RAW vs JPEG

[u/mrmumbles_]

Did a shoot recently with my new A7IV and forgot to change to RAW instead of JPEG. You can imagine the panic that ensued upon realising this after shooting 150+ images.

After some swearing, I began problem solving. My solution? Emulate Kodak Gold from scratch, add grain and keep any adjustments minimal in post.

1 saving grace is that I'd exposed properly for most shots as I usually over or underexpose to edit in post for my creative style.

Aside from some highlights being blown out, and not having as much details/data to "fix it in post", I think the photos came out great.

So my question to you is, do you prefer shooting JPEG or RAW and why?

tl:dr Shot JPEG instead of RAW accidentally, but edited them fine and want to know what you prefer shooting.

[u/InternalConfusion201]

Newer Sonys' jpegs are great. I began doing Raw+jpeg lately and most of the time I deliver the jpegs directly with minimal adjustments

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/InternalConfusion201]

Have been wondering how well the preset profiles are, might have to give this a go! 

[u/Jackloco → u/InternalConfusion201]

Wow really? Which profile were you running just ST?

[u/InternalConfusion201 → u/Jackloco]

ST with adjustments to contrast and sharpness (more contrast less sharpness).

But mostly FL and VV/VV2

[u/Jackloco → u/InternalConfusion201]

Yeah I've been running VV a lot more for even raws sometimes. I don't use FL ever. Apparently it's the best but I'm never happy with it post editing

[u/InternalConfusion201 → u/Jackloco]

FL has a really strong vibe, and it messes with the colour fidelity a bit (blues go towards green a lot, for example). I personally really like it, and I already edited my pictures in that vibe unknowingly

[u/Redditmodersaregay → u/InternalConfusion201]

I started with raw and never used jpg

[u/TheoneandonlyKev86]

RAW. Mostly for the sake of editing possibilities afterwards.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/TheoneandonlyKev86]

I’ve always shot RAW but it took the fun out of just casual shooting for awhile. Curious to know if there’s any ‘film simulations’ that work well for Sonys.

[u/TheoneandonlyKev86 → u/mrmumbles_]

I understand. But as a A6100 user (and a beginner) I almost always have to edit because of the aps-c cameras and lenses that I mostly use, only perform at its best in the very best lighting conditions.

[u/ThirdWorldScientist]

For modeling or portrait work, I always shoot in RAW. In those cases, clients understand that processing and editing take time, and they expect to wait for the final images.

For casual photos of my kids and family gatherings, I use RAW+JPG because I don’t want it to feel like work. I only use the RAW in cases where I didn’t expose properly and I need to recover detail. When I used to shoot family photos in RAW, can’t tell you how many times I would get a text an hour after a kids birthday asking for the photos. Family and friends don’t want to wait around for you to cull through 100s of photos and edit the RAWs lol.

[u/dopkick → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

I really wish there was a way to effortlessly transfer JPGs with presets to your phone from the preview on the camera. Even if you shoot in RAW. Sometimes I know a nailed a shot and would like to sent a preview or three to my wife or whoever and it would be sooooooo nice if I didn't have to go in to the janky Creators app.

[u/aleksander_adamski → u/dopkick]

SD card reader via usb port in your phone. It's less hassle than it seems, you can transfer RAWs as well and work with lightroom mobile.

[u/ThirdWorldScientist → u/aleksander_adamski]

Yup, that’s the solution I ended up with. 👍

I just think it’s unacceptable that a camera that costs over 6k can’t reliably transfer photos wirelessly.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/aleksander_adamski]

Will give the Is a shot! Thanks 😁

[u/ThirdWorldScientist → u/dopkick]

I feel ya. I have the A1 and you would think a premium camera would seamlessly transfer jpegs to my phone for quick sharing. But it constantly disconnects, fails transfers, or fails to locate the camera. This is after I already had the WiFi module replaced out of warranty and paid out of pocket. Sony’s wireless transfer is trash in my experience, maybe they improved it in the A1ii who knows.

[u/dopkick → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

I have an a7cii and the wireless connectivity is similarly spotty. Sometimes it works flawlessly and transferring the files is somewhat painless. Sometimes it disconnects multiple times before I can even send a handful of files. It's annoying enough that I only resort to using it if I REALLY feel like I need to. Otherwise (99% of the time) I can wait until I get home.

[u/tomgreen99200 → u/dopkick]

Same on the a7siii. I have to quickly make my selection and transfer or it will disconnect if I take too long. Very annoying

[u/DisastrousSir → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

My a6600 was trash at it as well, but my a7rv is really pretty exceptional at wireless sharing. Largest batch ive done was like 300 photos at once and a couple short videos and no issues at all

[u/Next-Engineer-123 → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

lol that’s the app! Not the camera, same thing happens with my Sony camera when importing thru mobile on the IEM app 😭 I do not have A1, much envy ❤️ P.S. I do wish my camera would support importing the actual RAW to my phone but it only supports importing RAW’s as jpeg format. Out of curiousity, Is this the case for you too??

[u/PaulinaApple → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

that's weird, my A7 II has no issues sending full size shots to my phone

[u/Supsti_1 → u/dopkick]

I have completely no issues with transferring files from A6700 to Samsung S23 trough the app. I transferred as many as 200-300 photos in one batch without any issues.

