What’s the difference between RAW, M-RAW, and S-RAW on the Canon 70D?
Asked 10/10/2014
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2 answers
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My Canon 70D offers three raw capture options: RAW, M-RAW, and S-RAW. I understand that the file and image sizes differ, but I’d like to know what that means in practice.
Specifically:
- How much image information is lost when using M-RAW or S-RAW compared with full RAW?
- When would it make sense to use each option?
- Are M-RAW and S-RAW still truly raw files, or does the camera apply some processing to create them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
2
The only "real" RAW option is the option RAW. The other two, S-RAW and M-RAW where introduced in the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1D Mark IV respectively as options to decrease the file size. The S-RAW has about 1/4th the number of pixels and half the fil size of "real" RAW and the M-RAW about 54-60 % of the pixels and two thirds of the size of the RAW option.
The use of the S-RAW and M-RAW is of course if you want to save storage space (not really a problem these days), if your memory card/camera combination can't keep up with the data flow from continuous shooting or if you have to transfer many images over a limited data link in a short period of time all while still retaining the larger bit depth compared to shooting in JPEG.
As far as Canon has documented the formats publicly there are no processing applied to these two formats except from lowering pixel count compared to the RAW option
Canon has a good information page about the formats if you want to take a look yourself.
Originally by user21986. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user21986
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On the 70D, full RAW is the only “true” full-resolution raw capture. M-RAW and S-RAW are reduced-size raw-like formats made to save space.
In practical terms:
- RAW keeps the camera’s full sensor resolution.
- M-RAW keeps roughly 54–60% of the pixels and uses about two-thirds the file size of full RAW.
- S-RAW keeps about one-quarter of the pixels and about half the file size.
So the main loss is resolution: fewer pixels means less detail and less cropping flexibility. The benefit is smaller files, which can help with storage, buffer/card performance during continuous shooting, or faster transfer over limited bandwidth.
When to use them:
- Use RAW when you want maximum image quality, detail, and editing flexibility.
- Use M-RAW or S-RAW when file size matters more than full resolution.
As for processing: M-RAW and S-RAW are not the same as untouched full-sensor RAW. Since they are smaller than the sensor’s native resolution, the camera must do some internal processing/downsampling to create them. They still retain more editing latitude than JPEG, but they are not equivalent to full RAW.
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