Jpeg vs raw

[G Randy Brown]

Why does jpeg look so much better than .dng?
I took some stills of the sunrise this morning and the dng can't be cropped at all while the jpeg can be zoomed at least 2x.
With the raw being 5x bigger in size, I'm baffled.
BTW, how do yall upload your stills...the site states the jpeg is too large to upload (16MB)
Thanks,
Randy

 

[bp328i]

Why does jpeg look so much better than .dng?
I took some stills of the sunrise this morning and the dng can't be cropped at all while the jpeg can be zoomed at least 2x.
With the raw being 5x bigger in size, I'm baffled.
BTW, how do yall upload your stills...the site states the jpeg is too large to upload (16MB)
Thanks,
Randy

Simple answer is dng's are RAW files that have a lot more data to work with in post while jpeg's are processed by the drone.

 

[brett8883]

Yea just to add to what @bp1986 said these newer cameras do a lot of in camera processing with jpeg and can actually make them look pretty good. It also depends on your RAW processor. Opening a RAW file in one program can make it look totally different in another.

 

[bmwbob]

Photographers all shoot RAW and post process in software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to achieve a better photo results. JPEG photo image modification are baked in with software preventing many additional photo enhancements.

 

[slup]

... It also depends on your RAW processor. Opening a RAW file in one program can make it look totally different in another.

And here the key word is "a RAW needs post processing" ... just open them in a RAW processor like Adobe Lightroom isn't enough to get out the most of them.

 

[THE CYBORG]

THIS article from Amateur Photographer should help you understand dng / RAW
You can download the free RAW editing program Darktable HERE it is a similar program to Adobe Lightroom.
There are lots of tutorials for Darktable on YouTube

 

[sar104]

Why does jpeg look so much better than .dng?
I took some stills of the sunrise this morning and the dng can't be cropped at all while the jpeg can be zoomed at least 2x.
With the raw being 5x bigger in size, I'm baffled.
BTW, how do yall upload your stills...the site states the jpeg is too large to upload (16MB)
Thanks,
Randy

Presumably you are looking at the actual DNG image - not the embedded JPEG preview. Not all image viewers can display the DNG.

 

[G Randy Brown]

ahhh ok, I just opened it in Luminar 4 and it looks great!
I guess I was just confused as to why the jpg looked better using Windows photo viewer...now I know.
Thanks very much,
Randy

 

[brett8883]

BTW, how do yall upload your stills...the site states the jpeg is too large to upload (16MB)

In a photo editing program when you export your photo you usually are given the option of what jpeg quality you want to export as. The lower the quality % the smaller the file size (just means more compression.) Test until you get it small enough to upload and then you’ll know from then on what quality you need to export as.

 

[G Randy Brown]

Do you happen to know the limit?
Even gmail accepts up to 25MB, I'm surprised I can't upload a 16MB file here when I see what looks to be higher than 16MB stills here.

 

[brett8883]

Do you happen to know the limit?
Even gmail accepts up to 25MB, I'm surprised I can't upload a 16MB file here when I see what looks to be higher than 16MB stills here.

I want to say that it’s 4MB but I could be off a little. It’s no more than 8MB for sure.

Now keep in mind the size of the file doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with resolution or visual quality per se. You’ll notice the difference if you try to edit a compressed image but just viewing it is almost impossible to tell a difference unless you zoom in real far. This is especially true on the web.

 

[G Randy Brown]

That sounds reasonable...thanks!

 

[Ars3nal3432]

Randy Im right there with you, but what everyone saying is correct. I think the RAW files with this camera need to be altered much more than raw files from other cameras.

Heres my post on the issue: 48 Megapixels of Confusion

 

[sar104]

I want to say that it’s 4MB but I could be off a little. It’s no more than 8MB for sure.

Now keep in mind the size of the file doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with resolution or visual quality per se. You’ll notice the difference if you try to edit a compressed image but just viewing it is almost impossible to tell a difference unless you zoom in real far. This is especially true on the web.

The limit is 10 MB.

 

[G Randy Brown]

Thanks very much everyone!
I've been a video guy forever but it seems photography is a total new ball game...I'm learning tho ?
Thanks again,
Randy

 

[Ars3nal3432]

Thanks very much everyone!
I've been a video guy forever but it seems photography is a total new ball game...I'm learning tho ?
Thanks again,
Randy

Overall photos will always show more technical flaws with a senor then video using the same sensor.

 

[G Randy Brown]

Good to know

 

[brett8883]

The limit is 10 MB.

Opp well I was wrong.

 

[Dale D]

Why does jpeg look so much better than .dng?
I took some stills of the sunrise this morning and the dng can't be cropped at all while the jpeg can be zoomed at least 2x.
With the raw being 5x bigger in size, I'm baffled.
BTW, how do yall upload your stills...the site states the jpeg is too large to upload (16MB)
Thanks,
Randy

JPEG files are processed in the camera. They are highly compressed with much less data. They are ready to view. The image on your LCD is a JPG image and should not be used to evaluate the shot. I set my camera to RAW only. They come out FLAT looking because I want them to. I then open them in Photoshop (images) or Premiere (video) and process them to my preferences.

 

[boblui]

I don't have the MA2 but I am really interested in knowing the dynamic range of the camera . There is a good collection of samples here : DJI Mavic Air 2 sample gallery

I have downloaded some of the images and opened up the shadows in photoshop to see if more details can be seen in the raw file but the results are negative. Here is an example.

Original jpg photo :



Shadow opened up by pushing the exposure slider in ACR. Left is RAW and right is JPG. Both are 100% crops



Just wondering what the experience of MA2 owners is in this regard.