# Please share your camera settings



## sunnyVan (Apr 12, 2013)

Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough. 

well I think I know what I'm doing but I need RAW. Anyway, my real question is 
1. what size of RAW and JPEG do you normally use?
2. do you use camera NR at all? or do you use LR?
3. what settings would you advise against and for?


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## neuroanatomist (Apr 12, 2013)

RAW only. No in-camera NR (except long exposure NR as needed).


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## Skywise (Apr 12, 2013)

RAW + JPG and I think the minimalist setting for NR with high ISO (which should only affect JPG I think?)

I take a lot of family vacation photos so it's easier to just dump the JPGs onto a USB for friends/family rather than post process all the RAW images. But, when I've got the time, I like to go back to post-process the RAWs of the "good" images.


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## RGF (Apr 12, 2013)

Raw only. If I need a JPG I extract the embedded JPG (in the raw file).

No noise reduction, but I seldom shoot over 1 second.


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## RLPhoto (Apr 12, 2013)

RAW + Small Fine Jpeg - Raw for edits, Jpeg for a carrier file or Instant needs. 

Low NR in-camera and no long exposure NR.


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## filo64 (Apr 12, 2013)

RGF said:


> Raw only. If I need a JPG I extract the embedded JPG (in the raw file).



RGF, have you found a convenient way of extracting the JPGs? I have only ever done it in a pinch on my android device - not on my Win7 PC - and it was a hassle.


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## comsense (Apr 12, 2013)

sunnyVan said:


> Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough.
> 
> well I think I know what I'm doing but I need RAW. Anyway, my real question is
> 1. what size of RAW and JPEG do you normally use?
> ...



> "he doesn't need to shoot RAW"
Fair enough. Everyone has different needs!
I have some photos that were unusable as in camera JPEG and turned out decent processed from RAW (maybe he would say I don't know what I am doing).
But, 
unless you are lunatic as hell, 
I know what I am doing well, 
super busy shooting children who run around and yell,
the greatest and only, Ken Rockwell.

modern cameras allows you best of both worlds. Recording RAW as well as JPEG!!! 

> "if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine"
Right answer is it depends on the shooting conditions and histogram. Does he know what he is doing?

> "smallest size JPEG is good enough" 
Again it depends? Good enough for what? For iphone? 

Answers to your question:
1) RAW on CF card, Med-Low JPEG on SDHC card for quick review (SDHC goes into my laptop or ipad (with adaptor) for instant review). 
2) Photoshop only for printing
3) See #1, you can record Med-High JPEG on SDHC card for quick web uploading if you prefer.


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## RGF (Apr 12, 2013)

filo64 said:


> RGF said:
> 
> 
> > Raw only. If I need a JPG I extract the embedded JPG (in the raw file).
> ...



Breezebrowser Pro (www.breezsys.com) - at least my old version of the program extracts embedded jpgs


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## Mr Bean (Apr 12, 2013)

Large RAW only for me. I used to shoot L RAW + S JPEG but since I've started using Lightroom, its way more convenient to run the JPEG's out of the Export process in LR (easy to nominate the image size, quality, etc, which I usually ended up doing with the S JPEG's from the camera anyway).

NR in LR.


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## Click (Apr 12, 2013)

Large RAW or Large JPEG.

NR in LR.


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## gary (Apr 12, 2013)

I only shoot RAW and convert out of Lightroom which I use for noise reduction, also use NIK for noise reduction if needed.


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## Drizzt321 (Apr 13, 2013)

I agree it somewhat depends on your needs and skills at getting the right exposure. However, there are some circumstances where it really does make a big difference. Such as the shoot I'm doing tonight, which is an inside dance/burlesque performance which will undoubtedly have some poor to really bad lighting. So RAW lets me push the exposure a bit and fix the white balance which is undoubtedly screwed up because multiple lights with different gels on them, and use what I believe is superior LR4 noise reduction as opposed to camera NR. I'll try out the Nik Dfine2 that I go through the Google Nik Collection deal.

