Feature request; acronym glossary

[digitaldog]

I didn't argue it is an acronym... I suggested it should be capitalized, just as Canon does.

Why SLOBODAN? You feel the need to SHOUT more than necessary?
A new Chinese proverb says: "The first step towards genius is writing things by their proper characters" 
I do recommend using a capital R when raw is used at the beginning of a sentence. Like properly writing about raw, it provides others insight into your abilities to properly communicate:
"Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another." - Napoleon
That goes for writing too SLOBODAN. 

[digitaldog]

And it makes sense, if for no other reason, than to distinguish a raw photographic file from, say, raw meat (as much as I like steak tartare or beef carpaccio).

You're going to have to work on a lot of other reasons to write raw to differentiate it's meaning if you assume as you do, it's necessary to separate it from a file or any other usage of the word; good luck SLOBODAN:

Definition of raw

rawer play  \ˈrȯ(-ə)r\; rawest play  \ˈrȯ-əst\
1 : not cooked (AR: as in steak tartare)
2 a (1) : being in or nearly in the natural state : not processed or purified raw fibers raw sewage (2) : not diluted or blended raw spirits
b : unprepared or imperfectly prepared for use
c : not being in polished, finished, or processed form raw data a raw draft of a thesis
3 a (1) : having the surface abraded or chafed (2) : very irritated a raw sore throat
b : lacking covering : naked
c : not protected : susceptible to hurt raw emotions
4 a : lacking experience or understanding : green a raw recruit
b (1) : marked by absence of refinements (2) : vulgar, coarse raw language
c : not tempered : unbridled raw power
5 : disagreeably damp or cold a raw winter day


Examples of raw in a Sentence

He entered the raw data into a spreadsheet.
The shoes rubbed my heels raw.
His throat was raw from the cold air.

[digitaldog]

I didn't argue it is an acronym... I suggested it should be capitalized, just as Canon does.

So now SLOBODAN, we must follow Canon and always type ON (or will you demand <ON>) instead of on? It's capped on the camera and in the manual so by your logic, on should always be typed ON. 

[Alan Goldhammer]

Throwing more oil on the fire, my Nikon d810 manual has it 'NEF(RAW)' when they talk about files.  Tom Hogan in his user guide on the d810 writes the following, "NEF format often confuses Nikon DSLR newcomers (Nikon and others sometimes also refer to this format as RAW). Nikon advertises it as the highest quality format, one that preserves the “raw” image photosite data."

I take no position on what is right or wrong, only that I don't like eating 'raw' photo files, they really need to be sauteed.

[digitaldog]

Some history of where raw as we call it (well some of us ) came from and note, it's not written RAW anywhere!
https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000073.shtml
As for photography, here's what the ASMP calls it (I have to wonder how many are/were members):
https://www.dpbestflow.org/node/634
Or ISO:
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/top2009/downloads/TAG2000-22_DIS12234-2.pdf

USA/TAG 2000-22
2000-06-21
Our ref: 42(WG18/Item 189.2)

32803
CFA. TIFF/EP readers are not required to handle this tag value. Used to describe “raw” image data from single-chip color sensors having a color filter array (CFA) overlay.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I tend to agree with Andrew about this.

On the other hand, what if RAW really is an Acronym? Maybe it means Really Awful Werbiage.   

[digitaldog]

I tend to agree with Andrew about this.
On the other hand, what if RAW really is an Acronym? Maybe it means Really Awful Werbiage.   

You go back far enough (I started writing technical articles for PEI magazine in the early 1990's), I too used RAW instead of raw when discussing raw sensor data (files) but learned the mistake of doing so, unlike so many.
RAW is one or more Acronyms but NONE have anything to do with the data cameras produce. Getting back OT, here are more than enough examples that again, have absolutely nothing to do with photography nor is there any reason to associate RAW in caps (assumed to be an Acronym or simply following the incorrect following of a few camera makers) when discussing the data a camera can produce:

RAW   Read and Write
RAW   Reading and Writing
RAW   Robert Anton Wilson
RAW   Ready and Willing
RAW   Read-After-Write
RAW   Rules As Written (roleplaying games)
RAW   Right Angle Weave (beadwork stitch)
RaW   Radio Warwick (student radio station; University of Warwick; UK)
RAW   Airways Resistance (respiratory mechanics parameter)
RAW   Ruderklub Am Wannsee (rowing club, Berlin, Germany)
RAW   Raw Architecture Workstation
RAW   Reggae Ambassadors Worldwide
RAW   Remedial Action Workplan
RAW   Rear Axle Weight
RAW   Research & Analysis Wing
RAW   Rapid American Withdrawal
RAW   Revenue Anticipation Warrants
RAW   Rifleman's Assault Weapon
RAW   Real Action Wrestling
RAW   Reconfigurable Architecture Workstation
RAW   Routing and Assignment of Wavelength
RAW   Risk Analyst Workbench
RAW   Rosa Antifa Vienna
RAW   Rutger Accounting Web
RAW   Reconnaissance Attack Wing
RAW   Reliability Achievement Worth
RAW   Retrieval Application Website
RAW   Reduction of Administrative Workload
RAW   Raunchy Asian Women (play by Diana Son)
RAW   Reno Alliance of Wrestlers
RAW   Rapid Analytical Wargaming (US DoD)
RAW   Randall & Walsh Associates (UK)

[Jeremy Roussak]

I tend to agree with Andrew about this.

