The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format is the most widely used image format on the planet. When you snap a photo on your smartphone or a standard point-and-shoot camera, it's almost certainly saved as a JPEG. The key characteristic of a JPEG is that it is a compressed image file. When your camera's image processor creates a JPEG, it takes the unprocessed data from the sensor and applies a series of steps:
The result is a universally compatible file that is ready to be viewed, shared, and printed immediately. Because of its small file size, it's perfect for web galleries, social media, and quick-sharing. However, its compressed nature is its biggest limitation. Every time you edit and save a JPEG, you re-compress the file, leading to a gradual loss of quality with each iteration.
The term RAW isn't a single file format but a category of proprietary file types (e.g., .CR2 for Canon, .NEF for Nikon, .ARW for Sony). Think of a RAW file as the digital equivalent of a photographic film negative. It contains the unprocessed, untouched data directly from your camera's sensor. No demosaicing, sharpening, or compression has been applied. It is a "raw" capture of the light information, giving you the maximum possible quality and the most control over the final image.
Because a RAW file is not a finalized image, it requires a "digital darkroom" or editing software like Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, or Photoshop to be developed. In this process, the photographer acts as the editor, making all the key decisions that the camera's processor would have made automatically for a JPEG. This includes setting the white balance, adjusting exposure, recovering details in highlights and shadows, and applying color corrections. This level of control is why most professional photographers and cinematographers work exclusively with RAW files.
The choice between RAW and JPEG is a fundamental part of your creative process and depends on your goals and workflow.
Many modern cameras offer a "RAW + JPEG" setting, which captures both files at the same time. This provides the best of both worlds—you get a high-quality RAW file for later editing and a ready-to-use JPEG for immediate sharing. Ultimately, the choice comes down to a trade-off between quality and convenience.
When we move from still images to moving ones, the concept of a file format becomes more complex. A video file is not a single entity; it's a container that holds a collection of different elements, including a video stream, one or more audio streams, and metadata. The video stream itself is encoded with a codec, which determines how the visual data is compressed. Understanding these different video formats is crucial for a professional workflow.
A container format, also known as a wrapper, is a file that holds the various components of a video together. It’s like a box that contains the video, audio, and any other data needed for playback. Two of the most common container formats are MP4 and AVI.
MPEG-4 Part 14, commonly known as MP4, is arguably the most widespread and versatile video format today. It's a standard developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and is used on nearly all platforms, from streaming services like YouTube and Netflix to smartphones and digital cameras.
MP4 files are known for their efficient lossy compression, which means they use codecs like H.264 or the newer H.265 (HEVC) to create small file sizes while maintaining a high level of visual quality. This makes them ideal for online distribution and playback on a wide range of devices. Because the compression is so efficient, MP4 is the go-to choice for sharing content online or storing it when space is a concern.
Audio Video Interleave (AVI) is one of the oldest and most enduring container formats, developed by Microsoft in 1992. AVI was the standard for digital video on Windows for many years, and while it has been largely superseded by newer formats, it still has a place in some workflows.
Unlike MP4, AVI is less focused on compression. It can hold both compressed and uncompressed video, which results in very large file sizes. This makes AVI an excellent format for archiving high-quality footage but a poor choice for web streaming. The main drawback of AVI is that it doesn't have the same universal support for modern codecs and features as MP4, and its uncompressed nature can quickly fill up hard drives.
Developed by Apple, the MOV container format is a staple in the professional video world. While MP4 is derived from it, MOV has traditionally been the go-to for video editors, particularly on Mac platforms. The MOV container is highly flexible and can hold a wide variety of codecs, including both highly compressed ones like H.264 and uncompressed or lightly compressed ones like Apple ProRes and DNxHD.
Its major advantage in professional workflows is its ability to support multiple tracks of data, including video, audio, timecode, and even text and effects layers. This makes it an ideal choice for complex video projects. While it was once primarily an Apple standard, its widespread adoption has made it compatible with most major professional editing software on both Mac and Windows.
