You shouldnt always shoot raw files. There are several disadvantages. One is that raw files require special software to open on your computer; you have to use the most recent full version of Photoshop (which has this software in it), or another specialized software program, to transfer your raw images to your computer. This can be a hassle.

If you don't own this expensive software, you'll need to find another way to get the images from your camera onto your computer. You may be able to use the software that came with your camera, but this often involves hooking up a cable and using slow transfer rates. Either way, opening up raw files involves one more step in the digital image processing workflow. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. This extra step gives you more control over the final product, but it also adds another layer of complication.

So, working with raw files is generally more tedious, time-consuming, and difficult. Also, shooting in the raw format requires substantially more memory space than shooting JPEGs. You can fit a lot more images onto your memory card if you shoot JPEGs. Like the TIFF format, the raw format produces larger files than JPEG in its effort to capture all those little details that make up the photo. TIFFs are usually larger than raw files, but both are considered major memory hogs. In practice, selecting your file format is very dependent on how many images your memory cards can hold.

If you shoot in either the TIFF or raw formats, be sure you have a large amount of free hard drive space on your computer. Also, we highly recommend using a CD-ROM or DVD burner to periodically archive your images. This process of burning your images onto a CD or DVD will allow you to delete those images from your hard drive and free up space.