The information of the light captured by this image sensor is called a RAW file.

When the shutter of a digital camera is released, light (images and subjects) is first projected through the lens onto an “image sensor” (called CCD or CMOS). The image sensor converts this light into digital data (light intensity value). So, RAW development software that enables you to perform RAW development processing of RAW files performed in the camera during JPEG shooting on your computer is RAW development software. The image processing engines in digital cameras are unique to each manufacturer, and the image quality and color after RAW development are greatly affected by this image processing engine. However, the image processing circuits in cameras have various limitations, such as miniaturization and power-saving, so their processing performance is lower than that of a PC’s CPU. When you take a photograph, the image sensor outputs a RAW file. The RAW file is converted to JPEG by the image processing engine (image processing circuit) inside the camera and saved to an SD card.

In practice, RAW development processing is performed in cameras even when only JPEG is recorded (when only JPEG images are set as the data to be saved in an SD card). In addition to digital single-lens reflex cameras and mirrorless cameras, JPEG images have been created using the same mechanism for compact digital cameras and smartphones. This time, we want to introduce the outline of the image processing (RAW development) carried out in the RAW development software. RAW development software is responsible for creating colors when converting a RAW file to JPEG or TIFF, and the conversion method varies depending on the software. Do you know that there is a recording format of “RAW” alongside “JPEG” in the recording format of digital single-lens reflex cameras or some compact digital cameras? Converting the RAW image files to image data such as JPEG and TIFF is called “RAW Development.” A software that can perform RAW development on its own is called “RAW development software.”

Raw image processing for mac