RAW Files Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1 What does RAW mean in photography?

RAW in photography means unprocessed image data. It denotes data taken directly from a digital scanner or camera's sensors, resulting in detailed, high-quality RAW photos.

There is no a .RAW file extension. RAW is a general term for unprocessed image data; each camera brand uses its specific file format and corresponding file extension.

You can send multiple RAW files using Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer due to their large sizes. When sending a small number of photos, you can send as email attachments.

To view RAW files on Windows, you can use the pre-installed "Photo" tool to open and view such files. Locate the folder with your RAW file. Then, Right-click on the file, navigate to "Open With," and choose "Photos." 

Note: If this doesn't work, download and install a camera codec that allows Windows to recognize and open RAW files from various camera models.

A RAW file is an uncompressed file type. The format preserves all image data without compression and ensures that the quality of the data stored is not affected.

The choice between RAW and JPEG depends on the application area. JPEG is best suited for simple and quick shoots because it is compressed and smaller but of low quality. However, RAW is detailed, high-quality, and larger, resulting in stylized shoots with future image editing abilities.

Shoot photos in RAW because the file format captures every image data from the camera sensor, resulting in higher-quality images than compressed file types such as JPEG.

Android cannot open RAW files. Nonetheless, users can open and view specific RAW files using Google Photos. First, upload your RAW file to Google Photos. Second, Open the Google Photos application on Android and locate the uploaded file.