QUOTE(bb100 @ Dec 12 2012, 05:47 PM)
He must have shot in RAW format, ehh? Can JPEG produce such qualities?
QUOTE(MrAkay @ Dec 12 2012, 05:57 PM)
jpeg/raw differences is during editing, like if its too bright, RAW can recover back more details then JPEG.
in terms of IQ, its still the same. if u take 1 scene using raw & jpeg at neutral setting then it will look exactly the same
think of raw/jpeg as a piece of meat. raw is raw meat, jpeg is cooked meat. but essentially both are still the same piece of meat. the only difference is how it was processed
As explained by Mr. Akay, RAW is unprocess, RAW format (in films, it's like the negatif file)
For easy understanding, it's like RAW meat, not yet cook.
JPEG is processed image, it's like a Cook Meat, which cooked using an Oven. So if you're using Nikon, imagine using a Nikon's Oven which will cook the meat based on Nikon's settings. Some people prefer Canon's Oven processed meat.
Then in this Oven, you can choose different types of cooking (e.g. like your camera picture control, you have Standard, Portrait, Vivid, etc which will output different result for the processed JPEG), and you can also customize each settings (e.g. in your camera, you can customize the pre-defined picture control, adjust the contrast, sharpness, etc).
So, JPEG and RAW. If your meat is processed and cooked, and if it's OVER Cooked, you can't do much about it. So, similarly, if your JPEG you choose VIVID mode and took a picture of a flower, you love the output and vivid color, then you saw a pretty/hot girl (or hot man, if you're a girl), you quickly take a picture forgetting you're in VIVID mode... OMG, the skin color is over-saturated, it's over-cooked. You can try to fix and recover, but as mentioned, when a meat is already processed and over-cooked, it's not easy to fix and there's not much room left for you to fix.
It all depends on what you want to shoot, what's your preference, are you satisfied with the output. Most people they're happy with the direct output from the camera, while some feels it can further add more punch, thus they edit the processed jpeg to enhance what's already been processed (or fix some part). It really depends on each individual.