ABSTRACT
A raw file must be ‘developed’ before use. It contains additional digital information that allows wide exposure latitude and accurate white balance after the picture is taken. JPEGs are less flexible files and are already compressed in the camera. There is no latitude for exposure adjustment after a JPEG is processed and stored in the camera without some loss of quality. The raw file contains the original unprocessed data. The specific ‘look’ amateur photographers create in the raw file converter – the ‘instance’ – may need to be saved as a ‘sidecar’ file. This small file contains details of the settings used in the raw conversion process to produce their preferred ‘look’. Lose that file and amateur photographers have to start again.
