The JPEG and RAW are the image file formats that contain different amount of image information where the JPEG has a limited amount of information about the image. In contrast, RAW file format holds an enormous amount of information regarding an image.
The different types of file formats are used to process the different types of files, such as text, image, audio, video, and the content of the file helps in distinguishing the files. Here, we are discussing the bitmapped image format. A bitmapped image is generated by a pattern of discrete elements and these discrete elements are the pixels or picture elements.
Content: JPEG Vs RAW
Comparison Chart
| Basis for comparison | JPEG | RAW |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Fully processed image | Digital negative |
| Forma | Non-proprietary, viewed or edited by any programs. | Proprietary, bound to a camera manufacturer. |
| Amount of information preserve | Less | More |
| Colours yielding | Maximum of 256 colours | More than 16 million colours |
| Compression | Applied to the images | Not applied |
Definition of JPEG
JPEG is an image file format that stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is cross-platform format as it is not specifically used in particular software or program and supported by all manufacturers. This image format is capable of efficiently compressing bitmapped images comprised of a wide range of colours. It is majorly used in digital cameras and the format is highly preferred for the web because of its photo-quality images.
JPEG provides 24-bit colours and interlacing for displaying a low-resolution version prior to the complete image file which does not raise the condition of the black screen during the downloading process. For more information about interlacing refer to the article difference between progressive and interlaced scan.
From the previous articles the difference between JPEG and GIF, we know that JPEG is a lossy compression technique, where some amount of information is lost and the amount of the information loss from the image is controllable. The JPEG image can also be saved without compressing it. However, it is not preferred as a negligible amount of compression would not much affect the quality of the image but can reduce the size of the image file at a greater amount.
Definition of RAW
RAW is also a bitmapped graphics format, that is more prevalent in multimedia. It is considered a group of formats, instead of a single standard. It can preserve more image information than any other image format that is the reason the RAW format files consumes a massive amount of space.
The RAW image format cannot be stored and edited by any ordinary software as it is proprietary file format. The proprietary format means that a particular RAW file can be processed by the software developed by the camera manufacturing company from which the image has been captured.
There is a large scope for the RAW files as they store more information about brightness and other image properties, so they are intended for employed in the photo-editing software which could support a broad range of editing options. To convert the RAW files in other formats like JPEG, TIFF, PNG, we can use appropriate software.
Key Differences Between JPEG and RAW
- The JPEG is a processed image file format while RAW can be considered as a digital negative of an image or an unprocessed file format.
- We can easily access (in order to open, view and print) a JPEG file through any image viewing/editing or multimedia program. On the other hand, RAW is a proprietary format whose access is limited to the type of camera, manufacturer of the camera from which the photograph has been taken. Therefore, the raw file can only be accessed by camera-specific software and programs.
- RAW file store all the information as captured by the optical instrument. As against, JPEG discards some part of the information from the file.
- A JPEG file can contain 256 levels of brightness whereas RAW file can hold 4096 to 16,384 levels of brightness.
- There is no compression performed over a RAW file. In contrast, the JPEG format compresses the image file to some certain level.
Advantages of JPEG
- The biggest advantage of the JPEG file is that JPEG file consumes less storage space and can be processed by any of the ordinary software.
Advantages of RAW
- It does not lose any data, but when converted into an image the image is saved in the TIFF and PSD format which are lossless.
- It provides more control over the processing and editing of an image.
- White balance can easily be adjusted.
Disadvantages of JPEG
- A JPEG image compresses each time it is saved which highly degrades the quality of the image.
Disadvantages of RAW
- The RAW files are required to be processed.
- It consumes more space.
- It could slow down the optical instrument from which image has been captured.
Conclusion
The RAW and JPEG formats are distinguished by the fact that the RAW file is an unprocessed, uncompressed file which can not be used without dedicated software. On the other hand, the JPEG is a processed and compressed file which is ready to be used in any of the graphics software.
Leave a Reply