@Adrianpz1 wrote:
I have T3i. While I'm taking pictures the camera shutter goes off on its own when at rest. I take a picture, and in between the walk to my next destination the camera keeps going on by itself? Any suggestions? It's so annoying!
Do you have a battery grip on the camera? I use them on all my cameras and occasionally when I'm carrying them I'll accidentally bump the shutter release, taking a series of shots.
Another possibility is that the shutter release button is sticking. It's not something I've heard of happening a lot on T3i, though. It's more common on 20D through 50D, and maybe 60D. And, more typically it causes the camera to have increasingly long delays taking shots... until eventually they just won't fire at all.
What happens is dust and dirt and finger oils gradually build up in the shutter release button, causing it to jam. I suppose it's possible it could jam "on", though it usually jams "off". All that's really needed is a cleaning. If this is the problem, there are DIY methods outlined on several websites, or you can put the camera in the hands of a professional repair tech (the better option, if possible). If you send it to Canon, they will simply replace the shutter release button with a new one. But a simple "flood cleaning" is usually all that's really needed and that's what an independent repairer will do.
If neither of these seems to be the problem, it's baffling unless you have exposure bracketing or something else enabled. But, even then, I have no idea. Maybe the camera does need to be sent in for repair.
Just to clarify... Yes, if the camera is set to JPEG accidentally, you can easily change it back to shoot RAW files. You also can set it to save both RAW and JPEGs of each image (but that takes up more storage space, of course).
However, once a shot is taken, converted and saved as a JPEG.... No, it cannot be converted back to a RAW file.
Actually, all digital cameras shoot RAW files all the time. What happens when you set the camera to JPEG is that the camera is instantly converting the RAW into a JPEG, in-camera and according to the camera settings you've made ("Picture Style", sharpening, contrast, saturation, noise reduction, etc.) It then saves the JPEG on the memory card. In the process of converting to JPEG, a lot of the originally captured data is simply thrown away and once that's done there is no way to recapture whatever was thrown away.
On the other hand, if you shoot RAW everything captured at the time of exposure is saved. Later you can "post-process" the RAW in your computer, using various softwares. If you use Canon's own Digital Photo Pro (DPP) and have it set to "as shot", the resulting JPEGs will be identical to what the camera would have produced if you'd set it to save JPEGs instead. But you also have a lot of options to change those settings with RAW files, if you wish. You also can make other types of files, instead of JPEGs. For example, TIFFs and PSDs (Adobe's own type of file) can be worked in 16 bit and higher resolutions, while JPEGs are pretty much 8 bit only. That's a difference between thousands of colors vs millions of colors, which can make a difference in finished images depending upon how they will be used.
In other words, working with RAW files you have a lot more latitude to "fix" things later on, than you do with JPEGs. Even corrections to exposure or white balance are nearly always better done from a RAW than from a JPEG.
Think of RAW as film negatives and JPEGs as the prints made from those negatives. Personally I shoot RAW most of the time, RAW+JPEG occasionally (such as when on a tight deadline where "finished" images are needed immediately). RAW are much more "forgiving" of mistakes or simply let me change my mind about how an image is later finished. So I almost never shoot JPEG only.
***********
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & EXPOSUREMANAGER
