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IMCL

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Hey guys,

I recently purchased my first DSLR with the K-X and love it so far! I am admittedly a complete newb when it comes to DSLR's so I figure I might as well ask you guys what you think about file types.

The little that I have played around with RAW and JPEG file types it does appear that the RAW photos do have a slightly better IQ, but then again I could just be imaging things.

I plan to alter most of my photos in photoshop and I figured I would see if there was a consensus out there as to which is the better file type to shoot with when planning to export the files into photoshop.

Thanks in advanced.
 
IMCL said:
Hey guys,

I recently purchased my first DSLR with the K-X and love it so far! I am admittedly a complete newb when it comes to DSLR's so I figure I might as well ask you guys what you think about file types.

The little that I have played around with RAW and JPEG file types it does appear that the RAW photos do have a slightly better IQ, but then again I could just be imaging things.

I plan to alter most of my photos in photoshop and I figured I would see if there was a consensus out there as to which is the better file type to shoot with when planning to export the files into photoshop.

Thanks in advanced.
Click to expand...
Congrats on your jump into the DSLR world.

RAW, is not a photo. It is data only from which a photo is made. The picture you see is a JPG buried within the RAW file. The only things you cannot change in RAW are the shutter speed and the aperture. Not literally anyway. That said, I prefer to shoot RAW+ PEF mode, simply because that's the way I've always done it. That way I have the camera processed JPGs if I want them and I have the RAW files to do with as I please. Not that I have anything against DNG, I've just never tried it. I don't know about the Kx but I know that the only version of photoshop that supports the K7 PEF is CS4. Another you might consider is Lightroom. Does many of the same things as the Photoshop RAW converter. Version 3 shows some pretty good promise in the noise reduction and sharpening areas too. You can download the Beta version and use it until sometime in February.
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http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/jjkyle/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13300089@N08/
 
Use RAW, it contains much more information than jpeg, being a 16bit file format.

I would (and do) set the camera to record DNG type RAW files, which can be read by almost any photo program, and are just as good as the PEF type, which are specific to each individual camera.

There is so much more to say about this topic, just do a search on dpreview for RAW (doesn't really matter what camera, the principles are the same for all)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/helmutsteinwender/
http://helmuts.smugmug.com
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/helmutsteinwender
 
Photshop and Lightroom are both excellent programs but both are complicated and over-rated - at least from the perspective of an amateur. Unless you're planning on going Pro any time soon you'll do yourself a favour if you start with something simpler. There are many programs worth looking at that are easier to get started with: Photoshop Elements, Gimp, ACDSee, Capture One to name a few...
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Look at the picture, not the pixels...
http://www.lkeithr.zenfolio.com
 
LKeithR said:
Photshop and Lightroom are both excellent programs but both are complicated and over-rated - at least from the perspective of an amateur. Unless you're planning on going Pro any time soon you'll do yourself a favour if you start with something simpler. There are many programs worth looking at that are easier to get started with: Photoshop Elements, Gimp, ACDSee, Capture One to name a few...
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Click to expand...
Don't know about Lightroom being over-rated. Certainly Photoshop Elements did everything I ever needed so far as image tweaking is concerned. But LR is a great way of doing nearly all the same image-editing (and some things besides, probably) in a non-destructive way (i.e.you can go go back to the original at any time) AND keeping your photos in some kind of order. It makes weeding out the duds, and sorting them into whatever kind of structure you want, an absolute breeze. You don't need to be a pro to have your life changed by Lightroom.
--
tim
 
I use RAW+ with the DNG file format. The benefit of this is you can use various third party software to develop RAW data and DNG also represents a good choice for archiving (since it is a non-proprietary file-format).

Pentax has implemented a lot of proprietary functions in their latest release, such as geometry correction, lateral chromatic aberration correction etc. Those functions are accessible for postprocessing only through Pentax DCU 4.xx software which is supplied with the camera.
IMCL said:
Hey guys,

I recently purchased my first DSLR with the K-X and love it so far! I am admittedly a complete newb when it comes to DSLR's so I figure I might as well ask you guys what you think about file types.

The little that I have played around with RAW and JPEG file types it does appear that the RAW photos do have a slightly better IQ, but then again I could just be imaging things.

I plan to alter most of my photos in photoshop and I figured I would see if there was a consensus out there as to which is the better file type to shoot with when planning to export the files into photoshop.

Thanks in advanced.
Click to expand...
 
IMCL said:
I plan to alter most of my photos in photoshop and I figured I would see if there was a consensus out there as to which is the better file type to shoot with when planning to export the files into photoshop.
Click to expand...
Raw formats (like PEF and DNG) record light data falling off the sensor, without demosaicing, colour interpretation etc., and ignoring camera settings which influence JPEG output e.g. sharpness.

Shooting in RAW lets you apply those settings on the computer rather than in-camera, so you get more control over the final image.

Re choice of editor, Photoshop requires a solid understanding of tonal management principles, some colour theory, and lots and lots of practice to be able to use it all effectively. Most starting amateurs will get better results with Photoshop Elements (although version 8 is IMO bloated and slow).

If you do decide to go for Photoshop, then suggest reading the excellent tutorials in Cambridge in Color.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
--
Mike
http://flickr.com/rc-soar
 
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