I'm going to shoot JPG.....

How does D-lighting work and what is the proper use for it? I've seen the option in my camera but don't really understand it's use properly.
For the Nikon D810, active D-Lighting is used to help the contrast in images. It extends the dynamic range by opening up the shadows and protecting the highlights. A possible penalty could be additional noise in shadow details. It may be useful for JPEG shooters, since a jpeg shouldn't really be modified after shooting and therefore it's important that the image is correct in the first place. I haven't used it so much as I usually shoot in raw format, but I understand that it can be beneficial when shooting in high and low contrast settings.
 
I think it comes down to this:

A photograph taken in RAW cannot produce a photograph of less quality than the same photograph taken in JPEG. But a JPEG can produce a photograph of less quality than the same photograph taken in RAW.

Because the gap in quality has narrowed and the time involved in processing RAW more people now use JPEG. Like I do.

But!

If I was commissioned to take a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I would shoot in RAW.

"Oh! young man please do put your clothes on when you take my photograph,and mind the corgis one of them can jump quite high"

I said in RAW not in the RAW! Sorry your Majesty.
 
A photograph taken in RAW cannot produce a photograph of less quality than the same photograph taken in JPEG.
May I suggest instead of "cannot" the words "should not" are more appropriate. Apologies if it sounds being semantic, but a raw file is not an image until it is processed and exported (in Lightroom). Processing requires at least some skill and understanding or else the results may be less than available from the JPEG. I'm sure you meant that a "correctly processed" raw file has to be superior to the JPEG version. However, often when there are complaints about raw files being no better than the JPEG, it is due to a combination of factors, such as the skill of the individual and whether he/she is using a screen that can actually show the difference between the processed raw file and the JPEG. So in general you are quite correct in that an image from a raw file should always be superior to a JPEG, given that the sensor data used is common.
 
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OOC the RAW usually looks worse than the jpeg ..... the RAW tends to be flatter as there is limited in camera processing versus the jpeg
to process the RAW to achieve as good a "quality" as the OOC jpeg you need to have a reasonable knowledge of a processing app and it takes time to process the RAW
to process the jpeg to "improve" it usually takes far less time

It all depends

If you are starting out take jpeg ..... then see if you can process the RAW to a "better quality" than the jpeg ........

I did lots of comparisons with bird shots and over 50% of the time I could not beat a quickly processed jpeg with a longer processed RAW

It all depends
 
How does D-lighting work and what is the proper use for it? I've seen the option in my camera but don't really understand it's use properly.

Most of the Nikon bodies have D-lighting in the meno system somewhere - christ even my Nikon compact has it in. (P7800).

You can select it quickly and the amount of 'gain' you want to use for the particular situation. If you want high contrast, turn it off.

Bear in mind, when you shoot Jpeg the camera actually shoots RAW, then processes it according to the parameters you can jiggle a bit, saves the Jpeg and then discards the RAW. So, depending on how you configure (Wow, that's a good word!) the camera settings, you can get Jpegs equal to doing it on the comoputer - or at least so close, it isn't worth worrying about.
 
Most of the Nikon bodies have D-lighting in the meno system somewhere - christ even my Nikon compact has it in. (P7800).

You can select it quickly and the amount of 'gain' you want to use for the particular situation. If you want high contrast, turn it off.

Bear in mind, when you shoot Jpeg the camera actually shoots RAW, then processes it according to the parameters you can jiggle a bit, saves the Jpeg and then discards the RAW. So, depending on how you configure (Wow, that's a good word!) the camera settings, you can get Jpegs equal to doing it on the comoputer - or at least so close, it isn't worth worrying about.
Now I know what it is, I will try to incorporate it a little into my in-camera processing and see what happens.
 
You can play with it AFTER shooting (Menu - paintbrush symbol, D-Lighting is top of the tree of options) - so review a picture, press menu...if you add D lighting to the picture it doesn't alter your original, it saves a copy with the Dlighting added, so no harm done. You know which the copy is because there is a symbol on the review image in the screen.

You can apply D-Lighting in the shooting menu too, so the pictures are taken with it already taking place to lift the shadows and hold back the highlights. Again, you can set it to off so it isn't in play, or you can bring on the super sub!
 
The aftermarket books for bodies are really handy, you learn a lot.

It shows you the effects of every setting including D-lighting and explains it all.
 
I have shot jpegs professionally, but that's mostly down to shooting hundreds of deliverables per day, raw would have been a nightmare, if I'm shooting my fujis I tend to do raw plus Joel and never touch the raws, Fuji Joel's are damn near perfect, the consistency is nice too.
 
Raws need not be a drag even for ardent jpeg shooters.
Set raw, but just make all your extra settings that you make when you shoot jpegs.
When you open them in your processor all those setings will be applied, just as if you had shot them in jpeg in the first place.
However you have all the raw headroom to use when you need to.
The other way round you have nothing extra to use when you need it.
 
Every single file is processed either by you or the camera (which in reality is just an algorithm made by someone sitting at a computer in an office somewhere).
Sometimes the camera just can't give you what you want and adding light or reducing light is not an option.


Yes, and it's not just user error either. You can also correct the limitations of your equipment using the RAW file.
 
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