Better to overexpose then darken in RAW conversion
Taken with a Nikon D50 and Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G DX (kit-lens)
RAW is only a tiny bit better than with jpeg but generally the only reason to underexpose is to avoid highlights blowing out, and RAW does give more than a tiny bit of latitude in recovering highlights.
In fact if you've got the light, it's better to overexpose then darken in RAW conversion to reduce noise. The way to do what you want is to increase ISO... that also increases noise but not as bad as underexposing.
If you have to underexpose, the way to make the noise less objectionable is to simply print it dark or at least adjust so the shadows remain dark and only raise the highlights.
Labels: AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G DX, Landscape, Nikon D50, Photography
