a compact digital camera with the .raw format avaialble?

Hi, I’m looking for a digital camera with the .raw format available when taking your pictures.

1) I realize .jpeg files have their quality lessened, so i want to confirm: Does this really affect image quality? Is this important to a professional photographer, that images should be captured into .RAW file as opposed to .JPEG?

2) If this is the case, then most compact cameras (if not, pretty much all) only have the .JPEG format. Can you reccommend me a compact camera that has the RAW or TIFF format avaialble?

By compact, I mean the ones that are not bulky (you know those big black ones most photographers use), sorry i do not know the terms.
I found this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_DIGITAL_IXUS

But it’s quite an old model. Can you guys recommend me a newer one with preferably around 10 megapixels?

Answer by B.Young
sounds like your looking for the Ricoh GRDII 10 megapixels,raw,snap focus,strong build quality with a cult following.

Answer by Bubbles
1) The quality difference will be noticeable if you plan on doing enlargements of your photo. You will also noticed a difference in clariy and contrast. Most photographers shoot in RAW because you can always convert it to JPEG later.

2) Most compact cameras cannot handle the size of RAW format photos. They are considerably larger file sizes because they do not compress the image what so ever. Take that into consideration. Some cameras will be slower when taking RAW format photos. My Olympus SP510 was useless when taking RAW photos.

Here are some that I found searching google, not sure how good they are:
Fuji E900
Canon PS S7
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1
Ricoh GRD
Canon Powershot G8
Sony DSC-R1
Panasonic LX2
Fuji 810
Olympus SP-350

The larger black cameras are called SLR’s (or DSLR if we’re talking about digital).

Answer by Nick vanderwaarden
‘Raw’ is the only way to take photographs with a digital camera. All cameras take a raw image, however the cheaper ones reduce this image straight away to a JPEG. This reduces the size of the image.

Letting your camera ‘decide’ what is OK and what to throw away is a bit silly. When an even expensive camera stores the image as a JPEG, it has already thrown away 2/3 of all the information.

If you shoot in RAW, you’ll never have to have ‘blown-out’ highlights. Editing (in Photoshop) is saved as a ‘sidecar’ (It stays with your image. Your original stays pristine, no matter how often you change things in RAW mode.

I never use JPEG’s. Every time you try to save a JPEG, the program tries to make the file smaller. Each time more and more information is thrown away. I save all my images in RAW mode. If I need to send high quality images, I SAVE AS a TIF file. (Large, but everything stays intact.)

Canon makes a good 10 megapixel camera. So does Nikon. I’ve used the Nikon D80 with good results.

Answer by eric
canon g10

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/586683-REG/Canon__PowerShot_G10_Digital_Camera.html

Answer by teedub
I use a Canon powershot G9 as a carry round camera as an alternative to my EOS 5D. It has an optical zoom range of 35-200. The quality for a compact is mindblowing.

Try here.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_g9.asp

This has ben recently updated to the G10 so there should be some bargain G9s around

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

I just purchased the Canon A720 IS but am very disappointed with the slow flash recovery. It may be fine for pictures of still images but we can’t capture pictures of our baby fast enough when using the flash. We would like a digital camera that has similar features to the Canon A720 IS but that is quicker when using the flash. We do want something fairly compact though (not an SLR). Any recommendations?

Answer by Elvis
you need to get a canon “sd series”
they have good flash recovery
go to canonusa.com
and check them out
I just bought the canon a650
it has a recovery of 3 seconds
you must use rechargeables

Answer by snowwillow20
I have the canon A570 IS and I agree with the slow flash, one thing to do is when you are ready to take the pic, hold the button down half way and wait for your shot, but also check to see if your camera has continuous shooting (check your manual), I have gotten some good shots of my granddaughter with this mode. I got an extreme ultra III card and it helped a bit, but digital point and shoot have this horrible lag and write time, use a 2G or 4G card and make sure you are using the best newest batteries that you have. Not all rechargable batteries work, consult your manuel. If you want less lag time and write time, then you might want to go with a dslr, I’m saving my pennies for one.

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