Quote Originally Posted by Crypto View Post
personally, I would save in a format such as TIFF. This is an uncompressed format and it's format can be used on any PC/MAC. By saving proprietary formats such as PSP, you limit its use to PC's that have the software installed, unless converted to a more common format. Also, what if you change software down the road?

I would only save in this proprietary format if I have done a lot of post processing or have created several layers and may return to it often to keep making changes or even undo changes.

On the JPEG loss issue, You have to save the same JPEG many many times to see real degredation in image quality. However, it does depend on how much postprocessing that was done and the quality of the original image.

Those that have the option to shoot in the RAW (albeit, proprietary as well) format, In my opinion, this is the best Archival solution. Convert to JPEG's when you want to use them. Most RAW processing software never alters the original RAW file. They are much smaller than TIFF's or proprietary files (PSP) and you're guaranteed the highest quality image your camera can produce.
You make an extremely good point about the long term bet I'm making by saving psp files as archives. I'm old enough to remember Betamax video and even 8-track tape. Ouch. This I gotta think about.

I was surprised to see you say that RAW files are much smaller than TIFFs or psp files. I was under the impression that they were very much larger. In fact, that understanding had been part of my reluctance to bite the bullet and move up to a fancier camera. I do all my editing on a five-year-old laptop, and I thought it would choke on RAW files. This certainly encourages me to find out more about it. I understand that RAW files offer infinitely more opportunity to correct for things like white balance, which would be very nice indeed.

Thank you once again, Crypto. I should be anteing up tuition credit fees for the education I'm getting. (Please don't hold me to it, though. I'll be your first student AND your first drop out.)