Most cameras today can capture both raw and JPEG files, but many smaller travel-friendly models only give you JPEG. That means you lose some flexibility when editing, yet with the right setup, you can still come away with strong results. The key is knowing how to make your JPEGs as clean and workable as possible before you ever open them on a computer.
Coming to you from David Bergman with Adorama, this practical video breaks down how to get the most out of JPEG-only cameras. Bergman starts with picture styles, since these settings dictate how your camera processes color, contrast, and sharpness. On Canon, you’ll see names like Standard, Portrait, or Neutral. If you plan to edit, Neutral or Faithful is the better choice because they bake in less contrast and saturation. Nikon calls this Picture Control, Sony uses Creative Styles, and Fujifilm has Film Simulations, which often lean more stylized. Whatever the brand, choosing the flattest, most natural option keeps your files more flexible later.
He also stresses the importance of controlling sharpening and noise reduction inside the camera. Too much sharpening creates halos around edges, while heavy noise reduction smears away texture. Dialing those settings down lets you decide how much to add back in during editing. White balance is another critical factor. With raw, you can fix it easily, but in JPEG, it’s locked in. Auto white balance works fine in many situations, yet when the light is tricky, you’re better off setting it manually to keep color consistent from shot to shot.
Exposure is where JPEGs can really punish you. Blow out highlights, and that detail is gone forever. Bergman suggests watching your histogram closely and even turning on highlight warnings if your camera offers them. Slight underexposure is usually safer, since you can lift shadows with less damage than trying to rescue clipped highlights. He also recommends setting JPEG quality to the highest available, whether that’s “Super Fine” or a 9 or 10 on a scale, to minimize compression artifacts. And while many photographers swear by Adobe RGB for a wider gamut, Bergman advises sticking with sRGB. Most screens, websites, and printers default to sRGB, so using it avoids mismatched colors when sharing or printing.
Later in the video, Bergman shifts focus to travel shooters. He explains why compact cameras like the Canon PowerShot SX740 appeal on trips, even with the JPEG limitation. For his own lightweight kit, he uses the Canon R50 paired with the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8. That combination keeps things small while still offering RAW capture and the familiar Canon autofocus system. Still, he makes clear that if you’re locked into JPEGs, all the earlier adjustments go a long way. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Bergman.
1 Comment
JPEG makes sense when you can confidently control lighting and how the images are consumed. They can also be a time saver if you can publish the unprocessed JPEG images directly from the camera. But if there's any doubt about lighting consistency or future proofing use of the images, raw makes more sense. You really don't save much storage space with JPEG if you're shooting the highest quality when compared to compressed raw. I shoot raw 99% of the time. It is cheap insurance as the only real cost is the time to post process which can often be done in bulk.