Changing The File Format - Canon PowerShot G6 User Manual

Changing the File Format

Mode Dial
The camera can be set to record images in the RAW format before
shooting.
This camera records images in either JPEG format or RAW format.
JPEG format
When pictures are taken in JPEG format, the images are processed
inside the camera for optimum image quality, and also compressed
to allow a larger number of images to be stored on the CF Card.
However, the compression process is irreversible, meaning that the
original image data cannot be recovered once it has been
compressed.
RAW format
When pictures are taken in RAW format, no processing is carried out
inside the camera, and the raw data from the CCD is recorded as is.
As with JPEG format, the RAW images are compressed at the time
of recording. However, with the RAW format, the compression
process is completely reversible, meaning you can obtain high
quality pictures without any image degradation, similar to those
recorded with non-compression file formats such as RGB-TIFF. The
file size of RAW image is also very compact, at around one quarter*
of the size of RGB-TIFF images.
Standard uncompressed files formats, such as RGB-TIFF, are
processed by the camera, meaning that if you make further
adjustments with image editing software, image quality may be
affected. Images in RAW format cannot be opened using photo-
editing software and must be first converted (processed) into a
standard file type such as TIFF or JPEG. If you use the bundled
software ZoomBrowser EX (Windows)/ImageBrowser (Macintosh),
you can process RAW images into a standard file type after
adjusting the quality of the original image data. This ensures that
you can create the image of your choice while preserving high image
quality. For further details, please refer to the Software Starter
Guide. The resolution (3072 x 2304) and compression settings
cannot be adjusted for RAW images. When a RAW image is
recorded, a JPEG thumbnail will be created at the same time.
*As measured by Canon's testing standard.
62