Sorting out file types TIF, JPG, DNG

[grober]

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Would someone please sort out the various file types for us?

 

What are the characteristics of each, when should one use each, things to remember, reason(s) to avoid, etc.?

 

DNG?

 

JPG Fine?

 

JPG Basic?

 

TIF?

 

Thanks!

 

-g

[DTD]

JPEG

Compress the image so it's smaller, so you can fit more on your card.

BUT (and it's a big but) it makes the file smaller by getting rid of information.

Each time you alter and save a jpeg it compresses it some more and throughs away some more information. JPEGs are the usual format for photographs on the web. JPG fine and basic are two different levels of file size.

 

TIFF's

Are a lot bigger than jpegs, they do compress the image but use a 'lossless' system so they don't get rid of any information. TIFFs are the file format of choice for printing, so most magazines prefer TIFFs. Not many cameras save as TIFF.

 

DNG

This is Adobe's attempt to get a standard RAW format instead of Nikon having their version of RAW, Pentax having theirs etc. It remains to be seen how this will work out.

 

The most interesting format is RAW

When your camera saves an image, it adds compression, colour information, white balance settings etc. If you shoot in RAW format, it just saves the information as recorded by the camera's sensor without adding anything, so you can alter all the settings later on your computer.

 

Basically, what is the best format to use depends on what you want to do with your images. I always suggest it's best not to limit your options by using formats that get rid of information. Once you've thrown away information, you can't get it back. So personally I always shoot in RAW and then save versions in different formats – TIFFs if they're for a magazine, JPEG if they're for a web site.

[grober]

Thank you, David!