Digital Imaging Basics

What creates your digital image? Where does it come from? These important questions must be understood so that you can photograph successfully.

WHEN SHOOTING FILM the image is a result of your film choice, your camera and it's settings, the processing of the negative, and generally speaking the paper and processing of the positive image.

WHEN SHOOTING DIGITAL:

• If you save your images in either .jpeg or .tiff format, the image is manufactured right in the camera. The pixels are read, compared, and the 'converter' makes assumptions and creates an image. Right in the camera. And the image is saved to the media (the card) in the camera in either .tiff or .jpeg format. The camera makes the image.
• If you save your images in RAW format, the image is not created in the camera. Rather, the pixel readings are saved into a RAW file, and then processed by a RAW converter, usually on the photographers computer. When saving in RAW format it is the photographer and the converter working together that make the image.

So what? Well, if you are looking for the absolute best image that you can get you should save the image in RAW and create the image yourself. You see, when an image is created by your camera it does it's best to create a perfect image. Sometimes it does. Many times it gets close. When your camera creates an image that is not quite right, you then spend time 'trying to correct' the image.

It's your choice...spend your editing time correcting (.jpeg, .tiff) some of your images...or spend your editing time creating (RAW) all of your images. Both ways can be either right or wrong...it is up to you to decide.

Myself...at this time (November 2006) I shoot .jpeg (highest resolution, least compression) for most of my images. In difficult situations I shoot RAW (actually RAW and jpeg files are saved by the camera).

I would also add that I am not comfortable that my RAW converter will move solidly into the future. In the end...somewhere in the future...we will all shoot RAW and won't even think about it. We will look back on the archaic days of .jpeg and .tiff. But we are not there yet.

I recommend that you don't play with RAW until you are familiar with the playing field. Then go for it...make your own decisions.