RAW Photography Merits
You Can Adjust ISO Sensitivity During Development
It is difficult to set the proper exposure while taking pictures.
If you use RAW data photos, it is possible to make wide adjustments to the exposure during development when the image sensor is not saturated.
For example, JPEG data compresses the colorspace by giving an S curve to the light intensity. In order to change the exposure for such images, it is necessary to give a reverse S curve and return the light to linear and then adjust the exposure.
This takes a relatively long time to do. The compressed information for the low range and high range becomes very small. Therefore, even if the data is returned to linear, it is not possible to restore the original information completely, and accuracy is low. As a result, you cannot make a high-quality image.
When using RAW data, light intensity information remains accurate, so it is possible to have basically the same results by adjusting the exposure and ISO sensitivity after taking a picture as before taking the picture.
Therefore, by using RAW data, you can focus on taking pictures instead of having to worry about making careful adjustments to the ISO or exposure.
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 Adjusted Exposure with RAW Data
This picture has smooth sky color tone and the color tone of the brink from the windmill is accurately reproduced. The color is very natural.
With RAW data, you can have the same results by making adjustments after taking a picture as making adjustments with the camera before shooting. |
 JPEG Picture with Retouching
The original tone information is stretched, so mach bands (band pattern due to differences in color tone) appear in the sky. Also, unnatural colors are emphasized, and the colors in the highlight portions are very different from the actual color.
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