RAW vs JPEGtechnical
RAW keeps all the sensor data for editing; JPEG is a smaller, processed, ready-to-share file.
RAW files are large but hold far more latitude to recover highlights/shadows and change white balance after the fact. JPEGs are baked-in and smaller. Beginners learning to edit benefit hugely from RAW.
Use this when
- Tricky light, you'll edit: RAW
- Snapshots, burst, share fast: JPEG
Common mistake: Shooting JPEG in hard light, then finding the sky is unrecoverable.