I’ve had an epiphany about RAW files. For years I was a skeptic thinking shooting RAW was only for pros and photo editing junkies.

Shooting RAW never interested me and nothing I read or saw convinced me that is was a whole lot better than shooting high quality JPEGs. Plus developing a RAW file seemed like such a hassle. Basic editing of jpeg files is easy and straightforward.

In fact, I had the ability to shoot RAW for several years on my CoolPix 5400 after Nikon released a firmware upgrade that added the RAW file format to the camera. I never bothered.

I even asked a photographer friend to send me a couple of RAW files taken with a DSLR so I could play with them. Nothing special about working with RAW jumped out at me, maybe because the images were very good to begin with.

My first experience shooting RAW

When I bought the FZ18 made by Panasonic, not known for making digital cameras that take noise-free images even at lower ISO numbers, I decided to give RAW a try.

During the latter part of dusk one evening, I took a few random shots with my FZ18 set to the RAW+JPEG option. For those not familiar with this option, both a RAW file and JPEG file are taken simultaneously when the shutter button is pressed.

I also set the camera to ISO 800. Lousy setting and time of day but, hey, I was experimenting. In real life, I doubt I’ll ever shoot under similar circumstances.

The differences between the JPG and RAW files amazed me! The illustration speaks for itself (click thumbnail for full-sized view; non-edited images are 100% crops).

Now some will rightfully point out that neither of the two images are good. But which one would you rather work with if you wanted a chance to salvage a photo?

Some may further argue that RAW files created by most any Panasonic digital cameras have noise and don’t respond well to noise removal. Even if I find this to be true too, I may not always use a Panasonic and my previous skepticism gets me nowhere.

Shooting RAW as a safety net

I believe shooting RAW will give me the edge in some circumstances. It certainly won’t hurt to give it a try. I plan to shoot RAW+JPEG:

• for special occasions when lighting is poor
• for special subjects when I’m not concerned about how fast images are written to the memory card.

Shooting high quality JPEGs will meet most of my photographic needs but, boy, am I going to shoot RAW+JPEG when a safety net is needed!