[jjbacoomba]

I would like to know if there are any tutorials on how to shoot RAW. I have a K200D . Thanks, Joe

[Na Horuk]

Shooting raw is not different from shooting jpeg. But jpeg gets developed automatically in-camera, whereas raw has to be done on a computer with PP software (like SilkyPix (a version of this comes free with Pentax cameras), Lightroom, FastStone, RawTherapee, Darktable, AfterShot Pro, and many others). Its like developing film on your own instead of sending it to the lab. And you get to do it on your own PC (or mac, even tablet)
Tutorials on how to develop individual photos will depend on the software that you want to use.

Edit: That said, you can use some special raw techniques that otherwise cannot be used with jpeg. Specifically ETTR - Expose to the right. Its an interesting technique, but I don't think there is much proof of how effective it is. You can just ignore it for now

[Adam]

I would like to know if there are any tutorials on how to shoot RAW. I have a K200D . Thanks, Joe

With JPEG, you pick your settings in-camera (white balance, contrast, sharpness, etc.) and the camera generates a photo based on those settings using its own engine.

With RAW, you can change all those settings while post-processing, plus the file contains more information (14 bits per color channel instead of 8), so you get more shadow and highlight recovery potential. Most RAW development tools are able to deliver a clearer image with better sharpness than the in-camera engine. The challenge, however, is for you to be able to outperfom the camera's color profile.

That said, the best place to start, IMO, is Pentax's own Digital Camera Utility software. It lets you mirror the in-camera settings and tweak the same sliders you you'd find in-camera, so you can always get the look you're used to. Once you're comfortable with that, maybe try out Lightroom?

[nomadkng]

Specifically ETTR - Expose to the right. Its an interesting technique, but I don't think there is much proof of how effective it is. You can just ignore it for now

I don't think you have read as much about ETTR as you think you have. There is plenty of proof it's a highly effective technique. All you have to do is google it. Luminous Landscape did a piece about a year ago that was extremely effective in providing "proof of concept"

Very quick summary, the digital information (bits) are stored in descending order from highlights to blacks. The more information (color) you store in the bigger memory locations, the more you have to work with when processing. It's why shadows tend to get color noise, because there is such a lack of information in the memory.

Unlike film, with is a flat analogue medium, a sensor (although flat) is really the front end of a computer processor and everything is about the digital information recorded and passed on. From a strictly mathematical standpoint it makes a ton of sense, from a practical application perspective it will save you a bunch of headaches with these high MP, pixel dense sensors. Why introduce noise as a result of improper exposure if you don't have to.

If you don't understand ETTR fully, you should.

[clackers]

.

Edit: That said, you can use some special raw techniques that otherwise cannot be used with jpeg. Specifically ETTR - Expose to the right.

ETTR by chimping is actually more accurate for JPEGs than RAW.

[emalvick]

With the quality of our sensors in terms of noise, I don't think ETTR is as beneficial as it used to be. I definitely quit obsessing over it although I try to adhere to it a bit. I focus more on just not clipping the histogram at either end, and even that is only as accurate as the JPEG the camera shows you. Like previously mentioned, ETTR was more beneficial when you are shooting an 8-bit JPEG where the dynamic range almost needs to be perfect when you shoot.

With RAW you can push and pull the exposure a bit here and there to get your histogram right and not notice. The camera will only show a histogram for a JPEG version of your RAW (the embedded preview), and that histogram may show clipping when the raw data is not. That's why ETTR isn't as accurate for RAW files. In reality, it's just a concept much like the rule of thirds.