46 DIGITAL CAMERA^ APRIL 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
SHOOT IN RAW!Fixing your photos: choose raw
If camera settings go wrong and your exposure comes out wrong,
shooting in raw provides a crucial safety net, as these tests show...
Recovering overexposure
The extra dynamic range a raw file holds over a JPEG
means that blown-out highlights can still be rescued,
as the cloud details in the sky here demonstrate.
Recovering the JPEG has led to an unsightly colour
shift and flat tones in the mountains. The recovered
raw, while not perfect, is still vastly better.Recovering underexposure
Shadow detail can usually be teased out to a greater
extent than highlight detail. Even areas that initially
look pitch-black can often yield astonishing detail.
In this image (shot at ISO 1,600) the recovered
shadows in both the raw and JPEG are very noisy, but
the detail and colour held in the raw is far superior.Colour fixes
Colour casts and white balance faults are easily fixed
in raws, as you’re able to choose a different white
balance preset or fine-tune the temperature and tint
of the image. Here, a mistakenly applied Tungsten
white balance is easily corrected in the raw; the
JPEG is harder to fix, resulting in unnatural highlights.JPEG CORRECTED
JPEG CORRECTED
JPEG CORRECTED
RAW CORRECTED
RAW CORRECTED
RAW CORRECTED
Before
Before
Before