Student/Newb needs help with RAW

[CrystalDawn]

Hi,

I'm a complete newb to this but am currently a 3D animation student and need to create RAW files to turn into HDR images. I really don't have much knowledge about digital photography beyond the basic, it's pictures and they're made from pixels.

How do I get my Canon camera to send RAW images into my computer instead of .jpgs?

Hopefully someone can help me understand as my course requires that I set up a scene with an HDR image and apparently that takes at least 2 RAW images merged. I asked my professor, but she said that she's only for the lighting and textures in 3D she doesn't know really anything about how to create the RAW / HDR images either.

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Crystal Dawn

[Donald]

Dawn - You need to establish whether your camera is capable of taking RAW images. Some cameras do, some don't.

What Canon camera do you have; i.e. what is the model name/number?

[Mike Buckley]

Just in case your camera doesn't produce raw images, be aware that by definition HDR photography does not require the use of raw image files. You can use JPEGs, though most people will contend that the range of artistic possibilities and control is greater when using raw files.

[DanK]

Some of the small point-and-shoots don't capture raw images, but as far as I know, all Canon DSLRs do. So do the higher end non-interchangeable-lens cameras, like the G7X. If you don't have the manual, download a copy. the manuals tell you how to change the file format captured. It's a simple setting, but the menus vary across the Canon models, so I can't tell you more specifically.

[paintingwithlight]

I asked my professor, but she said that she's only for the lighting and textures in 3D she doesn't know really anything about how to create the RAW / HDR images either.

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Crystal Dawn

That is rather troubling. Are you required to use RAW images or is it merely suggested? Either you camera will allow you to save RAW images or it won't...

With either RAW or JPEG images you can create HDR images. This is easiest to do if you have a manual ("M") setting on your camera because you will want to deliberately over- and under-expose some photos. We could offer better advice if we knew the model of your camera.

Michael

[george013]

Hi,

I'm a complete newb to this but am currently a 3D animation student and need to create RAW files to turn into HDR images. I really don't have much knowledge about digital photography beyond the basic, it's pictures and they're made from pixels.

How do I get my Canon camera to send RAW images into my computer instead of .jpgs?

Hopefully someone can help me understand as my course requires that I set up a scene with an HDR image and apparently that takes at least 2 RAW images merged. I asked my professor, but she said that she's only for the lighting and textures in 3D she doesn't know really anything about how to create the RAW / HDR images either.

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Crystal Dawn

Crystal,

RAW-files are no images you can see. You can't make a HDR-image of it. A RAW-file must first been converted to a raster image. That's a way of arranging the pixels in the memory of the pc. These raster images can be saved to disk as a jpg, tiff or any other image file.
If you want to work with RAW-images, then you'll need a converter too. The problem with converters is that the results are not always the same.
I don't know what the intention of this task is, but if it is to learn about HDR, just use jpg or tiff.

George

[CrystalDawn]

Dawn - You need to establish whether your camera is capable of taking RAW images. Some cameras do, some don't.

What Canon camera do you have; i.e. what is the model name/number?

--
Thank you, Donald!! I'm at work at my day job right now but I'll get that info to you as soon as I'm home this afternoon. Didn't see the CR2 or RAW as they say Canon usually has, it's an older $230 model, so maybe we need a new one to accomplish the RAW. But how do we import it to the computer? Every time we import the camera (or computer?) automatically changes it to jpg. ~ Sincerely, Crystal

[CrystalDawn]

Thank you so much everyone!! I'll have to go over this at home and reply to everyone, but I think you have given wonderful help here and someday I'll be able to repay that to another newb! ;-)

[Donald]

--
Thank you, Donald!! I'm at work at my day job right now but I'll get that info to you as soon as I'm home this afternoon. Didn't see the CR2 or RAW as they say Canon usually has, it's an older $230 model, so maybe we need a new one to accomplish the RAW. But how do we import it to the computer? Every time we import the camera (or computer?) automatically changes it to jpg. ~ Sincerely, Crystal

If the camera can and is set to capture Raw images, then that is what will transfer to the computer. The transfer process will not/cannot change the file format. If you are getting JPGs on the computer, than that is what the camera is shooting.

The thing to know is that if the camera can capture images in a raw format, then you have to set it to do so. It won't do that automatically. So if you're getting JPGs when you upload your images to a computer that's because the camera is capturing JPGs.

[Mike Buckley]

If the camera can and is set to capture Raw images, then that is what will transfer to the computer. The transfer process will not/cannot change the file format. If you are getting JPGs on the computer, than that is what the camera is shooting.

That is most likely the case in this situation. However, I'll mention another possibility just in case there is the remote chance that it is at play: It's possible that the camera is configured to shoot RAW+JPEG (configured to generate both file formats for the same image) but the method of transferring image files to the computer is configured to transfer only the JPEGs.

[paintingwithlight]

--
Thank you, Donald!! I'm at work at my day job right now but I'll get that info to you as soon as I'm home this afternoon. Didn't see the CR2 or RAW as they say Canon usually has, it's an older $230 model, so maybe we need a new one to accomplish the RAW. But how do we import it to the computer? Every time we import the camera (or computer?) automatically changes it to jpg. ~ Sincerely, Crystal

Hi Crystal,

I am not overly concerned about RAW vs JPEG - your teacher will likely not notice a difference. Both RAW format and JPEG format can be used to make HDR photos.

