shooting formats

Hi I'm a newbie to digital photography, got a Canon A560
for my birthday. I'm working my way through the manual,
want to learn more than just the point and shoot method
of taking pictures.

What format do you like to shoot in? I've pretty much decided
I want to use the highest level of fineness but not sure about
the size... how much difference does it make if I pick a size
of large, medium 3, medium 2, postcard, etc.

I doubt I will be printing many pictures, mainly storing them
to be viewed on the computer and posting them to flickr and
facebook. Most of the pictures will be family and some outdoor
and travel shots.

Thanks for any advice,
Chris in Austin

Highest image size and least compression, which would be Large Superfine or Large Fine. You'll see more difference in IQ from using the lower resolution (Medium 1, Medium 2 or Small) image sizes than you will from using "Normal" rather than "Finew" or "Superfine". The first setting (l, M1, M2, S) defines the number of pixels that will be saved. The second (Superfine, Fine, Normal) determines how vigorous a compression algorithm will be used. Compression will make the most difference if you have broad expanses of almost the same colour; in which case a more agressive compression ("Normal" may show banding while Superfine won't. If the subject's really detailed, there won't be a lot of difference among he three compression modes.

Memory's cheap. If you shoot at the highest possible quality, you'll always be able to make a large print of that once-in-a-lifetime shot. If you use the smallest image resolution and greatest compression, you won't have the quality available to work with.

Thanks Jon, that makes a lot of sense to me now.