RAW, JPG, and the Canon 10d: Part 2

So, now to have a little closer look at the two methods for brightening up a drastically underexposed digital shot.

Note that this is a continuation from a previous post. You probably need to read that page first for this one to make sense.

First we’ll look at noise…

JPG with 4 screen layers

RAW +4 exposure

Notice that the RAW image has much more defined noise in the dark area. It was visible on the 400px images from the previous article, but it is much more so when zoomed in.

The white thing running diagonally on the left side is fabric surrounding Christmas lights. The top light almost disappears in the JPG, while it is fairly visible in the RAW. The Christmas lights in the RAW are also much redder, although that could be an easy fix either way in Photoshop.

And, on to fringing around blown out areas…

JPG with 4 screen layers

RAW + 4 exposure

The JPG appears to have better defined lines, while the RAW image has more of a fringing problem.

Conclusion (for this part)
After this second test, JPG still seems to hold the torch.

I’m thinking part 3 will have to be a test for pulling detail out of areas with too much light instead of darkness. To be fair, that is what RAW is supposed to be good for.

Again, if you haven’t read the previous entry on this, please do so. This entry will make a lot more sense after you have.