Roseville Wildlife, working with RAW images.

[Cheetah]

In an effort to learn to take better photos with my camera, I decided to start experimenting with the different settings on my camera and record the files in RAW format. So far the images look better when viewed on my computer than the jpg files the camera was generating previously. I have a few freeware image viewing and editing applications, but have only ever used the most simple features when trying to clean up photos. I converted a handful of the best to jpg to upload and share here, some image degradation occurred as I expected, will take some time I think to learn how best to do this.

[MN Shutterbug]

I always shoot RAW + jpeg, but typically use the jpegs. The only reason I shoot RAW is if the lighting is extremely contrasty and RAW images give you more latitude when trying to recover blown highlights. Also, there are times it's advantageous to change the white balance after the fact. Other than that, if you have your camera settings set properly, e.g. sharpness, saturation, and contrast etc., the camera should normally do a fine job of processing the jpegs. Of course, the shot needs to be exposed properly, too.