.....bad wording by moi :getmecoat I see a lot of non DSLR shots on here that I'm quite jealous of actually :thumb:
 
CriPPle said:
I use RAW + Small JPG, so I have something I can flick through quickly on the PC to check which images it is I want, then once that's done, get rid of everything except the RAW files I want to keep.

This seems to give a nice balance for no. of shots on a 1Gb card, I get about 105 with a 20D
Click to expand...

Do you not find you can review images taken in RAW using RSE or Adobe just as easily?? For me I think the slideshow in RSE is excellent to be able to run through the days shoot. Second time round even use it to prioritise your shots marking those you will work on further. ??
 
Mr THX said:
Do you not find you can review images taken in RAW using RSE or Adobe just as easily?? For me I think the slideshow in RSE is excellent to be able to run through the days shoot. Second time round even use it to prioritise your shots marking those you will work on further. ??
Click to expand...

I used to on my old laptop, but due to losing it, my old laptop is rather lacking any power, P3 1Gb, 128mb RAM, so it's a bit limited while i'am out and about.......So take small jpg's for quick review on that, and then RAW files on my main rig when I get home.
 
RAW only. Helps with post processing but unfortunately doesn't help get a good shot in the first place :)
 
Raw and small jpg, i keep the jpgs just for the thumbnail function in my pictures.

Way to lazy to fiddle with windoze and make it show thumbs of raw files.
 
raw for me I still think in film costs ect so it may takes some time to get my mind
right with digital
 
Some very interesting, and mixed responses here - not entirely sure what I was expecting but, as usual TPF members have come up trumps.

Just returned from frozen NE and used RAW exclusively ... on reflection I can see no reason not to maintain this - except the 1gb card only fits 60 pics !?! Best start saving for a 4gb ?

Thanx for contributing everyone - really interesting reading through them all !
 
S'ok dude, I only get 55 RAW images on a 1Gb SD card. I try and shoot RAW whenever I think the camera's judgement of the situation might be better interpreted by a human (most of the time?!?) Other than that Jpeg is fine for me, just keep the settings at low for sharpness etc. then the post process.

Works for me so far!
 
I only shoot in the raw (cue). I only have 2 cards (1 gig and 256 mb) and although my intention was to keep the smaller card for jpg when space was low, that has only happened once...during the summer at the safari park. Then of the jpg's I only had a couple of keepers(cue2), I do feel more confident with the camera since then and if space was an issue I'd be happy to go jpg.
Only my second camera, first with raw and it's so forgiving.
 
KenCo1964 said:
I do feel more confident with the camera since then and if space was an issue I'd be happy to go jpg.
Only my second camera, first with raw and it's so forgiving.
Click to expand...

hi ken
how would going Jpg affect the photomatix process you use?
i also have started using Raw full time, because I make so many mistakes, its the only way back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top