5 Megapixel VS. 4 Megapixel camera

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On 8 Mar 2005 03:39:55 -0800, budman@generation.net (Mark) wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
>buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
>
>We both set our cameras to the highest resolution.
>
>When I take pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg file is
>approximate 2 meg, give or take 100K (on average).
>
>When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
>larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
>
>Does anyone know why it is like this considering the different
>megapixel specification for each camera? I would have thought that the
>5 meg camera would have larger jpegs.
>

depends on the compression settings in the camera and/or the "default"
compression values set/used by the manufacturer ..

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <313a5f9e.0503080339.711c2d55@posting.google.com>,
budman@generation.net says...
> Hello,
>
> I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
> buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
>
> We both set our cameras to the highest resolution.
>
> When I take pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg file is
> approximate 2 meg, give or take 100K (on average).
>
> When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
> larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
>
> Does anyone know why it is like this considering the different
> megapixel specification for each camera? I would have thought that the
> 5 meg camera would have larger jpegs.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mark
> budman@nospam.generation.net
>

Different file compression settings.
Thats about it.

Comparing one brand to another is tough.


--
Larry Lynch
Mystic, Ct.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <5xjXd.34$%x7.30@fe10.lga>, joel@exc.com says...
> >> I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
> >> buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
> >> [...]
> >>
> >> When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
> >> larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
> >
> >Different file compression settings.
> >Thats about it.
> >
> >Comparing one brand to another is tough.
>
> But important. If the files are smaller, they contain less
> information. (I'm still looking for a camera that offers lossless
> TIFF compression.)
>
> -Joel
>
Try one of the Canons that offers RAW file format. This is lossless and
even better than TIFF. Things like white balance, sharpening etc. are
applied on the PC rather than in-camera, so you can adjust things if you
got it wrong when taking the picture.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Mark wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
> buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
>
> We both set our cameras to the highest resolution.
>
> When I take pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg file is
> approximate 2 meg, give or take 100K (on average).
>
> When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
> larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
>
> Does anyone know why it is like this considering the different
> megapixel specification for each camera? I would have thought that the
> 5 meg camera would have larger jpegs.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mark
> budman@nospam.generation.net

The difference is in the compression factor implemented by the
particular camera firmware. There is a 'happy medium' between a larger
file, and better quality. Some manufacturers go for the smaller files,
and others for the lower compression ratio.


--
Ron Hunter rphunter@charter.net

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <5xjXd.34$%x7.30@fe10.lga>, joel@exc.com says...
> >> I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
> >> buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
> >> [...]
> >>
> >> When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
> >> larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
> >
> >Different file compression settings.
> >Thats about it.
> >
> >Comparing one brand to another is tough.
>
> But important. If the files are smaller, they contain less
> information. (I'm still looking for a camera that offers lossless
> TIFF compression.)
>
> -Joel
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please feed the 35mm lens/digicam databases: http://www.exc.com/photography
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

Unless you are into VERY long waiting times you dont want what you think you
want.

Of the several cameras I have that save .tif files, the wat can be as long as
a minute for a 5mp photo.

Even the wait for a raw file is shorter.

There MAY be some cameras around that save .tif as fast as lightning, but if
there is, I have yet to see it.


--
Larry Lynch
Mystic, Ct.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Larry wrote:
> In article <5xjXd.34$%x7.30@fe10.lga>, joel@exc.com says...
>
>>>>I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
>>>>buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
>>>>[...]
>>>>
>>>>When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
>>>>larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
>>>
>>>Different file compression settings.
>>>Thats about it.
>>>
>>>Comparing one brand to another is tough.
>>
>>But important. If the files are smaller, they contain less
>>information. (I'm still looking for a camera that offers lossless
>>TIFF compression.)
>>
>>-Joel
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Please feed the 35mm lens/digicam databases: http://www.exc.com/photography
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>
>
> Unless you are into VERY long waiting times you dont want what you think you
> want.
>
> Of the several cameras I have that save .tif files, the wat can be as long as
> a minute for a 5mp photo.
>
> Even the wait for a raw file is shorter.
>
> There MAY be some cameras around that save .tif as fast as lightning, but if
> there is, I have yet to see it.
>
>
Cameras on the D70 level and fast CF cards can save in a few seconds,
but then you pay a premium price for both.


--
Ron Hunter rphunter@charter.net

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Mark" <budman@generation.net> wrote in message
news:313a5f9e.0503080339.711c2d55@posting.google.com...
> Hello,
>
> I own a Sony Cybershot 5.0 Megapixel camera (cybershot DSC-P10). My
> buddy owns an Olympia 4.0 Megapixel camera.
>
> We both set our cameras to the highest resolution.
>
> When I take pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg file is
> approximate 2 meg, give or take 100K (on average).
>
> When my buddy takes pictures, the size of the resulting jpeg files is
> larger - closer to 2.5 Meg.
>
> Does anyone know why it is like this considering the different
> megapixel specification for each camera? I would have thought that the
> 5 meg camera would have larger jpegs.

Different compression ratios is the biggest reason for the difference, but
noise contributes to compression variability among cameras, too. The more
contiguous pixel redundancy in a photo, the more it can be compressed;
cameras producing noisier pictures have decreased pixel redundancy and hence
compress to larger file sizes. To see this effect, use a noise-reduction
program such as NeatImage and save the same picture several times using
different noise redunction amounts; the more "noise" is reduced, the
smaller the resulting jpeg.