Overview: Image formats

Image formats define how pictures, supporting metadata and sometimes multiple images are stored and interpreted.

JPEG, PNG and the other formats below make different choices about compression, transparency, animation and metadata. Some names identify a container or a camera-oriented representation rather than one finished display image. The individual pages describe those arrangements so a filename can be connected to the decoder and presentation it needs.

  • JPEG
    Common JPEG photo files use block-transform lossy coding, while the wider JPEG 1 standard includes additional coding modes and file-interchange conventions.

  • PNG
    PNG stores losslessly coded raster samples with optional transparency, colour information, metadata and, in the current specification, frame-based animation.

  • WebP
    WebP packages lossy or lossless image coding in a RIFF container that can also describe alpha, colour/metadata and animation.

  • GIF
    GIF uses indexed-colour image data and control records that can provide binary transparency and timed changes to a shared presentation canvas.

  • TIFF
    TIFF organizes image data through tagged directories, allowing different sample layouts, compression choices and multiple image representations within one file.

  • HEIF
    HEIF is an image-container framework with item relationships and presentation properties; HEIC commonly identifies HEVC-based usage rather than a separate universal image codec.

  • AVIF
    AVIF defines AV1-coded images within an image-file container, with specified colour, alpha and derived-image arrangements beyond the capabilities of a video decoder alone.

  • Camera raw images
    A camera raw resource retains sensor-derived samples and interpretation metadata that a development process turns into a chosen viewable photograph.

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