Originally posted by MD Optofonik actually capturing RAW images and internally processing them before output?
RAW is the general term for the "native" file format of a digital camera, JPEG is a set of standardized algorithms for compressing visual data and the sensor component in a digital camera has to process the data read off the sensor in order to output a file in any format, RAW or otherwise. Conversion between file formats can be done in the camera or after downloading image files from the camera, but any data not stored in the "native" file format can't be included in another format. Converting a RAW file to a JPEG file will almost always contain less data because most of the compression algorithms combine neighboring pixels into a single value and if the compressed file is expanded again, differences between neighboring pixels in the original file are lost. In order to quickly move data from the sensor to the camera's other processors and the camera's memory, minimal processing is applied to the RAW file, but without some processing, the analog signals produced by the sensor itself are meaningless.
Without JPEG algorithms, the Internet would probably still look like text-based bulletin boards and digital cameras would never have been marketed to consumers. The problem is that once an image file is converted to a JPEG format, so much information is lost that any subsequent processing is going to contain visible artifacts that can spoil the image. DNG files are standardized containers for the image data and metadata supplied by the camera, so that processing software can use the same code for files from different cameras, but it is the embedded programming of the camera that determines what data is saved in the original image file, regardless of the output file format.
RAW is just another example of doublespeak, it creates an illusion of complete control for the camera user, but the reality is not so clear.