JPG and BMP explained
JPEG is a lossy image format designed for photographs. It works by discarding detail the human eye is least likely to notice, particularly in colour and in smooth gradients, which is why it compresses photos far better than it compresses text or line art.
BMP stores pixels essentially raw, with little or no compression. A 1920×1080 BMP is around 6 MB regardless of what the picture contains, because every pixel takes the same space whether it is part of a gradient or a flat colour.
- Where JPG files come from
- Digital cameras, phone screenshots on Android, and essentially every photo on the pre-2015 web.
- Where BMP is used
- Legacy Windows software, some scientific and industrial imaging tools.