16
Part I
✦
Using the EOS Rebel XS/1000D
ture. For example, if you didn’t set the cor-
rect white balance or exposure, you can
change it in a RAW conversion program on
the computer. You can also adjust the
brightness, contrast, and saturation after you
take the picture. In short, you have precise
control over how the image is rendered. The
only camera settings that the Rebel
XS/1000D applies to RAW fi les are aperture,
ISO, and shutter speed. Other settings such
as White Balance, Picture Style, and so on
are “noted,” but not applied to the fi le. As a
result, you can control how image data is
rendered during image conversion. The RAW
conversion process takes only a few addi-
tional minutes, and then you can save the
image in a lossless fi le format such as TIFF,
and work with the image as you would with
any other image from the camera.
RAW fi les are denoted with a .CR2 fi lename
extension. After converting the RAW data,
you save the image in a standard fi le format
such as TIFF, and work with it as you do with
other image fi les.
On the XS/1000D, you can choose to shoot
either RAW images or RAW+JPEG, which
records the RAW fi le and a Large JPEG image.
The RAW+JPEG option is handy when you
want the advantages of having the fl exibility
that you get with a RAW fi le, and you also
want a JPEG image to quickly post on a Web
site or to send in e-mail.
Because RAW is a lossless format (no loss of
image data), image quality is not degraded
by compression. However, RAW fi les are
larger than JPEG fi les, and you can store
fewer RAW images on the media card than
JPEG images.
With this overview of the diff erences
between image quality settings and fi le for-
mat, you’re in a better position to choose
the setting that best suits your needs.
You’ll see the eff ects of high compression
ratios when you enlarge the image to 100
percent in an image-editing program on the
computer.
To get the highest-quality images, use the
lowest compression and the highest quality
settings. If space on the card is tight, then
use the next lower setting. If you use lower
quality settings and high compression, the
image quality diminishes accordingly. Also,
when you shoot JPEG images, the camera’s
internal software processes, or edits, the
images before storing them on the media
card. This image pre-processing can be an
advantage, especially if you routinely print
images directly from the SD/SDHC card. And
because the XS/1000D off ers a variety of
Picture Styles that change the way that
image contrast, saturation, sharpness, and
color are rendered, you can get very nice
prints with no editing on the computer.
Picture Styles are detailed in
Chapter 3.
RAW format
RAW fi les store image data directly from the
camera’s sensor to the media card with a
minimum of in-camera processing. Unlike
JPEG images, which you can view in any
image-editing program, you must view and
convert RAW fi les using the Canon’s Digital
Photo Professional program or other pro-
grams such as Adobe Bridge and Adobe
Camera Raw. As a result, shooting in RAW
format is a great option provided that you
enjoy working with images on the computer.
If, however, you prefer to print images
directly from the camera, RAW is likely not a
good option for you.
If you enjoy processing images, then RAW
fi les off er the ultimate fl exibility and control
over the image, because you can change
key camera settings after you take the pic-
