One of the novelties that arrived with Android 5.0 Lollipop was the native compatibility in Android for the RAW photographic format. Little by little, the different smartphone manufacturers have been integrating the compatibility with this format in the cameras of their different mobiles. However, why should you shoot RAW photos if your mobile is compatible? What are the main advantages?
RAW vs. JPEG
Before, this was a dilemma that only arose in high-end DSLR cameras. Later the RAW format even reached compact cameras. And now it is possible to shoot RAW photos even with a high-end mobile. However, why do you have to shoot RAW? There are several differences between the RAW format and the JPEG format, but we will simply say that the latter format makes a series of adjustments to the image and saves it once it has been processed, while the images in RAW format arrive unprocessed. with all the information related to the captured photograph. Thus explained, one might think «better JPEG, right?». Well, if you are a novice user, and you never want to edit your photos, maybe JPEG is the best choice. But the RAW format is the one that gives the photographer the most possibilities.
To explain it, I am going to borrow the example that use here the photographer Paco Jiménez. A RAW photograph contains the food of a raw meal as well as the recipe for preparing the meal, while a JPEG photograph is the meal already prepared. What is the difference? Well, in a RAW photograph we can make modifications without losing quality. Just as we could change the recipe for a meal just before cooking it, or change one ingredient for another, in a RAW photograph we can change values ​​such as the white balance, for example. Thus, a photograph that seemed to us not to have turned out well, can become one of our favorite photographs thanks to the possibility of editing it later when it has been shot in RAW format.
Disadvantages of RAW
Of course, the RAW format has some drawbacks compared to the JPEG format that can be decisive on a mobile phone. As we have already said, the photos in RAW format have more information, and therefore, they weigh more. That means that we need an internal memory or a memory card of a higher capacity if we want to shoot in RAW, or in any case, that we can shoot a smaller number of photos in this format than in JPEG. That, in some mobiles that do not give the possibility of expanding the memory by means of a microSD card, is something key. A mobile with a 16 megapixel camera, or 20 megapixels, will generate RAW photos that will take up a lot of space. And if you only have 32 GB, without the possibility of expanding the memory, using the RAW format is not the best choice.
However, it does not make much sense not to use it if you have a high-end smartphone. After all, if you have a smartphone of that level, it is, among other things, because it has a high-quality camera. If you have a camera of this quality, it is normal to want to get the best possible photos. And what is more, if at any time you have considered replacing a camera of a higher level with a mobile camera, shooting the photos in RAW, if your mobile is compatible, it will be key so that the photos on your mobile are more similar to the photos you would get with a DSLR camera or a high-end mirrorless camera.
On the other hand, it is possible that a RAW photograph next to a JPEG photograph could appear to be an uglier photo, or simpler. Keep in mind that this is because it requires an adjustment process. If you don't know anything about photography and don't want to get complicated, maybe shooting in JPEG could be a good option for you.
Definitely. You must shoot in RAW to get the best quality in the photos with your mobile, although you must take into account the space that these photographs occupy, which could be something critical if you have a low capacity internal memory, and you cannot expand it by means of a microSD memory card.
