[Sage97]

As an absolute newbie, I've been doing some reading on here and just wanted to double check my understanding. None of the K5's in-camera settings (other than the aperture, ISO and speed) apply when shooting raw, correct? If incorrect, I need to take a break and read some more.

[vonBaloney]

Well, other things *apply*, but can be changed later, which I think is what you mean. Like white balance: you can get it right later, but it is a pain if you're not in the ballpark in the first place.

As far as other settings, noise reduction (under ISO 1600) does apply, possibly? (I always have it turned off, can't remember.) And possibly shadow and highlight correction have a permanent effect? Or no?

[Adam]

Lens and shadow/highlight corrections still apply if enabled, I believe.

[Giklab]

Lens and shadow/highlight corrections still apply if enabled, I believe.

Yippeee! I hoped for this so much! Especially with the 18-135

[JohnBee]

Lens and shadow/highlight corrections still apply if enabled, I believe.

Euuhhhh....
Are you sure about that?
I'm going to have to say: I think not

EDIT: nevermind, I just found out that highlight corrections are carried over(in META) and supported by DCU.

[JohnBee]

As far as other settings, noise reduction (under ISO 1600) does apply, possibly? (I always have it turned off, can't remember.) And possibly shadow and highlight correction have a permanent effect? Or no?

I'm going to say: no on the NR. But the highlight and shadow correction can be carried over(META) in Pentax DCU. No effect on the RAW file though it likely allows the settings to be carried over, which is pretty cool imo.

Wow I'm really sounding like the party pooper tonight aren't I :ugh:

None of the K5's in-camera settings (other than the aperture, ISO and speed) apply when shooting raw, correct? If incorrect, I need to take a break and read some more.

To answer the OP's question, you are correct!
However... I'd add that the camera also imbeds a note(SEE: META) in the RAW file to describe how the image was shot(Shutter, focal length, etc etc). Though in the end, the only thing that would affect the image(in most cases) is the white balance information. Though some RAW developers won't even read that depending in certain cases.

[asp1880]

Highlight protection definitely applies also when shooting raw. It works by secretly and silently underexposing
by one stop and lifting everything but the highlights in the jpeg generation.

If you open a highlight corrected raw shot in the Pentax DCU program, it will apply the appropriate
lifting. Other raw developer programs might not recognize the setting and will develop a one stop darker
image.

Regards,
--Anders.

[Michael Shea]

It is possible to develop raw images inside the camera and if you were to do so, the lens correction where applicable would still take effect and I assume a TIFF would be created in addition to the raw file. I've never tried it, because I expect it would be rather time consuming and have stuck with Lightroom, which has its own database of lens profiles. If you still want to have a go with the camera instead though, read pages 271-275 of the operating manual.

[JohnBee]

Highlight protection definitely applies also when shooting raw. It works by secretly and silently underexposing
by one stop and lifting everything but the highlights in the jpeg generation.

If you open a highlight corrected raw shot in the Pentax DCU program, it will apply the appropriate
lifting. Other raw developer programs might not recognize the setting and will develop a one stop darker
image.

Regards,
--Anders.

Well blow me down, I never would have guess that the Pentax DCU ever did this!!!

I haven't checked this out myself btw, but I did confirm from another thread that this was indeed the case. Funny thing is, my own use of DCU(close to never) has caused my to completely miss this most endearing feature.

Anyways, I stand corrected on the highlight correction too!
Though I much prefer doing it myself rather than pushing the entire image one stop. I think it's still worth pointing out as a very useful feature.

[Lowell Goudge]

one of the biggest things that is overlooked with respect to the RAW vs JPEG argument is that not just the pentax DCU / Photo Lab, but many other raw processors use the JPEG settings to offer a baseline for importing the file. Although you can start from scratch yourself, if you spend the time to get the JPEG settings right, your time in front of the computer is greatly reduced.

[L33tGreg]

Some raw converters like Aftershot Pro completely ignore the settings, others do not. The other place the settings matter when shooting raw is they effect the attached jpeg thumbnail (that is on the raw file). I prefer to turn of NR and not adjust any settings. This gives the fastest preview on the rear lcd when shooting raw.

