Editing Digital camera (section)

== Image data storage ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Cf-card.jpg|thumb|A [[CompactFlash]] (CF) card, one of many media types used to store digital photographs]]
[[File:Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 rear.jpg|thumb|Digital camera ([[Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10]]) user interface, indicating the approximate count of remaining photos.]]

Many camera phones and most stand alone digital cameras store image data in flash memory cards or other [[removable media]]. Most stand-alone cameras use [[Secure Digital card|SD]] format, while a few use CompactFlash, CFexpress or other types. In January 2012, a faster [[XQD card]] format was announced.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/01/06/sony-xqd-memory-cards/ |title=Sony Announces World's First XQD Memory Cards |date=6 January 2012 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-date=7 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107194419/http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/06/sony-xqd-memory-cards/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In early 2014, some high end cameras have two [[hot-swap]]pable memory slots. Photographers can swap one of the memory card with camera-on. Each memory slot can accept either Compact Flash or SD Card. All new Sony cameras also have two memory slots, one for its [[Memory Stick]] and one for SD Card, but not hot-swapable.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tse|first=Kenneth|title=Analyzing Storage Media of Digital Camera|year=2009}}</ref>

The approximate count of remaining photos until space exhaustion is calculated by the firmware throughout use and indicated in the viewfinder, to prepare the user for an impending necessary [[hot swap]] of the memory card, and/or [[File operation|file offload]].

A few cameras used other removable storage such as [[Microdrive]]s (very small [[hard disk drive]]s), CD single (185&nbsp;[[megabyte|MB]]),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjaNKxSocsIC&dq=cd+mavica&pg=PT8 | title=American Photo }}</ref> and [[3.5" floppy disk]]s (e.&nbsp;g. Sony [[Mavica]]). Other unusual formats include:
* Onboard (internal) flash memory — Cheap cameras and cameras secondary to the device's main use (such as a camera phone). Some have small capacities such as 100 Megabytes and less, where intended use is buffer storage for uninterrupted operation during a memory card [[hot swap]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z48da358cz3z26003z6465z706466z20zc561159bbf774ec3d9881f45eec0113be46ab1c0/tsn2/data/ALL/DMCFS5/OI/785160/vqt1n21-1.pdf |title=Operating Instructions Digital Camera Model No. DMC-FS5 DMC-FS3 |publisher=Panasonic |page=19}}</ref>
* [[SuperDisk]] (LS120) used in two Panasonic digital cameras, the PV-SD4090<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftp.panasonic.com/camera/om/pv-ds4090_en_om.pdf |date= |title=Digital Camera Operating Instructions Model No. PV-SD4090 |publisher=[[Panasonic]] |access-date=2017-08-06}}</ref> and PV-SD5000,<ref name="Panasonic_SD5000">{{cite web |url=http://ftp.panasonic.com/camera/om/pv-ds5000_en_om.pdf |date= |title=Digital Camera Operating Instructions Model No. PV-SD5000 |publisher=[[Panasonic]] |access-date=2017-08-06}}</ref> which allowed them to use both SuperDisk and 3.5" floppy disks
* [[PC Card]] hard drives — early professional cameras (discontinued)<ref name="auto">https://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/professional/support/cameras/dcs760/UserGuide700Series.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref>
* PC Card flash memory cards<ref name="auto"/>
* [[Thermal printer]] — known only in  the Casio Petit Colle ZR-1 and ZR-10<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sts.kahaku.go.jp/sts/detail.php?no=103310371674&c=&y1=&y2=&id=&pref=&city=&org=&word=&p=690 | title=産業技術史資料データベース }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/article/990119/ces4.htm | title=プロカメラマン山田久美夫のCes展示会場レポート }}</ref> which printed images immediately rather than storing
* [[Zink (printing)|Zink technology]] — printing images immediately rather than storing
*[[PocketZip]] — media used in the [[Agfa ePhoto CL30 Clik!]]
<gallery heights="100" widths="120">
Mini CD vs Normal CD comparison.jpg|[[Mini CD]]
MicroDrive1GB.jpg|Microdrive (CF-II)
Intenso USB stick 8 GB-0289.jpg|[[USB flash drive]]
BASF diskette (1).jpg|3.5" floppy disks
メモリースティック PRO,PRO DUO HIGH SPEED.jpg|Sony's Proprietary [[Memory Stick]]
</gallery>

Most manufacturers of digital cameras do not provide drivers and software to allow their cameras to work with [[Linux]] or other [[free software]].{{elaborate|date=April 2021}} Still, many cameras use the standard [[USB mass storage]] and/or [[Media Transfer Protocol]], and are thus widely supported. Other cameras are supported by the [[gPhoto]] project, and many computers are equipped with a [[memory card reader]].

=== File formats ===
{{Main|Image file formats}}

The Joint Photography Experts Group standard (JPEG) is the most common file format for storing image data. Other file types include Tagged Image File Format ([[TIFF]]) and various [[Raw image format]]s.

