file format

DH
Posted By
Darrel Hoffman
Aug 7, 2003
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369
Replies
5
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Closed
What is the best file format to save your pictures in. Is .tiff or .png the best? I guess 600 lines of resolution per inch is the best too isn’t it? Thanks for the help.

What are you using your images for? .tif or .bmp are good because they’re loss-less. .png or .tga should be used if you need to
keep the alpha channels. Of course, Photoshop native .psd files keep all the data, including layers, effects, and other stuff like
that. If you’re putting them on the web, you should use a compressed format like .jpg or .gif. (But keep the originals in case you
need to edit them.)

As for resolution, it all depends. 600 dpi is good for high-quality prints, though for most purposes, 300 dpi is sufficient. If
it’s never going to be printed and only displayed on the screen, you don’t need anything better than 72 dpi. (Actually, dpi is
pretty much irrelevant for graphics that aren’t being printed. Pixel-dimension is all that matters in this case.)
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H
henry
Aug 7, 2003
What is the best file format to save your pictures in. Is .tiff or .png the best? I guess 600 lines of resolution per inch is the best too isn’t it? Thanks for the help.
MJ
Michael_J_Brown_64
Dec 17, 2003
MJ
Michael_J_Brown_64
Dec 17, 2003
I am using elements, and when I download images with canon zoom browser, the files are jpeg which I understand is compressed and thus has less information available. I am using windows xp and may not have loaded the correct wia driver from the canon camera software. This may be why I have been unable to download images directly from the camera into photoshop and still have to use Zoombrowser. Is there any way to preserve the data better than jpeg or does it really make any difference on enlargments.

Thanks

Mike
NS
Nancy_S
Dec 17, 2003
Michael,

If you are going to do any editing of your images, change the jpgs to .psd. This native format is a "lossless" format and will preserve all layers in the image and not compress the files.
BH
Beth_Haney
Dec 17, 2003
Michael, a lot of cameras do save images in JPEG, but as long as you immediately convert to one of the lossless formats for editing, as Nancy suggests, you aren’t really losing anything.

You didn’t say which Canon camera you’re using. I know some will shoot in RAW format, and that does require the use of the Canon software. RAW files will contain much more information, but they’re also significantly larger, so far fewer fit on a card. On my Canon camera, shooting in RAW also means losing the ability to shoot in Auto mode, because RAW assumes you want to be able to make various manual adjustments when you shoot, too.

Most of us regulars on the forum have developed the habit of using a card reader instead of doing direct downloads. That way, we just move images from the card directly to a folder we’ve created on the hard drive. It’s often faster, it’s definitely safer, and in the long run it means less fiddling around moving images from one location to another.

If you’d like to post more specific information about your camera, someone else might be able to give you additional tips.

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