RAW or JPEG?

Use RAW files for highest quality or use JPEG files for speed and convenience.

RAW

RAW files are much larger and thus slower to work with than JPEGs. RAW files are losslessly compressed and retain the full sensor resolution of 12 or 14 bits per RGB channel.

RAW files must be post-processed in a raw converter software, which is time-consuming, but you can make many corrections in the process, like adjusting color according to a color swatch.

Prefer RAW if no other pictures exist of the object you are imaging. RAW files convert to TIFF for archival purposes.

JPEG

JPEG files are smaller and thus faster to work with than RAW files. JPEGs are lossily compressed and retain only 8 bits resolution per RGB channel.

If you shoot JPEG the camera will post-process the files for you, but you are limited in the corrections you can make afterwards.

Use JPEG if the only purpose of taking these images is to build an RTI image and there exist other images of the object for archival purposes.