A raw file is not a pixel image, is just data (though a thumbnail of the image as would be developed to jpg according to how the camera was set is embedded in the file). A raw file can’t be modified, all the corrections done to a raw file ought to be exported to an image file, which could be Tiff, DNG, jpg or other format. Most programs which allow to process a raw file keep memory of the manipulations done by adding data to de raw file or creating another file associated with it which is called a “sidecar”. You can go back to the raw file and modify the corrections done at any time. Examples of these are DxO PhotoLab, CaptureOne, Camera Raw, etc… Other programs can process a raw file, but after processing them and opening the image in their edition’s module, they don’t keep track of what has been done. Examples of these would be Serif’s Affinity Photo and Corel’s PaintShop . And there are programs that don’t work with the raw file, they interpret the data and open it as a 16 bits image file and you would be working with this, which is not the best way of doing things (as a lot of information from the raw file might be not taken advantage of).
Most important things to take care of when shooting a photo are the exposure (how the exposure is done accounting for aperture, which together with the focal length of the lens determines the depth of field, speed and ISO which the higher it is the more noise you’ll get), and white balance. The rest of the things that can be set on the camera when shooting for jpg as for example setting values for contrast or saturation or converting to black&white for the resulting image, are the results of processing the data to an image file by software, that can be done by the camera in the camera or can be done later on a computer. Imaging Edge from Sony has the same setting for these, as can be set in the camera, but later on, while processing the raw file on the computer.
Most Raw files are 12 or 14 bits. Most relevant things to work with when processing a raw file are white balance and recovering data (which is there) from the shadows and highlights. All information that is not taken advantage of before developing the raw and exporting to an image file, won’t be there any more.
De-noising is better done while processing the raw file. It is effective if doing it to a tiff file and it is obviously not the same if done to a jpg file.
A Tiff file has 16 bits per channel (RGB channels) which means they have a potential of registering up to 65.536 tones per channel. A jpg file has a potential of registering up to 256 tones per channel. Therefore, a tiff file has much more potential and tolerance for manipulating an image. A jpg file has a shallower colour depth and when fiddling with it while editing the image with the white balance and/or the tonal range, you’ll more likely get or increase things like noise and/or banding.
I have Sony cameras (Alpha A230, A580, a7 and Rx100). I process my raw files with DxO PhotoLab (which automatically corrects optical distortions of lenses), export to Tiff, edit in Affinity Photo (but also have and use now and again Paintshop Pro and ACDsee) and use Topaz programs as plugins (I have lots of them).
But for what I think you want or I interpreted you want, I would suggest you to process your raw files in Sony’s Imaging Edge and export to 16 bits Tiff (not to a 8 bits Tiff file). Then use whichever program that has the ability to correct optical distortion of lenses to do so (in case you have a Sony camera with interchangeable lenses) and after that you can open your tiff file in Studio 2 (always a 16 bits tiff file). After all edits are done, you can safely export to jpg. Just an opinion.
Sorry if I went to far in what wrote. You probably already knew all or most of what I said but I tend to get over enthusiast when expressing myself. And don’t take my word for everything I said, I can be wrong in many of the things I think I know and many are or might be opinionable.
