What is the difference between TIFF, JPEG, and RAW? What should I choose?
Here’s a quick overview of the different types of files and what each one means to you.
The TIFF file format, used in photography, is the most common format in the world. It’s robust and has been around for a long time, but it also comes with some downsides.
The TIFF format is used for storing full-colour photos on computers. It is also used for archiving old photos.
TIFFs are generally larger than JPEGs and you need to have a lot of memory space to store them on your computer. But if you are a photographer, or you want to keep your files forever, then the TIFF is the way to go.
The Jpeg format is the standard format that most photos you see on your screen are stored in. The Jpeg format was created to store single images rather than collections of images. It is usually compressed to conserve storage space, so the quality is reduced. The Jpeg format is a smaller file size and is ideal for saving on mobile devices or printing to a photo frame.
A JPG is a compressed image, which means you get smaller file sizes. But you need a powerful computer to open and view these files. They also tend to have a grainy appearance.
A RAW file is a digital camera file that is not processed by the camera’s app and has not been changed. RAW files are great for when you need to edit your photos later as you can do things such as crop, lighten and darken or add filters, but they are bigger than Jpeg or TIFF formats. RAW files are not always available and can cost a lot to print.
If you’re using Photoshop (or any other editing software) to edit your images, then you’ll probably use a RAW file. It’s called a RAW file because it stores the information in the raw state. This means there’s less data to process, which will make the job quicker. The downside is that RAW files take up more memory than other types of file, so you need a lot of space to store them on your computer. If you are editing images using Photoshop or another program, it is advisable to use RAW files.
There are two main benefits to using RAW images :
The RAW file has the best possible image quality and can often be printed straight from the camera without any editing.
If you shoot in RAW mode, you can open the file and tweak the images after you have taken them. This means that you can adjust white balance, exposure, contrast, shadows and highlights, etc. If you are shooting a RAW photo, the quality of the final image is far superior to a Jpeg image and much higher resolution.
But if you’re looking to print pictures or just want to see how your pictures look before you print them, then a JPG is fine.