In recent months, the confusion over which digital camera file format to use has been reduced in some ways, and made more befuddling in others. Of the three possible formats—JPEG, TIFF, and RAW—TIFF has fallen into disfavor for all but the high-end professional cameras, and RAW is now found only in the more sophisticated digital models intended for photo enthusiasts. That leaves JPEG as the default (or only) format choice for a larger number of shooters. That's the good news.
The confusion factor was ratcheted up another notch by Adobe's announcement of yet another RAW file format, DNG (Digital Negative), that purports to allow a single format for all digital cameras for all vendors. We'll see about that.
If only it were that simple! Even selection of the right JPEG setting can be needlessly complex. Vendors complicate things by not calling various formats and options by the same names. For example, a file saved in the highest quality JPEG format might be called Fine by one vendor, and Super Fine by another. Worse, Super Fine might actually indicate a file saved in TIFF format by a third vendor. The lowest quality JPEG setting might be called Good by one manufacturer and Basic by another. What's a poor digital photographer to do?
Of course, compared to the hundreds of film options in the conventional photographic world, things aren't so bad for the digital picture taker after all. This chapter will help you sort out your digital file format alternatives. You'll learn about JPEG and TIFF, as well as RAW file formats, and, if they're available for your camera, when you should use each. You'll also find out a little about image compression and what it does to your digital photos.
The confusion factor was ratcheted up another notch by Adobe's announcement of yet another RAW file format, DNG (Digital Negative), that purports to allow a single format for all digital cameras for all vendors. We'll see about that.
If only it were that simple! Even selection of the right JPEG setting can be needlessly complex. Vendors complicate things by not calling various formats and options by the same names. For example, a file saved in the highest quality JPEG format might be called Fine by one vendor, and Super Fine by another. Worse, Super Fine might actually indicate a file saved in TIFF format by a third vendor. The lowest quality JPEG setting might be called Good by one manufacturer and Basic by another. What's a poor digital photographer to do?
Of course, compared to the hundreds of film options in the conventional photographic world, things aren't so bad for the digital picture taker after all. This chapter will help you sort out your digital file format alternatives. You'll learn about JPEG and TIFF, as well as RAW file formats, and, if they're available for your camera, when you should use each. You'll also find out a little about image compression and what it does to your digital photos.
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