Re: Lens and Camera Test

I always post process my images as I do not shoot JPEG, always shoot RAW (Nikon NEF in this case). RAW files are not processed, that is the point. JPEG images are processed by the camera, meaning engineers at Nikon, Canon, etc. determine how your images will look. I prefer to do it myself as I think I know better than they do what a good image should look like. I worked in Hewlett-Packard's digital imaging group and saw how it was done first hand.

Post processing seems to have a bad connotation for some, but post processing was what photographers like Ansel Adams did in the darkroom. People think photographer like Ansel nailed it when they shot the photos, but I met Ansel at one of his workshops years ago and he told us that his photos were created in the darkroom. Ansel was fond of saying that the negative was the score and the print was the performance. I feel that way about my RAW files. Adobe has developed an industry standard RAW format that they named DNG. Digital Negative Graphic.

Post processing has gotten a bad reputation because of all the idiots using Photoshop to change reality. A good photographer will use Photoshop or other software in a limited way to enhance contrast, lighten shadows, darken highlights, sharpen moderately. Same kind of treatment that good photographers did in the darkroom.

Best way to go is to shoot both JPEG and RAW (most cameras give you this option), that way you will have the JPEG files for immediate use but will have the RAW files for doing a better job when you have more time.