Shooting RAW in 2025 Makes More Sense Than Ever

Years ago, RAW video was often seen as overkill, or unachievable. It was the domain of big-budget productions with dedicated DITs, oversized hard drives, and long timelines. The idea of shooting RAW for fast-turnaround work seemed impossible.

Today, in 2025, thanks to the ongoing advancements in video format and compression technology, that mindset is outdated.

Nearly every major camera system now supports some form of compressed or "lite" RAW. Whether it’s Blackmagic RAW, RED’s HQ and MQ flavors, Canon’s CRM Lite, or ProRes RAW, the technology has matured. More importantly, it has become more accessible. These formats retain the flexibility of traditional RAW without the bulk, while today’s storage solutions are cheaper, faster, and more portable than ever.

The Old Myth: RAW Slows You Down

You may have heard people say: "RAW is too slow". Or "Shoot in ProRes, its quicker." It’s advice that gets passed around a lot, especially for documentary or live-event capture.

But in practice, this is not always true, and the benefits outweigh the burdens. Shooting in a RAW Lite format can actually increase your speed and efficiency on set.

You're not stressing about locking in the perfect white balance or nailing exposure down to the tenth of a stop. You can instead focus on framing, pacing, storytelling, and capturing real moments. Your camera team works with more confidence and fewer interruptions. It allows more headroom for creativity and agility. I know what some of you may be thinking. But this doesn't mean this process caters to a less skillful cinematographer who will "fix it in post". Your camera team still needs to know what they're doing. But it DOES mean they can spend their time focused on important issues that make your end-product even better.

Modern Tools Make RAW Easier Than Ever

The evolution of LUTs and PowerGrades has been a game-changer. With a few smart tools in place, you can go from RAW footage to a polished Rec709 preview in seconds. Exposure adjustments, white balance corrections, and color tweaks that once took significant time can now be done in a single node or with a saved preset.

Gone are the days where RAW required a full grading pass just to get a watchable image. Today, a well-built PowerGrade does most of the work. If you want to push the look further, the image still has all the latitude you need. But if you're under deadline, you can deliver clean, color-accurate footage with little fuss.

Storage Is No Longer the Bottleneck

Thanks to affordable multi-terabyte SSDs and high-speed CFExpress cards, storing and managing RAW media is now a non-issue for most production teams. It’s become the normal workflow.

A Real Advantage in Doc and Event Work

At one point RAW would only make sense for commercial, cinematic, or heavily planned shoots. However, it is incredibly useful in live and doc-style settings, where you don’t always have the time or control to dial things in perfectly on set.

Being able to clean up an underexposed shot, shift a white balance that was slightly off, or recover highlight detail can mean the difference between a usable moment and a missed opportunity. Having footage in raw also allows you to go back and try different looks and styles without dealing with compromised quality in the original footage. RAW has become a secret weapon.

What Works for YOU?

Ultimately, what works for each crew is different. But RAW is no longer about being fancy or excessive. It’s about working smarter, faster, and with more flexibility.

RAW Lite formats let cinematographers shoot with confidence and finish with precision. The workflow is clean, the results are strong, and clients get the best version of their story.