The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on June 15, 1987.
GIF image files are commonly used on the web to display graphics and logos. They also support basic animation, which means they're a popular file format for memes on social media sites.
JPEG and GIF are types of image formats. JPEG uses lossy compression algorithm where the image may lose some of its data, whereas GIF uses lossless compression algorithm where there is no data loss. GIF images support animation and transparency.
A GIF is a type of image sequence, but it is lower quality. This makes it useful on the web, but not necessarily as part of a video production workflow. A GIF is counted as an image, so you can add it to a website and it's treated like an image.
There are a lot of different types of GIFs. For simplicity, we classify the different types of GIFs into 3 major categories: video-based, animation-based, and stickers. Video-based GIFs are the most traditional GIF that you're probably familiar with. They feature short clips of video content.
GIF, in full graphics interchange format, digital file format devised in 1987 by the Internet service provider CompuServe as a means of reducing the size of images and short animations.
A GIF (Graphical Interchange Format) is an image format invented in 1987 by Steve Wilhite, an American computer scientist who was looking for a way to animate images in the smallest file size. In short, GIFs are a series of images or soundless videos that will loop continuously and doesn't require anyone to press play.
Use JPEG format for all images that contain a natural scene or photograph where variation in colour and intensity is smooth. Use PNG format for any image that needs transparency, or for images with text & objects with sharp contrast edges like logos. Use GIF format for images that contain animations.
PNG is mostly superior to GIF, as it is newer, supports more colors, and is free of patent restrictions. PNG cannot be used for animation, but offers highly sophisticated transparency and color support, among other features. In most cases where animation is not required, it is best to use PNG instead of GIF.
By combining the image to PDF and PDF to image converters, you can effortlessly convert GIF to JPG within a few seconds.
GIFs are not particularly good for photographic images. With the 8-bit limit, true color information is lost and the subtle gradations of tone become pixilated when the image is reduced to 256 colors. The quality of the image may be greatly reduced.
JPEG is far better for photographs, while GIF is great for computer generated images, logos and line-art with limited palettes. A GIF will never lose its data. It uses lossless compression. It uploads quickly since these files are usually low resolution.
“There are indications of an overall decline in gif use,” the company said in its filing, “due to a general waning of user and content partner interest in gifs. “They have fallen out of fashion as a content form, with younger users in particular describing gifs as 'for boomers' and 'cringe'.”
GIFs might currently be uncool, but that doesn't mean they're unpopular. At the beginning of the pandemic, GIF library GIPHY reported that GIF usage had gone up 33 percent in a single month.
You can open a GIF file in a variety of image viewing and editing applications, including Microsoft Photos (Windows), Apple Preview (macOS), Adobe Photoshop (Windows, Mac), and GIMP (cross-platform).
If a GIF usage is determined to be fair use, then that work will be transformative, and will not affect the original work. This means you can use that GIF freely without worrying about copyright infringement.
However, GIFs are usually benign, and people love sharing them. They're the perfect conduit for attacks. The files can spoof your computer into opening Windows programs such as Excel. It can then send data back to its originator by tricking Windows into connecting to a remote server.
The PNG (pronounced "ping") image format uses lossless compression, while supporting higher color depths than GIF and being more efficient, as well as featuring full alpha transparency support. PNG is widely supported, with all major browsers offering full support for its features.
They Are Easy to Consume
According to a Microsoft study, consumers' attention spans have dwindled down to just 8 seconds, which is why GIFs are an ideal tool to help your audience grasp what you're trying to share with them as quickly and easily as possible.