I've recently tried shooting in RAW and am pleased with the results. It's not really necessary for web and magazine prints, but it's fun experimenting anyway.
Eventually I want to get more seriously into landscape stuff where RAW is considered essential.
I'll also be creating my own photo library of plant species when I get my macro lens, so the highest quality is required.
To give you an idea, with my camera in fine jpeg mode each image is approx 2.5Mb. In RAW it is 8Mb. Then when I convert to 16-Bit TIFF (usable by Photoshop etc.) it goes up to 36Mb per image!
I've been using this software, which is free and better than the supplied Canon stuff. http://www.rawtherapee.com/
It's not as user-friendly but it's quite powerful with plenty of features. You can fiddle with jpegs too, so compact camera users may also benefit.
Have fun!
Eventually I want to get more seriously into landscape stuff where RAW is considered essential.
I'll also be creating my own photo library of plant species when I get my macro lens, so the highest quality is required.
To give you an idea, with my camera in fine jpeg mode each image is approx 2.5Mb. In RAW it is 8Mb. Then when I convert to 16-Bit TIFF (usable by Photoshop etc.) it goes up to 36Mb per image!
I've been using this software, which is free and better than the supplied Canon stuff. http://www.rawtherapee.com/
It's not as user-friendly but it's quite powerful with plenty of features. You can fiddle with jpegs too, so compact camera users may also benefit.
Have fun!