So, long way of saying, I pretty much always shoot full-sized RAW with long exposure NR (which does darkslide exposure to subtract noise), and otherwise low or no in camera NR. And then after I sort through what I'm keeping, I delete the rest generally to save on storage space.


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## Lgrant (Apr 13, 2013)

I shoot jpg 95% of the time and I have learned to get it right on the camera. I use neutral grey for white balance calabration for the current lighting. Gary Fong and David Ziser are jpg shooters.


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## sunnyVan (Apr 13, 2013)

Drizzt321 said:


> I agree it somewhat depends on your needs and skills at getting the right exposure. However, there are some circumstances where it really does make a big difference. Such as the shoot I'm doing tonight, which is an inside dance/burlesque performance which will undoubtedly have some poor to really bad lighting. So RAW lets me push the exposure a bit and fix the white balance which is undoubtedly screwed up because multiple lights with different gels on them, and use what I believe is superior LR4 noise reduction as opposed to camera NR. I'll try out the Nik Dfine2 that I go through the Google Nik Collection deal.
> 
> So, long way of saying, I pretty much always shoot full-sized RAW with long exposure NR (which does darkslide exposure to subtract noise), and otherwise low or no in camera NR. And then after I sort through what I'm keeping, I delete the rest generally to save on storage space.





There was a period of time when I made myself shoot JPEG only because I thought to myself an excellent photographer must be able to get composition, exposure, color balance, and everything else perfect on the spot. The I was introduced to what LR4 could do and I became a convert to RAW shooting. 

The reason I asked about size is because large RAW is just too big for storage. I don't know if small is high enough for printing wedding photo sized canvas, which I think is the largest print size I would ever need. 

I heard that LR DNG format is smaller than CR2. I never convert format when I import. And I don't know if I should.


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## Canon-F1 (Apr 13, 2013)

sunnyVan said:


> Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough.



well look at his kid shots.. would you waste time on them? 
and for all his other shots it´s saturation all the way up and don´t care about the rest.

KR is a mediocre photographer at best.
all he does well, and that makes him kind of (in)famous, is polarizing opinions.

he even writes on his website that he makes things up.
or in other words he is lying about stuff. you take such a guy serious?



Ken Rockwell said:


> I enjoy making things up for fun, as does The Onion, and I publish them here — even on this page.



RAW gives you the best quality.. period.
why would you spend thousands of dollars on the latest and greatest gear only to diminish the returns by shooting JPG?

JPG make only sense when you need the images immediately.
journalism comes to my mind.


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## RGF (Apr 13, 2013)

Canon-F1 said:


> sunnyVan said:
> 
> 
> > Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough.
> ...



If you get a really good exposure, low constrat, no large adjustments - then JPG works well. However if you need larger adjustments then RAW is the way to go.


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## Canon-F1 (Apr 13, 2013)

RGF said:


> If you get a really good exposure, low constrat, no large adjustments - then JPG works well. However if you need larger adjustments then RAW is the way to go.



works well.. yes. but even when you nail it 100%... a RAW will look better.

and how many settle for well here?
the canon sensors do well... now look at the discussions here.  

there is so much talk about color rendition, DR, sharpness etc. and then shooting JPG... makes no sense if you ask me.


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## sunnyVan (Apr 13, 2013)

Canon-F1 said:


> sunnyVan said:
> 
> 
> > Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough.
> ...




I totally agree. KR is too opinionated and very subjective.


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## Dylan777 (Apr 13, 2013)

L-raw, NR off, everything set @ 0.

PP through LR


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## Drizzt321 (Apr 13, 2013)

sunnyVan said:


> Drizzt321 said:
> 
> 
> > I agree it somewhat depends on your needs and skills at getting the right exposure. However, there are some circumstances where it really does make a big difference. Such as the shoot I'm doing tonight, which is an inside dance/burlesque performance which will undoubtedly have some poor to really bad lighting. So RAW lets me push the exposure a bit and fix the white balance which is undoubtedly screwed up because multiple lights with different gels on them, and use what I believe is superior LR4 noise reduction as opposed to camera NR. I'll try out the Nik Dfine2 that I go through the Google Nik Collection deal.
> ...



