Culture · 6 pages · 12 min
Why RAW is not a picture yet
A RAW file stores sensor measurements that still need rendering before they are a picture.
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From the opening
A RAW file keeps the sensor's measurements, usually one value for each photosite, together with notes on how the camera was set. It is not a picture yet, because those values still have to be demosaiced, white-balanced, toned, and turned into colors you can view, and what appears on screen is always a rendering. The opening covers counts waiting to be rendered, white balance is still a choice, and the preview is not the file.
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Inside
- Counts waiting to be rendered
- White balance is still a choice
- The preview is not the file
- Two converters, two pictures
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Raw sensor data before demosaicing and white balance
- The camera JPEG as one baked rendering