Sometimes it can get confusing when dealing image file formats. Which file format to use for what picture or graphic? Its all too technical for me so I have tried to explain the difference between them all in my own easy way. Each image file format has its own unique features. I guess it can be important to know what file format you should save your photos in or maybe what picture you should upload to the Internet. I have learned some valuable lessons over the years and it actually gets more difficult when all the new digital cameras create such high quality images. You not only have to be aware of what file format your image is, but you also need to be aware of what size it is?
You have properly run into the problem of trying to send a photo through an e-mail and realizing that it is too large to send. Or maybe someone has sent you an e-mail with an extra large picture in it where you had to scroll down to see the whole picture. I use a simple little trick to resize my pictures even if I am not sending them through an e-mail. You can also resize photos with Picasa, a free program.
BMP
Bitmap. This was probably the first type of digital image format that I can remember. Every picture on a computer seemed to be a BMP. In Windows XP the Paint program saves its images automatically in BMP, however now in Windows Vista images are saved to JPEG. BMP is the basis platform for many other file types.
JPG, JPEG
(Joint Photographic Experts Group) Jpeg format is used for colour photographs, or any pictures with many blends or gradients. It is not good with sharp edges and tends to blur them a bit. This format became popular with the invention of the digital camera. Most, if not all, digital cameras download photos to your computer as a Jpeg file. Obviously the digital camera manufacturers see the value in high quality images that ultimately take up less space.
GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format) Gif format is best used for text, line drawings, screen shots, cartoons, and animations. Gif is limited to a total number of 256 colors or less. It is commonly used for fast loading web pages. It also makes a great banner or logo for your webpage. Animated pictures are also saved in GIF format. For example, a flashing banner would be saved as a Gif file.
PNG
(Portable Networks Graphic) Apparently this is one of the best image formats, however it was not always compatible with all web browsers or image software. Now days it is the best image format to use for website. I use .png for logo’s and screen shots.
TIFF
( Tagged Image File Format) This file format has not been updated since 1992 and is now owned by Adobe. It can store an image and data (tag) in the one file. TIFF also stores files with virtually no compression and therefore is good for storing images that need to be edited and re-saved without suffering a compression loss. This file is commonly used for scanning, faxing, word processing, and so on. It is no longer a common file format to use with your digital photos as a jpeg is great quality and takes up less space.