Files, cards and what to keep
RAW or JPEG, which memory card to buy, and the backup habit that stops one failure from costing you everything.
The least interesting part of photography, and the one that costs people the most when they get it wrong.
RAW or JPEG
Two ways the camera can save what the sensor recorded.
A jpeg is finished. The camera has applied its own white balance, contrast and sharpening, thrown away what it did not need, and compressed the result into a small file anyone can open.
A raw file is the sensor’s data with the interpretation left off. It is not really a picture yet — it needs software to become one — but it holds far more of the original range.
| RAW | JPEG | |
|---|---|---|
| Room to correct | Large | Small |
| File size | Several times bigger | Small |
| Ready to share | No | Yes |
| White balance | Changeable afterwards | Baked in |
The practical rule: shoot RAW when the light is difficult or the photograph matters, JPEG when neither is true. Most cameras will record both simultaneously, which costs card space and settles the argument.
Memory cards
Two numbers matter, and only one of them usually does.
Capacity is straightforward. Speed matters if you shoot bursts or video; for single photographs almost any current card keeps up.
The more important advice is about how many. Cards fail, and they fail suddenly and completely. Two smaller cards cost you half a day when one dies; one large card costs you the whole day.
- Format cards in the camera, not on a computer.
- Format rather than deleting individual files.
- Replace a card that has ever behaved oddly. They are cheap and the photographs are not.
The backup habit
One copy is not a backup. Two copies on the same computer are not a backup either — they fail together.
The workable minimum: the photographs on your computer, and a copy somewhere that is not your computer. An external drive kept elsewhere, or a cloud service, or both.
Do it on the day you take the photographs. The gap between shooting and copying is where losses happen.
Key takeaways
- RAW keeps more range and survives correction; JPEG is finished and ready to share.
- Shoot RAW when the light is hard or the photograph matters.
- Carry more than one memory card, and format them in the camera.
- Copy photographs off the card the same day, to somewhere that is not your computer.
Common questions
Should I shoot RAW or JPEG?
RAW when the light is difficult or the photograph matters, because it survives correction far better. JPEG when neither is true and you want something you can share immediately. Many cameras will record both at once.
How many memory cards do I need?
At least two. Cards fail, and they fail without warning. Two smaller cards lose you half a day; one large card loses you all of it.
Next steps
What a camera actually does
A camera collects light for a measured moment and records it. Everything else is a way of controlling how much, and for how long.