raw data

Raw data, also referred to as primary data, is unprocessed data from a data source. It is unvalidated data that is not subject to error correction and therefore may contain errors.

Raw data is uncoded, uncompressed, unformatted, and unvalidated. They can be used as input data for computational operations, statistics, analysis, and investigation, stored in binary form in databases or data lakes, and stored in storage units.

In the case of image files, raw data is data in RAW format taken directly from the image sensor. Raw data from digital cameras has a relatively wide dynamic range and color gamut. Since they are not compressed or processed, their file size is correspondingly large. For image files, raw data depends on the camera manufacturer and camera type. Each individual manufacturer has its own raw data format.