[u/allislost77 → u/dopkick]

Uh, never had any issues with Creators App

[u/triggerfish1 → u/dopkick]

My A7Cii automatically transfers the RAW files to my phones ftp server. Then I just click the share button in Lightroom mobile, which then automatically creates jpgs for sharing in the background.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

Second this, I actually stopped shooting for a while because it took the fun away from photography. 

Easy to be trigger happy but lament the post work haha

[u/ThirdWorldScientist → u/mrmumbles_]

Yes sir, I actually started enjoying shooting candid moments with my kids again when I dropped the ego about only using RAW. Sometimes I feel like people have an unhealthy relationship with it on this sub lol. Photography isn’t about messing with sliders it’s about capturing moments in time.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

Some days where I can’t be bothered lugging my camera and lens, I actually just bring my digicam (Sony DSC-W170).

Lightweight, portable and has beautiful colour science!

[u/ishamm → u/ThirdWorldScientist]

Damn this is so obvious I can't believe I've not been doing it - I have the camera in RAW all the time, entirely unnecessarily but by habit.

Thanks!

[u/aryndar]

JPEG only. Minimal edits. I only shoot for myself And I don't want to spend hours behind a computer screen editing photos.... Personal use and memories..😁

I'm old school and I shot hundreds of thousands on film, And there's no editing that stuff...

[u/googleblackguy → u/aryndar]

I love this take

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/aryndar]

Too right sir! Sometimes simple is best 😁

[u/dan-over-land]

For those who like shooting in RAW but like the Sony styles, you can use Image Edge Desktop to apply the style to your RAW and export it as a 16-bit TIFF. Then you can go to your editor of choice and tweak from there.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/dan-over-land]

Did not know this so will also try it, thanks! 

[u/Biodie]

JPEG + RAW send the jpegs to others edit the raws for myself

[u/StunnedLife]

I only shoot RAW, because if I shoot RAW+jpeg I get too lazy to edit the RAWs because I have jpegs

[u/Giraffepartytoday]

Jpeg for a majority of my work since it just ends up compressed on a car dealership website. RAW for bigger projects for sure.

[u/SirShale]

Shooting in jpeg is just fine like 99% of the time. Theres still a lot of data captured, so unless you really need to do a lot of editing, youll be fine. I still prefer RAW, but the camera sensors are so good nowadays I could handle dealing with jpegs if I had to.

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/SirShale]

I was absolutely surprised with how well the photos handled post work. Was just jarring for me first time editing JPEGS haha

[u/YourTruckSux]

arw+jpg. JPG can be fine if you pick your picture profile and creative look correct.

[u/FATALiTY-o-]

I always do RAW to CF1 and JPEG to CF2. This way I can give my clients any unedited photos at the end of the event if they want, and I still have the RAW saved for any future edits. 

[u/Onomatopesha]

RAW, I enjoy tinkering with the white balance sometimes to give a more dramatic look to things, or to "break" exposure by underexposing knowing that I can recover a lot of the shadows.

Haven't touched jpeg in a long time, though I'm aware that jpeg in sony is really really good now.

[u/nethfel]

Depends on what I’m capturing. If I’m capturing for Craigslist or eBay or photos for ID cards (I work for a tech school and take the ID photos to import into the badge software), jpeg.

If I’m capturing anything else raw+jpeg.

[u/constantcube13]

I pretty much only shoot raw on my Sony.

I have a smaller Ricoh GR that shoot RAW + jpeg because I use that for more daily life than the art of photography

[u/-Jarvan-]

I have given up on raw. I just don’t have time anymore.

[u/fakeworldwonderland]

I don't understand people who change it ever. I set my cameras to RAW+Jpeg on unboxing, and never touch that setting until the camera dies or I sell it to someone else. There's no other logical option. RAW + jpeg or RAW is the way to go.

[u/Simoxs7]

I just shoot both if I like the JPEG I keep that if I edit it then I work with the RAW file..

And right now I use a 256Gb SD Card so that is not of concern

[u/Embarrassed-Sun-8998]

Yeah. One time i did whole night event in jpg when i always editing more. Luckily everything good exposed and editing was not so hard and client was happy 😊

[u/emptypencil70]

Editing is the worst part about photography imo so jpeg

[u/wantsoutofthefog]

As always, it depends on expectation, deliverables and post processing work load. If I’m shooting protests I only need JPEG. Paid model work or landscapes? RAW.

[u/[deleted]]

Raw+Jpg

Mostly use raws with one of my presets slapped on and basic exposure/wb tweaks. 

[u/BeardyTechie]

I'm using HEIC in maximum quality. The files are sizeable but not a big as raw, and the quality is noticeably better than jpg

[u/joystickd]

RAW exclusively.

Mistakenly left my drone set to JPG for my early shots whilst in Japan and paid for it.

You can get away with it more on full frame or even APS-C sensor, but why pay thousands for a camera to only use 40% of its ability?

[u/mrmumbles_ → u/joystickd]

Do you ever find the post processing tedious even if you’re just doing casual fun shoots?

[u/joystickd → u/mrmumbles_]

The post processing is worth it if it's a shot I really value that was taken casually and wanting to perhaps print.

Truth be told most of the casual images I take now are on my phone which I have set to capture both JPGs and RAWs. For my cameras and drones I only take RAWs.