Hmm...well, I'd say it depends on the resolution of your S/M/Full RAW sizes. In general, S probably will give you most smaller print sizes. Take the resolution and divide by 300dpi to get how big a high quality print you can make.

Personally, the other use for full size RAW is if you find you need to crop to get framing/fix horizon/etc the extra resolution can be helpful. Then of course output at the size you need. You're right though, full sized RAW is very big, however my solution is to delete the ones that I decide are crap or aren't good enough to use. And then store them all on my ZFS NAS with CrashPlan backup.


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## emko (Apr 13, 2013)

RAW will always look better and if you need JPG cant you just make them with DPP where it makes the same JPG picture as what the camera would?


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## Hobby Shooter (Apr 13, 2013)

RAW in general, but sometimes I deliver some pictures to my childrens' school and then I normally just shoot jpg as I don't want to bother about editing. If I slightly need to adjust WB or exposure then the jpgs are enough for that need.

NR in LR.


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## madspihl (Apr 13, 2013)

On my one-slot bodies (7D and 6D) I shoot RAW and Jpeg Large, but honestly that's force of habit more than anything else since it's probably been a couple of years since I last used a jpeg file from the 7D, and I've never used jpegs from the 6D... I really should just change it to RAW-only on both, I guess...

On my 5D III I now shoot RAW + RAW, so both cards record the same files, simply as a card failure safety thing.

On the X-E1 I actually find myself using the jpegs from time to time so the dual file type recording is more handy there.


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## sunnyVan (Apr 13, 2013)

madspihl said:


> On my one-slot bodies (7D and 6D) I shoot RAW and Jpeg Large, but honestly that's force of habit more than anything else since it's probably been a couple of years since I last used a jpeg file from the 7D, and I've never used jpegs from the 6D... I really should just change it to RAW-only on both, I guess...
> 
> On my 5D III I now shoot RAW + RAW, so both cards record the same files, simply as a card failure safety thing.
> 
> On the X-E1 I actually find myself using the jpegs from time to time so the dual file type recording is more handy there.



So you own both Mk3 and 6D? I've never seen someone who has both. If you have Mk3, why would you want 6D? Just curious.


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## verysimplejason (Apr 13, 2013)

Raw... Set to standard or portrait, NR off. I'll adjust through DPP alone most of the time. If I need to "clean" the images, I use LR or PP (very seldom, mostly for portraits and some landscapes).


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## verysimplejason (Apr 13, 2013)

sunnyVan said:


> madspihl said:
> 
> 
> > On my one-slot bodies (7D and 6D) I shoot RAW and Jpeg Large, but honestly that's force of habit more than anything else since it's probably been a couple of years since I last used a jpeg file from the 7D, and I've never used jpegs from the 6D... I really should just change it to RAW-only on both, I guess...
> ...



I think he use it as a backup or second camera. Primes on 6D and Zooms on 5D3 when shooting a wedding.


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## Hillsilly (Apr 13, 2013)

I have a 1Ds Mk ii, so probably not that relevant. I use: -

RAW (which probably reduces the impact of the following)
Noise Reduction Off
Color Matrix 1 Standard
Tone Curve Standard
Sharpness 5
Contrast +1

But I make the occasional time lapse movie (the 1Ds cameras are great for this - built like a tank, you just leave them outside overnight and turn them off in the morning). For this I use small or medium JPEG. When I start shooting stills again, I often forget to change it back to RAW. I'm often surprised by the quality of the smaller JPEGs. Not as good as a RAW file, but still pretty good and fine for non-critical use. 

FWIW, I also have an Olympus EPL-1. It makes great JPEGs in camera. I can rarely better the JPEG file by a noticeable amount by shooting RAW. Therefore, it lives in JPEG mode. The only time I shoot RAW with it is if I intend to do a lot of post production work (in my case, shooting IR and doing color channel switches and fake colour).

Even though I'm in the RAW brainwashee camp, I'd say Ken's advice is fine for most people in most situations.


