What effects RAW images.

[Dusty]

I'm trying to get a handle on exactly what it is that will effect a RAW image. Besides the obvious, like exposure settings, what camera settings effect a RAW image? Having just shot a few "creative styles" from the menu, I saw that both B&W and Sunset mode had an effect on the RAW. Some of the others I can't tell.

Will contrast and saturation settings effect the RAW files, or just the in-camera JPEGS? Does a WB change actually change the RAW? DRO? NR? High ISO NR?

I know some of the styles - Port, Sports, Night, are changing the way the camera determines what is a proper exposure, f-stop, shutter speed, etc. But which of the others actually make the RAW different. If I choose Adobe RGB is it really changing the way the RAW is written to the CF card, or just how it's displayed later. If some of these are effecting the RAW, why shouldn't I just shoot in STD mode and let the PP software do the changes?

As you can see, I'm still getting my head around digital, and the Sony manual is dreadfully short on tech details.

Thanks,
Dusty

[David Kilpatrick]

Nothing is supposed to affect raw images in any way except exposure. If sunset mode is actually shifting raw values, and not just the JPEG preview embedded in the raw file, that's extremely important because it could affect absolute noise levels. If you process your B/W image you will find it is colour. Otherwise shooting in b/w mode would be very risky. You get a normal full colour raw file!

David

[Dusty]

Nothing is supposed to affect raw images in any way except exposure. If sunset mode is actually shifting raw values, and not just the JPEG preview embedded in the raw file,....snip.

David

That was my problem! I was looking at the ARW, and not realizing that what the computer is showing me is not really a rendition of that file, but the JPEG preview embedded in the raw. Once I read your post and processed it as "Vivid", the colors magically appeared! Thank you, thank you, David!

The next question then would be on saving edited ARW files. From what I gather from the help menu, when saving a PPed raw, it's not changing the values of the raw data, just storing the various adjustments you've made in a data file so that you can repeat it. Is that correct?

You did state in another post that shifting WB in-camera may slightly affect exposure. Are there any other settings that will? If not, why aren't we all just sticking to STD for the RAW files and PPing the rest into it? Ah! Because some shoot JPEGS, right? That's why I hated Polaroid, no negative to work with. But then, we must not offend anyone stepping up from P&S.

This is helping relieve some of my trepidation about the digital switch.

Thanks again,
Dusty

[David Kilpatrick]

The next question then would be on saving edited ARW files. From what I gather from the help menu, when saving a PPed raw, it's not changing the values of the raw data, just storing the various adjustments you've made in a data file so that you can repeat it. Is that correct?

You did state in another post that shifting WB in-camera may slightly affect exposure. Are there any other settings that will? If not, why aren't we all just sticking to STD for the RAW files and PPing the rest into it? Ah! Because some shoot JPEGS, right? That's why I hated Polaroid, no negative to work with. But then, we must not offend anyone stepping up from P&S.

Correct - when you save the raw, you are actually saving some instructions and an unchanged raw file. You are rewriting the metadata section only.

WB, DRO in any form, and on camera equipped with them (and in the right modes) the Lo80, Hi200, Zone and Brightness adjustments will change exposure. Although these settings only 'work' on the JPEG, they require adjustments to the raw file density to provide the right info for them to process. Most result in a slight reduction in raw file exposure, except the Lo Zone setting, which increases exposure.

David

[UrsaMajor]

The next question then would be on saving edited ARW files. From what I gather from the help menu, when saving a PPed raw, it's not changing the values of the raw data, just storing the various adjustments you've made in a data file so that you can repeat it. Is that correct?

Correct - when you save the raw, you are actually saving some instructions and an unchanged raw file. You are rewriting the metadata section only.

I believe that this is an accurate statement for the most popular RAW converters, but I seem to recall that several years ago when I was looking at what options were available in the way of RAW conversion programs, there were some that actually did modify the original data file. Needless to say, I quickly deleted those programs from my list of potential choices.

With best wishes,
- Tom -