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Thread ID: 45100 2004-05-10 06:13:00 Digital camera terms Thomas01 (317) Press F1
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235489 2004-05-10 06:13:00 I like my new Olympus digital camera but I am really a point and shoot merchant - not a highly knowledgeable enthusiast. So some of the terms have me puzzled and nothing in the handbook is a help.
TIFF I understand - but I can use SHQ, HQ, SQ1 and SQ2
At this point I stop and ask - what do these stand for and what are the advantages and disadvantages of them?
I have tried the internet but nothing has been a help. Can somebody explain in very simple terminology what they are. Advice about their usage would be appreciated too.
Thomas01 (317)
235490 2004-05-10 06:38:00 SHQ (Super High Quality?) = max file size 1850 kB
HQ (High Quality) = max file size 749 kB
SQ1 high/normal = max file size 1239 kB/480 kB
SQ2 high/normal = max file size 583 kB/197 kB

Above for a Camedia c-3000

So, Tiff = uncompressed, highest quality
SHQ= best available with compression
HQ = Medium quality (more compression)
SQ1 = Medium/good quality (between SHQ and HQ)
SQ2 = Low Quality (maximum compression)

The smaller the file size, the more compression used and the more quality lost. Resolution comes into it as well.

And - this was obtained from the internet in a 5 second look.

4,230 pages of info are available (www.google.com)
godfather (25)
235491 2004-05-10 11:43:00 Godfather - thank you for the information. I MUST try the internet again - I really didn't find anything except some stuff in arabic or something. Buts lots of other pretty useless information. I used google - what did you use and what words did you check for ? Thomas01 (317)
235492 2004-05-10 12:04:00 um....Godfather went to the trouble of providing a link to his search and results in the very post you just queried.

Click the link

And for whats its worth he searched for SHQ HQ SQ1 SQ2
metla (154)
235493 2004-05-10 21:44:00 What wasn't mentioned is that those non-Tif modes use JPEG as the image format. JPEG is an image compression format that has range of compression levels, that at the hightest compression make very small file sizes but at the cost of highly visible loss in image quality, and at the other end (low compression) still make significant reductions in file size with low reductions in image quality.

See the JPEG FAQ here: JPEG image compression FAQ (www.faqs.org)

Camera manufacturers use different levels of JPEG compression at different quality settings. I.E., not all High Quailty, or Fine, or Normal settings are created equal -- it depends on what the manufacturer thinks is a suitbale level of compression. Some cameras I've looked at use high-compression at Normal settings and I wouldn't use them. Others have quite moderate compression at Normal settings and its quite useable (i.e. the resulting images show little image compression artifacts, distortions in th eimage created by the compression process).

To work out what level of compression you're happy with I suggest taking the same scene at all the quality settings available on your camera and then looking at the results in an image editing program (or even having them printed out on photo paper). If you don't see much difference between SHQ and HQ, for example, then you can proably use HQ and thus fit more images on the storage card.
Biggles (121)
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