Slr image formats

Apart from the good hardware configuration, the excellent image quality of digital SLR has a great degree of freedom in the post-processing of images. To mention this, we have to mention one factor: the file format of the image. Maybe someone will say? What is the picture format? In fact, this course is very knowledgeable.

For digital SLR, we usually deal with three image file formats:JPEG, raw, And Tiff. Common consumer products only support JPEG format. So what are the differences between the three and how to use them?

JPEG is currently the most widely used file format, with the file suffix JPG. This is a lossy compression format, similar to MP3 in music.The JPEG image taken by a digital SLR is the final "result" obtained after various processing (brightness, contrast, saturation, and white balance) in the camera. It is very easy to use. At present, although JPG can provide a very good image quality, it is still a compression format for picky people. In addition, the post-processing space of JPEG is relatively limited. Therefore, JPEG cannot cope with the most demanding conditions.

Raw refers to the "Raw data format", which contains the initial photosensitive data of the camera's photosensitive elements (CCD or CMOS) without any processing by the camera.What are the advantages of raw files? It can be understood that the process of taking a photo is to make a dish, and the raw data in the raw file is the raw material for cooking. The direct output of JPEG images by the camera means that the image can be made directly in a short time. Using raw files means you can save the raw materials and hand them over to another cook who can spend more time working on them. In this way, the taste is naturally different. In addition, with the continuous upgrade of software in the later stage, the final effect of the film may be improved.

Because raw is very "primitive", the formats of digital SLR files of different brands and models are almost uncommon and need special software for processing. For example, canon has digital photo professional, Nikon has Nikon capture NX, and some common software, such as Adobe Photoshop CS2. Due to incompatibility, there are also a variety of file extensions, such as Canon's CrW, CR2, Nikon's NEF and Sony arw. Raw has another advantage. If you adjust the image later, the image quality will not be lost. If JPG is adjusted later, it will be compressed Based on the compression, which will only cause more losses.

In addition to JPEG and raw formats, there is also a TIFF format with the file suffix TIF.For digital SLR, Tiff plays a role in the final processing of raw files.That is to say, the raw file is processed and eventually converted into a TIFF file. There are two reasons for this: first, tiff is also a widely used format supported by all image processing software. Second, it is a non-compressed format that can maximize the quality of the image.Therefore, converting from raw to Tiff ensures that the entire process is lossless. This is the ultimate way to maximize the quality advantages of digital SLR imaging.. Of course, raw can also be converted to JPEG files, but it will lose the meaning of using raw-at the end, it will also undergo a lossy compression, and the value of raw will be greatly reduced.