24 replies to this topic

[Marj R.C.]

This is so exciting! Thank you, Ryan.

Gandorf, you da man!! Thank you very much for your input, Gene.

[krandall]

Gandorf, on 22 December 2010 - 10:06 AM, said:

Karen,
Just so you know (and I am not trying to be argumentative here) a cameras MP (megapixel) has nothing to do with the file size. A 10 MP camera can take just about any file size pics that you want and will look perfectly clear in a small file size. If you were to take a 8mb picture that would probably print out just fine at 20" x 20". When it comes to the web "smaller is better" as you can imagine how long it would take to load those large pics for some folks on slower connections (like cell phones) and forums need to conserve their web storage space also. To prove what I mean upload a pic from your camera here on the forum that you actually know the file size (in windows locate the pic file and hold the cursor over it and read the file size when it pops up at the bottom in mb or kb) that is 2mb or above and then see what it looks like in the larger view after being resized here by the forum and read the new smaller file size at the bottom of the larger pic here on the forum, you will see it shows just as clear as the big one on your computer. You can also Google "megapixels vs file size" for more info. Hope that helps.
Gene

I know all that. It depends on the file size you shoot, the format (RAW or JPG) and the compression applied what size file you end up with. But I thought the point of not having to resize was to make it easier for us to post, not what the photos look like on the web page. Resized photos look fine too. The size photos that were previously allowed here were much smaller than good, modern computer screen resolution. (which is why I made the crack about shooting with our cell phones... and yes, I know there's mre to IQ than simply MP or file size) Quite frankly, a 2MP photo taken on an old digital camera in good light with a good lens can look excellent at computer screen resolution, and I have the (very old at this point) photos to prove it.

I do occasionally print very large, and I do often crop in for one reason or another, so I like to start with the largest file size possible. I don't know why anyone would bother buying a 10 MP camera, then purposely set it to a smaller file size... just buy a cheaper camera. (but then, I'm one of those people who shoots in RAW anyway. There is no way I would even consider taking my 18MP 7D (or even my 15MP 50D<g>) and shoot 8MP jpg's with it.

I know I'm not the only person on the forum who shoots with DSLR equipment. I'd be surprised if any of these people would take their camera out, think, "Gee, I'm going to shoot exclusively for HT, now, so I'll reduce my file size in-camera so that I don't have to resize them later." That makes no sense me, but I suppose there ARE people who purchase cameras that are much more than they really need.

Now, if you want to get into the argument of how many MP's make sense on a tiny P&S sensor... that's another story. I wouldn't buy a P&S that was HIGHER than 10MP at this point in time. The top P&S's have actually backed down from higher MP's because of this.<g>

Fortunately, thanks to Ryan, this is all a moot point. Because now we CAN upload files directly without any further manipulation than going from RAW to JPG (for those of us who shoot RAW) and the forum will take care of sizing them properly. Neat!

Edited by krandall, 22 December 2010 - 02:15 PM.

[Barbara]

What a wonderful Christmas gift to all the Havanese Talk members! Thank you Gene and Gandorf and Ryan! This makes posting photos so much easier!

[Pura Vida]

I shoot with the same kind of camera and, therefore, have the same size files as Karen. I agree, why would anyone ever take photos at anything less than max size unless there is the issue of being able to download onto the card near continually like in sports photography. At that point jpeg is the only way to go. However, RAW is the only way I shoot right now since it gives me the greatest latitude in developing, cropping and printing any shot I take. As far as I'm concerned, I have to export the shot into a jpeg format anyway so while I do that, I merely downsize the shot. No biggie. I am just a thousand times grateful that I no longer have to use flickr to get my photos to upload.

[Christy]

Karen makes a good point and I always shoot for the maximum pixels or mega pixels allowed. I never grab my camera thinking to only shoot for forum shots. A great pic is a great pic and I would want to share it here as well as anywhere else I choose and I want to keep the capability of being able to enlarge it for a framed photo without loosing picture quality.

That said, THANK YOU RYAN! You rock!!