What is the difference between RAW images and another uncompressed format like BMP?
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RAW contains the exact data recorded by the sensor as well as some metadata required to interpret it.
The sensors themselves have some number of bits of info which doesn’t match up with the typical bit count of a BMP. I.e 12 or 14 bits in the sensor, vs 8/16/32 bits in a BMP.
Also there’s usually an extra ccd pixel for green, or there might be like an infrared pixel. Additionally the color filters used don’t correspond exactly to the RGB color space a BMP would typically use.
End result is that converting from RAW to RGB will generally end up with a loss of data. But if you have the raw data you get the ability to tweak the conversion to do things like preserve shadows and highlights that might otherwise be lost.
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