Question on saving JPEG files

[Inspeqtor]

When saving a file as a JPEG within Elements, you get the following dialog screen:
1393

Default starts the Quality Level at 4 LOW

Format Options in Progressive Scans 4

Size 56.6kbps

Do you get any better quality changing to Quality 12 Maximum?

What are the Format Options Progressive Scans 4 for? What happens if you change this to Baseline ("Standard") or Baseline Optimised?

Why is the Size listed as 56.6kbps?

[SenorSlick]

Charles, that is interesting because when I save in JPEG it always defaults as Baseline and usually 7 or 8, sometimes 9 Quality. Have you tred checking baseline
to see if that does anything. Also, I notice for me at least that it shows 72 rather than 56kbps. try changing the quantities and see what that does. Harvey

[Chuck S.]

Charles, good questions! Here's my approach:


Quality: I always choose High - 10, 11, or 12. This is the choice that determines the amount of compression your image will undergo, a significant determinant of the quality of the saved image.
Format Option: I always use Baseline Standard. Not sure what the difference between that one and Baseline Optimized is, but I don't think the difference is significant. As I recall, progressive scan sets the image in a format that will "paint" the image on the screen, line-by-line, when opened. A number of websites used this approach in the old slow connection days.
Size: If you look closely, you'll see that the size in kbytes is the first number followed by a slash. The next number is the approximate download time in seconds followed by the @ sign. The third number, which you can choose, is the connection speed; it defaults to a 56 kbps (dialup) speed, but you can choose higher speeds from the dropdown box. In any case, the size only changes with the quality setting; the download time will go down proportionally with the increase in connection speed. It's information only and has no effect on the saved image.Hope that helps.

[Rusty]

Charles, I wondered about those options as well. Chuck is exactly right - you want Baseline Standard. I found the explanation of what those 3 choices are in, of all places, "Help". Wow, whoda thunk it. Look in Elements Help :)

Type in "baseline" for the help search, you'll get there.

Rusty

[Chuck S.]

Rusty, isn't using Help......cheating??

:eek::D:rolleyes:

p.s. Thanks for the tip!

[Inspeqtor]

Gosh, whoever would have thought of using HELP to get HELP? :o

Thank you Harvey, Chuck and Rusty for your tips and pointers.
I have now changed the Progressive to Baseline Standard and I have noticed (and verified with HELP!) that saving with Baseline the file size is larger.
Also since changing to Baseline Standard, the Quality jumped up to 12 Maximum.

[Rusty]

It ain't very intuitive is it?
One would assume that "optimized" must be better than "standard".

Rusty :)

[Steve Cat]

Don't save as JPEG. It is a lossy format. Save as tiff, bmp, or the proprietary adobe format, can't remember what it is, to lazy to look it up.

[dj_paige]

If you have lots of hard disk space, or you want a large portion of your photos to be stored off-line, save with a loss-less format like Steve Cat says.

But I have to disagree with that advice for a number of reasons.

If you are a more practical person, like me, and you don't have unlimited disk space, and you're not making huge prints of your photos, JPG is fine. You can't see most JPG artifacts in 4x6 prints or on most monitors unless you zoom in 100%. The proper format to use depends on what you want to do with your photographs.

[Wendy]

Hi ..

As a rule of thumb I save all my images as psd files whilst I am working on them and then I decide what I am going to do the final save as.

If I think I will be editing them again or I want to save the layers then I save as a psd otherwise I save as a best quality jpg :)

Wendy

[Chuck S.]

I agree with Wendy's approach, with emphasis on saving as best quality JPG. JPG is a compromise, but the degree of compromise is minimized by selecting best quality (same as lowest compression).

[Inspeqtor]

If the photo I am working on ends up with several layers then I also always save them as psd files. But for sending pictures to my family, or showing them here on my gallery, then I save them as jpegs.

[NickLewis]

Don't save as JPEG. It is a lossy format. Save as tiff, bmp, or the proprietary adobe format, can't remember what it is, to lazy to look it up.That advice is far too sweeping, in my opinion, and I'm speaking as someone who originates in RAW for quality's sake!

A single save as a high quality JPEG is going to do little or no practical damage unless you demand the highest possible quality output, and are completely obsessive about it. Repeated saves will damage the image, but in the real world you may have to do it more than you think before noticing.

But I wouldn't advise using bmp format unless you've hard disk space to burn. I just tried an 8 Mpixel image - it's 4Mb in maximum quality JPG, 11MB in compressed TIFF, and 23MB in bmp. Neither can bitmap save layer data which tiff or psd can.

I tend to adopt the same approach as Wendy. (Oh - and the proprietary Adobe format is probably DNG, but again that can't store layers, so is fine for originals, but not necessarily for edited versions.)

Nick

[tomlaronge]

I support what Wendy stated also. If you ever plan to enlarge and print, it is penny wise and pound foolish to not save your files with the maximum possible information and in a lossless file format, i.e. psd or equal. In this way, you have the data should you want it.

Just my opinion,
Tom