Format of files (Storage capacity) 

There are 3 types of storage formats.  JPEG, TIFF and RAW.   

As the light of an image flows through the digital camera, it changes from analogue to digital data. At the end, to store this digital data safely and to use it later, this digital data must be organized digitally (formatted) 

This information can be stored in JPEG-, RAW- or TIFF .

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JPEG (JPG/jpg) 

This storage format is used the most, because it is the most compatible.  JPEG stands for “Joint Photographic Exports Group and is named after the committee that developed this format.JPEG can compress images and therefore the size of the image can be smaller.  Because of this, we can store a lot more photos on a memory card.

 The most digital cameras use the JPEG format and the photographer can decide if he wants to store the images in High/Medium or Low format.  The more information is compressed, for example “small”, the more data will be lost.  “Lossy” compression determines what pixel information must be thrown away, without the damaging the image too much. 

By storing more images on a memory card, the quality of the images wont be that good, but depending on how the image is “recalled”, too much damage can be prevented.

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Resolution of JPEG 

Compressed setting, is the image size in pixels.  

Resolution settings refer to how much compression was used. 

More compression, means smaller files and more photos can be stored on the memory card, but the quality of the photo won’t be that good. 

It is recommended that photos are not taken in a smaller format than the JPEG Large. 

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Processing of JPEG 

The digital camera’s internal processors will adjust images before it is stored on the memory card. 

Memory cards

A memory card must be used in every digital camera.  The size and shape of the cards will differ from producers.  Some cards are faster than others.  The “faster” cards will be used for action photography where multiple shots are taken one after the other and where the information can be processed faster while the “slower” cards builds up a buffer and after a few photos taken, the camera will wont work until the photos are downloaded. 

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