The Puffer Forum

Raw means that it hasn't been edited, so it's full-sized.

Congratulations, Beetroot and sPuffalopagus!

Nope, raw is a format like jpeg. DSLRs can take raw pictures just like a point and shoot would take jpeg pictures.

yes but I can edit and save a jpeg. I think it means unedited (or photoshoped)

You can edit a raw photo too. It's a different format and has nothing to do with editing.

As a photographer, I thought I would jump in on this.

Flutter is absolutely correct. A RAW photo has nothing to do with editing. It is a format, when a Nikon shooter (myself included) talks about shooting RAW, we are referring to shooting an NEF file (Canon shooters are referring to a CRW file). What RAW means is that it is the straight data from the sensor. There hasn't been any colour curves, saturation, contrast, white balance, or sharpening applied to it. It is 100% the raw data from the sensor. Shooting in RAW will generally give you the best image quality as well as the ability to do non-destructive editing. RAW also gives you the ability to quickly and easily change stuff like the white balance of an image, or its exposure (to a certain degree). So, in order to get a usable image (for either printing or displaying on a computer or the internet) from a RAW file it must be processed by a software program along the lines of Adobe Camera RAW in Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Apple Aperture, or my favorite, Nikon Capture NX2.

Most cameras when you shoot in RAW will show you what the JPG would have looked like had you shot it in JPG when it displays the image on the cameras lcd screen (the camera makes note of the settings you had set up in the camera for white balance, saturation, etc...so that gives you a baseline when editing in a RAW editing program).

Another bonus of shooting in RAW is that a couple of years from now when RAW processing engines and techniques have improved, you can reprocess your old photos and take advantage of that new technology.

As a photographer, I strictly shoot RAW because of all of its great benefits. I never shoot JPG anymore and have regretted shooting it for the first 2-3 months of owning my first dslr. I regret this because there are many photos that could benefit from a some post processing that can only be done on a RAW file but alas I can't because they were shot in jpg.

An unedited image is referred to as an image that is straight-out-of-camera (SOC).

aww man! im beat again this month (im #8, if ur undecided, vote 4 me!!! lol) well, i have to admit, its a cute shot of beetroot

I have a Cannon G10 that shoots RAW. I think I'm gonna try that on my next dive trip.

Gracious... That's complicated.

I never shoot in RAW, because the files are too dang big! I'm usually taking hundreds of photos when I have my DSLR out.

Pretty much only pro's bother with RAW for that reason.. most people just use standard JPG, but of course they are sized down considerably for the contest.

Hi, I shoot both RAW and jpg with the reasoning that I can use the jpg versions now and save and manipulate the RAW versions later once I eventually learn how to use photo editing software. When on a trip I put the pics onto external hard drive straight away and wipe memory card for the next day... or just take around 12 gig worth of memory cards if I won't have time or power, etc. LOL

Loving the pics this month btw!!!!

#7 Mookie.

Thank you everyone who voted for Mookie - I wish he were still here to thank you too.

Great photos this month!

Don't worry, we love Mookie too. You should re-submit him next month, there were quite a few exceptional entries this month, and winning with a GSP is really tough any month.

Nick wrote:Don't worry, we love Mookie too. You should re-submit him next month, there were quite a few exceptional entries this month, and winning with a GSP is really tough any month.

Lol Nick i think its harder for a lurker species to win

Congrats to Beetroot and i always enter when theres stiff competition

Lurkers are much harder to catch in their "moments of cuteness" but their funny shapes can help them... So I guess it's not hard to see them being POTM worthy, but MUCH harder to catch it on film, since they spend so much time being little digestive mounds.