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Since the RAW file is unprocessed and unfiltered, it will undoubtedly, be much larger in size (approximately 10MB - 15MB per shot). Due to the larger file size when shooting RAW, I highly recommend getting at least a 4GB memory card, 8GB if you can indulge. I did some research and comparison and found the 8GB Extreme III Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Card. 8GB allows you to shoot in RAW with much valued freedom. The Extreme III denotation indicates that this card is blazing fast. Read/Write speeds sustaining at least 20MB/second. With faster Read/Write speeds your G9 will be able to recover and be able to shoot your next photo with minimal delay. An added bonus to this particular SD Card is the USB SD Card Reader included in the package contents. The convenience of a USB SD card reader is undervalued in my opinion. Once you try it, you may never go back to that mini USB cable that you keep misplacing anyway. Surely, you can misplace the card reader as well but, I find cables are much easier to misplace than actual ‘hardware’. At any rate, let’s move on to how you can set your G9 to shoot RAW - super easy.

Before we even power up our G9, ensure that your Mode Dial is set to M (Manual) - Please note that when taking photos with the Auto setting on the Mode Dial, the RAW feature is disabled. The Auto setting on the Mode Dial will produce a JPEG file not a RAW file. This caused confusion for me during my early experimentations thinking that I was using the RAW setting on my G9 and not realizing that the Auto setting usurps any Custom settings you may have made. So, now that your Mode Dial is set to M (Manual), away we go!

1. Power On your G9
2. Hit the Func. Set Button (located to the Right of the LCD screen in the middle of the dial)
3. Scroll Down to the most bottom icon (May be denoted as one of the following L, M1, M2, M3, S, W, RAW - if the icon already says RAW, you are ahead of the pack)
4. If RAW is not yet selected, scroll to the right by pressing the right side of the dial. You will see RAW as a selection at the very right, just past W (Widescreen - this setting shoots JPEG files)
5. Done! Your G9 is now set to give you RAW files which means you will receive everything that the your G9 sensor receives - unfiltered, unprocessed, and unadulterated. Pure, pure, pure!

Tip: For those of you who would like to explore the power of shooting RAW but, also enjoy the convenience of JPEG files, the G9 has the unique ability to capture both files simultaneously. Keep in mind that this will utilize even more storage space on you SD card and therefore I highly recommend the 8GB Extreme III Secure Digital High Capacity Card if you are interested in shooting in both RAW and JPEG simultaneously.

In order to capture both RAW and JPEG files on your G9, simply follow these steps:

1. Power On your G9
2. Hit the Menu button
3. Scroll Down to Record RAW + L
4. You will have the choice of either On or Off. Select On in order to shoot in both RAW and JPEG files. Select Off to shoot strictly RAW.

I hope these steps were rather quick and painless. Now that your camera is set to shoot RAW, take a some sample shots with which we can work with in the next How To: Processing RAW Files.

There are many ways to process RAW files. Tomorrow, I will outline the workflow that I personally use. Thanks for stopping by and get ready for your photos to take on that Wow-factor - Oh baby, I like it RAW!

Note: For those of you who like to refer to your G9 Manual, Canon provides their explanation of how to set your G9 to shoot RAW, JPEG or RAW+JPEG (p.78-p.80).