I am concerned that your camera may not be able to do what you need it to do. Any modern camera can automatically choose the correct shutter speed, aperture setting and ISO sensitivity to properly expose an image. For an HDR photo you want two or more photos to merge in software. Those photos are of the exact same scene (use a tripod), but (in the case of three photos) one is properly exposed, one is underexposed and one is overexposed. Do you know how to set your camera to underexpose an image? If not perhaps look at the manual to see if it is possible. If your camera has a setting labelled "M" or "Manual" then the members of this forum can walk you through the process.

Again, knowing the model of your camera would be helpful.

Regards,

Michael

[xpatUSA]

Hi,

Hopefully someone can help me understand as my course requires that I set up a scene with an HDR image and apparently that takes at least 2 RAW images merged. I asked my professor, but she said that she's only for the lighting and textures in 3D she doesn't know really anything about how to create the RAW / HDR images either.

Crystal, I may have missed it but have you told us what editing software you have on your computer?

[george013]

Hi Crystal,

I am not overly concerned about RAW vs JPEG - your teacher will likely not notice a difference. Both RAW format and JPEG format can be used to make HDR photos.

I am concerned that your camera may not be able to do what you need it to do. Any modern camera can automatically choose the correct shutter speed, aperture setting and ISO sensitivity to properly expose an image. For an HDR photo you want two or more photos to merge in software. Those photos are of the exact same scene (use a tripod), but (in the case of three photos) one is properly exposed, one is underexposed and one is overexposed. Do you know how to set your camera to underexpose an image? If not perhaps look at the manual to see if it is possible. If your camera has a setting labelled "M" or "Manual" then the members of this forum can walk you through the process.

Again, knowing the model of your camera would be helpful.

Regards,

Michael

I don't know how you can use RAW files for HDR. You always need a converter.

George

[paintingwithlight]

I don't know how you can use RAW files for HDR. You always need a converter.

George

True. I was trying to simplify things for the OP. I wanted to impress on the OP that she did not need RAW files to make an HDR image. A JPEG will suffice. I assumed that her software would convert the RAW data to a useful image and export it as JPEG or TIFF in order to make an HDR image. Ted's question is a good one - I started off assuming the OP has access to photo editing software.

[DanK]

I don't know how you can use RAW files for HDR. You always need a converter.

Not so. Both of the HDR/exposure blending software processes I use (LR HRD merge and LR Enfuse) accept raw files as inputs, and the OP's question was about inputting files into some HDR process. In fact, I never input anything but raw files into them. It's not clear to me why she needs raw, as someone else asked, but that is a different matter.

[dje]

Not so. Both of the HDR/exposure blending software processes I use (LR HRD merge and LR Enfuse) accept raw files as inputs, and the OP's question was about inputting files into some HDR process. In fact, I never input anything but raw files into them. It's not clear to me why she needs raw, as someone else asked, but that is a different matter.

From what I've read, with LR HDR Merge, only very basic processing is done by LR on the raw files before merging. In particular, interpolation from 12/14 bit to 16 bit and de-mosaicing. Eric Chan from Adobe is quoted in this article. He refers to this data as "linear raw RGB". The resulting HDR DNG file is then developed further in LR with such things as White Balance, camera profiles etc being applied.

I have no information on the Enfuse plug-in.

Dave

[paintingwithlight]

Here is an HDR of my daughter playing piano just now:



This image was made from three exposures (-2, 0 and +2) in Nikon RAW format. I used LR6 and did not convert RAW to any other format. When I opted to make an HDR LR did the format conversion for me - it converts data from the three RAW files (which looks like a crappy mosaic) to three DNG files (based on TIFF) and then combines the images with the result being a DNG (or essentially TIFF) file.

Was I able to make an HDR file from three RAW files? Yes. Did I need to convert them from RAW? No, not actively. Did they need to be converted from RAW to make an image which looks "real" and not like the Bayer grid image from my sensor which was stored on the SD card? Yes.

Too bad the OP has abandoned this thread...

Michael

[xpatUSA]

Too bad the OP has abandoned this thread...

Michael

+1

[Cantab]

Here is an HDR of my daughter playing piano just now:



This image was made from three exposures (-2, 0 and +2) in Nikon RAW format. I used LR6 which and did not convert RAW to any other format. When I opted to make an HDR LR did the format conversion for me - it converts data from the three RAW files (which looks like a crappy mosaic) to three DNG files (based on TIFF) and then combines the images with the result being a DNG (or essentially TIFF) file.

Was I able to make an HDR file from three RAW files? Yes. Did I need to convert them from RAW? No, not actively. Did they need to be converted from RAW to make an image which looks "real" and not like the Bayer grid image from my sensor which was stored on the SD card? Yes.

Too bad the OP has abandoned this thread...

Michael

Michael, it looks like you must be in a snowy part of Canada! (totally irrelevant to the subject of this thread!)

[paintingwithlight]

Winnipeg. Where we still scoff at wind chill - we hit -40C often enough without it. And unlike Toronto we don't need to call in the Army after a heavy snowfall.