Topic: first time concert shooting advice

[jdawg]

BJ, you gave some good tips.  Best thing about shooting in raw is being able to taylor your color schemes to your particular need.  With jpeg, what you got (as for WB) is what you get.  Raw, just change it.  And most important, practice, practice, practice!

I change the WB (curves, etc) on JPG's all the time in Photoshop. Works great, imo. I have yet to shoot exclusively in raw. On some occasions I'll shoot RAW+JPG, but not that often. Again, depends on what you're shooting and how much time you want to spend on PP.

With a large enough jpg file it will work great, but with a raw file it will work better.  You get artifacts and quality degredation doing edits in jpg.

For instance, it's akin to converting your .wav file to mp3, boosting the levels, adjusting things and then converting it back to .wav.

My point was really to say that - it's not like you have to be shooting in RAW format ALL the time. Nor is it to say that you should always be shooting in manual mode. Especially for folks just getting started in DSLR (myself included). Even the last show that I shot I was in Av mode for a time and got plenty of great shots without having to tweak settings on a moments notice. Post processing is a whole other ballgame. I think it makes more sense to learn the camera settings/modes first and everything else that goes along with that. Using JPG's initially you'll save space and PP time on the backend. Again, like I mentioned before, it all depends on what you're shooting. RAW certainly has its place.

[Sanjay]

That's true.  If I'm shooting family or something simple, just put it into autofocus and jpg and go.

Maybe for me it's easier than most to translate to the MF since I used a MF Nikon SLR for 12 years first.  Maybe not... But for concerts shooting in RAW will pay dividends on the few images you do edit. 

[Frank in JC]

My point was really to say that - it's not like you have to be shooting in RAW format ALL the time. Nor is it to say that you should always be shooting in manual mode. Especially for folks just getting started in DSLR (myself included). Even the last show that I shot I was in Av mode for a time and got plenty of great shots without having to tweak settings on a moments notice. Post processing is a whole other ballgame. I think it makes more sense to learn the camera settings/modes first and everything else that goes along with that. Using JPG's initially you'll save space and PP time on the backend. Again, like I mentioned before, it all depends on what you're shooting. RAW certainly has its place.

Absolutely.  There's nothing wrong with shooting in aperture-priority mode, especially when combined with exposure compensation.  In fact, it's often a better approach!  The only mode I never use is "program."

I also agree, the most important thing is understanding the principles of photography and how to apply them.  It's not rocket science, but there is a lot to think about.

When I first starting using a DSLR I never shot RAW, only JPEG.  It wasn't the biggest mistake, but now I really see the benefit, particularly if there's a lot of shadow detail or the image is underexposed.  When I tried to bring out the detail by dodging or some other means on a JPEG, I often got noise and compression artifacts.  Now I shoot RAW + JPEG, but only keep RAW files of my better images.

[Jimna]

I also agree, the most important thing is understanding the principles of photography and how to apply them.  It's not rocket science, but there is a lot to think about.

When I first starting using a DSLR I never shot RAW, only JPEG.  It wasn't the biggest mistake, but now I really see the benefit, particularly if there's a lot of shadow detail or the image is underexposed.  When I tried to bring out the detail by dodging or some other means on a JPEG, I often got noise and compression artifacts.  Now I shoot RAW + JPEG, but only keep RAW files of my better images.

thats saying a mouthful right there!

i think thats the best idea ive heard!  shoot in both formats and simply delete whats not important as you view them the first time.  save space and maybe a keeper that might be lost too. 

.......maybe this reflects my desire to record audio in higher resolution too, irregardless of the extra storage needs and arguments of its audible better quality.  if its worth the effort why not!?!?

great link jdawg, thanks.