Just remember RAW is not an image format; the images shown from RAW files are "preview jpgs" to give you a general idea of what the image is, but is far from perfect - often they will look "flat" compared to in camera processed jpgs, and exposure may be off as well with noise. BUT, there is MUCH more potential from a RAW file since it contains ALL of the captured information from your cameras sensor, much of which is discarded when the camera processes a jpg based on your cameras setting and cannot be recovered unless you have a corresponding RAW file saved...you have much more latitude (exposure, white balance, noise, and many other settings) with a RAW file not possible with a jpg only capture. For the best of both just shoot JPG fine and RAW while you practice RAW tweaking.

Hello! I am new to shooting RAW and am getting more confused by the day. I have a professional photographer friend who tells me I HAVE to shoot in raw on an upcoming trip to Africa (I leave Friday!) So I started shooting raw to practice using my dogs. I figured it would be fairly straight forward - I was very wrong. I use a Canon EOS R with various lenses.

In the first screen shot you can see the JPG (right) compared to the RAW photo (left). The Raw photo is super grainy. The JPG is fine. I didn't edit any of these or even try for any good composition, just wanted to practice working with RAW and getting them off of my card - which has also proven to be complicated.

So, my questions - 1) why are my RAW photos much more grainy than JPG? I realize ISO is a bit high in this specific photo, but even when it's not at all, I get the same result. 2) what is the most straightforward way to get to get a raw file off of an SD card and actually be able to do anything with it on a Mac? Lastly, I am probably just going to shoot Large JPG to save myself the panic of ruining something trying to use RAW if I can't figure this out...

I am currently using a DNG converter to get them to Lightroom, then I am not totally sure what to do with them after that, I couldn't even figure out how to save it to post it here as an example as I did with the JPEG.

Thank you so much in advance for any tips/tricks you are willing to lend - I am pretty confused!

These new examples look great. You're about to leave so these questions / comments may not seem important. If / when you get a chance, consider:

1. You've referenced LRCC in a few of your posts as well as problems with importing EOS-R RAW files. You should have Lightroom Classic installed, rather than Lightroom Creative Cloud. The LRCC is intended for mobile devices, not full-fledged computers. Is this possibly the root cause of your issue?

2. You referenced the DNG baking-in the noise. This may be a good description, but that's not the actual situation. If the issue proves to be LRCC vs LRClassic, a number of issues may be resolved by clarifying and correcting the software involved.

3. Within LR Classic, importing a DNG will trigger the same defaults for NR as importing the corresponding RAW file. The images within this linked discussion shows the tabs where you can evaluate the default NR applied by LR as well as giving ideas on how / where to modify these defaults when editing your images. Basics of noise processing

Have a great trip. Remember that your RAW files are forever. You can always revisit them and start anew as if you shot them yesterday.

If you are using telephoto lenses, keeping the following in mind: say you're shooting at 150mm, then your shutter speed should be no slower than 1/150th of a second. If you're shooting at 400mm, your shutter speed should be no slower than 1/400th second. In less than ideal lighting that might require that you boost your ISO considerably (1600 or higher) or risk a picture spoiled by motion blur. If your camera has a NR (Noise Reduction) setting, then when shooting at high ISO, be sure to turn that setting on Maximum. Photoshop has filters that can minimize noise caused by higher than ideal ISO settings.

This not true, and it discourages people from considering raw files. Raw files are most certainly properly called "image files," since they are, after all, generated by cameras for the express purpose of creating images.

I will speak from my direct experience, with Canon raw files and Canon's DPP program. When you open a Canon raw files DPP is not showing "preview jpgs to give you a general idea of what the image is," the images are not "flat compared to in camera processed jpgs," and it is not true that "exposure may be off as well with noise."

It is true that "you have much more latitude" working with raw files than working with JPEG files.

I would say that working with both file formats, raw and JPEG, would help with learning to shoot better JPEGs, if that were ones goal, not help with "practicing raw tweaking."

I am talking about using the camera manufacturers' program specifically designed to read the same manufacturer's proprietary raw files. But there is no inherent reason why anything else needs to be true. What you are describing is the consequence of the raw files formats being proprietary.

When you open a Canon raw file in DPP, the software reads the EXIF table in the JPEG preview image. Then it uses the same parameters as listed in the EXIF to read the raw data and process it to a 16-bit bitmap image. That is why what you see (on an 8-bit monitor) is a bitmap image that looks like the JPEG from the camera. On a 10-bit monitor, it may look quite a bit better. If you save the bitmap as a 16-bit TIFF and edit it in Lightroom or Photoshop (etc.), you can extract more information from highlights and shadows.

When you open the same Canon raw file in a third party app, that app CANNOT make the image look identical to the JPEG, because it does not use Canon's "secret sauce". Third party apps have to use their own camera profiles and default processing algorithms. They can read only a limited portion of the EXIF such as hue and white balance.

What you CAN do in a third party app, that most people do not do, is create your own custom default profiles that approximate what your camera JPEG processor does. Adobe apps already have presets for this, although they don't match exactly.

The unprocessed raw data table in the raw file wrapper is no more a digital image than an exposed, undeveloped roll of color negative film. It can be developed any number of ways, using all sorts of different tools.

The distinction of "raw file" vs "JPEG or TIFF image file" is important, because it The unprocessed raw data table in the raw file wrapper is no more a digital image than an exposed, undeveloped roll of color negative film. It can be developed any number of ways, using all sorts of different tools. The unprocessed raw data table in the raw file wrapper is no more a digital image than an exposed, undeveloped roll of color negative film. It can be developed any number of ways, using all sorts of different tools.
The idea is that JPEGs and TIFFs and other *image* file formats contain processed, limited versions of that original data.

Because we cannot change the raw data table in a raw file, we can always get back to it and use a future version of software to process it differently. SOME raw file converters like DPP will save your changes in an *internal* sidecar table. But DPP can always get back to what the EXIF table contains. The raw data is never altered. And a third party app cannot read those Canon changes from a raw file! Edit a raw file in DPP, then import it into or open it in any other app, and it will look different upon initial conversion.