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## madspihl (Apr 13, 2013)

verysimplejason said:


> sunnyVan said:
> 
> 
> > madspihl said:
> ...



I use the 6D as a backup (used to be a 5D II but I got the 6D mainly for low light capabilities because it's so dark up here much of the year). I live in a very remote Arctic environment and when we shoot stuff in the backcountry and something goes wrong with just one body you might as well just go home (which is often way more expensive than having a backup body, btw.).


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## J.R. (Apr 13, 2013)

I shoot RAW or in some situations RAW + S3. The S3 files are used for sharing photographs immediately after a shoot. 

IMHO shooting RAW has its numerous advantages which have already been highlighted above. From a personal standpoint, I'm still learning post processing in LR so maybe a couple of months, years I may be able to process my shots differently. 

The technological advancements in post processing techniques would also come in handy and would possibly work best with RAW images.


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## J.R. (Apr 13, 2013)

sunnyVan said:


> madspihl said:
> 
> 
> > On my one-slot bodies (7D and 6D) I shoot RAW and Jpeg Large, but honestly that's force of habit more than anything else since it's probably been a couple of years since I last used a jpeg file from the 7D, and I've never used jpegs from the 6D... I really should just change it to RAW-only on both, I guess...
> ...



I own the same combo of the 5D3 and 6D. My work takes me desert areas at least once a month where changing lenses is not a possibility. I use teles on the 5D3 and the WA on the 6D.


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## paul13walnut5 (Apr 13, 2013)

> Ken Rockwell claims that he doesn't need to shoot RAW and he said if you know what you are doing JPEG is fine. He also said the smallest size JPEG is good enough.
> 
> well I think I know what I'm doing but I need RAW. Anyway, my real question is
> 1. what size of RAW and JPEG do you normally use?
> ...



Hi SunnyVan

The main setting I would advise against is looking up Ken Rockwell's site.

I can only vouch for my cameras, and the one's I have owned in the past, but I've always found a little luminance NR and a tiny bit of sharpening at the ACR stage make my images much more pleasing to me.

I have a 7D and 600D currently, and I'm delighted with the results from these cameras, with a little bit of raw work.

So, on the first count, I don't agree with KR.

On the second count... I kind of agree up to a point. We don't really need more than 6MP for everyday shooting or online use. But I, like everybody else, shoots at full MP. It depends on the end destination.
And KR can't possibly know what that is for anybody else other than himself.

With cameras becoming so fast now, and decent high capacity fast memory so cheap, I struggle to think of reasons not to shoot at least RAW+jpeg.

I generally shoot RAW only. 

I have the incamera NR set up for long exposure only (+1s)

I don't bother with highlight priority modes etc.


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## sunnyVan (Apr 13, 2013)

Thanks for all your input. It looks like nobody really uses the camera NR too much. Now I know I'm not alone. 

I guess I'll use medium RAW as a compromise. I try to delete unwanted pics as much as possible. But still the storage space required is getting out of control. Perhaps I could skip JPEG altogether even though it helps little. 

For people who use LR, do you import as DNG or leave as is?


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## yablonsky (Apr 13, 2013)

I use high res RAW only. No NR. No DNG. Just CR2 files. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw. Actually no Photoshop modifications after all, except content aware fill if needed (but very scarcely).


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## 2n10 (Apr 13, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> RAW only. No in-camera NR (except long exposure NR as needed).



This is how I do it also.

You need to experiment with the settings and find what you like best.


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## Don Haines (Apr 13, 2013)

I save as RAW and small, fine, JPG. 

I heard the following definition ages ago: The difference between an amateur photographer and a professional is that the amateur KNOWS that they can get it right with just one shot..... and apparantly Mr. Rockwell knows he can get it right in just one shot.

_" You don't need to shoot RAW if you know what you are doing"_

JPG is the finished product. Anyone who thinks that they can always get everything right with the camera settings and produce the perfect final image straight from the camera every time has a huge ego and a fundamental lack of understanding of digital photography and of human nature. ( photography is part artform..... we will tweak pictures to what our idea of the final image is, and there is a LOT of individual variation/preference) I would not take anyone seriously who would make such a statement.

