RAW is a popular and basic format for digital images of modern photo and video equipment. When forming an image, several unprocessed layers, electrical signals of the matrix, are superimposed. Such formatting is not suitable for printing, so it becomes necessary to export to jpeg, png, and so on. In the presented article, we will figure out how it is formed and how to open the RAW format, and also dwell on some technical points.
Who needs to work in RAW?
A fairly large number of people have to work with the files in question. Mostly in the professional field, although modern electronic technology is becoming more accessible to the average user. Here are some areas where you will need to interact with the format:
- Photographers. Professional artists, creators of quality content take photos inspecified format. This is associated with the possibility of high-quality simple processing.
- Web designers. Often this group of people also has to work with "raw" files. Files with masks and multiple layers in Photoshop are saved exactly in RAW, which requires conversion.
- Ordinary people who have purchased a professional video or photo camera and want to print their photos.
Do you belong to any group? It's time to read the information below.
Information in file
Photos in RAW format contain the following standard data: metadata for identifying the camera used, shooting technical description, conversion options and options, information flow regarding the order of the shot, presets. In addition, most cameras have a hidden part that is programmed by manufacturers on an individual basis.
Advantages and disadvantages
The considered format is accompanied by a number of advantages and disadvantages. Among the benefits, it is important to highlight the following:
- Excellently editable using editors without loss of quality. After rendering, the photo retains colors, conveys saturation and beauty.
- Color gamut is much wider than many alternative formats, which means more productive work for professional photographers.
- Access to adjust exposure, contrast, saturation and other importantparameters.
- File conversion requires high-quality processing, as a powerful computer processor is responsible for the process.
- Supplementing and expanding the possibilities for creativity when working in non-standard spectral ranges.
As for the negative aspects, it is the need to work with paid software, a large file size, and it also takes more time to open and process information. Another omission is incompatibility with other files.
RAW Readers
There are a few questions left to solve. And one of them is how to open the RAW format. At the moment, there is a huge amount of software that allows you to work with images of this type.
- Graphic editors. This includes standard and popular Photoshop, Movavi Photo Editor, GIMP. In applications, you can not only save photos in a different format, but also optimize, modify and edit photos. It is important to note that there are many more software products, and the main difference is the available functionality.
- Programs for viewing pictures. The software in this group will not allow you to correct the file, but will help you review the images and select those that need to be converted. Among the popular software in the category, it is important to highlight FastStone, IranView, Picassa.
- Converters. Another type of program that helps to change the format without adjusting the photo. The software product can be installed on a computer or use the online versionconverter, which is more rational and convenient.
Now you know how to open the RAW format. It remains only to download the necessary applications and use their functions. Please note that most professional software requires the purchase of a paid license. Free programs do not have powerful functionality and limit the photographer.
Conclusion
Now you know what it is used for and how to open the RAW format, how to work with it. In the afterword, I would like to note that at the moment the presented file type is considered the most popular, since all the pictures, and there are thousands of them, are made using the new technology. It is she who uses the submitted file as the base one.
