Basic Digital/RAW Query

[Joe Hardesty]

You are almost correct. Generally, when shooting RAW, only the exposure information affects the image file. In addition to the parameters you mentioned, that probably also includes White Balance. The other settings only come into play for JPEG images used as previews or if you elect to have the camera shoot both RAW & JPEG simultaneously.

[poliwog]

Hello!

I just got my first digicam (Olympus 5050) after shooting film since the days of wet collodion. Here is my question of the moment. When shooting RAW format, am I correct in assuming that only the exposure and ISO settings actually affect my files? All of the other possible camera settings (sharpness, saturation, etc) are only "flags" that tell software how to process my raw data IF I don't tell it to do otherwise?

This seems pretty obvious to me, but computer science is (as they say) not an EXACT science.

Les

[jwarthman]

Joe,
I don't know about the Olympus, but when shooting RAW with Canon DSLRs, the white balance doesn't have any affect on the RAW file. (It does on the JPEG and preview images.) When shooting RAW with Canon DSLRs, the conversion software lets one select a different white balance than the one used when the image was shot.

Enjoy!

-- Jim