Many cameras, especially high-end ones, support a raw image format. A raw image is the unprocessed set of pixel data directly from the camera's sensor, often saved in a [[proprietary format]]. [[Adobe Systems]] has released the [[Digital Negative|DNG]] format, a royalty-free raw image format used by at least 10 camera manufacturers.

Raw files initially had to be processed in specialized image editing programs, but over time many mainstream editing programs, such as Google's [[Picasa]], have added support for raw images. Rendering to standard images from raw sensor data allows more flexibility in making major adjustments without losing image quality or retaking the picture.

Formats for movies are [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]], [[DV (video format)|DV]], MPEG, [[QuickTime#File formats|MOV]] (often containing motion JPEG), [[Windows Media Video|WMV]], and ASF (basically the same as WMV). Recent formats include MP4, which is based on the QuickTime format and uses newer compression algorithms to allow longer recording times in the same space.

Other formats that are used in cameras (but not for pictures) are the Design Rule for Camera Format ([[Design rule for Camera File system|DCF]]), an [[International Organization for Standardisation|ISO]] specification, used in almost all camera since 1998, which defines an internal file structure and naming. Also used is the Digital Print Order Format ([[DPOF]]), which dictates what order images are to be printed in and how many copies. The DCF 1998 defines a logical file system with [[8.3 filename]]s and makes the usage of either FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT mandatory for its physical layer in order to maximize platform interoperability.<ref name="DC-009-2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.cipa.jp/english/hyoujunka/kikaku/pdf/DC-009-2010_E.pdf |title=Standard of the Camera & Imaging Products Association, CIPA DC-009-Translation-2010, Design rule for Camera File system: DCF Version 2.0 (Edition 2010) |author=JEIDA/JEITA/CIPA |year=2010 |access-date=2011-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930190707/http://www.cipa.jp/english/hyoujunka/kikaku/pdf/DC-009-2010_E.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-30 }}</ref>

Most cameras include [[Exchangeable image file format|Exif]] data that provides [[metadata]] about the picture. Exif data may include aperture, [[exposure time]], focal length, date and time taken. Some are able to [[Geotagged photograph|tag the location]].

=== Directory and file structure ===
{{main article|Design rule for Camera File system}}
In order to guarantee [[interoperability]], DCF specifies the file system for image and sound files to be used on formatted DCF media (like [[removable media|removable]] or non-removable memory) as [[FAT12]], [[FAT16]], [[FAT32]], or [[exFAT]].<ref name="CIPA2010">{{citation |url=http://www.cipa.jp/english/hyoujunka/kikaku/pdf/DC-009-2010_E.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930190707/http://www.cipa.jp/english/hyoujunka/kikaku/pdf/DC-009-2010_E.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-30 |title=Standard of the Camera & Imaging Products Association, CIPA DC- 009-Translation- 2010, Design rule for Camera File system: DCF Version 2.0 (Edition 2010) |access-date=2011-04-13}}</ref> Media with a capacity of more than 2 GB must be formatted using FAT32 or exFAT.

The [[filesystem]] in a digital camera contains a '''DCIM''' ('''Digital Camera IMages''') [[directory (file systems)|directory]], which can contain multiple subdirectories with names such as "123ABCDE" that consist of a unique directory number (in the range 100...999) and five alphanumeric characters, which may be freely chosen and often refer to a camera maker. These directories contain files with names such as "ABCD1234.JPG" that consist of four alphanumeric characters (often "100_", "DSC0"<!-- f.e. Konica Minolta and Sony -->, "DSCF"<!-- Fujifilm -->, "IMG_"<!-- Canon pictures -->, "MOV_"<!-- Canon movies -->, or "P000"<!-- Olympus-->), followed by a number. Handling of directories with possibly user-created duplicate numbers may vary among camera firmwares.

DCF 2.0 adds support for DCF optional files recorded in an optional color space (that is, [[Adobe RGB]] rather than [[sRGB]]). Such files must be indicated by a leading "_" (as in "_DSC" instead of "100_" or "DSC0").<ref name="CIPA2010" />

=== Thumbnail files ===
To enable loading many images in miniature view quickly and efficiently, and to retain [[meta data]], some vendors' firmwares generate accompanying low-resolution [[thumbnail]] files for videos and raw photos. For example, those of Canon cameras end with <code>.THM</code>.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/what-are-thm.html |language=en |title=What are THM files? |date=October 2006 |access-date=2021-04-26 |archive-date=2021-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426162352/https://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/what-are-thm.html |url-status=live }}</ref> JPEG can already store a thumbnail image standalone.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.media.mit.edu/pia/Research/deepview/exif.html |date=1999-12-28 |title=Description of Exif file format |language=en |access-date=2021-04-26 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |archive-date=2021-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426164444/https://www.media.mit.edu/pia/Research/deepview/exif.html |url-status=live }}</ref>