tlbuljac Loc: Oklahoma

I am relatively new to photography and Digital in particular and do not understand what it means to shoot RAW vs JEPG. I recently purchased a Nikon D3100 DSLR and am having a difficult time understanding the manuals brief explanation of the two. My camera is factory set in the JEPG fine mode, but I noticed the settings can be changed to read JEPG normal, basic or fine or can be changed to NEF RAW or NEF RAW + JEPG fine. Apparently there is a difference but I do not understand any of the terms. Is one better than another? If I switch from the current settings to that of NEF RAW what will I gain or lose? What do you members shoot and why? What do you recommend that I shoot and why? Thanks in advance for your responses, I do appreciate them.........tlbuljac

Kestrel1029 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

The differences between the two is that RAW saves all of the data that is gathered by the sensor. JPEG actually is a format that uses compression which causes the picture to take up less space of the memory card. RAW files are larger.

How you want to store your images is a matter of personal preference. The real difference is how much post processing you want to do. Many beginners save all of their photos in JPEG, they mainly just want to view them on a computer screen and maybe have a couple of prints made at Walmart or wherever.

RAW is ideal for use in Photoshop or some other software program.

My suggestion is too leave in JPEG for now and as you progress experiment with using RAW.

ShakyShutter Loc: Arizona

Ditto on this advise. Just shoot JPG Fine Large and you will have the best quality image that camera is capable of producing.
I would also suggest you use the "P" program setting most of the time until you are ready to explore the manual settings. This guarantees good exposures and still allows adjustments of some controls.

I can suggest, in preparation for learning RAW shooting that you shoot a few, non-critical, test shots using the RAW setting. The point is to have a few on your computer to see if your system software and editing software is up to date to allow you to see, sort and process RAW files. It may be necessary to update Windows Explorer and older versions of Adobe Elements and Photoshop to allow handling of your new camera RAW files.

But until you learn the difference and when to use it just shoot JPGs and concentrate on getting great photos.

jimni2001 Loc: Sierra Vista, Arizona, USA

As kestrel1029 said the raw files are much larger. A lot depends on what kind of photography you intend on doing. I do mostly landscape work and it is worth the space to me to shoot in raw mode. I don't have to worry about white balance and most of the time I can fix a blown out area, like a sky that had clouds when you shot it but only show up as a white sky. Raw actually captures more information than jpeg so you have more to work with in the darkroom (Photoshop or Gimp). Canon gives you the option of shooting either or both. I guess the real difference is that with jpeg the camera does the processing and with raw you do the processing. I prefer to shoot in raw as it gives me the opportunity to process the photos to be more like what I saw than what the camera thought I saw. I have never used it but I believe your camera came with software to process raw files. Go shoot a couple of raw photos and process them and see how it goes for you. If nothing else you will satisfy your curiosity and learn something in the process. Forewarned though most processing software is pretty complicated so I would watch a couple of tutorials on Nikon's site and on you tube. I hope this helps some.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

I agree with the others... shoot JPG. You'll know when you are ready to shoot RAW if ever.

tlbuljac Loc: Oklahoma

Thank you for your quick response. You helped me clarify some points. As mentioned in my initial post my camera (Nikon D3100) has the capability of shooting NEF RAW + JEPG Fine at the same time. From what you described would this be having my cake and eating it too? Whats your comments about this option compared to just shooting RAW?

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Yes, RAW+JPG is like having your cake and eating it too, but some like me get a stomach ache after eating it. :-)

tlbuljac Loc: Oklahoma

Thanks to all who responded to my post. I will leave the camera at its factory setting (JEPG Fine) and will move on from there.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Better than I could explain it:
http://humanscape.com/JPEG_TIFF_RAW_DNG.htm

adlerburg Loc: NY's Capital District

With respect to the others responses, I'll offer up a different point of view. I'd save everything in RAW as long as you have a photo/image manipulation/storage app that will accept RAW. Once imported, your RAW images can at anytime be exported to JPEG, TIFF, etc etc... You can always get your JPEGs out of RAW, but never get a RAW image back from JPEG. Even though you might be novice, you might (probably will) get some stellar shots that you would need in RAW to get the post processing that you might want.. large print etc.
I'm all for not babying anyone.. it'll force you to move forward ... Of course that's just my opinion.
Good Luck
Mick

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Another angle to consider...

Over time, I have learned many new post-processing techniques. When I am asked to re-use an old image, I am sometimes appalled at what I thought was good editing years ago. If I have the raw file, it's easy to re-edit using my new skills/tools.

You can decide for yourself if this is pertinent or not.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

I agree with ADLERBURG and STEVE_STONEBLOSSOM (messages above).

Shoot both JPEG & RAW and have fewer regrets later as you progress. If by some most odd and very rare happenstance, you don't progress further, well, nothing lost.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Shoot a couple of pictures in RAW and try to open it. If you can and then you can figure out how to convert it so you can use it to send to your uncle you are ready to shoot RAW If not stay with JPEG tell you can. - Dave

slickrock Loc: jacksonville

Well stated by Alderburg. Why limit your future imaging capabilities by not storing all of your files information. Purchase an(or two) external hard drive .

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

As far as RAW & JPG go, I can't add anything to what has been said here. I asked a similar question in another thread and got good answers (like you got here) that helped me make a decision. I would like to mention that while the Nikon owner's manuals don't go into much detail there are camera specific books available that do Just to mention a couple, David Busch and Darrell Young put out very comprehensive guides, and I am sure there are others. They are available on line.