There are numerous benefits to photographing RAW files, and advantages to photographing JPEGs, too. And with in-camera RAW processing, you can have the best of both worlds.
The chief reason some photographers shoot RAW files instead of JPEGs is flexibility. As you know, RAW files contain all of the image data captured by the camera, so things like exposure, white balance, and Film Simulation mode can all be adjusted after a photo has been made.
This is a tremendously powerful approach to image editing, since the editing of RAW files is non-destructive.
But this doesn’t make RAW the ultimate image file format. RAW files cannot be viewed on smartphones or websites and can’t be printed or edited without software. They’re not easy to share with other people either. For all of these tasks, we need JPEG files, which have the added advantage of being smaller in size. But JPEG files are harder to edit after creating without losing image quality – the extra data that’s so valuable in RAW files is discarded by a camera when it saves a JPEG.
Traditionally, the way around this have-your-cake-and-eat-it quandary has been to photograph both JPEG and RAW files simultaneously, but there is another way: make RAW files only, and use in-camera RAW processing to create JPEG files when you need one – to share with a friend via your smartphone or upload to a website, for instance.
Take Control!
In-camera RAW processing uses your camera’s image processor to create JPEG files from the RAW files saved on your card. More than this, you can make adjustments to the image in much the same way you would on your computer.
It works like this:
- Press play and scroll to the RAW file image you want to process.
- Press the Q button to display the RAW processing controls.
- Make any adjustments you want…
- …then press Q to create the file.
- If you like the result, press OK to store.
And that’s it. Your new file is saved as a JPEG to the memory card, with a name that is the next in the sequence, as if you were creating a new picture.
You can make quite a few adjustments and, as with RAW file editing on a computer, the RAW file is left intact and unchanged, since this is a non-destructive process. The following can be adjusted:
- PUSH/PULL PROCESSING – enables you to brighten an image by +3 stops or darken it by -2 stops in one-third stop increments.
- DYNAMIC RANGE – set dynamic range to boost the level of detail in shadows and highlights.
- FILM SIMULATION – choose from the full range of your camera’s modes.
- GRAIN EFFECT – apply grain retrospectively.
- COLOR CHROME – apply the Color Chrome effect.
- BLACK & WHITE ADJUSTMENT – apply a warm or cool black & white tone.
- WHITE BALANCE – set a white balance preset, including one of your own presets.
- WB SHIFT – fine-tune the temperature and tint by small amounts.
- HIGHLIGHT TONE – modify contrast by lightening or darkening whites.
- SHADOW TONE – modify contrast by lightening or darkening blacks.
- COLOR – increase or decrease color saturation.
- SHARPNESS – increase or decrease electronic sharpening.
- NOISE REDUCTION – increase or decrease the amount of noise reduction applied to an image.
You’ll also see the option REFLECT SHOOTING COND. This resets all of the adjustments you’ve made back to the settings you used to create the picture in the first place.
Your Next Steps
- CHALLENGE Go out and photograph some street scenes, making your images as RAW files. Pick a favorite frame and process this up in three completely different ways, using your camera’s in-camera RAW processing. Then post your experiment to social media with the hashtag #MyFujifilmLegacy and #ICRAW. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.