RAW files use 1.5 bytes for each pixel on the sensor, so with the 10M pixel sensor on the D200 the file contains 15MB of information. The camera normally applies compression to the file before storing it on the disk, so the disk size should be lower. Note that RAW is literally "raw" - it is the unprocessed data read straight off of the sensor..

If you convert the RAW file to an image format like JPEG, TIFF or PSD, the image requires 6 bytes of information for each pixel on the sensor, 2 bytes (16 bits) per colour. The RAW converter generates the colour data from the unprocessed data in the RAW file. So a 10 MP sensor will generate a 60 MB image - 60MB will be the number displayed in PhotoShop..

One option is to limit the colour data to 8 bits per colour. Printers only accept 8 bits anyway, so you have to do this some time. This immediately halves the image size. Cropping the image, of course, also reduces the image size..

If you save the file as an uncompressed 16bit TIFF, you will get a 60MB file on the disk. If you save it using a lossless compression method the file size will be reduced on the disk and if you save it as a JPEG it will get compressed much more. However, in either case, as soon as you open it again in PS it will display at it's original size.Chris R..

Please forgive what is probably going to be a silly question.I am the proud new owner of a Nikon D200. This past weekend I tookseveral photographs in RAW and they were each about 15mb in size.Once I opened them and saved then as jpeg or tiff, they suddenlybecame 58mb in size. I'm sure I am doing something wrong. Can anyonetell me how to save a RAW file as a "reasonably" sized file?.

Sounds like an uncompressed TIFF (which, as it's name suggests, is lossless). people often convert RAW files to TIFFs so that they can be opened in something like Photoshop (which understands TIFFs but may not read RAW files) for final tweaking before being saved as a much smaller JPEG..

The reason for this is that if you save a RAW file as a JPEG to start with it gets compressed... and then if you open it, finish playing it in Photoshop and re-save it, it gets decompressed and recompressed all over again which magnifies JPEG artefacts. So 'save as' JPEG should only be done once at the end of the post-processing, if you're fussy - and you probably are, with a Nikon D200 .

I find it hard to believe that a 10MP JPEG could be that size... 3 or 4 MB would be about right with minimal compression... I suspect that these are TIFFs. Could you check?.

Best wishesMike..

Ditto for what the other 2 posters said. But to clarify something that may not be clear. JPEG is an 8bit format therfore it will use 3 bytes at each(RGB) pixel. If saved at maximum compression these files can almost be as large as uncompresssed tiffs but should still not exceed 30MB (and normally should be much much smaller)..

CheersJames.

Jeffrey Weiss wrote:.

Please forgive what is probably going to be a silly question.I am the proud new owner of a Nikon D200. This past weekend I tookseveral photographs in RAW and they were each about 15mb in size.Once I opened them and saved then as jpeg or tiff, they suddenlybecame 58mb in size. I'm sure I am doing something wrong. Can anyonetell me how to save a RAW file as a "reasonably" sized file?.

Thanks in advance, Jeff..

Mike,.

I opened the RAW file, did a few adjustments and then saved with a suffix of either .tiff or .jpg. I did not compress them (I don't know how to)..

Thanks, Jeff..

Mike,.

I opened the RAW file, did a few adjustments and then saved with asuffix of either .tiff or .jpg. I did not compress them (I don'tknow how to)..

Thanks, Jeff.

When you save as a JPEG, you normally either get a dialogue box asking how much compression you want (e.g. in Photoshop, you set a slider on a scale of 1 - 12); or you specify in advance..

E.g. in Pentax Photo Laboratory which I use for processing RAW files, you specify in advance in a drop-down menu whether to save as a high-quality JPEG (low compression), medium quality (medium compression), 8-bit TIFF, 16-bit TIFF etc. etc..

What software are you using? There must be somewhere in it where you set the level of compression (and hence file size) if you are saving as a JPEG..

Best wishesMike..

Mike,.

I am using Photoshop 6.0. Ordinarily I do get the scale to choose compression but not when saving these files. They are automatically saving at 58mb and I cannot figure out how to compress them..

Jeff..

Chris R-UK wrote:.

Cropping the image, ofcourse, also reduces the image size..

Not necessarily. If you crop to the same dimensions (inches) as the original image, and also the same resolution (pixels per inch), the editing software will interpolate to create the new pixels necessary to maintain resolution and the resulting image file will be more or less the same size as the original..

In fact, if you crop and specify a larger image size (inches and/or pixels per inch) than the original, you will actually make the image larger!.

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window..

Mike,.

I am using Photoshop 6.0. Ordinarily I do get the scale to choosecompression but not when saving these files. They are automaticallysaving at 58mb and I cannot figure out how to compress them..

Jeff, are you using 'save', or 'save as...'? If PS knows that a file is an uncompressed TIFF then when you click on 'save' it will save it again in the same way without asking you; same with a JPEG. Try opening one of these monster files, choosing 'save as...' from the menu, give it a new name, and choose JPEG from the list of possible formats. THEN it should ask you to select the level of compression... (I'm using PS7 but it should be similar)..

Best wishesMike..

Jeffrey Weiss wrote:.

Mike,.

I am using Photoshop 6.0. Ordinarily I do get the scale to choosecompression but not when saving these files. They are automaticallysaving at 58mb and I cannot figure out how to compress them..

Jeff.

Jeff,.

Can you explain exactly what you mean by this statement. Are you saying that the size of the file on the hard disk is 58MB, or are you saying that when you re-open the file in PS it shows a file size of 58MB?.

The second would be normal. The first would be extraordinary.Chris R..

I endorse the previous post..

Take a look at the saved files in Windows Explorer and note the file size..

As previously posted I suspect that "Save as" will give you options..

