220
votes
Accepted
What does an unprocessed RAW file look like?
There is a tool called dcraw which reads various RAW file types and extracts pixel data from them — it's actually the original code at the very bottom of a lot of open source and even commercial RAW ...
- 143k
67
votes
Given an image how to identify whether it is RAW file or not
Once I've a JPEG photograph image file, how can I find out whether it is a RAW file or not?
If you have a JPEG file, then it is not a RAW file.
RAW isn't a single format, but rather a collective ...
- 31.7k
54
votes
What's the point of capturing 14 bit images and editing on 8 bit monitors?
You could edit your photos with an old burned CRT black and white monitor and it still is the same matter: the additional bits count.
Here is a simulation of a 14 bits histogram (A) and an 8-bit one (...
- 23.8k
47
votes
Why do we use RGB instead of wavelengths to represent colours?
The goal of the imaging engineer has always been to capture with the camera a faithful image of the outside world and present that image in such a way that the observer sees true to life picture. This ...
- 38.7k
42
votes
What's the point of capturing 14 bit images and editing on 8 bit monitors?
Higher bit depths give you more options for editing without losing data.
Don't make the mistake of tying the representation of an image with how it is rendered. Editing yields the best quality ...
- 583
36
votes
How to convert JPEG to RAW in Photoshop or similar?
In addition to the points Alex S made, you need to consider why they want RAW. There are several possible reasons:
Bit depth as Alex S said.
JPG suffers from compression artefacts which RAW doesn't. ...
- 3,772
36
votes
Why do we use RGB instead of wavelengths to represent colours?
You said,
this is the information that is captured at first by digital cameras.
That is not correct. By themselves, sensors on most digital cameras respond to a broad band of frequencies of light, ...
- 32.3k
35
votes
Accepted
Changing JPEG to RAW to use on Lightroom?
In my opinion, none of the other answers addresses the obvious misconception in the question:
There is no use in converting a JPG (comparatively low quality) to a RAW file (high quality), because you ...
- 446
33
votes
Can you "open" RAW camera files?
It's linguistics.
Of course you can open a raw file, as the term "to open a file" has a very broad spectrum of different, but related meanings.
On a low level, "to open" just ...
- 1,229
29
votes
Accepted
How to convert JPEG to RAW in Photoshop or similar?
RAW is not (or minimally) processed image data from camera sensor.
JPEG is processed image data.
Typically, raw-files from modern cameras have 12-14-bit per pixel which means up to 16384 values (for ...
- 1,791
27
votes
Do raw images of the same camera have the same size?
Many digital cameras use lossless compression with raw files. That means the size of raw files from the same camera is somewhat content dependent.
The more detail and different colors a scene ...
- 175k
27
votes
Do raw images of the same camera have the same size?
A picture being worth a thousand spreadsheet cells, here is an histogram of the size of the RAW files from my camera for 2018 (EOS 70D, 20Mpx). Sizes are in 1000's of K (not really MB).
For the ...
- 20.6k
25
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to change depth of field in RAW images?
No - the aperture is set by the physical blades in the lens when you take the photo; a RAW "image" contains the readings from the sensor when the photo was taken, so there's no way you can go back and ...
- 21.8k
23
votes
Accepted
RAW files store 3 colors per pixel, or only one?
Raw files don't really store any colors per pixel. They only store a single brightness value per pixel.
It is true that with a Bayer mask over each pixel the light is filtered with either a Red, Green,...
- 175k
23
votes
Given an image how to identify whether it is RAW file or not
Unless somebody frivolously renamed a RAW file, it will never have a file name with the .jpg/.jpeg/.jfif extension. Typical extensions for RAW files will be .raw, .arw (Sony), .dng (Android phones etc....
- 7,182
23
votes
Is it normal for RAW files to have lens distortion? How best to deal with it?
Is this normal for RAW images?
Yes, it is normal.
Based on my experience with Canon cameras with different lenses, the RAW image remains uncorrected w.r.t. to the corresponding JPEG.
This means that ...
- 8,608
19
votes
Changing JPEG to RAW to use on Lightroom?
In the absence of real raw files, the JPG is your "raw". Most image editors, including Lightroom, can open or import JPGs. You may choose to save in another format while editing, but do not lose or ...
- 26.9k
18
votes
While shooting in RAW, do you have to post-process it to make the picture look good?
From what I understand of your question, you're asking whether a Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC) RAW file should be edited to look "good". The short answer is "Yes, it should go through post-processing"...
- 478
18
votes
Accepted
Does converting image file formats affect quality?
Going from JPG (which is a lossy format) to any lossless one (like PNG) does not.
Going from any format to a lossy one, yes, including JPG to JPG. It could be too little to notice, and using the same ...
- 23.8k
15
votes
What makes RAW files difficult for manipulation?
Nothing makes raw files difficult to manipulate for someone with the right expertise and tools. It's just that there aren't many folks around who have those tools and expertise.
The tools needed to ...
- 175k
15
votes
Accepted
Is it better to continue shooting in JPEGs instead of RAW if you are not planning to do post processing?
"Better job" is subjective. We certainly get lots of questions like
Why does this camera generated JPEG look better than the software generated one?
Why do RAW images look worse than JPEGs in editing ...
- 143k
15
votes
Accepted
How sharp are RAW photos before processing?
Are RAW images by nature slightly blurry prior to processing? If I open them up in Lightroom and zoom into the photo, my photos are not tack sharp but a bit blurry. Once I process, it comes out ...
- 143k
15
votes
Can you "open" RAW camera files?
It is all already said, I just want to make a meme and a philosophical exercise.
Here is a JPG file opened... on a program that does not make a "preview" of the file.
I prefer one that ...
- 23.8k
14
votes
Accepted
How does RAW prevent "ugly digital clipping"?
In general, I would also recommend always shooting RAW, both to better capture the full dynamic range of your camera, and also to avoid the ugly digital clipping of overexposed areas. For the latter, ...
- 4,703
14
votes
While shooting in RAW, do you have to post-process it to make the picture look good?
Raw data must always be converted in one way or another for it to be a viewable image at all. When you open a raw file using any image viewer application you are not viewing the raw image (because ...
- 175k
14
votes
Accepted
Why does the histogram of an image depends on the software that opened it?
It's all to do with the profile applied to the raw files and guesses other software makes as to what that profile ought to be...
RAW is not an 'absolute' format in terms of the image displayed, it's ...
- 23.1k
13
votes
Accepted
Why don't cameras show an "accurate" histogram?
Why don't cameras show a histogram based on the RAW data rather than on the JPG preview?
My notion is this: Because it would not be useful, because raw images don't yet have white balance in them, ...
- 12.9k
13
votes
Why do we use RGB instead of wavelengths to represent colours?
The reason cameras and displays work in RGB is because our retinas work that way.
Since our eyes encode colors with those components (RGB), it is a very convenient system (although certainly not the ...
- 231
13
votes
What does an unprocessed RAW file look like?
It's a really really big grid of numbers. Everything else is processing.
- 271
12
votes
Why do we use RGB instead of wavelengths to represent colours?
An attempt to answer simply:
We cannot practically capture enough information to store a complete breakdown, frequency by frequency, of all the different wavelengths of light present, even just ...
- 13.6k
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