Everything you ever wanted to know about video compression
But were afraid to ask
Dedicated video cameras and even hybrid cameras now offer a plethora of formats for shooting video, but what is the difference between 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and raw, and how will it affect your footage? A grasp of the technical details can be helpful in making an informed decision about which format to use.
In my latest article on Fstoppers, I take a peek under the hood of those confusingly named video formats that appear in the menu of your camera, to show you what the names of those format actually mean, and how they can save you time and resources when you’re recording your footage.
© 2025, Gordon Webster