Picking An Image Format: JPEG Vs. RAW
August 17th, 2010
As we enter the holiday shopping season, of course tons of digital cameras will be given out as gifts to friends and family. Considering the rate cameras come out there days, keeping up with their technical specifications seems like a lost cause, but luckily there are more factors with which you can judge which camera is best for you.
One thing you will occasionally run into is information on the camera being able to shoot images in the RAW format. Most people don’t even think about what format the pictures are in just so long as they can easily show them to grandma later on. Unfortunately this is now the case with RAW as it is a fractured format where many people have done many different things with it despite the fact there is a standard out there, just some companies haven’t adopted it.
Here is some information on the RAW format vs. JPEG.
| Format | Megabytes | Storage on a 2 GB memory card |
| High Quality JPEG | 5.7 | 350 |
| Low Quality JPEG | 1.8 | 561 |
| RAW | 13.9 | 144 |
What are some of the pros and cons of each format?
|
JPEG |
RAW |
| Easily viewed on most devices | Requires conversion software |
| All image data embedded in the picture | Very little information stored with picture |
| Writes files fast | Writes files slowly |
| Fastest format | Slower format, but more flexible |
| Small file size | Large file size |
Essentially it boils down to the fact that RAW is great for professional photographers, and people who want extreme detail in their photos. If you just want to take pictures at a party, you’re going to want JPEG. In most cases I would say go with JPEG for the ease of it, and the quality being totally acceptable to your average person, but if you are using a nice camera, possibly shooting as a pro, then you’re going to want the RAW format for sure.
Tags: Camera Purchasing Help, file formats, images, JPEG, pictures, RAW
