# Image quality question



## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

Okay folks, here is the deal; I have the opportunity to go to the Phila zoo. I have only one memory card for my camera and no option to get another one. My present card only holds approx 485 shots using the L jpeg fine file size, which is where I've had it set since I got the camera. How much image quailty will I lose by setting it to a smaller file size so I can take more photos.

The shots will be for my personal use only, in fact they will never be printed, at best I may send a few to friends in an email so I don't need top quailty; but I don't want crap that I can't zoom in on and crop either. 

This trip is really important to me because I may never have another chance to go and I'm looking forward to finally having some decent things to shoot with my dslr, but like I said, at the same time I want the shots to look _half way_ decent after editing. 

Thank you much.


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## Big Mike (Sep 24, 2009)

If you don't plan to print, then you should be just fine reducing the size.

However, my advice for the future is get more cards and shoot RAW.


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## UUilliam (Sep 24, 2009)

It would be worth while buying  few SD Cards, I bought mines from amazon, recieved within 1 week (~if you use amaon prime trial, you can get them next day before 1pm <if it is amazon that is shipping it> for free!)
only cost me £5 per card ($7.50?) for 4gb, i bought 4!


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback.  Money is a big issue for us right now, hubby will soon be out of work, so getting more cards is not an option for anytime soon. My camera and present flash card were a gift to me from my uncle and I doubt I will ever have the funds to upgrade - so I make do with what I have, the best I can. 
Thanks again.


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## Johan13 (Sep 24, 2009)

id just shoot high quality and then have a "coffee break" and sit down and delete the ones you don't like. 

The oter thing you can do is try to focus on shooting quality rather than tons of shots. Remember not long ago people shot with just film


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## Derrel (Sep 24, 2009)

Medium sized, fine compression JPEG images often look very good. One of the things that tends to ruin JPEG image quality is overzealous in-camera sharpening routines, so if you are worried about obtaining maximum quality, don't even turn on in-camera sharpening, but sharpen only the better shots later, in post production.

I think if you approach the zoo shoot carefully, you ought to be able to make maybe 150 good photos there, out of 458 tries.


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

Derrel said:


> Medium sized, fine compression JPEG images often look very good. One of the things that tends to ruin JPEG image quality is overzealous in-camera sharpening routines, so if you are worried about obtaining maximum quality, don't even turn on in-camera sharpening, but sharpen only the better shots later, in post production.
> 
> I think if you approach the zoo shoot carefully, you ought to be able to make maybe 150 good photos there, out of 458 tries.


 
Thanks. Actually the 485 shots are with the large file size I use now. I could get 841 with medium file size. I don't use in camera sharpening so I'm safe there. I went out in the yard a little while ago and took several images, each taken with the three different file sizes. I'll compare them all later tonight to see just how much quality loss is visible in the smaller files.

I do have a canon P&S that I'll be taking along also and I have 4 memory cards for that.[different card than the dslr] Perhaps the best option for me would be to limit the best photo opportunities to the dslr and take all the 'don't really matters' with the P&S.

Thanks again.

Thanks also Johan13


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## lvcrtrs (Sep 24, 2009)

Carol, sorry to hear about the work situation. To bad we don't have a few more days, I'd send you one. You have been good to people on this site. But in lieu of the time problem, I don't know if you can swing a trip to Staples. 4gig Sandisk are on sale.
SanDisk 4GB Ultra® II SDHC Card | Staples®

I read somewhere that if you are not printing larger than an 8x10 then medium size files should be fine. Maybe someone can confirm. Also, the coffee break/delete idea is one I use anymore. That many less to go through when you get home. It can be daunting. 

The Phila zoo is really not that huge. So you should be fine no matter how you go. Enjoy yourself.

Check with your local ACME, I just called and they are still selling Phila Zoo tickets for $13.95. You can put the savings to the parking cost. Take your water bottles too, that helps a bit.


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

lvcrtrs said:


> Carol, sorry to hear about the work situation. To bad we don't have a few more days, I'd send you one. You have been good to people on this site. But in lieu of the time problem, I don't know if you can swing a trip to Staples. 4gig Sandisk are on sale.
> SanDisk 4GB Ultra® II SDHC Card | Staples®
> 
> I read somewhere that if you are not printing larger than an 8x10 then medium size files should be fine. Maybe someone can confirm. Also, the coffee break/delete idea is one I use anymore. That many less to go through when you get home. It can be daunting.
> ...


 
Thanks for the compliment and offer to send a card, that was very thoughtful of you, but as you said time would pose a problem, but its the thought that counts.:hug::  

Thanks also for the input about ACME. My husband will be glad to hear about that, he wasn't too keen on $18 ticket prices plus the $12 parking fee, but he knew how much I've been wanting to go and finally gave in. We plan to take a small cooler bag with water and a few eats - a lot cheaper, I'm sure, than buying at the zoo.

Right now I'm really leaning towards using the medium file size, fine quality jpeg setting and just being extra choosy about the shots I take with the dslr and use the p&s for the others....I have a hard time limiting myself around animals though.  If I did print any of the shots, and I probably won't, it wouldn't be any larger than 5x7, so medium should be okay.

