Why You Might Shoot RAW

I get asked about RAW files from time to time.  Sometimes people will ask, "what are these CR2 files and why are they so huge?" Then they'll ask if they really need those files.  The short answer, of course, is "no" you don't need them.  Usually, if the person asking the question is downloading CR2 files then they're also shooting in JPG mode as well and so the CR2 files are redundant.

Unless . . .

An Explanation of RAW File Basics

Unless you need the additional information in the CR2 file.  Most of the time you'll need that additional data if you want enhance a photograph or exercise greater control over how the final image will look.  I find myself "developing" RAW files so often that I either shoot exclusively in that format or shoot in RAW and JPG together.  Before I go on, let's define what I mean by a "RAW" file.  A RAW file is like a digital version of a film negative in some ways.  Here are two oversimplified ways that they're similar:

• A RAW file, like a negative, can't be easily viewed.  Your printer or your computer's basic image viewing software probably won't recognize the RAW file - it has to be processed and converted to a standard format like a TIFF or JPG.
• A RAW file, like a negative, has a greater dynamic range than a print of a film negative or a "standard" image file like a JPG.

There are different types of RAW files depending on the manufacturer of the device capturing the image.  The sensors in Canon cameras, for instance, capture RAW data as a "CR2" file, while Nikon cameras generate a "NEF" file.  Because a RAW image file contains so much more data than a file like a JPG, it is much larger - anywhere from four to six times larger or more.  That's why people ask if it's really necessary to shoot images in RAW format - they quickly realize that their hard-drives are going to fill up with all those huge files (I'll have some advice about that below).

Sometimes, a RAW file can mean the difference between getting a photo or not.  This happened to me right after Christmas.  The day after Christmas was bright and sunny and we took a bunch of photos of our grandchildren playing in the back yard.  Because of the bright light, I manually adjusted my Fuji X-T2 camera's ISO setting to 400 to be able to shoot at a larger aperture (more about why will be the subject of another post).  That was fine, except that I didn't think to set the camera back to its automatic setting when I finished taking photos that day.  While I almost always shoot in "manual" mode with my Canon cameras, I usually rely on the automatic settings for my Fuji cameras since I usually use those for more casual photography.

An Example of What You Can Do With a RAW File

Well, the next day I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple of items and I noticed a couple sitting outside the store and performing - him on a guitar and her on a violin.  They had two dogs lying between them taking a nap.  It was a great image and I thought I'd get my camera and come back for a picture after I'd done my shopping.

The two and their dogs were still there when I came out of the store and so I retrieved my camera from my truck and asked if they'd mind if I took a couple of photos.  They were kind enough to say they didn't mind and thanked me for asking.  I proceeded to snap off a couple of exposures, but when I looked at them on my camera's screen I couldn't see anything.  I was puzzled at first because I could see well enough to compose the picture using the camera's EVF.

Recovering From Disaster

What I didn't realize is that when I manually set the ISO at 200 and the shutter speed at 500 the camera was in shutter-priority mode allowing the EVF and the camera's screen to show the scene well enough to compose, while not capturing enough light to render a usable image.

Here's what the camera captured in standard JPG format

Let's say that I hadn't checked my screen after taking the shot (although I usually do) or that the dogs woke up before I could figure out what went wrong or that the couple decided to take a break from playing.  I wouldn't have the photo that I'd stopped for.  Well, the RAW file still had enough information that when I returned home I could "develop" an image worth saving.

By the way, the Fuji RAW file format is an "RAF" file.  One thing that you need to know when working with RAW files is that image editing software doesn't always work with all RAW file formats, especially when a new camera model is introduced.  It took a little while before some of my favorite software could handle the RAF files of the newer Fuji camera.

A Little Post Processing May Be Needed When You "Push" a RAW File

Now the image that I've posted here had to be tweaked a little to remove unwanted "noise" resulting from pushing the RAW file to its limits so to speak.  Back when I shot and developed film we could do something similar when we "pushed" a negative by developing beyond what was normal in order to salvage a usable image.  We might be able to get an image that way, but we ended up with a lot of "grain" in the picture - the analog equivalent of digital "noise" that results from pushing a RAW image like I did in this instance or by pushing the camera's sensor to its highest sensitivity in dim lighting conditions.

So here's the image that I ended up with after removing the noise (in this case by using Topaz Labs "DeNoise" plug-in). 

Not too bad, eh?

Oh, by the way, the musicians weren't playing for money, but I still made a contribution for the pleasure of listening and taking their picture.

Dealing With Storage and RAW Files

But what about the files that you don't use?  Well, they'll sure take up a lot of room fast.  You can either delete the files you don't need or offload them onto portable storage if you think you might need them in the future.

Speaking of the future, I'll come back to RAW images in a future post where I'll explain how you can use these files in a less drastic, but still very useful way to enhance your photographs.  In the meantime, consider using RAW+JPG settings on your camera if that's available.  If you're shopping for a camera, you'll want to see if it allows you to access RAW image data or even uses RAW files - not all cameras do, especially less expensive ones.

Hope this post is a help to you.  Happy shooting!