Canon® EOS 30D Digital Field Guide

Appendix A. Working with RAW Images

In This Appendix

• Characteristics of RAW images

• Choosing a RAW conversion program

• Sample RAW image conversion

• Creating an efficient workflow

By now, few digital photographers are new to RAW image capture, but for those who are, the advantages of RAW capture can't be overstated. Many digital photography professionals see RAW capture as the new frontier of photography — a frontier that allows greater creative freedom and expression than was possible in the traditional darkroom.

RAW capture allows you to save the data that comes off the image sensor with virtually no internal camera processing. Because the camera settings have been "noted" but not applied in the camera, you have the opportunity to make changes to key settings such as image brightness, white balance, contrast, and saturation after the capture is made. The only camera settings that the camera applies to a RAW image are ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. During RAW image conversion, you can make significant adjustments to exposure, color, and contrast. In addition to the RAW image data, the RAW file also includes information, called metadata, about how the image was shot, the camera and lens used, and other description fields.

RAW capture mode offers advantages that are akin to traditional film photography. For example, in some cases, you can push digital RAW exposures during shooting by 1/2 to a full f-stop, and then pull back the exposure during RAW conversion. The ability to push an exposure ...