Nikon D90...raw or JPG

[peterhone]

All,
I have been using a Nikon D90 for a while now and want to know...should I make the switch and start shooting raw and is it easy....different....hard??? Any tips would be great.
I also have a new blog if anyone is interested....using some of my pictures to describe events in my recovery from Alcoholism.....hopefully help some one else.

Peter Hone a life through the eyes of an ex-drunk

[Nicole]

It really depends how much control you want over your image and how much work you want to do. With RAW, it's pretty certain that you'll need to do at least some amount of post-processing on every image. Whether it's sharpening, saturation, etc, you're probably going to have to do something. With JPG, your camera can make those adjustments for you. Now you see why it's a question of work and control? If you want to always make the decisions about your image from start to finish, RAW has some extra leeway too. Not that it's something you should depend on, just that it's there if for some reason you forgot to reset your white balance and now all your photos are blue, it's much easier to fix in RAW than JPG.

I shoot RAW. Sometimes I wonder if it would be quicker to shoot JPG, but I want the control that I get with it, and I don't get my camera making decisions that I wouldn't have made. There are literally tons of threads about JPG and RAW and the benefits, etc, so I won't even get started on those. It's kind of one of those personal preference sort of decisions in some ways. I don't see anything wrong with shooting in JPG if that's your preference.

[OsmosisStudios]

Do you have a RAW converter? If so, then shoot RAW.

[JoesPhotos]

Firstly congrats of the soberity! You are to be commended. I had a buddy that stopped cold turkey, he was a functioning alcoholic. 18+ beers a day. Hasn't had a beer in over 27 months.

The great debate of RAW vs JPEG. With the D90 you can shoot both. he he. RAW by far gives you so much more possibilties in post editing. But like Osmois said if you don't have a RAW converter it's like selling the car for gas money. USELESS! I always shoot paying jobs in RAW. Everyday photos of the kids & such are JPEG. I'm not too extensive in the editing process, I try to get everything right so I don't have to but there is most always something that can be edited. If you shoot in RAW it's much easier to change.

[peterhone]

Thanks for the comments....what is a raw converter and where do I get it and is it easy to use.

Sobriety allows me to do so much.....including taking pictures!

[StillFocus]

Picasa can read RAW files and it's free.

For me, making the jump from jpg to RAW made such a world of difference that I doubt I'll ever go back to jpg.

[dcclark]

I don't recommend going to raw until you feel so comfortable with composition and the technical side of photography (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) that you're feeling limited by jpegs.

Going to raw may give you extra options, but it has nothing to do with the quality of your photographs.

Edit: to clarify -- by "quality" I mean, the artistic and compositional quality, not the pixel-peeping type.

[WooD]

For paid shoots I always shoot RAW, jpg fine.

Even thou I cant remember the last time I ever used one of the raw files.

Both my cameras must have a good auto WB, or my eyes are worst than I thought.