Shooting in Raw?

[jcrams]

Everywhere I look it says that you should always be shooting in RAW, well how can I check if Im actually shooting in RAW? (I have a point and shoot digital Samsung L200) thanks!

[nikonkid]

Most affordable PnS don't have RAW mode, unfortunately I think yours falls in the category, JPEG should be fine anyway. Good luck!

[IABoomer]

As the owner of an L200 (with a dead screen ) I can assure you it doesn't shoot RAW. On cameras that do, there's usually an option in the menus where you select RAW as opposed to JPEG fine, JPEG normal, etc.

For future purchasing research, you can check a site like Digital Cameras: Digital Photography Review, News, Reviews, Forums, FAQ to see if your intended camera shoots RAW or not.

It's not to say you can't get good pictures when shooting JPEG, just that you'll have more flexibility to fix things in RAW, so if the option is there, take it.

[Izzy]

Your camera is only capable of jpeg capture. RAW is not an option for your model.

Samsung L200 Review (silver) - Digital cameras - CNET Reviews

[jcrams]

Thanks for all the responses, I figured that when I couldnt find it, but if a camera does have it, what menu can you usually find it under .. and what benefits does this have for the photos?

[Izzy]

Originally Posted by jcrams

Thanks for all the responses, I figured that when I couldnt find it, but if a camera does have it, what menu can you usually find it under .. and what benefits does this have for the photos?

It will usually be found under quality settings

[lputman]

Shooting in JPG is just fine. You can do many in camera settings to tweak the final output. As you advance in photography and then decide you want more post processing power, then shoot in RAW.

[nikonkid]

RAW is the exact data pulled from the sensor. It is best for editing because you can tweak wb and exposure settings much more easily than with jpg. The quality is also obviously higher. Jpg is a compressed file, so it has some data loss. Usually not noticeable unless you edit lots of times.

[jsherp]

Every time I try to shoot in RAW, I get arrested!

Sorry, I just really want one of those t-shirts from froknowsphoto.com!

[theosus]

Originally Posted by jcrams

Thanks for all the responses, I figured that when I couldnt find it, but if a camera does have it, what menu can you usually find it under .. and what benefits does this have for the photos?

No benefits for the photos, but for the photographer its immeasurable. I moved from a jpg only canon a620 to a raw capable T1i last year. Jpgs suffer from degradation when you dick around with them, save them, mess with them, save them, etm.

Like someone else said, raw is just that - the raw sensor data, before its manipulated and saved by the computer. Your point and shoot decides what the final outcome should be, and saves the file. RAW gives you the chance to decide what it should look like, and save it. AND if you decide later to change the look, you go back to the original data and save a completely new picture - without manipulating something thats already saved.

Messing with jpgs is like making copies of copies.
Messing with RAW files is like taking a completely new picture each time you want to change the white balance, contrast, shadow, tint, etm., etm.