Digital Photography - File Size Matters

Digital Photography: File Size Matters

Are you just starting out using a digital camera? Did you just get your first digital camera over the holidays? Are you unsure of how to take the best photographs with it? Here's one tip that may help end up with better results - set the file size setting on your camera to the largest file size possible.

With most digital cameras, you have a choice of what size files you want to save your images as. The larger the files - the fewer files you can fit on your storage media (compact flash, smart media, etc). So the temptation is to set you files as small as possible, so you can fit more images on your camera before you download. For example, on my Nikon Coolpix 775 (set on minimal compression) with a 128 MB compact flash - I can fit 780 of the smallest file size on the card, 318 of the medium size and only 133 of the largest size. The largest images on my Coolpix are 1600 X 1200 pixels - or a 650-700 KB JPEG file. The smallest images are 640 X 480 pixels - or about 130 KB JPEG file.

The reason you want larger files is that it gives you more options down the road in editing and printing your images. If you need to crop out parts of your image - you'll end up with a smaller file. And the size of your file, determines how large of a print you can make.

With the large files on the Coolpix 775 - I've printed images as large as 11 X 14 inches. This happened to be an image that filled the frame - so I didn't have to do any cropping. If I had tried to print larger than 11 X 14 - the image wouldn't have looked very good. Usually, even with some cropping of the image, the 650 KB JPEG files from the Coolpix can easily be printed in an 8 X 10 size.

The small files from the Coolpix 775 are a completely different story. A full frame image of one of these files will look good only up to about a 4 X 6 inch print. If we do any cropping of the file, it's hard to get a good print any larger than 3 X 5 inches.

So imagine you take a fantastic photograph that you really want to hang on your walls. Let's also assume you have to do a little cropping to get the framing of the image just right. If you've set your camera to create the largest files possible - you will likely have a lovely 8 X 10 inch print to frame and hang on your walls. If you've set your camera on the smallest file size - that same picture will only be 3 X 5 inches. Which would you rather display on your walls.

So remember - set your digital camera to create the largest files it can make. You'll be much happier with the prints you can create if you have bigger files. The downside is you will need to download your photos more frequently, but even with our Coolpix 775 at its highest resolution, we can get almost as many photos as 4 36-exposure rolls of film.
Copyright by Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence 2003

Photography And The Cell Phone

Almost every modern cell phone has a camera feature. Though they are far away from modern
quality digital camera, cell phone cameras can still be used to produce good quality photographs.

The cell phone has some additional features that are not yet obtainable on digital cameras and so may even be able to provide some preference. The best way to obtain quality photos is to understand the specifications that are accessible on these devices, enabling you to make an informed decision when choosing your mobile product, ensuring that it meets your requirements.

The size of the telefone celular screen will affect the quality of viewing on your cell phone. It will not change quality of a photo when you downloaded to computer. Quantity of pixels that your cell phone camera uses will influence the quality of the photo. The minimum imaging resolution you should use is 1.3-2 mega pixels if photographic images are an important feature for you.

Maximum resolution of 5.0 mega pixels and up is available on latest cell phones. The above the quantity of pixels, the better quality of photos will be when reproduced. This is because the pixels are the quantity of dots per inch used to create the photo, the more that are used, the less the photo will break up when enlarged.

A majоr advantage of a camera consists in that that it is possible to send photos to friends and family with compatible cell phones. These can be sent via MMS.

Digital photography can also be sent via e-mail if the cell phone is internet enabled. Any photographic image can be sent for free via IR-Port or Bluetooth to another compatible device. This is an excellent way of sharing photos, without the need for downloading first, which is both fast and functionality. This means that cell phones have an advantage over other photographic devices, to a degree, because they still do not have these functions.