Jpeg Compression

[JimmyHudson]

are there cameras that do not save in jpeg? I was wondering if there was a file type that did not compress like a jpeg.

[Jon]

Some of the Canon line (DSLRs, G-series, PS Pro 1, S60, and S70) shoot "RAW" in various forms, a non-standard "image" format, which is a straight dump of the sensor's data. It's about 3 times the size of a JPEG at minimum compression, it only records in one size (the biggest) and you'll need to post-process it to do anything with it. You can then save the output in whatever format you want. Unless you really get into post-processing, JPEG- Large Fine is good enough. To eliminate repeated saves causing loss of detail in JPEGs, you can save your photo edits as TIFF, which is another standard image format.

[Bodryn]

In addition to what was said above, software such as Adobe PhotoShop and Jasc Paint Shop Pro each have a proprietary format for saving photos that preserves the detail and avoids the use of compression that would cause loss of detail. For example, Jasc's format has a .psp prefix, followed by several letters. Both softwares also allow preprocessing of RAW files. I also learned that one of the Pentax brand DSLR cameras will save in RAW and TIFF both of which are lossless, as well as Jpeg which results in loss of detail each time you save in it. There are probably other cameras that allow for several types of file saves. Shooting in RAW format allows you to better compensate for such things as exposure even after the photo is taken, but takes so much card space that in most cases it is not used.