[Sage97]

Thanks for the response guys.

Do you typically turn on the highlight and shadow correction? I was hoping to "park" these settings in one area if possible and adjust only when absolutely needed.

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks for the response guys.

Do you typically turn on the highlight and shadow correction? I was hoping to "park" these settings in one area if possible and adjust only when absolutely needed.

OK, I shoot perhaps a little differently than most, relying on JPEG for 99% of my shots and only shooting RAW if I a) really really need the shot, or b) am unsure of the best approach.

I use highlight and shadow detail for what they are, extensions to the contrast range, and use them to compensate for the lighting conditions at the time. If the scene is flat, and lighting is flat, I turn them off, to increase the contrast. DItto with the contrast settings, WB and to a lesser extent the saturation. I change them all the time as a function of lighting conditions,

My approach is to get as close as possible with JPEG, which usually is so close that while perhaps a tweak here or there is possible, it is not absolutely necessary. Even with RAW shots, using my editor (PSP X4 or Pentax Photo Lab), both of which can use the camera JPEG settings and apply them to the imported RAW image it gets the adjustment close without having to start from scratch.

Getting the settings right is a post processing time saver if nothing else, and if the JPEGs are close enough, an eliminator also.

[Marc Sabatella]

If you shoot RAW, then you already have the data necessary to do your own highlight / shadow correction that will have the potential be far more to your specific liking than whatever the camera might do. I mean, you are basically asking the camera to lie about the image and represent it as something other than what was actually recorded, which is fine, but no way wold i trust the camera to decide *how* I wanted that lie performed. So I'd personally leave it off and roll my own when necessary. Maybe have a preset or two to get me some sort of generally useful result with little effort, then expect to fine tune from there.

Look at the bigger picture here of he original question, you need to realize there are several different types of settings and how they affect the file:

Aperture / Shutter speed - these obviously affect the actual light that strikes the sensor and thus obvious affect the raw data at the most fundamental level

ISO - regardless of ISO level set in camera, the same amount of light strikes the sensor, but the ISO level affects how much the signal is amplified before it is turned into digital data. So while you cannot change ISO after the fact, you should be aware that brightening an image in PP is accomplished by amplification of the digital data in software and essentially the same thing. That is to say, nothing you can do im software will change the things that would have been affected by a change in shutter speed or aperture, but brightening (or darkening) in PP is essentially the same thing as changing ISO in camera.

Slow shutter speed NR aka dark frame subtraction - my understanding is that most camera do this even when shooting raw, so the results of this operation are precooked into the otherwise raw data

High ISO NR - this type of NR is not performed on RAW files. Well, not the type of NR that you can switch on or off. Most cameras have some amount of NR that is performed at high ISO even for RAW whether you ask for it or not, so there is nothing you can do about it.

Highlight correction and other artificial DR-extending techniques - most of these work by deliberaely underexposing the image then performing appropriate manipulations during the conversion to JPEG. Meaning if you shoot RAW, what you get is just the underexposed image, plus a note in the metaata that says "please manipulate me when converting to JPEG". If your particular PP program happens to see that note and do the maniuplations automatically, great, you'll see a correctly exposed image with artificially expanded DR. Just as likely, you,ll just see an underexposed image, but nothing would stop you from doong the necessary manipulations yourself to brighten it in a way similar to how the camera would have (eg, brightening shadows more than highlights using exposure curves)

White balance, image tone, contrast, sharpening, etc - these generally don't affect the raw data in any way; they just attach a note to the metadat recording what setting was used. Again, some PP programs will read the nite and attempt to mimic the settings; others won't. White balance is probably the only one of these for which you can expect most programs to read the note and act accordingly. BTW, *some* cameras may take WB into account at least partially when recording the raw data - I believe gordonbgood demonstrated this to be true of the *istDS at least. But it was only a little bit; not like JPEG where the full effect of the WB setting is cooked into the data.

[Sage97]

Marc,

Your explanation is a definite must. This should be required reading for all newbies like me. I will print and post this in my music/recording room which is fast becoming a camera/photography/picture room.