I like vector based formats for my plots if the data is vector based. I input png and pdf to latex. I can output png, eps and pdf from Octave. The problem is that the pdf outptut has extra whitespace. To get around the whitespace, I can copy and paste into powerpoint and save as pdf with a specific page size or I can do the following.
Plot the figure with size on paper set
> fh = figure(‘papersize’,[6 4],’paperposition’,[0 0 6 4]);
Output as a colored encapsulated postscript
> print(‘-depsc2′,’figure.eps’)
Turn EPS to a PDF with proper size. You can edit the pdf later if need be.
$ ps2pdf -dEPSCrop figure.eps
Add figure to paper with proper size
\includegraphics[width=6in]{figure.pdf}
References
ps2pdf bounding box & page size problem – LinuxQuestions.org