Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

Good Afternoon
I received this link from ON1 a few days ago and figured I'd share it.
It's not being shared for the advertising but for the educational value on what a raw file is and how it is processed.
What makes the raw file from a Tiff for instance is the raw has the individual pixel colors and levels from the camera sensor. Once you process it and export to at Tiff or JPG, the individual information is gone and replaced with the result of your editing.

https://www.on1.com/blog/how-noise-reduction-software-can-be-better/?utm_campaign=Engage_BetterNoiseReduction&utm_source=Master-All&utm_medium=email&mkt_tok=MTg1LVJXWC02MTgAAAF9i9I-AhGUGzCPvB0WCM7a_FHo7FWDjSpauPDbAkshTWT1MMTlSGqgh1YhoXTw09fozrqWWU1O5FLMyfdbnnfb3ycKFge1VPc1sDdDeqA

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

It seems to explain it pretty well; thus the reason raw files are generally not considered actual images - because they have not been demosaic'd. Of course, this leads to some heated "debates" but this article explains how the raw is a data stream and, once demosaic'd, is an image. And to use an analogy someone else on this forum made some time back - the raw file is like the ingredients of a cake, whereas the image file is the finished cake...you cannot reverse from the finished product to the original ingredients.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

CTTonymm Loc: Connecticut

The one comment I have is that - once you edit the RAW file and export it to a jpeg, the original raw data is not carried along. However, at least with ON1, the RAW file and data are not changed and still exist in your original import and data storage. A jpeg file is produced by overlaying/processing the editing changes to produce the exported jpeg - the changes are stored in a separate file linked to the RAW original so that you can go back and edit the changes or start over with a whole different editing approach.