Difference between RAW and JPEG, and when should you use which
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GUIDE Sony a7S II Guide

Difference between RAW and JPEG, and when should you use which

You shoot RAW for best image quality, and you shoot JPEG for ease of use, speed and storage space. Here are the sizes of a typical 12MP image*: X.Fine JPEG: 7 MB Uncompressed RAW: 25 MB *The sizes will vary by a bit depending on the kind of information you’re shooting. That’s a savings of […]

You shoot RAW for best image quality, and you shoot JPEG for ease of use, speed and storage space.

Here are the sizes of a typical 12MP image*:

  • X.Fine JPEG: 7 MB
  • Uncompressed RAW: 25 MB

*The sizes will vary by a bit depending on the kind of information you’re shooting.

That’s a savings of about 72%.

What we need to determine is whether you lose quality by shooting JPEG. Here’s a test of a frame shot in RAW and JPEG, and then processed in ACR.

First, stills just exported from ACR with no correction (except choosing the profile) (Click to enlarge):

Uncompressed RAW:

UNa7S2UncompressedRAW

JPEG:

UNa7S2JPEG

Now, stills processed^ in ACR and exported as full size JPEGs (Click to enlarge):

Uncompressed RAW:

a7S2UncompressedRAWResult

JPEG:

a7S2JPEGResult

EXIF – ISO 800, 1/25th shutter, f/4.5 at 51mm on a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6mm lens. Neutral picture profile. X.Fine JPEG quality. Multi-metering, underexposed by -0.7EV.

^Here’s the torture that was applied to the images:

TortureTestRAWa7S2

Takeaway

There is no doubt. If you want the best image quality and flexibility, you must shoot RAW. But people have known this for over a decade.