What
format do I save my photos in?
Professional photographers prefer RAW or TIFF formats. They are
the lossless formats. That means that little or no information is
lost when they are saved. That may be fine if you're a professional
but you can use up a lot of space on your camera's memory card if
you use these formats. For day-to-day photography the jpeg (.jpg)
format is just fine. Most cameras have at least 3 settings, they
may be named differently in your camera but they all mean the same
thing: low, medium and high. If you guessed low is the lowest quality
and high is the best quality, you guessed right. The high setting
compresses files slightly without a noticeable loss in quality.
The low setting reduces the file size considerably but you may
notice blocking of colors in and around the edges of objects and
some loss of detail. That said, you can keep more low quality jpeg
pictures on your camera's memory card than high quality jpegs.
Before you make any decisions about format take a peek at your camera's memory
card. Think of the card as a roll of film. A 64mb card is like a
small roll of film. You'll have to upload them to your computer more often
to make room on your camera. A 512mb is a larger roll of film and you'll make
fewer trips to your computer. A good first investment for a digital camera
is to get a larger memory card if you need one. There are lots of features
to consider when buying a card so speak to the professional who sold you your
camera or refer to your manual. The more memory you have the more room to
save.
Photo file size explained.
We're talking about resolution here. It all depends on what you
want to do with your photos. If you're going to print them on tee
shirts or 8 x 10 prints you'll need a higher resolution. If you're
going to print them out as 5x7 prints you'll do fine with a lower
resolution. If you're just going to look at them on the web and
never print them out then small is fine. Once again it's a juggling
act of space on your camera's memory and computer and your personal
preferences. The chart below will give you an idea of how much
space each resolution will take. And what you can do with it.
| Resolution |
Size in pixels |
Purpose |
Printed size |
File size* |
Extra
Large |
2592 x 1944 or larger |
Large
Print or
poster |
Larger than
8.5 x 11 inches
216 x 279 mm |
High= 1.500K
Med= 395K
low= 95K |
Large |
2048 x 1536 |
Large
Print |
8.5 x 11 inches
216 x 279 mm |
High= 1.348K
Med= 245K
low= 68K |
Medium |
1600 x 1200 |
Print postcard size |
4.7 x 3.5 inches
119 x 89 mm |
High= 877K
Med= 160K
low= 48K |
Small |
640 x 480 |
Web and email |
No larger than
2 x 15 inches
54 x 40 mm |
High= 165K
Med= 44K
low= 29K |
Your camera may have different JPEG settings such as 'Normal', 'Fine',
'Superfine'. Actual size will vary from
picture to picture
Can I leave my photos on my camera?
Take them off your camera and save them on your computer, ASAP.
That way, if the memory card fails or your camera is lost or stolen,
you still have your photos.
What about all my old photo prints?
Create a computer file archive by scanning them! Simply place a
print on your scanner and using the software program that comes
with it, specify a print-quality setting (if you have the
option, 240-300 dpi/ppi). This will ensure that your photo looks
crisp if you ever want to print it out. Some photo software will
allow you to restore old photos by automatically adjusting faded
colors or even 'patching' scratches and torn folds. Crop, scan
and save the photo to your computer. And don't forget to burn your
archived prints onto a disc, so you can hold onto your memories.
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