Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I shoot in RAW format and wonder what the advantages/disadvantages of shooting in RAW as opposed to RAW+JPG are.
Thanks
Mac

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

If you shoot and process RAW already, there are virtually no advantages unless you just want a pre-processed JPG for some reason.

RocketScientist Loc: Littleton, Colorado

RAW+JPG will eat up more disk space. Big Deal.
RAW+JPG might take a little more buffer space while shooting and cause longer time between shots. That could be a problem under some circumstances.
Having the JPG without having to do any post processing is handy if you want to quickly get the image to your buddy that you just took a bunch of photos for his eBay auction.

3Dean Loc: Southern California

There are many different RAW formats. Different manufacturers develop their own versions, sometimes different versions for different camera models. Since there is no "standard" RAW format, the software that you use to view or edit it must be configured to support the version that you are using. If you only shoot and save RAW files, it is conceivable that in the future you might find yourself without the software needed to view your older files (perhaps it becomes obsolete).

In my opinion, RAW files should be used only as a stepping stone to the final archived image. This means that if you only shoot RAW you should process every image that you keep and then save it in a common, non-propriatary format such as TIFF or JPG.

Now, if you don't want to go to the trouble of post processing every image that you keep, but want to insure that you will always be able to view them, choose to save in RAW+JPG. You'll have your RAW file for post processing, and a JPG for insurance.

That's what I do.

LarryD Loc: Mojave Desert

If you don't use the jpg that the camera produces, there is no reason to shoot one.. If you process your raw to jpg, you will likely use different parameters than the ones used in-camera..

Typically, you would find it usefull if you needed to send/use jpg images immediately, but intended to archive and process the raw at a later time for best IQ.

COLEY Loc: HOUSTON, TEXAS

3 DEAN I agree with you 100 o/o. That is why I shoot RAW / JEG. it allows me to view my shots and if there is 1 that I really like then I go to that RAW file and post process it.

arphot Loc: Massachusetts

There is a reason to shoot in RAW+JPEG; you can review the jpegs faster on your computer, then tend to the RAWs for processing as needed. Although this isn't my idea, I have read it several times over and it sounds like a practical idea.

drbarrymary Loc: No. Carolina, Florida

Same for me.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

I agree with 3Dean... On the other hand, if you have a good camera and it's setup correctly, let the camera do the post processing for you and just take JPGs. :-)

How many people actually go back several years and re-process their old photos---I guess the technology hasn't been around long enough to answer this question, huh?

Gshess1

Yes, I shoot in raw and jpg when I am shooting weddings and parties. The only reason being I put the jpg on a laptop right away and the customers want to see a slideshow of the pics. It is faster with jpg than with raw and i edit the raw later on for the photos I print for the customers. Like one man said it uses up space so just put a big card in, I use 64g cards and there is never a problem with space.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Thank you everyone for your insight. I have a Nikon D7000 which has two memory card slots. For the time being I am going to try shooting RAW+JPG and set up the camera to put RAW on one memory card and JPG on the other. I'll see how this goes, and if I decide I don't need or want the JPGs I can always switch.
Thanks again
Mac