RAW Images and Their Features

Digital Photo Professional

RAW Images and Their Features

What is a RAW Image?

A RAW image is image data that has recorded output data of imaging sensor. Because image processing does not occur inside the camera when a photo is taken and the photo has been recorded in the special form of "RAW image data + Image processing conditions information at the time of shooting", special software is needed to view or edit the image.
* "RAW" means "in a natural condition" or "not processed or refined".

What is RAW Development?

If described in terms of film, the concept of a RAW image is a shot image not yet developed (latent image). With film, the image appears for the first time when it is developed. In the same way, for RAW images too, you cannot view them as images on your computer unless you perform subsequent image signal processing. Therefore, even though it is digital, this processing is called "development".

When is RAW Development done?

DPP automatically carries out this "development" processing when RAW images are displayed in DPP. As a result, RAW images displayed in DPP are images whose development processing has been completed. With DPP, you can view, edit and print RAW images without having to be particularly conscious of the development processing.

What Advantages Does a RAW Image Have?

RAW images are recorded in the format "RAW image data + Image processing conditions information at the time of shooting". When you open a RAW image in DPP, the image is automatically developed and you can view the image as an image to which image processing conditions at the time of shooting have been applied.
Even if you perform various adjustments to the image you have opened (it undergoes automatic development processing each time), only the image processing conditions (development conditions) change and the "original image data itself" remains unaffected. Consequently, image deterioration is not a problem and it is the perfect image data for users who want to get creative with their images after they have been shot. In DPP, the "Image processing conditions information" that can be adjusted is called a "Recipe".