Lost and Confused

Hello all - I am new here. I found your forum out of sheer frustration. A couple of weeks ago, we purchased a digital camera. I am so lost :( . To make matters worse, I still haven't managed to figure out our computer. I have looked on the internet for answers to my questions, but when I try to figure my way thru it all, I end up more confused and have more questions than I did in the beginning. I realize that I have alot of questions here, but please be patient with me. Any and all input would be appreciated at this point... There are 2 settings on my camera that I am unsure about. One is "quality" (which is set at "best) and the other is "resolution" (which is set at "high"). I think I am correct that if I am planning on printing the photos I should keep the resolution at high, but what does "quality" refer to? I'm pretty sure I understand all the other settings. Here is what I am having difficulty with:

Once I have the images from the camera on my hd, I open Infarview>open the original .jpeg image>select "save as" and resave as a .tif>edit the .tif>save as .jpeg (now I have 2 saved .jpegs - the original and the edited one). Does htis sound about right?

Do I lose quality if I am editing a .tif image?
Do I lose quality on the original .jpeg when I "save as" to a .tif? Or is the only time a .jpeg loses quality when I save directly over the original?
If the original .jpeg that I save from my camera is the best possible image, once I make a .tif copy of that image and then save it as a .jpeg how does that copy compare to the original? Is there a "proper" size to save the .jpeg if I am planning on printing a 4 x 6 or an 8 x 10? What I'm wondering is if I crop an image that originally looked great as an 8 x 10 will the quality be less because the cropped image has to enlarge to fit on an 8 x 10?
If I print an 8 x 10 of the original .jeg, then resave it as a .tif and edit, then save it as a .jpeg and print it as a 8 x 10 how will the 2 prints measure up?
If I email someone a .jpeg that has been resized for emailing and edited (using the above mentioned procedure) will they be able to make the .jpeg larger and print it?

Whew.............

I'm sure that some of the above questions might seem that I am asking the same question (I am so confused).
I'm also fairly sure that I am confusing everyone in this forum :( - I'm having a hard time finding the words to explain myself.

Thanks ......

Not familiar with the camera's terminology, what brand/model is it? Someone else can probably answer those specifics, but keeping the quality/resolution/size etc as high as possible is best if you're printing.

If shooting jpeg, I generally save any editing as a TIF file. Since there's no compression with a TIF, you don't lose any quality every time you click "save". You start losing quality with jpegs every time you re-save them. They compress the data, and everytime they do it you lose something. Shooting this way isn't bad, and maybe re-saving once with minimal compression is probably OK, but keep doing it and eventually you'll have illustrations - not photographs!

"If the original .jpeg that I save from my camera is the best possible image, once I make a .tif copy of that image and then save it as a .jpeg how does that copy compare to the original?"

This copy will be slightly worse. You saved as a TIF (no compression). Re-saved as a jpeg (file compressed again). This should make sense to you from my previous paragraph.

I'll let someone else start Chapter 2 here...

>>If shooting jpeg, I generally save any editing as a TIF file. Since there's no compression with a TIF, >>you don't lose any quality every time you click "save". You start losing quality with jpegs every time >>you re-save them.

This is very informative Steve. I didn't realize this myself. I'm learning too Kim :)

Thanks for the reply :) So based on what you told me - there is no getting around losing quality when editing a picture? When I save the edited .tif file as a .jpeg I am losing quality because the .tif is getting compressed into a .jpeg - is this correct?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kjb

Thanks for the reply :) So based on what you told me - there is no getting around losing quality when editing a picture? When I save the edited .tif file as a .jpeg I am losing quality because the .tif is getting compressed into a .jpeg - is this correct?

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If you save it as a .tif you will not be losing quality - the tif format is a lossless format.

Save your original photos as they come out of the camera (highest resolution and quality and tif files [or RAW if you want to go that way] if that's a choice in camera). Do your editing on copies of the originals and save as tifs. Do your printing from these.

For uploading to the web or emailing, resize and unsharp mask copies of your edited file and save as a jpeg with as little compression as possible to achieve the needed file size.

I've been doing the following: with images still on the card since I edit before I have them printed:
I edit them on the card. I then save the edit "save as" and the title/name. This way it automatically makes the "save as" a copy - and I still have the original. I keep it on the card that way or move it to the hard drive without another "save."

Since I still have the original - I would assume until I edit it - and save the original - that nothing is lost. Right? Where in this process would I save as TIF? Or would I save as TIF when I move it to the hd?

Glad this came up. :cool:

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chunk

If you save it as a .tif you will not be losing quality - the tif format is a lossless format.

