HELP! can i get my original RAW file back?

gap2cafgap2caf Registered Users Posts: 44 Big grins
edited May 6, 2006 in Finishing School
color me d-u-m-b, but i cannot find a straight forward answer. i'm new to the RAW world... i have opened my images in my canon raw converter and made some changes, clicked ok and then made more changes and saved as a jpeg. the problem is that i would like to have the original raw file back to edit and it appears that the images on my card have saved my changes. is there any way to get the original back? thank you!

Comments

  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited May 6, 2006
    Almost certainly the RAW version is still there. The only way you could lose it, to my knowledge, is if you somehow gave the saved jpg version the exact same file name as the RAW file, including the extention (in the case of the 20D, RAW pix have a CR2 extension). All of the converter programs of which I am aware preserve the original RAW image.

    Check the list of files on Windows Explorer or the MAC equivalent. You should find the RAW file listed there.

    If not, let us know what camera are you using and the name of the "Canon" converter you used? What are you using as a viewer?

    I hope this helps. If not, there are lots of people out there who know a lot more than I do about technical issues and I am sure they can help. Good luck!!

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

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  • Shay StephensShay Stephens Registered Users Posts: 3,165 Major grins
    edited May 6, 2006
    Check the folder that the raw file is in. Look for an .xmp file with the same file name as the image you want to make default again and delete that .xmp file. The .xmp file stores all the changes you made to the image. Deleting the file will delete your changes.

    If you have no xmp files, that means your changes are only being saved to your cache file. Not a good idea in my book. Open the raw file, and in the first drop down box, select "camera default", and that should get you back to the original settings for the image.
    Creator of Dgrin's "Last Photographer Standing" contest
    "Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions." - fortune cookie
  • gap2cafgap2caf Registered Users Posts: 44 Big grins
    edited May 6, 2006
    thank you!
    since i obviously need to learn a lot (btw i am taking a class next month so i will not make these crazy mistakes anymore) i hope you can answer one more question. having reset my image as directed i am still unsure what the difference is between "image settings" and "camera raw default."

    also, a recent "shooting in raw" lecture i attended instructed me to shoot in raw and set my WB to flash when in studio and AWB outside. after shooting, i have in the past simply converted to jpeg, made minor changes to imperfections and the like, and then sent images via ROES for color correction and printing. have i been doing this the wrong way? thank you again for your patience with me as i learn and for all of your help! (the reason for choosing color correction is b/c my laptop monitor is not calibrated well and it made more sense, for now, to do this...i think!?!?!)
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