clarification for RED Raw

Source:
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=32649

Point of clarification: for a long time the term RAW was used interchangeably with the term uncompressed - that is not what is meant by RAW in RED world. IF you have a newer, higher end digital still camera you may have noticed that it offers RAW or JPEG image types - in this world, as with the RedOne, RAW refers to uncorrected sensor data.

There are a number of advantages to having access to all the information the sensor originally captured, even though it may look flat and have a color cast (particularly with a Bayer pattern CFA, but let's not get too technical until you understand the basics). In order to turn this RAW data set into a pretty picture it needs to be de-bayered and (typically) turned into an RGB image that can be used in common editors and other image manipulation tools.

The cool part is that you get to have input into the specifics of that conversion process when "developing" the RAW data set into RGB rather than being stuck with a pre-determined matrix that simply makes a conservative "best guess". Beyond that, if you have mis-exposed footage or a less than perfect color balance you can adjust that with much less degradation of the image. You also have a much greater range of color and can execute creative "looks" with much greater precision and the ability to preserve specific aspects of the image while messing around with others.
quote from Blair S. Paulsen at Reduser.net
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=32649


For the record, RedCode is based on a wavelet codec and is compressed in the neighborhood of 10:1. One of the amazing things about the way Graeme and the Red Team have done this, is that the compression has very little negative impact on the image and makes the size of the files the camera creates manageable on newer desktop computer systems. Common and affordable tools like the newest Final Cut and Adobe Production Suites running on proper hardware (plenty of RAM, newer CPUs, decent GPUs, etc) can handle the job for less than $10,000 including a reasonably decent monitor (the HP DreamColor comes to mind).

The typical track for "roll your own" correction and post is to open the r3d files from the camera in one of the free RED apps (Red Alert is the easiest to learn or perhaps the recently released RedCineX), then play with the image until you like it and transcode it into a format appropriate for your NLE and project deliverables. There are better and faster (and more expensive and/or complex) ways but I suggest you start with the above and go from there. BTW, there are some tutorial videos and tons of information all over this forum so if you are serious and have some background in this field you can figure it out.

If you are interested in someone teaching you all this stuff, RED has recently started REDucation. If that doesn't suit you, there are a number of folks like myself who can be hired to tutor. Best of luck-

Cheers- #19