Getting the Best Results From a Digital Sensor — JPEG vs RAW and Exposure and Noise

These new articles apply to any type of digital camera, being particularly instructive in several ways:

• How misleading a camera histogram can be.
• How grossly underexposed the “correct” metering might be.
• The greatly increased noise from “correct” but sub-optimal exposure.
• The huge loss of dynamic range with JPEG.
• The incredible versatility of push and pull with RAW.

Added to the DAP workflow articles:

• RAW vs JPEG exposure bracketing series.
• Noise and exposure showing 2 1/3 stop range.

It was a bit of a challenge to fully present this work, but I think it was worth it. In it, I capture some measure of what I do in the field, and how I can get very high image quality out of even small sensor cameras.

At a glance

Below, it is easy to see why RAW is hugely preferable to JPEG (this is a camera RAW + JPEG pair shot with one press of the shutter), with RAW having generous headroom by comparison, and far higher image quality due to reduced noise:

Mosts cameras mislead for RAW, leading users to underexpose for inferior image quality.