5.6. Notes on the Image Formats: RAW, TIFF, and JPEG

NEF (RAW) Notes

There are innumerable discussions on Internet camera forums on the subject of "Which is the best image format?" As a primarily RAW-shooting photographer, I have strong opinions on that and will do my best not to be overbearing about it.

Yes, I am a NEF (RAW) photographer about 99% of the time. I think of a RAW, similar to the way I thought of my slides and negatives a few years ago: this is my original file that must be saved and protected. The only problems I can think of for the RAW format are the following:

  1. You must post-process and convert every image you shoot into a TIFF or JPEG. (or other viewable format).

  2. There is no industry standard RAW image format, and Nikon can ...

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