Compression

[bgmapes]

I just purchased the S30 and am still learning about it. I would like to know some more about the compresson (Superfine, fine and Normal) What do I lose if I use the Normal compresson over superfine and fine?

Thanks

[Rustle]

Compression is a trade-off between file size and photo quality. When images are compressed to the jpeg format, the camera (or your computer) has to throw out some of the data in order to drop the file size.

Superfine is the camera's best image-quality setting, and normal is the worst. As you switch from superfine to fine to normal, your file size goes down (meaning more pictures) and so does your photo quality.

Most cameras include a TIFF file format, which doesn't compress the file at all (so no loss of quality). Canon uses a proprietary RAW format which uses no-loss compression. So, if you use the RAW format, there is no loss of quality between the image sensor and the saved file, but the files are bigger and can't be used until you convert them with Canon's RAW Converter.

If you're curious, set up your camera on a tripod and take the same picture on each of the compression settings and the RAW setting. Then, you can compare the images on your computer (quality and file size) to see which you prefer.

I usually set my camera to Fine, because it's a good balance between size and quality. If I want the best quality, I flick the camera over to RAW mode.

Russ