Will I lose photo quality converting a RAW image directly into a JPEG file?

L

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I am shooting pictures w/ my Digital SLR camera, and I take pictures in the RAW file format. I just upload my pictures to software and convert the RAW photos directly - without making modifications to the RAW image - into JPEG. I am aware RAW is for manipulating your photos, but by doing it my way, am I losing any image quality, or should I just shoot JPEG!
 
You will lose a lot of data. Shooting RAW means you have every detail and information marker (different color layers, etc) that you can have in a photo. Converting to JPG means you will have compressed the photo and lost all that information. It might not matter to you - the only real reason to shoot in RAW is if you really want to do professional photography. If you're just shooting pictures for yourself, it doesn't matter if you shoot in JPG. There is no difference in the final JPG if you shoot in RAW and convert, or just shoot in JPG the whole time.
 
You lose a teensy bit of photo quality but are rewarded with massive reduction in file size. Even a compression ration of 20 would normally not be noticed, Whether you shoot raw or JPG is a detail that doesn't much matter unless you are printing very large.
 
A lot depends on your final want in the outcome.
If you are only shooting for personal use, just switch to jpeg ( or RAW/jpeg if you are wavering), this will use less space on your hard-drive.
If you are wanting to fine tune your photos to their maximum, shoot RAW.
I switch back and forth depending on the reason for the photo. Easy snaps in jpeg and the serious work in RAW.
 
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