RAW photos help please?

Question

Okay, I have a Nikon D5000, and I am very unfamiliar with RAW photograhs.
So to took a photo in RAW, and uploaded it to my computer. my Nikon uploading software had a converting button, so I pressed that. But I don't think it convert it, because I can't upload it to flickr. The picture just isn't there.
What am I doing wrong? How do I do this? I'm still unclear on the avantages of RAW too?
and my camera has different RAW modes. Like RAW+N, RAW+F, RAW+B. What are these?
And are there any other steps to take after I convert them somehow?
Sorry for the million questions I'm just really lost :[

Answer 1

I have Nikon D5000 too!

Raw photographs are not as hard as it seems. First of all, if you are uploading to Flickr to use raw just use jpg. Raw is only for when you're actually going to print your pictures. (I wouldn't use flickr i'm really paranoid of people stealing my photographs even if they are watermarked) When you convert your RAW image on View NX make sure you are converting it to a TIF file. TIF keeps the amazing quality you get with RAW. RAW+N, RAW+F, RAW+B just means the Raw normal raw fine and raw basic. It has both the Raw and JPG combined into one picture so you don't have to convert the image. In other words, Nikon made it easier for photographers who shoot with RAW. You just need to get used to your camera. I love my Nikon D5000. Oh and another thing! jpg makes RAW image turn all ugly so i wouldn't recommend converting it to JPG. RAW is like reality and it is not read by any software. It is like a foreign language no one can decode.

Answer 2

I'll just say READ THE ******* MANUAL. They don't hire people to write those things for nothing.



Now both the camera manual may not be very detailed about RAW, but the software manual should be. If there was no paper manual, check on the software install cd.



Now that I'm done venting my frustration at your apparent unwillingness to make even the slightest effort to figure it out, I'm now going to try and give a helpful answer.



So RAW, for nikon cameras it's actually a .NEF file (which isa nikon propreitary file type), is a file type which contains raw data from the sensor. Ok, not really. The sensor data is processed to make an image. In other file types it's the compressed and all the useless data is thrown out, the camera collects more data than you strictly speaking need for a good photo.



In RAW, the compression and dropping of data doesn't happen. You just have a tiny little bit of processing done and all the data about what adjustments the camera software may have made (for instancewhite balance) are saved in one big file. For that reason RAW files are massive compared to jpegs.



The point is RAW files allow you to do all the adjustments that the camera would normally do yourself on your computer. That way you can see much better what you're getting. For instance if a jpeg is overexposed there's not much you can do. With a RAW file you still have alot more infor even in the underexposed areas, so you can adjust the exposure much better (up to a point).



The problem with RAWs is they pretty much only work with the software your camera came with and with photoshop and a few other image editors. Well, that and their size. So you can't use RAWs on the internet, the files need to converted to jpeg/jpg or tiff or gif or whatever before they can be used on the internet and on most programs.



I'm not familiar with Nikon's ViewNX (which I gather is what came with your camera) but the usual process in most RAW converters is you click convert, the get a screen where you can make exposure, white balance and a bunch of other adjustments, and perhaps also choose what file type they should be saved as and where the files should be saved (this may also be in a new window). Once you've made the adjustments you click convert/confirm/"something that tells the software to start working" and then you'll find the converted files in whatever location you specified.



For a proper explanation about how exactly your software works you'll need to read the manual.

Answer 3

Hi,



I have a D5000.



RAW+N/F/B is RAW+NORMAL/FINE/BASIC. They have to do with image size. Fine is the largest size and Basic is the smallest.



You can shoot in RAW, JPEG and RAW + JPEG. For each of these choices you can select F, N or B. You should probably always shoot in Fine. You change these settings by selecting the MENU button, selecting "shooting menu" (the camera symbol) and selecting "image quality."



As per the files you have already downloaded from your camera, look at the extension of the image file. If it is a .NEF, then that is the Nikon RAW file. You will need software to convert from the .NEF to a JPEG, TIFF etc.



Unless you understand why you might choose to use RAW, don't.



In simple terms, RAW is the output from the sensor. A JPEG, TIFF etc. is a compressed image that has had some processing done on it. If you are using Photoshop or a similar piece of software, you can do some important processing on the RAW files without degrading the image quality. This is very attractive to a lot of photographers.



Hope that helps.

Answer 4

You need to read about RAW and decide if you re not a pro - if that is really something you want to spend you hard drive's memory and your time on converting into.

RAW is incredible - the amount of information like colors it keeps - is incredible and a lot of it is not even seen by an eye! RAW is something every professional would use and should use. As for amateur - just convert them in tiff, maybe resize - flickr has only certain MB per photo you can upload.

JPEG looses information every time you save or transfer the file but is the most common picture format - because it's takes so much less space..

Answer 5

Ok ease up people. Did you all have a good breakfast this morning? No? Try a Jimmy Dean breakfast and chill out.



If you are already shooting in RAW, you could just switch to RAW+F (fine being the highest quality JPEG). This means that for every shot you will get a RAW file and a JPEG file. You can upload the JPEG to flickr without having to do any conversions. I shoot RAW+JPEG because I like to have the RAW files as a back-up. JPEGs lose quality as you open, edit and save. A RAW file never loses quality. It's a loss-less file type.

Answer 6

I am not familiar with the nikon software but I think you did not chose the correct option.

check what option you have when converting. Flickr only recognises jpeg as far as I know. You probably chose tiff or something like that. just check the options really.

hope that helps

Answer 7

a million- a thank you to transform JPEG photograph to uncooked photograph? you are able to no longer ... that is like asking "How do I turn a chair returned right into a tree?". once you exchange from uncooked to jpeg (or in case you shot the unique shot in jpeg) you tossed out a TON of sensor information ... that information is long previous, there is not any getting it returned. 2- photograph form Editor or digital photograph expert? I even have definitely by no ability loaded photograph form editor ... ever. i'm no longer even confident what it does. I do my corrections to publicity and white stability in DPP. (I do approximately 10 weddings a year). EDIT: @Nick ... I had by no ability loaded photograph form editor till now so i attempted it now ... it desires uncooked documents.