RAW vs. JPEG
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You can save your picture into two file types, RAW and JPEG. Let's discuss the differences and options available.
JPEG uses the least amount of room on your memory card. To fit more photographs on the memory card, the JPEG format compresses the file.
You can view JPEGs as much as you want on your camera or computer without losing any of the image quality. You'll lose some quality if you resave them on your computer. The more often you resave them, the more you'll notice the difference in quality. You don't lose quality if you just copy or move JPEG's on your computer.
Unlike JPEGs, RAW files are not compressed. Because RAW files include more information, these files also take up more space on your memory card. RAW files are large compared to JPEGs. You can take pictures solely in RAW format, or you can set your camera to shoot in both RAW and JPEG formats at the same time.
It's good to understand this extra information if you want to edit your photos with software or make really large prints. Each camera manufacturer has a slightly different RAW format. Because of these differences, RAW files can be incompatible with some photo editing software packages. You can, however touch up your RAW photos on the software that came with your camera. You can also edit JPEGs using computer software, but the RAW format gives you more control in the editing process.
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