Storing your Image Files

images shot at the FINE resolution setting will appear as JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) files.  A JPEG is type of compressed image format that provides a good deal of image quality at a relatively small file size.  However, it is also what is known as a “lossy” format, because every time you open a JPEG, it decompresses the pixel information and then recompresses upon closing, which over time can lead to a loss in pixel quality as the computer is essentially creating new pixels for your image to replace the ones lost in compression.  While not very noticeable, your images will deteriorate a little bit every time you open them, and could cause issues down the road when you want to print them.  Therefore, after you unload your images from the camera onto the computer, you want to immediately save the originals onto a CD or other storage device, without opening the files.  If necessary, you can open one or two images to check the quality of your photographic set-up, but remember that doing this will lead to pixel damage.  Once you have saved your original JPEGs, you can then make working copies on the computer and always have the originals to return to in case you are dissatisfied with your editing.

File Size

Image file size depends on both the image quality and the image size.  Image file size is an important thing to keep in mind when considering how many images can be stored on the digital camera’s memory card, burned onto a CD, or uploaded onto your server space.   Images created in the FINE and (3:2) settings average approximately 1-2.5 MB.  These files are fairly large and will need to be resized for use on the web.

Short Term Storage

You can save your images to the hard drive temporarily.  You can also upload your files to the UT server space using Webspace, or to the iSchool server space using Fugu.  (Please see the corresponding tutorials for more information.) Digital images can eat up your server storage quickly so these venues are often used as temporary storage options.  

Long Term Storage and Backup

When you decide to backup your hard drive files, or if you just want to transfer them, you can burn them in a number of different ways to a CD or DVD.  The major difference between CDs and DVDs is the amount of storage space they hold.  CDs have about 700 MB storage capacity and DVDs have 4.7 GB storage capacity (almost 7 x that of a CD).  You may also find that not all computers can read or write DVDs but most can read and write CDs, and so keep this in mind when planning to burn your files to a digital medium.

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