Behold the two

There are two important image formats that make up a photographer's arsenal. The JPEG format and the RAW (also known as RAF or CCD_RAW, depending on camera type).

What is RAW?
RAW (or RAF or CCD-RAW) is an image format which can be found on most digital cameras but most of you do not know of its existence because it is buried beneath the Options menu. This image format occupies a lot of space (around 10mb), thus containing more information. The advantage over a traditional photo is that you have more control over what you are doing. For instance, you can change the white balance accordingly (digital cameras cannot capture pure white; in order to fix this, one must balance the white until it looks more natural). If you are shooting in broad daylight, photos have the tendency to be a bit blueish. To fix this, you need to adjust the colour temperature, making the photo more warmer.
There are a number of software programs which specializes in RAW editing. The one I recommend is Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS2. CS3 has the advantage of not requiring plugins, whereas CS2 needs plugins in order to see the RAW files.

This is how the Photoshop CS3 RAW editor looks like.

What is JPEG (or JPG for that matter)?
JPEG (or JPG or jpg) is the most commonly used image format. Most digital cameras save images this way (although some older cameras save the image in .bmp format). The size of the image varies according to the resolution (RAW images have a fixed resolution), ranging from 1mb (1280x960) to over 4.5mb if it is converted from RAW (approximately 2200x1800). Because of the limited information they store, JPEG's cannot be edited in detail. However, with sufficient Photoshop skills, one can create a masterpiece out of a JPEG.

A glimpse of the IrfanView image editor.

So which one should I choose in the end?
If you want to work with photos "around the house", then JPG is the right choice. Their small size makes it easy for them to fit on your card and, why not, HDD. However, if you are more of a pro, then you should go for RAW images. These contain more data and can be post-processed in numerous ways.

• Monochrome
  
• Fuji Test
• Clouds