RIP 35mm, she finally died in a "let me just use this ledge of the parking deck and the timer to steady the shot" accident (live and learn - what can you do)... Anyway so I'm finally a DSLR guy, but had a few questions about image quality and compression... My camera came with "Digital Photo Professional" (which I havn't even installed), but I LOVE Paint.Net so I would much rather use that if I can...
I'll be shooting at 4272X2848, 12.2 megapixels, 8GB memory, and have the choice to shoot in RAW or JPEG...
1. RAW would be a higher quality correct? Or is it just for editing purposes? What are the advantaged or do I have to use special software (aka not Paint.Net) to take advantage of the format? My manual was no help...
2. It looks like I'll be able to edit RAW images if I download the correct plugin for Paint.NET correct? Are any better than the others?
3. The extension for the RAW images is CR2, Why isn't it RAW? -not that it really matters
4. Can I get prints made from RAW format or do I have to save in JPEG? I realize I may have to call them for this one...
5. What format should I be saving my images in after I edit them in Paint.Net? I don't want to loose any image quality and I don't really care about computer space; but It would be cool to be able to get prints made from whatever format I choose and would be really happy if I could keep it standard...
6. Is my best bet to shoot in RAW, edit, then save in uncompressed JPEG? Will I loose quality?
Thanks for your help!
-Scott
