Canon® EOS Rebel T1i/500D Digital Field Guide

Appendix B. Exploring RAW Capture

In This Appendix

• Learning about RAW capture

• Sample RAW image conversion

You may have heard about RAW capture, but you may not understand what the advantages and disadvantages of RAW shooting are. This appendix provides an overview of RAW capture as well as a brief walk-through on converting RAW image data into a final image.

If you're new to RAW conversion, a high-level overview is helpful. With JPEG images, the camera automatically processes, or edits, the image data coming off the sensor, converts the data from 14to 8-bit files, and then compresses the files in the JPEG format.

Note

JPEG is a popular file format that allows images to be viewed on any computer and to be opened in any image-editing program.

By contrast, RAW images have very little in-camera processing, and are stored as 14-bit files using Canon's proprietary file format, that has a .CR2 file extension. RAW files cannot be viewed on some computers or opened in some image-editing programs without a program that can display the CR2 proprietary file format. Canon includes a free program, Digital Photo Professional, on the EOS Digital Solution Disk that you can use to view and convert Rebel T1i/500D RAW files.

RAW capture provides significant advantages including the ability to get the best quality from the T1i/500D images. But RAW capture isn't for everyone. If you prefer images that are ready to print straight out of the camera, then JPEG capture is the best option. However, if you enjoy working ...