Posted by Darren White on June 18, 2006 at 10:19 PM
I need some tech help here....
I have heard many people talk about final image sizes being very very large after they get done processing them....talking about adding layers and things like that....
my question is, does the file size increase the number of pixels of the final image...and are you gonna get a better quality print from a 10mb file then from a 4mb file...
on my RAW setting with my camera my images are comming in at 5.2-6.1mb and some of my final images are 7-10mb....this really has me confused....
and plain english help would be great.....sorry for being so naive but since joining this forum I have been wanting to get a few things straightend out in my mind!!!
Posted by Curtis Knight on June 18, 2006 at 10:27 PM
File size is not an inherent indicator of quality. it's true that high quality images are generally larger, but the subject matter has some effect on the size of the file. more detail generally means a larger file. adding layers adds more data to the file, making it larger. flattening the image usually reduces the file size somewhat, especially if you have duplicate layers vs adjustment layers. duplicate layers are basically a copy of the image so it increases the file size by the size of the original.
I don't want to step beyond what I know, and into what I speculate so I'll stop there and let those who have a more technical understanding fill in the blanks...
Darren,
Your asking alot of questions that take some explaining. As for print size, the larger you print the larger the file should be. I'm not really clear on exactly what your asking. Layers as Curtis said do add to the file size when you save an image as a PSD without flattening.
Increasing the file size by adding layers does not add any pixels, that's a function of Image Size (in Photoshop: Image>Image Size).
If you start with an image out of camera at 2000x3000 pixels (for instance) and increase that to say 3000x4500, then the image size is bigger as well as the file size. This may or may not have an impact on print quality, depending on the method used to increase the image size, detail in the image, and the quality of the original capture (meaning your photographic technique--For example, if you increase the size of an image with focus, movement, or noise problems, the print will just get worse the bigger you make it)
Adding layers to adjust color, contrast, sharpening etc. will definitely increase file size. Whether or not it will improve the quality of the image really depends on your Photoshop skills.
So, to answer your question of getting a better print form a 10Mb file over a 4Mb, that all depends
(If you're talking about a 10Mpixel camera over a 4 or 6 Mpixel camera, the answer is that generally speaking, yes you will get a better print from the 10Mpixel camera.)
Darren, there is not enough room here to completely and accurately answer your question without totally confusing you. I highly recommend you check out the "Luminous-Landscape.com" website for answers to such technical questions. There is an excellent tutorial about resolution that addresses your question. That tutorial is "Understanding Resolution" at:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/und_resolution.shtml
You must be patient and slowly wade through the detailed explanation, but doing so is well worth your time and will payoff in producing good quality prints. Good luck.
Discussion
4 repliesI have heard many people talk about final image sizes being very very large after they get done processing them....talking about adding layers and things like that....
my question is, does the file size increase the number of pixels of the final image...and are you gonna get a better quality print from a 10mb file then from a 4mb file...
on my RAW setting with my camera my images are comming in at 5.2-6.1mb and some of my final images are 7-10mb....this really has me confused....
and plain english help would be great.....sorry for being so naive but since joining this forum I have been wanting to get a few things straightend out in my mind!!!
I don't want to step beyond what I know, and into what I speculate so I'll stop there and let those who have a more technical understanding fill in the blanks...
Your asking alot of questions that take some explaining. As for print size, the larger you print the larger the file should be. I'm not really clear on exactly what your asking. Layers as Curtis said do add to the file size when you save an image as a PSD without flattening.
Increasing the file size by adding layers does not add any pixels, that's a function of Image Size (in Photoshop: Image>Image Size).
If you start with an image out of camera at 2000x3000 pixels (for instance) and increase that to say 3000x4500, then the image size is bigger as well as the file size. This may or may not have an impact on print quality, depending on the method used to increase the image size, detail in the image, and the quality of the original capture (meaning your photographic technique--For example, if you increase the size of an image with focus, movement, or noise problems, the print will just get worse the bigger you make it)
Adding layers to adjust color, contrast, sharpening etc. will definitely increase file size. Whether or not it will improve the quality of the image really depends on your Photoshop skills.
So, to answer your question of getting a better print form a 10Mb file over a 4Mb, that all depends
(If you're talking about a 10Mpixel camera over a 4 or 6 Mpixel camera, the answer is that generally speaking, yes you will get a better print from the 10Mpixel camera.)
hope that didn't muddy the waters
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/und_resolution.shtml
You must be patient and slowly wade through the detailed explanation, but doing so is well worth your time and will payoff in producing good quality prints. Good luck.