White Balance - Do you need to readjust it often?

[Manfred M]

Remco - I suspect that what you are seeing is the PP software using some of the metadata to adjust the colour temperature of the image when you open it. The RAW file has to be converted into an image by the RAW converter. When I use either ViewNX2 or ACR to import or open a RAW file, it also writes a sidecar .xml file with this tombstone image data. This data is used to create the embedded jpg thumbnail, so I assume that the same data is used when the file is opened.

By definition. the raw file is neutral from a colour balance standpoint.

[revi]

That's what I hoped I was saying...

And why I suggested that he develops both RAWs with identical manual WB settings.

[AB26]

Thanks Remco,
Would it only be WB not being affected by camera settings when shooting in RAW? What other settings are not affected?
When viewing images in Nikon ViewNX2, what are you actually looking at before converting the file? It has to be converted to JPEG before most other software will be able to interpret the data in the file.
Why does Nikon call the file NEF and not RAW?

Maybe I am too "technically disadvantaged" to understand how one format of file data is affected and not the other.

[Manfred M]

Thanks Remco,
Would it only be WB not being affected by camera settings when shooting in RAW? What other settings are not affected?
When viewing images in Nikon ViewNX2, what are you actually looking at before converting the file? It has to be converted to JPEG before most other software will be able to interpret the data in the file.
Why does Nikon call the file NEF and not RAW?

Maybe I am too "technically disadvantaged" to understand how one format of file data is affected and not the other.

Andre – a RAW file is just the sensor data, with no processing whatsoever. This means that the only camera parameters that will affect the image that you see are the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. The various exposure compensation settings will affect the image. The camera will also internally record some tombstone data that is output in a separate “sidecar” file. There have been rumours that certain camera manufacturers apply lens corrections in the image processing engine and their RAW files do contain some synthesized data.

Changes to your colour temperatures, saturation, hue, contrast, colour space (sRGB and AdobeRGB), etc. i.e. anything that will essentially be in-camera post processing will not show up in the image. Nikon does a nice job of removing chromatic aberration in the jpg, but the raw file will leave this in it and you have to remove it during the RAW conversion.

When you look at an image in PP software, you get a synthesized image, based on a conversion that the software’s RAW conversion image processing. The engine will have access to the metadata, but exactly what happens is the software maker’s secret. We can only guess – unprocessed R-G-B-G data is processed to create the image that we see. Output to other software is not necessarily (nor should it be) a jpg. I output to TIFF format (lossless compression 16-bit) rather than a jpg (lossy compression, 8-bit) for further PP work, after adjusting the colour temperature.

RAW is a way of describing data, NEF is a file format. Every camera manufacturer uses their own proprietary format, with a few exceptions, which use the Adobe DNG as their RAW file format. Canon uses CR2 files, Sony uses SR2, etc.

[Tri Danimal]

Which camera are you using? Most Nikon, and all Canon SLR's come with a software that will allow you to process RAW images before you save them.

If cost is the issue, I know many members on C in C use GIMP, which is a free download, and with a simple plugin download, you can edit RAW files as well.

I think this would be your absolute starting point - as Colin says, shooting RAW is just a must, and makes it soooo much easier to deal with afterwards.

PS - totally off topic, can I pick your brain about hydration for long-distance running sometime? I've hit a bit of a block in my training, and can't seem to get past it! Thanks!

I am using an Olympus E-500 (or Olympus Evolt – 500). I think I am going to be looking into Lightroom and the Free Olympus program I just found out about. Ill probably check out the GIMP program as well.

Yes, Shoot me a PM and we can discuss hydration.