Originally Posted by
discomuzz
You're probably right! For us pleb types the difference is negligible.
This is what Wikipedia says.
.raw
"Camera raw files have 12 or 14 bits of intensity information, not the gamma-compressed 8 bits stored in JPEG files (and typically stored in processed TIFF files); since the data is not yet rendered and clipped to a color space gamut, more precision may be available in highlights, shadows, and saturated colors".
My understanding is, .raw files provide greater depth of color for contrast/saturation/etc. manipulation.
Basically, a nicer base image!?