_" You don't need to shoot RAW if you know what you are doing"_
That must be why Raw is only offered in low-end point/shoot cameras and not availiable in any of the DSLR's or pro cameras.... NOT!

What you have is an egomaniac shouting out how good they are and that anyone who thinks otherwise just doesn't know what they are doing.... My advice is to smile and nod, and ignore him.


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## Don Haines (Apr 13, 2013)

_" You don't need to shoot RAW if you know what you are doing"_

Think of the data flow. ( obviously simplified, but you get the idea....)

in-camera JPG
Step 1: Data is read from the sensor.
Step 2: Data is processed, manipulated by fast algorithm with set parameters, and compressed in a lossy form.
Step 3: Lossy image is saved, raw data discarded.

in-camera RAW
Step 1: Data is read from the sensor.
Step 2: Data is processed, manipulated by trivial algorithm with set parameters, and a lossy thumbnail image is created.
Step 3: Raw data is stored in a lossless format plus embedded thumbnail.

at-home JPG:
Step 1: RAW data is read.
Step 2: Complex algorithm requiring far more computing power than camera can provide, is used to create JPG image.
Step 3: User examines JPG image, and adjusts settings to suit.
Step 4: keep repeating until you have optimized image.
Step 5: Save JPG as you prefer.

And note that as you are going through all the adjustment cycles you may decide to dump out a version of that JPG colour balanced with your printer profile, and another one colour balanced to your monitor profile. As far as I know, NOBODY makes a DSLR that allows you to enter in IO colour profiles ...... and certainly not multiple profiles on the same JPG.

I would have corrected the statement to be "you NEED to be able to shoot RAW if you know what you are doing".


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## aroo (Apr 13, 2013)

Sometimes I run out of disk space. Even having a ton of hard drives, shooting RAW doesn't always make sense. If I'm going to print something, then always RAW. Otherwise, M JPG has worked well in many situations (candids, landscape).

I think M RAW is actually a pretty good compromise, and you're getting noise reduced via interpolation.

Sometimes, I make so many photographs and can get so sidetracked by manual RAW conversion that shooting JPG speeds up my ability to catalog and review everything.


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## Drizzt321 (Apr 13, 2013)

aroo said:


> Sometimes I run out of disk space. Even having a ton of hard drives, shooting RAW doesn't always make sense. If I'm going to print something, then always RAW. Otherwise, M JPG has worked well in many situations (candids, landscape).
> 
> I think M RAW is actually a pretty good compromise, and you're getting noise reduced via interpolation.
> 
> Sometimes, I make so many photographs and can get so sidetracked by manual RAW conversion that shooting JPG speeds up my ability to catalog and review everything.



Actually, you can get that noise reduction via interpolation from the full raw, just export as a smaller JPG. 

Definitely takes a lot more space, and takes longer to sort through at times because of waiting for LR4 to prepare the preview images on import, even the standard previews. But, for me, that's why I built a 8TB RAIDZ NAS where I keep everything and backup to CrashPlan from that.


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## Don Haines (Apr 13, 2013)

Sort of to prove a point.....

The camera is set to save JPG and RAW..... I am in the house taking pictures of Fluffy the cat.... I see a flash of movement outside and snap this picture. No time to adjust any settings other than a quick twist of a thumbwheel...

The picture is of a horribly backlit Kestrel with a Redpoll snack, through a dirty patio window, and just about every imaginable setting on the camera wrong for the shot. On the left is the JPG created from the RAW file, on the right is the camera's JPG.

Sometimes there is just no time to do things right. RAW lets you claw back a lot of mistakes.


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## harryg (Apr 18, 2013)

5D, 50D, 1D4, 1D-X

Shoot RAW exclusively, AWB both Single Shot and AI-SERVO. Process first in DPP, then send to Photoshop for fine work.


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## bycostello (Apr 29, 2013)

i shoot raw but agree with Ken


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