Which Image Format Do I Choose?

If you are into digital photography, chances are that you have already come across the different file formats used by digital cameras.

It doesn't matter if you are an amateur or a professional because you will have to deal with them when taking pictures and transferring them to your computer and eventually editing them.

But which image format is best for you? It all depends on the result that you want and how much control you want to have over editing your images. Below are the most common image formats used by digital cameras.

1. JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

• this is probably the most popular image format used not only in digital photography but also in web design. It is a good thing because you can be sure that you can open your file using any computer and without the need of special

software.

There's a downside, however, since JPEG is considered a 'lossy' format, which means that a lot of details are lost due to the format's compression.

When it comes to image file compression algorithms there are two types: a) 'lossy' compression and b) 'lossless' compression.

• Type a) make use of the limitations of the human eye and don't store the invisible information. Type a) allow variable levels of quality (compression) increasing these levels leads to reduced file size.

• Type b) will reduce file size while the high image quality are preserved, though the resulting file size will be considerably greater than a type a) file.

2. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

• the TIFF format is the answer to the lossy quality of JPEG. The result is a far better image quality and more photography details will be stored.

This format has its price however, as TIFF files are known to be quite huge and could easily grasp storage media space very fast.

3. RAW

• from these three formats, RAW must be considered as the format that conserve images details best. As RAW images aren't processed in any way - this gives the photographer a better control in the editing process.

When talking about the RAW format it should be mentioned that this isn't any standardized format.

This means that it differs from one manufacturer to another and one may have to make use of special software to edit this format. However, many of the oldest RAW formats are supported in many of the main editing software packets.