Digital photo terms and tips

Understanding digital photo file formats will help you make the most of your digital camera. Knowing how to take advantage of your camera's features makes it easy to produce great pictures and movies perfect for any situation. Digital cameras allow you to capture fast-moving action with a burst of photos, take pictures just the right size for e-mailing, or even make movies with a few pushes of a button.


JPG

JPG is the standard format used by most digital cameras. What makes JPGs so popular is that they are able to hold a lot of information (i.e. image detail) in a relatively small file. It's important to note that JPGs are recompressed everytime they're saved. Numerous recompressions will degrade the quality of the image, so it's a good idea to make a copy of your picture before making any modifications to it. Generally speaking, JPGs are your best bet for everyday shooting. The format strikes a solid compromise between image quality and file size. Your choice of image size (i.e. image resolution) should depend on the intended output for your photos, though it's usually best to shoot at the highest possible JPG resolution to take advantage of the camera's image sensor.


TIF

TIFs guarantee the highest possible quality image, but at a cost of huge file sizes and long waits as


The only time it would be smart to shoot TIFs is if you planned on making an enormous photographic print where you would want as much detail from the image as possible. Definately not for everyday photos, but great if you are planning to print large.

MPG


Creating a movie with your digital camera is not unlike taking many pictures in succession. MPGs are great to capture fast action, or to show a sweeping panorama that your camera isn't able to capture in a single picture. Keep in mind that the quality isn't as high as a DV camera, but for recording short videos to view on your computer, it's a good choice. Depending on your camera model, movie length is generally limited by the capacity of your memory card or CD. Movies in MPG format can be a good way to capture fast action. In the end, your file format choice is best dictated by what you're photographing. Different scenes lend themselves to different formats, but if you're not sure what to do, shooting JPGs is your best choice.