RICHARD46 Loc: New Jersey

What's the better file over JPEG Raw or TIFF

Rich

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

You're talking apples and oranges here to some extent. RAW files can be post processed in a RAW program but can not be used to print or be e-mailed. They have to be converted to a file format such as a .tif or .jpg. A .jpg is a compressed file, some of the picture information is deleted to make the files smaller so they don't take up so much space in your computer. A .tif saves all of the information, which, to me, is better but, the file size is larger. Most folks go with .jpg for the photo's that do not require utmost clarity, etc., and the .tif for important files.

RICHARD46 Loc: New Jersey

so can you shoot in tiff and then convert to JPEG vs raw to jpeg

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Tiff files are going to be huge.
Shoot raw.
Read this:
http://www.betterphoto.com/article.asp?id=44

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Define "better". Raw is the original sensor data, more or less, with no processing applied for contrast, sharpening, color correction, etc. It's your UNDEVELOPED negative, to use a film metaphor. TIFF is a format for processed images that does not use any compression, and is therefore larger in byte-size than a JPEG of the same pixel dimension. Your question is like asking, "What's better, a negative or an 8x10?"

If you can see the contents of a raw image, it's only because your viewing program has a translation algorithm that extracts the crappy looking JPEG that's stored as part of most raw files, just for that purpose. If you try to print an unprocessed raw image, it will in most cases look crappy. Plus, they're not usable to email or send to a web site such as UHH, Flickr, Smugmug or the like.

Many people suggest shooting in raw, to give you more latitude when post-processing so you can 'fix' your shot. You may or may not find this useful. If you choose to shoot in 'JPEG', then your camera's computer and the designers of its internal software will do your processing, and give you a finished JPEG (or TIFF). It's your choice.

RICHARD46 Loc: New Jersey

So shoot in raw and save it in tiff over jpeg if it's an important file
Did I get it right?

Rich

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Well, kind of almost. Importance has nothing do to with it, per se. A JPEG saves just as well as a TIFF. Apart from some MINOR color and quality differences, they will both LOOK the same, on a given monitor or a given sheet of paper, all other things being equal.

The difference is in how the bits and bytes of the digital image are stored in the file. A JPEG image is compressed (by comparing and tossing away color bits that don't 'add' to the picture) whenever you make any edits to the image. It may be compressed a little bit, or a lot. If you open, edit, save, open, edit, save a JPEG about 10 times, the final compressed image may be waaaaay too compressed and slimmed down. In effect, you loose a little bit of image quality each time. It may start out at 5mb in size, but be 80K by the time you're done. IF, BIG IF, YOU EDIT each time you open it. If you just open to VIEW, it does NOT get re-compressed.

This does NOT happen in a TIFF image. If it gets created from a raw file and is 80mb in size, it will always STAY 80mb in size, minus any physical cropping you to do the image file.

So if your work flow is "Snapshot - process raw - save as JPEG' and you never edit the finished product again, or at least you only do it once or twice, JPEG is perfectly fine.

If you "snapshot - process raw - convert to TIFF - send to Photoshop - edit edit edit edit, save, next day open in PS - edit edit edit edit..save...next day open in PS - edit edit edit... etc, then TIFF is your better bet, since the original TIFF image won't lose quality as you mess with it.

And as mentioned TIFF files tend to be HUGE. If disk space is a factor, JPEGs are about 1/20th the size.

Alfresco

In my opinion, the answer to your question, the better file over JPEG, is definitely RAW! TIFF file are Huge and I've never found any instructor suggesting using TIFF over RAW. Shooting in RAW allows you the most latitude in post processing your photographs. Too much data is lost in compression with JPEG.

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Again, apples to oranges. RAW is an undeveloped negative. TIFF is a post-process storage method. They are not the same beast, and asking which is better is like asking which is better, undeveloped film or an 8x10 print.

RiverNan Loc: Eastern Pa

:thumbup:

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Better for what?

As has been indicated, the raw file is the data from the sensor of the camera. With that, you'll always be able to make edits to create any variation of the image you may want.

Creating a TIFF image implies you will be doing some additional editing of the image.

For the most part, I permanently store my images as raw (DNG) and seldom use TIFF. If I edit the image in PS or Perfect Photo Suite, I always save it back in Lightroom as a PSD.

I'm certain others have their own methods. This is just the way I prefer to do it. But, saving it as a raw file will always give you the ability to manipulate that image in whatever way you may desire. That's worth something to me.

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Just be careful about storing/saving images in a software program or manufacturer's proprietary format - PSD files are useless outside of Photoshop/Lightroom. DNG is Nikon's raw format, as CR2 is Canon's. JPEG and TIFF are industry standards, and EVERYONE knows how to display and print them.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

NEF is Nikon's Proprietary raw format... DNG is Adobe's, however other apps can and do view the DNG format, just not the edits perhaps.

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

Right you are - my bad.

Wendy2 Loc: California

Your camera does not shoot in Tiff. That is what you do to it after you view it on your computer. Your camera shoots in Jpg, Raw or both at the same time. You save the file in Tiff, Jpg or PSD after editing it.

Files saved as Tiff retain all the editing you have done. Jpgs do not.