[vonBaloney]

It should be pointed out that you can shoot RAW all the time, and then set-up your Lightroom or whatever to just "auto" everything and batch process them all to jpegs with some preset that you like, and not much will change with your workflow. And then even if you don't do anything with those RAWs now, in a couple of years "when you wish you had RAW files for all this old stuff" -- you will. Or shoot RAW+JPG always...

[romeck]

1. shot in jpg = RAW -> camera's program postproccesing with camera/user settings -> JPG

2. shot in raw = RAW -> user postproccesing with user/program's settings -> JPG

where is the diffrence?
With 2. I can pp many times with different settings.


When i shot in church (e.g. I communion) I always make two jpg's from one RAW: one with settings on dress and/or not face, second - rest.
Then I join them with layers.

[Kerrowdown]

I shoot in raw for me and most of my clients.

Any press work is jpeg usually straight from camera due to time restraints. Images are low ish quality small 1 meg files (which can emailed directly to picture editor).

[LaurenOE]

Now, that I have Lightroom, the days of shooting .jpg are dead.
I held out for a LONG time, but with Lightroom, my workflow is too easy.

[stevebrot]

I almost always shoot raw, the rational being that the in-camera JPEG leave so little head room for any real work in post-processing. I said almost, because I usually shoot JPEG when I am just doing snapshots and am concerned about running out of space on the memory card.


Steve

[treebeard]

I have shot in RAW ever since I picked up my first dslr. It just gives me the flexibility to recover things that a normal jpeg would not allow. Also, because it's more fun!

[dmfw]

IMHO. If you like JPG, then shoot RAW+. If you do not need the RAW files, then archive them.

[Alizarine]

When it's a paid gig, I shoot RAW+ (the jpeg being a 2mp, 3-star compression)
If it's a non-paid gig, I shoot RAW.
If it's just snapshots of nothing, really, I use my phone

[Sandy Hancock]

RAW for me. With LightRoom 4 the workflow is so efficient I was recently able to get 4000 shots culled and edited into a web album of 360 within 24 hours of the end of the gig. And photography isn't even my day job.

PP is fun anyway.

[jpyykonen]

RAW, no doubt. And more specifically DNG. Gives lot more possibilities in post-processing. Also makes shooting more worry-free as you don't need to worry that much about white balance or sudden under/over exposures. Lightroom 4 makes workflow easy. And I like post-processing too. I like my pictures look the way I like, not the way Pentax engineer likes them (with no disrespect to Pentax engineers)

[JohnBee]

I always shoot in JPG.
I sure some of you seen my photos and the amazing results I get.
What's the real advantage to RAW and what's the easiest program to use for RAW images?

I shoot RAW 99.99999% of the time.
And the JPG's that I've shot the other .0001%, were due to my accidentally hitting the JPG/RAW button.

The biggest advantage(s) of shooting RAW is where you gain access to all of the sensor data.

[Pentaxguy22]

So far to my understanding RAW is like a negative image right?
I never experience much with RAW only thing I can figure out is I can edit the RAW photos on my camera itself.

[normhead]

I'd answer your question... but I find your self aggrandizement objectionable, I like to decide for myself whose pictures are amazing and who's aren't.

[JinDesu]

So far to my understanding RAW is like a negative image right?
I never experience much with RAW only thing I can figure out is I can edit the RAW photos on my camera itself.

It is somewhat like a negative. The RAW file is not an image, it is a data file. A RAW processor (within the camera, or on your computer) will generate an image from the RAW. It stores a lot more data than any JPEG image can, and thus allows a lot of post-processing to be done to it. Similarly, film allows a lot of processing to be done to the negative to generate the output photo.

[reeftool]

I shoot in RAW all the time now. As a couple others have mentioned, software like Lightroom makes it pretty painless and easy.