RAW is nice and versatile. Setting a correct WB can save time in post processing. Even in RAW you will need to set your iso properly because otherwise you'll end up with noise. Center AF or not depends on the scene you're shooting.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Rogertb wrote:.

Hi a real newbie here with a new 400D ... I need this camera forwork, sometimes, I want to be able to take high quality pics for usein brochures. More often than not the client will employ a pro.photographer but there are odd occasions when I'll need to shootsomething as well. Can I leave the camera on RAW constantly for this.... I don't think I'll need the jpgs as I'll always be taking theimages into photoshop for tweaking..

Leaving it on RAW the whole time is the best choice provided you don't mind doing the conversion afterwards..

I'm also tempted to leave thefocus set to the centre point only (I'm more used to this).

I think that this is what most people do. Selecting variable focus points is useful if you are shooting from a tripod and want to focus on something off-centre..

... havingset it on RAW can I more or less forget about white balance.

I tend to have my white balance on Auto most of the time, although the raw converter will use the JPEG white balance setting as it's starting point. As wijnands has said, it might save you some processing time if you select the appropriate white balance when taking the shot..

ISO.

No! This is a very important setting that you should think about for almost every shot. Never have it on Auto..

Etc..

You will get better shots if you don't have the exposure set to Auto. I think that most people use Aperture Priority (Av) for normal work. The aperture controls the depth of field so this forces you to think about what depth of field you want for the shot..

Learn to read the histogram and use Exposure Compensation to adjust the exposure if the histogram shows that it is off..

Any comments really welcome..

Many thanks.

Roger.

Chris R..

Rogertb wrote:.

... havingset it on RAW can I more or less forget about white balance ISO etc..

There are two kinds of settings on a digital camera - those that affect the 'capture' (the exposure, in traditional terms), and those that affect the processing of the captured image..

The image capture is affected by:- Aperture- Shutter speed- ISO speed- Your optical equipment - the lens itself, filters and so on.- Focusing.

All those must be correct, even if you are shooting RAW. Notice that they are exactly the same things that you would control if shooting film..

These settings relate to image processing:- Sharpness- Contrast- Saturation- Tone- White balance- Colour space.

All those can be freely altered in the RAW converter, with no penalty in terms of image quality. Note that the first four are collectively the 'Picture Style' on the 400D..

RAW offers one more element of control. Because it records a wider dynamic range than JPEG, it is possible to increase or decrease the 'exposure' by a stop or so in either direction with little or no reduction in image quality. What you are doing is similar to (but not, technically, identical to) changing the ISO speed after the fact. It can be very useful as way to get very close control of exposure, or (frankly) to correct mistakes. It is NOT a substitute for getting the exposure right in the first place...

RAW is a favorite for peole who don't know what they are doing..

You can really screw up and then fix things later, although it does help to get he exposure approximately right in the first place. And focus the lens RAW does not fix this. Oh, and get the shutter speed right to prevent blur. Photoshop doesn't fix this, either..

So if your goal is to play computer technician, there is no reason in the world to not just shoot RAW all the time..

Memory cards are cheap, so having somewhere to store the big files is not a problem like it was a few years ago..

And extra hard drives are a bargain, for storign the big files after taking them off the card. I like the little ones that are portable and just plug in via a USB cable...

What a splendid resource this is .... thank you so much chaps that has helped in every possible way. I look forward to being able to contribute towards the forum someday..

Roger..