Codecs

     Codecs are the ways computers handle files. Codecs can be used to compress files to make them smaller and easier to work with. They use complex algorithms to do so. some examples are: h.264, Prores, and DNxHD NOT .mov or .wmv, which are simply what hold the codecs in a video.

Chroma sub sampling: This method decreases the size of a picture file by selecting a box of pixels and forcing them all to use the different shades of the same color

Spatial compression: using a single frame, this method finds boxes in the frame that have almost the same color and makes them the same color, saving memory

Temporal compression: The inter frame method looks for similarities between the frames of a video and only changes the spots that change in the video. 

The more bit depth an image has the more shades of a color the codec can produce. for example, an 8-bit image can produce 256 shades for each red green and blue (RGB) whereas a 10-bit can produce 1024 shades for each RGB. this is because the number of shades for 8-bit is 2 to the 8th and for 10-bit is 2 to the 10th.

In general you want to shoot a video or a picture using a codec that captures the most information so that way you are not restricted when you want to change things like color correction.