On the other hand, what if RAW really is an Acronym? Maybe it means Really Awful Werbiage.   

Random Agglomeration of Words?

It's a description: raw data has not been processed.

Jeremy

[Jeremy Roussak]

RAW is one or more Acronyms but NONE have anything to do with the data cameras produce. Getting back OT, here are more than enough examples that again, have absolutely nothing to do with photography ...

Is that "O" as in "off"?

Jeremy

[digitaldog]

Random Agglomeration of Words?

It's a description: raw data has not been processed.

Jeremy

Not by a user/photographer but indeed, it's undergone processing.
Better; it's not rendered.

[digitaldog]

Is that "O" as in "off"?

Jeremy

No. But you point out an interesting example of how Acronyms can be problematic!

[Jeremy Roussak]

Not by a user/photographer but indeed, it's undergone processing.

Has it? I thought the raw data comprised the values read from the sensels and some metadata, no more and no less; but I'm open to correction.

Jeremy

[digitaldog]

Has it?

Again, yes. And it's outlined in the URL I provided about raw data:
A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner
Another example of processing (forgive the copy and paste from a piece I did asnwering the question, does raw data have a color space):

Cameras don’t have primaries, they have spectral sensitivities, and the difference is important because a camera can capture all sorts of different primaries. Two different primaries may be captured as the same values by a camera, and the same primary may be captured as two different values by a camera (if the spectral power distributions of the primaries are different). A camera has colors it can capture and encode as unique values compared to others, that are imaginary (not visible) to us. There are colors we can see, but the camera can't capture that are imaginary to it. Most of the colors the camera can "see" we can see as well. Yet some cameras can “see colors“ outside the spectral locus however every attempt is usually made to filter those out.

EDIT: The other URL I provided also backs the first up too:
A raw file has minimal image processing done in-camera, which provides the maximum flexibility to adjust the file in post-production. Raw files require special software to view and process.

[Jonathan Cross]

I will try to be polite.  This thread is now well into page 3.  Of the last 25 posts the analysis is Contributor 1- 11 posts, 2 - 3 posts, 3 - 2 posts, 4- 4 posts, 5 - 3 posts, 6 - 1 post, 7 - 1 post.  Forgive me but this seems to be dragging on rather and I am reluctant to look at it any more.  I am starting to feel this about other threads - that by page 3 the posts can be dominated by a few people and the thread could have lost its way.

I have been an infrequent contributor for quite some time, love the site and its articles but am having to be more and more selective about the forum.  Am I the only one who thinks there may be not a lot new to say by page 3 of a thread?

[fdisilvestro]

I agree with Andrew on this as raw is a word (not an acronym) and should not be capitalised. I couldn't care less if Canon or anybody else wrote it the wrong way.

In regards to previous comments, raw is not the same as a sensor data dump. Some examples of what Nikon does (or did) to their NEF (yes, this is an acronym) files are: Colour preconditioning, Impulse noise reduction for shutter speeds below 1/5 s, black level adjustment (some models), stuck pixel removal, and so on.

[fdisilvestro]

I will try to be polite.  This thread is now well into page 3.  Of the last 25 posts the analysis is Contributor 1- 11 posts, 2 - 3 posts, 3 - 2 posts, 4- 4 posts, 5 - 3 posts, 6 - 1 post, 7 - 1 post.  Forgive me but this seems to be dragging on rather and I am reluctant to look at it any more.  I am starting to feel this about other threads - that by page 3 the posts can be dominated by a few people and the thread could have lost its way.

I have been an infrequent contributor for quite some time, love the site and its articles but am having to be more and more selective about the forum.  Am I the only one who thinks there may be not a lot new to say by page 3 of a thread?

Nobody forces you to read. Sometimes a point needs clarification and it could take several pages to get it sorted. It is up to every reader to determine if the contributions add value or not.

[saiguy]

Being the OP of this thread, I was suggesting an acronym glossary for this site, as it relates to this site.

Alan Goldhammer in post #32 has a link to a site with 1 million acronyms.

[fdisilvestro]

Alan Goldhammer in post #32 has a link to a site with 1 million acronyms.

How many of them are relevant to photography or this site?

[jeremyrh]

Nobody forces you to read. Sometimes a point needs clarification and it could take several pages to get it sorted. It is up to every reader to determine if the contributions add value or not.

This.

It reminds me of a joke

Old man - doctor, I'm tired of sex
Doctor - well, that's normal at your age. When did you realise this?
Old man - twice last night and again this morning

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... raw is not the same as a sensor data dump. Some examples of what Nikon does (or did) to their NEF (yes, this is an acronym) files are: Colour preconditioning, Impulse noise reduction for shutter speeds below 1/5 s, black level adjustment (some models), stuck pixel removal, and so on.

Isn't that precisely the reason to distinguish RAW file from raw data? RAW is a proprietary raw. Or as Canon defines it: RAW is a converted/processed raw.