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Peter Boughton
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I shoot in raw+JPEG mode.

This gives the key benefits of JPEG - simple portable images - whilst not losing the extra flexibility that a raw format provides.

In response to the reasons some give for using JPEG only:

  • Shooting raw does not mean slow capture times, unless you fill up the buffer quicker than it can empty.

    Most cameras have built-in video mode these days, which can be used if you must capture action.
    Odds are that anyone needing a long continuous burst of quality/non-video images will have a decent body and be using a fast memory card which has no problem keeping up
    i.e. this is rarely going to be consideration for most.

  • Similarly, using raw does not result in a slower workflow, (unless you want it to).

    Any decent photo management software will let you select all images and hit auto, or apply a pre-defined set of adjustments, and all images are addressed in one go.

  • Storage space is not a big issue these days, since you can get decent cards with plenty of space.

    I have a 12.3MP camera and shoot 14-bit NEF + JPEG images, and I can get 500-800 images on a single card. That's more than enough for one card. Hard-drives and backup storage is also cheap these days - just £80 ($125) for 1.5TB gives plenty of space.


So, for me, even when I don't need to do much post-processing, there is no reason *not* to record the raw data.
Peter Boughton
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