Thanks again so much for your thoughfulness.


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## KmH (Sep 24, 2009)

Dagwood56 said:


> Okay folks, here is the deal; I have the opportunity to go to the Phila zoo. I have only one memory card for my camera and no option to get another one. My present card only holds approx 485 shots using the L jpeg fine file size, which is where I've had it set since I got the camera. How much image quailty will I lose by setting it to a smaller file size so I can take more photos.
> 
> The shots will be for my personal use only, in fact they will never be printed, at best I may send a few to friends in an email so I don't need top quailty; but I don't want crap that I can't zoom in on and crop either.
> 
> ...


For Nikon cameras the exact amount of the  pixel dimension reduction to Medium and Small is in the back of your camera manual.


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## CSR Studio (Sep 24, 2009)

I think you should keep it on the fine file size and shoot 485 great images. You never know what may happen in the future and you might want the higher resolution. Just shoot like you are shooting on film.


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

KmH said:


> For Nikon cameras the exact amount of the pixel dimension reduction to Medium and Small is in the back of your camera manual.


 
Yeah, my Sony manual has it also, but pixel numbers don't mean much to my old brain. :blushing: I just wanted to find out if the image quality I'd lose at medium file size would be so much that the image would look poorly to view at 4x6 or 5x7. Like I said, I'm not planning to print or sell them, they're basically for the family album so to speak, but I'd still like them to be half way decent in quality. Thanks.


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 24, 2009)

CSR Studio said:


> I think you should keep it on the fine file size and shoot 485 great images. You never know what may happen in the future and you might want the higher resolution. Just shoot like you are shooting on film.


 
I am thinking about that, but I'm not sure if I can be that disciplined.


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## grafxman (Sep 27, 2009)

Dagwood56 said:


> Okay folks, here is the deal; I have the opportunity to go to the Phila zoo. I have only one memory card for my camera and no option to get another one. My present card only holds approx 485 shots using the L jpeg fine file size, which is where I've had it set since I got the camera. How much image quailty will I lose by setting it to a smaller file size so I can take more photos.
> 
> The shots will be for my personal use only, in fact they will never be printed, at best I may send a few to friends in an email so I don't need top quailty; but I don't want crap that I can't zoom in on and crop either.
> 
> ...



Hi Carol. I hope you see this before your journey. I recently spent 2 days photographing our zoo here in Jacksonville FL. A look at the Philly Zoo web site indicates they have more mammals but fewer birds that the Jacksonville Zoo. Reptiles and amphibians are roughly the same. I ended up with 484 photos. Not all of them are keepers. 

Here is what I recommend. Take several shots, do frequent reviews, delete any that you don't want or like and keep shooting. I found that I could take 4 or 5 shots of a particular animal but one shot would be off center, one or two might be slightly blurred, etc. Animals move, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes constantly. Great cats are particularly bothersome. They either pace constantly or lay down and don't move at all. With some critters it's hard to get a good shot.

Be picky about your selection and you may find that you end up with just one really good shot of a particular animal. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Roger


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 27, 2009)

Thanks Roger. I actually came to the same conclusion last evening. I decided I didn't want to risk the lower quality of the images. I also calmed my excitment about going to the zoo  and realized that chances are, not all of the 1300 animals will be available; some are always hiding and some I won't have an interest in, so the 485 shots should be sufficient, especially if I review them every so often. I intend to begin with the Big cats, I'm hoping to get some nice tiger shots. We're going Tuesday.


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## blakjak8 (Sep 27, 2009)

Please post some of the pics?!  I am very interested in the file size vs quality issue myself. I have a Sony a200 and shoot in Jpeg fine, usually just out of convenience. It is just easier to copy to a disc and let friends edit them to their liking. I am quite often photographing friends kid's activities and they are really expecting a lot less quality than I deliver...free of charge. I consider it a great learning experience and a fun social event. And yes, I do delete the bad shots first. Their 4x6 prints are way above acceptable snapshot quality. But even then the file sizes are very large. When I take personal "important" (i.e. printable ) shots, I use both RAW and jpeg fine. It does allow me to be a lot more flexible with a picture before the printing process. Which brings me to another question...Who is YOUR favorite print service? Or do you "Go it alone"?


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## DScience (Sep 27, 2009)

If you send me your address i'll send you a 4 gig SD


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## icassell (Sep 27, 2009)

Carol,

You might want to review these links before you go 

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...05-how-take-good-zoo-pictures-sabbath999.html

Welcome


I moved here from Philly.  I love the Philly zoo.  The most important thing is for you to have fun


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## Dagwood56 (Sep 28, 2009)

icassell said:


> Carol,
> 
> You might want to review these links before you go
> 
> ...


 
Thanks Ian. I agree that the fun factor is the most important thing for me right now. I have not been to the Philly zoo in over 10 years and I'm really looking forward to the new big cat habitat.

*DScience* - thanks for the offer, thats very kind, but we're going tomorrow. Thanks for the thought though.:hug::

*blakjak8* - If i decide to shoot anything with the medium file size, which is doubtful, I'll post a side by side comparison. As far as a favorite print service - I don't use one.


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