For broadcast and high-end production, the MXF container format is a critical component. Developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), MXF was designed specifically to address the needs of professional television and film. It's an open standard and a true professional workhorse.
The MXF container is highly robust and contains extensive metadata, including timecode, camera information, and shooting data, which is essential for large-scale productions. It’s the standard acquisition format for many professional cameras from brands like Sony, Canon, and Panasonic. MXF files are designed to be easily "ingested" into professional video editing systems and content management systems.
For professional cinematographers, the quality of the video stream is paramount, and they often choose to bypass highly compressed delivery formats like MP4 in favor of more robust codecs designed for editing. These codecs prioritize image quality and smooth editing performance over small file size.
Apple ProRes is a family of codecs developed by Apple specifically for professional post-production. It's an intermediate codec, meaning it's not a master capture format but rather a format you transcode (convert) your footage into for editing. ProRes strikes a superb balance between file size and quality, offering a high-quality, visually lossless result that is much easier for a computer to process than highly compressed formats.
ProRes comes in several versions, such as ProRes 422 and ProRes 4444. The numbers refer to the chroma subsampling, or the amount of color information retained. ProRes 4444 retains the most information and is used for visual effects work, while ProRes 422 offers a great balance for general editing. Many professional cameras can now record directly to ProRes.
Blackmagic RAW (BRAW) is a newer, highly efficient RAW video format developed by Blackmagic Design. Like a still image RAW file, a BRAW file contains the unprocessed sensor data. However, BRAW applies a form of partial in-camera decompression, making the file sizes much smaller than traditional uncompressed RAW video while retaining many of the benefits.
With BRAW, you get the incredible editing flexibility of RAW, including the ability to change ISO, white balance, and color space in post-production, but with file sizes that are manageable. This makes BRAW an excellent choice for filmmakers who want maximum control over their final image without the massive storage demands of other uncompressed RAW formats.
While we've already covered ProRes, a similar and equally important family of codecs is DNxHD and DNxHR (Digital Nonlinear Extensible High Definition/High Resolution). Developed by Avid Technology, these codecs are the primary alternatives to Apple's ProRes. They serve the same purpose: providing a visually lossless, intermediate format for post-production editing.
Like ProRes, they are designed to be easily editable with minimal strain on your computer's CPU, and their quality is excellent. They are often used in professional environments, especially those using Avid's Media Composer editing software, but are also widely supported by other programs like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
Advanced Video Coding High Definition (AVCHD) is a file-based container format co-developed by Sony and Panasonic for consumer camcorders in the mid-2000s. It was created to allow for the recording of high-definition video onto consumer-grade media like hard drives and SD cards. AVCHD uses the efficient H.264 codec for video compression and can handle various audio formats.
The main strength of AVCHD is its ability to deliver high-quality video in a relatively small file size, making it a popular choice for event videographers and hobbyists. However, because it's so highly compressed, it can be demanding on your computer's processor during editing. While many professional cameras have moved to other formats, you'll still encounter AVCHD files from older consumer camcorders and some DSLRs.
The Video Object (VOB) format is the core container for video, audio, subtitles, and menus on a DVD. You'll find these files in the VIDEO_TS folder on a DVD disc. VOB files are based on the MPEG-2 codec, which was the standard for standard-definition television and DVDs for years.
VOB files are designed for physical media and are not meant for editing or web use. They often contain encryption (known as CSS or Content Scramble System) to prevent copying. While you can play a VOB file with a media player like VLC, they're not a format you would typically create yourself. They are a relic of the DVD era but are important to know for historical context and if you ever need to work with older media.
WebM is a modern, open-source, and royalty-free video container format developed by Google. It was designed to be the primary format for web video using the royalty-free VP8, VP9, and AV1 codecs. It's a key format for platforms that want to avoid licensing fees associated with codecs like H.264.
You will find WebM files used heavily on YouTube and other sites that prioritize open standards and efficient streaming. It provides an excellent quality-to-size ratio and is optimized for web playback, meaning it's highly efficient for both streaming and downloading.
