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2 questions
- Thread starter rubsal70
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1. Tamron, Sigma and some Korean/China manufacturers. And with an adapter most other brands (but with limited functionality like no autofocus or measuring ligth/distance most of the times) I know a lot of cinematographers who use manual Nikon lenses on their Canon 5D's.
2. Raw is unprocessed data from the sensor. When you see a preview on your camerascreen, some settings & conversions are already applied. With Raw, you alter the data to your liking on your computer without loosing imagequality. (Every conversion to another format gives loss of quallity. Tiff, PNG or PSD's however do it the least or none at all if i remember correctly)
Also keep in mind that everytime you open, alter and save a JPG, the image losses quality as the conversion algorithm of JPG is applied to different pixels every time you save.
2. Raw is unprocessed data from the sensor. When you see a preview on your camerascreen, some settings & conversions are already applied. With Raw, you alter the data to your liking on your computer without loosing imagequality. (Every conversion to another format gives loss of quallity. Tiff, PNG or PSD's however do it the least or none at all if i remember correctly)
Also keep in mind that everytime you open, alter and save a JPG, the image losses quality as the conversion algorithm of JPG is applied to different pixels every time you save.
(1) The most popular brands are Tokina, Sigma and Tamron. Some of their lenses are really good while others (especially those by Tamron) are aimed at the »value market«.
(2) So-called RAW files contain the data taken straight from the sensor and those files are camera-specific. This means that you need software which is up to date so that it understands this particular format.
Usually, the camera converts these RAW files internally into a jpg, and these jpgs are usually converted in such a way that they are ready for consumption/use. If you choose to save only the RAW files, you need to do this conversion on your computer using special software. Among the most popular choices are Aperture and Lightroom. I advise against using iPhoto, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements if you want to shoot RAW! The advantage is that you can influence the details of this RAW conversion to suit your needs. Furthermore, you can recover from certain defects, e. g. when the highlights are overblown or when the shadows are just flat black. Note that you will not be able to do miracles, but in difficult situations and with effort, you'll be able to get more pleasing results.
The downside is that RAW converters usually settle for a rather neutral look, meaning colors will tend to look less vibrant than the jpgs the camera produces. This is intentional! The reason being that the user starts from a neutral look and then makes adjustment to suit his or her taste.
Personally, I would first get familiar with the camera and all its settings (that's a pretty daunting task), and to try and nail the exposure. Getting the exposure right is key also for RAW files (the less extreme the adjustments, the better the image quality)! Then after some time (say, half a year or so), if you are interested, try to shoot RAW and then use Aperture or Lightroom to render the RAW. Note that these pieces of software are aimed at the pro market and thus, they are pretty complex.
(2) So-called RAW files contain the data taken straight from the sensor and those files are camera-specific. This means that you need software which is up to date so that it understands this particular format.
Usually, the camera converts these RAW files internally into a jpg, and these jpgs are usually converted in such a way that they are ready for consumption/use. If you choose to save only the RAW files, you need to do this conversion on your computer using special software. Among the most popular choices are Aperture and Lightroom. I advise against using iPhoto, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements if you want to shoot RAW! The advantage is that you can influence the details of this RAW conversion to suit your needs. Furthermore, you can recover from certain defects, e. g. when the highlights are overblown or when the shadows are just flat black. Note that you will not be able to do miracles, but in difficult situations and with effort, you'll be able to get more pleasing results.
The downside is that RAW converters usually settle for a rather neutral look, meaning colors will tend to look less vibrant than the jpgs the camera produces. This is intentional! The reason being that the user starts from a neutral look and then makes adjustment to suit his or her taste.
Personally, I would first get familiar with the camera and all its settings (that's a pretty daunting task), and to try and nail the exposure. Getting the exposure right is key also for RAW files (the less extreme the adjustments, the better the image quality)! Then after some time (say, half a year or so), if you are interested, try to shoot RAW and then use Aperture or Lightroom to render the RAW. Note that these pieces of software are aimed at the pro market and thus, they are pretty complex.
#1 anything that says "EF" or "EF-S" on it. Typically from Canon, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, Zeiss, etc.
#2 RAW files are literally raw, unprocessed photos. It contains the actual amount of light each light receptor on the camera sensor registered, BEFORE it is turned into RGB values. What this allows is a file containing a practically perfect image of what the sensor has seen; you get the highest quality image possible. The conversion to RGB values (e.g. JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD) is done on your computer instead of the camera; what this allows you to do is to tweak how this conversion is done and potentially improve the image quality of the shot through special processes unique to the RAW format.
Canon cameras use the .CR2 format. Other than the .DNG format, which only a handful of companies use, there is no standardized RAW image format.