I've been reading a lot about how it is a better idea to shoot in "RAW" format and today I thought I'd give it a go and see what happened.
Lesson 1 - the memory card fills up faster!
Lesson 2 - you can actually do a lot more with photos in the post-production in this format
Lesson 3 - a crap photo is still a crap photo regardless of the format
A Red-backed Kingfisher decided to assist me with my experiment. It sat on a nearby branch while I sat in the car. After clicking away in my normal fashion, I soon experienced Lesson #1 above. I couldn't believe the 16 GB memory card had filled so quickly.
Once I'd finished, I returned home to empty the card and check out what could be done using the Canon Digital Photo Professional software. The results actually stunned me a bit.
The first photo below is the end result, the second photo is the original without any Post Production:
Lesson 1 - the memory card fills up faster!
Lesson 2 - you can actually do a lot more with photos in the post-production in this format
Lesson 3 - a crap photo is still a crap photo regardless of the format
A Red-backed Kingfisher decided to assist me with my experiment. It sat on a nearby branch while I sat in the car. After clicking away in my normal fashion, I soon experienced Lesson #1 above. I couldn't believe the 16 GB memory card had filled so quickly.
Once I'd finished, I returned home to empty the card and check out what could be done using the Canon Digital Photo Professional software. The results actually stunned me a bit.
The first photo below is the end result, the second photo is the original without any Post Production:
Red-backed Kingfisher
Although I haven't cropped them exactly the same, I was impressed how well the bird "sharpened" and how the background softened. I'm sure a few readers probably already do this with their photos and are saying "well.... der!" but I have preferred to keep my photos fairly true to what I have taken in the past.
Next is the end result of a Bearded Dragon. I really like the end result:
Bearded Dragon
The third lesson wasn't learnt today, but especially when shooting in the RAW format, it is better to be selective for each shot rather than burst 10 crappy photos at a time
I have also felt unsure of what to do with RAW format. My go to photo editing program cannot handle RAW photos and I am so far not comfortable with newer programs like the Canon software. I have been hesitant to try RAW format much because it not only uses up memory but battery life as well. Are you going to continue using RAW? Do you have to convert it to JPEG in order to post it on the web?
ReplyDeleteHi John, I think I will use it in certain situations, but not all the time due to the constraints mentioned above/ The Canon software doesn't have a resize function so you still have to convert it to JPEG if only for viewing ease. The software I normally use is Irfanview which is free and easy to use, but I'll start playing more with the Digital Photo Professional software that comes with my camera I used here when I use RAW to see if I can get more used to it. I wasnt taking notice of the battery use but I'm sure you are right, thanks for pointing this out.
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