Yes—output sharpening is commonly needed for RAW images, but not because RAW files are inherently defective. The key point is that many digital captures benefit from some sharpening during processing.

A practical reason is that interpolation in the digital imaging pipeline can make images appear a bit softer, and sharpening helps restore perceived crispness. Also, in-camera JPEGs often already have sharpening applied, while RAW files typically leave that decision to the editor, so the RAW result may look softer until you add it yourself.

So the manual’s advice is best understood as workflow guidance: when starting from RAW, expect to apply sharpening near the end for the intended output. It does not necessarily mean every RAW file is flawed or that RAW uniquely “reduces” sharpness; rather, RAW processing usually leaves sharpening under your control instead of baking it in automatically.