JPEG is the format to use when you want to fit a large number of images on your camera's media card, when you are photographing action shots using a high frame rate or when you don't want to spend a great deal of computer time editing your images in your image manipulation program, providing you are also willing to suffer a small trade-off in image quality. But, it can also be identified by "jpe" and "jpeg" file extensions. PEG also causes the image to be equally readable by many computer programs.Ī "JPEG" image file name commonly carries the extension "jpg" - for example: "portrait-of-susan.jpg". Higher compression rates produce smaller image files, with lower image quality. Go here and scroll down to Image resolution to find out about these settings, then later, you can also go here for more detailed information.) Some cameras will let you select the image compression rate (usually referred to as the "image quality") as normal, fine and super-fine. (The number of images is also affected by your choice of quality settings or resolution modes available in your camera. JPEG, pronounced " jay-peg," is an acronym for "Joint Photographic Experts Group." It describes an image file format standard in which the size of the file is reduced by compressing it, letting you fit more images onto memory cards than when using other formats.
WHAT DO THESE FORMAT NAMES, JPEG, TIFF & RAW, MEAN? Having an understanding of images saved as JPEG's and what can happen to them as you edit, save and re-save them should be of great interest to you, especially since it can affect the quality of your pictures.
And, it could prove to be of great value when you decide to upgrade to a new digital camera that may have the ability to store pictures in different formats. However, it will be of use in editing and saving your pictures on your computer, where you may choose to save an image as a TIFF file. If your digital camera stores pictures only as JPEG's, the text in this section that discusses TIFF and RAW formats will not be of practical use to your immediate picture-taking. This will become apparent as you read on, and learn about saving images as TIFF's for editing. Note that that doesn't mean TIFF is no longer useful as an image file format. Some high-end digital SLR cameras employ the TIFF format, but it seems to be disappearing as fewer, if any, new cameras support it nowadays. When you take a digital picture, your camera saves it in a specific format (or file type) - either as a JPEG, a TIFF or a RAW image.Īll digital cameras (well, almost all) can save pictures in JPEG format, but not all of them can save pictures in the higher resolution TIFF and RAW formats. This road runner's image was captured and stored as a JPEG, the most common digital image format, probably, but not necessarily the best, depending on how the image will be used.