Save your original photos as they come out of the camera (highest resolution and quality and tif files [or RAW if you want to go that way] if that's a choice in camera). Do your editing on copies of the originals and save as tifs. Do your printing from these.

For uploading to the web or emailing, resize and unsharp mask copies of your edited file and save as a jpeg with as little compression as possible to achieve the needed file size.

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What camera/model are you using? I think it would be easier to give you input on your other questions - someone may be familiar with your camera/model. Even if no one is familiar with it - it will give them an idea of what you're working with. ;)

Welcome to PR! You will get a lot of help here........don't worry about posting too many questions. We all know that beginners feeling! :confused:

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Liz

I've been doing the following: with images still on the card since I edit before I have them printed:
I edit them on the card. I then save the edit "save as" and the title/name. This way it automatically makes the "save as" a copy - and I still have the original. I keep it on the card that way or move it to the hard drive without another "save."

Since I still have the original - I would assume until I edit it - and save the original - that nothing is lost. Right? Where in this process would I save as TIF? Or would I save as TIF when I move it to the hd?

Glad this came up. :cool:

Liz

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If you are trying to get the best image possible set the camera to save at highest resolution and a lossless format (if available). If the camera only saves as jpegs, use the least compression available.
Saving your original as it comes off the card is good - copying it from the card to a HD or CD will not degrade the shot. I like keeping these unedited originals since they have the exposure data with them.

Any edits (done on copies of the original) that you want to save should be saved as tifs (lossless compression) if you don't want to have to repeat your work from the original. Saving work as jpgs introduces errors and opening and resaving as jpegs again compounds them.

Since I am not generally making exhibition prints and am just shooting for my own enjoyment, I usually have my camera set to save as high resolution , minimally compressed jpegs rather than raw because I like the convenience of having room for more pics on my cards.

I don't do a whole lot of printing of my stuff so I usually make a fresh copy from the original when I want to print one.

just to qualify the info:

With all the information you gave me here :) I'm assuming that the way I'm doing it is okay. This means that I can "work on" the original JPEG - and as long as I do a "save as" which automatically makes the copy, I am not degrading the original even tho I did the editing on it.

I'm very grateful - I'm printing this out to keep for reference.

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chunk

If you are trying to get the best image possible set the camera to save at highest resolution and a lossless format (if available). If the camera only saves as jpegs, use the least compression available.
Saving your original as it comes off the card is good - copying it from the card to a HD or CD will not degrade the shot. I like keeping these unedited originals since they have the exposure data with them.

Any edits (done on copies of the original) that you want to save should be saved as tifs (lossless compression) if you don't want to have to repeat your work from the original. Saving work as jpgs introduces errors and opening and resaving as jpegs again compounds them.

Since I am not generally making exhibition prints and am just shooting for my own enjoyment, I usually have my camera set to save as high resolution , minimally compressed jpegs rather than raw because I like the convenience of having room for more pics on my cards.

I don't do a whole lot of printing of my stuff so I usually make a fresh copy from the original when I want to print one.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Liz

just to qualify the info:

With all the information you gave me here :) I'm assuming that the way I'm doing it is okay. This means that I can "work on" the original JPEG - and as long as I do a "save as" which automatically makes the copy, I am not degrading the original even tho I did the editing on it.

I'm very grateful - I'm printing this out to keep for reference.

Liz

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That's right. What I usually do is open the image I want to edit and do a Save As immediately so that I don't inadvertantly overright the original. I guess I could be safer by making the originals Read Only, but...

Looking back, I guess I wasn't as thorough as I could have been. When you are editing an image and may want to do more later, you might want to save the file in the editor's native format, especially if you are using layers and such. Then when you have evertything as desired for your final print flatten and save it as a tiff to save space.

i take my pictures,for email and web i use low resolution,for enlargements i use high res.i take pictures,download to computer.as i edit them i press save.this keeps the last edit.after i edit all pictures,i download to disk for storage.i leave all pictures in jpeg.save and edit in jpeg.overall camera resolution is what varies your enlargement capabilities.you asked a couple questions im not to sure about so i wont say anything,but i can tell you how i do my editing and storage.if you know something i need to know please share this.
freelance1031@aol.com

especially for taking the time to explain everything. I needed an "explanation for dummies" ;)

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chunk

That's right. What I usually do is open the image I want to edit and do a Save As immediately so that I don't inadvertantly overright the original. I guess I could be safer by making the originals Read Only, but...

Looking back, I guess I wasn't as thorough as I could have been. When you are editing an image and may want to do more later, you might want to save the file in the editor's native format, especially if you are using layers and such. Then when you have evertything as desired for your final print flatten and save it as a tiff to save space.

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