RAW & M RAW & S RAW

[Darren Turner]

Am i right in saying that the difference between "RAW & M RAW & S RAW" is images resolution / pixel count.

Obviously selection M RAW or S RAW will enable me to get more images on my memory card.

I usually shoot in RAW and get around 550 images on my 16gb CF card

Daz

 

[Pete Askew]

That certainly looks to be the case and is different from compressed raw which vary in file size depending on the amount of compression that can be achieved.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content...e_compression/file_types_raw_sraw_and_jpeg.do

 

[Darren Turner]

Cheers Pete

so if i use M or S RAW will the images loose / lack detail and or quality.........and the pixel count will be less that the standard 18mp of a bog standard RAW file on my 7D..............?

Confused.com.........lol

Daz

 

[Pete Askew]

That looks like it might be the case although the impact might be marginal with the M-format (looks to me like it might have been introduce for press shooters and certain part so weddings to save space and increase multi-shot capacity - I'm sure Chris will know). Given the cost of cards these days I would go for maximum resolution / image capture and discard it later if you wish. If it ain't there you can't get it back!

 

[Rudi Venter]

Yes, the only difference is image size, the actual MP size goes down, mostly used for situations where you are not interested in the full MP sized image.

All Canon RAW images are compressed, but it is a loss-less compression like ZIP so there is no quality loss, the reduction in file size varies according to the detail (and noise) in the images since only pixels that are similar and adjacent are "compressed"

 

[Ralph Thornton]

The full RAW file maintains the full pixel count of your sensor. But when using M RAW or S RAW the camera reduces the pixel count. Hence the files are smaller. IMO it's like reducing the resolution of your camera. Useful sometimes depending on the purpose of the shoot. But for me I usually want the highest resolution, that's one reason I bought a camera with 21 MP sensor.

When I want or need a lower resolution file, especially when I need that image quickly, I'll set my camera to record RAW plus one of the JPG settings.