To move way from the original question a little I would only ever consider using a TIFF to produce a high quality large print. Most of my output I view on a high quality IIyama 19" screen at 1600 x 1200. A jpeg of around 4MB is more than adequate for that purpose..

Much of my output ends up on Zenfolio. There I aim for about a 3MB jpeg file if uncropped and about 2.3 MB if cropped. The smaller file sizes speed the download for those viewing the photos..

Again to move way from the original question a little have you considered using Nikon Capture NX to process RAW files? There is a strong body of opion that says that you need to use NX to get the very best from your Nikon RAW photos (If shoot very high ISO opinions are more divided). You will have a 30 day trial disk with your camera. I mention this because it seems to me that your knowledge of PS is limited. It might be best to go with NX from the start with the D200. You can save everything you need in the original NEF and just produce one jpeg for online viewing on Zenfolio or whatever. If you want to follow this up please say so and I can provide you with lots of URLs for tutorials etc for NX.



I am relatively new to Nikon and RAW (9 months now) having previously owned Oly SLRs where I mostly shot JPEG. I made the decision to use NX after using the trial..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

Jeff,.

If you are just adding the suffix to the file name are you may not be saving the file as a JPEG but as a TIFF of PSD with a JPEG extension. Make sure the the save as dialgoue box has the file type set to JPEG..

James.

Jeffrey Weiss wrote:.

Mike,.

I opened the RAW file, did a few adjustments and then saved with asuffix of either .tiff or .jpg. I did not compress them (I don'tknow how to)..

Thanks, Jeff..

All,.

I have been offline for the past three days so I apologize for the slow response..

I really must admit that I am a newbie at all of this and I'm overwhelmed by the information that is out there. I am currently using Photoshop 6.0 and a trial version of Nikon Capture 4.4. I have no idea where to go from here. Do I invest in Photoshop CS3? Lightroom? or what. What's the difference between Capture & NX?.

My primary aim is to shoot RAW and be able to make all the basic development adjustments that these programs allow. I need to learn how to do this and lack a good starting point. The more I read the more confusing it gets. Oh, I also want to learn to do some HDR so I was considering Photomatix (not sure if I need this if I buy CS3)..

Thanks for all your help..

Jeff..

If you've got (1) a RAW conversion program, and (2) a PP program like photoshop, there is no need for more. You only need one of each....

If you will be using Photoshop to process your pix, you could use Adobe Camera Raw (a free plugin) to process any RAW files before conversion. I've used it and it's fine, and it won't require you to spend any more money. With photoshop you can learn about histograms, how to set contrast, correct colour casts, how to deal with noise and sharpening etc. etc..

It may be that in the future you decide that some other software suits you better, but there is no need to buy another PP program yet any more than there is a need to buy another camera until you're familiar with the first one!.

Did you solve the file size issue?.

Best wishesMike..

Mike,.

Thanks for all your help..

So are you saying PS6.0 is sufficient, I do not need to upgrade to CS3?.

I do not currently have a RAW editor. I am using a trial of Capture 4.4 which I an finding to be okay but a little slow. I intended to purcahse either 4.4, NX or Lightroom. I have had PS6.0 for years and do not use most of the features on it. I was never able to open any RAW files until I downloaded the Capture 4.4 trial version..

I'm hoping not to have to buy CS3. But I don't know whicxh RAW editor to buy..

Jeff..

PS 6.0 is great for graphic design people etc., and doing a lot of image correction / editing. If you just want to adjust levels, contrast, colour balance etc. etc. it will be fine. However it doesn't have some of the tools that come with the cheaper Photoshop Elements that are specifically aimed at digital camera users, like simple sliding controls to adjust shadow / highlight detail, and a facility to correct lens distortion (like the barrel distortion you get with wide angle lenses)..

You can download a trial version of PS Elements 5, which is free for a month, from the Adobe website. I did recently and was hooked: I use photoshop 7.0 at work for general graphics work, but Elements at home for photo processing because of these extra features aimed at photographers. The clincher for me was that the Adobe Camera Raw plugin links to Elements (or CS2 / CS3)... but not, apparently, to 'ordinary' photoshop like you have..

There is also a free program called GIMP available for download which does pretty much everything that PS does, but is less polished and a bit harder to navigate around. I played with it for a while and decided that life was too short..

So I guess I'm contradicting the suggestion from my previous post here. You can use your existing PS6.0 for most general photo editing; you will then need a separate RAW processor which you may have to pay for (or may be free, I don't know what else it out there)..

Or, you can pay for PSE5 and download the Adobe Camera Raw convertor for free which interfaces with it directly - a big bonus as it means you don't have to go through the extra step of saving your developed RAW image as a TIFF, and then re-opening it in Photoshop..

I think it's worth the money to have the RAW processor / image editor combined in this way, but then, I have a salary... if you're on a tighter budget you can probably do most of it for free, but less conveniently..

Best wishesMike..

Mike,.

I was under the understanding that Elements was somewhat of a stripped down version of PS and used primarily for image editing. Is it also a RAW converter that allows one to do the sort of thing that Lightroom or Bibble would do?..

You can download the free "Adobe Camera RAW" plugin from the Adobe website..

This plugin is updated as new cameras come out. I recently downloaded version 3.6 which includes support for my D80. And it works with Elements...

What the previous guy said!.

Adobe Camera Raw is a free plugin for PSE5 which you can download from the Adobe website; you can open the Raw file, set the white balance, exposure compesnation, shadow / highlight detail etc etc., and then one click transfers the cleaned-up RAW image into Photoshop Elements where you can apply finishing touches before saving as a JPEG (the lossy stage). Simple..

Best wishesMike..

Thanks for all the great advice guys - I really appreciate it...