Well.. actually i know what is RAW but not sure of how of how do i handled it... as from what I know, RAW files are uncompressed file and are much bigger compared to JPEG format files... The reason what I shoot in RAW was because i intend to send some pictures to my frend to photoshop it for me so wouldn't it be better in RAW..
yeah almost there. You shoot raw not just because it's bigger than jpeg
dunno
. We all shoot raw because yes, they are uncompressed at either 12 or 14 bit, meaning more information (read: detail and dynamic range) is available for manipulation in photoshop.
If you've saved the file in raw mode when it is subsequently loaded into a raw conversion program and then saved to a TIFF or .PSD format file it can be exported in 16 bit mode. The 12 or 14 bits recorded by the camera are then spread over the full 16 bit workspace. If you've saved the file in-camera as a JPG than it is converted by the camera's software to 8 bit mode and you will only ever have 256 brightness levels to work with.
Reasons to Shoot JPG
Files are smaller and therefore more of them fit on a card.
For many applications image quality is more than sufficient (family snapshots, news images).
Small files are more easily transmitted wirelessly and online. This is important to newspaper photographers.
Many photographers don't have the time or inclination to post-process their files.
Many cameras (especially digicams) can not shoot quickly when working in raw mode. Some lower-end models can't record raw files at all.
Reasons to Shoot Raw
A raw file is comparable to the latent image contained in an exposed but undeveloped piece of film. It holds exactly what the imaging chip recorded. Nothing more. Nothing less. This means that the photographer is able to extract the maximum possible image quality, whether now or in the future. A good analogy with the traditional world of film is that you have the opportunity to use a different type of developer or development time at any point in the future if one comes along that you think might do a better job of processing the image.
Raw files have not had while balance set. They are tagged with whatever the camera's setting was, (either that which was manually set or via auto-white-balance), but the actual data has not been changed. This allows one to set any colour temperature and white balance one wishes after the fact with no image degradation. It should be understood that once the file has been converted from the linear space and has had a gamma curve applied (such as in a JPG) white balance can no longer be properly done.
File linearization and colour filter array (Bayer) conversion is done on a computer with a fast and powerful microprocessor. This allows much more sophisticated algorithms to be used than those done in a camera with its slower and less powerful processor and with less space for complex conversion programs.
The raw file is tagged with contrast and saturation information as set in the camera by the user, but the actual image data has not been changed. The user is free to set these based on a per-image evaluation rather than use one or two generalized settings for all images taken.
Possibly the biggest advantage of shooting raw is that one has a 16 bit image (post raw conversion) to work with. This means that the file has 65,536 levels to work with. This is opposed to a JPG file's 8 bit space with just 256 brightness levels available. This is important when editing an image, particularly if one is trying to open up shadows or alter brightness in any significant way.
at the end of the day, it really depends on what you want to process your photos for. If it's just slight tweaking of colors, adjusting saturation and contrast, you don't really need RAW. It is however a good practice to always shoot in RAW, just that it's a big hassle transferring a few gigs worth of photos and later converting them to jpeg again after processing.
hope that's helpful