D800 20.3MB files

[nick_baker]

<p>Hi<br>

Can anyone with a D800 report any first-hand experience of recording images at the 20.3MB medium-sized setting, and whether this offers any pluses or minuses in image quality. Obviously the file size and resolution are smaller, that's not the question.<br>

thanks</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>How big are most normal (L) files?</p>

[nick_baker]

<p>to clarify, I am asking how people are finding the 5520 x 3680 D800 files.<br>

thanks</p>

[azn137]

<p>I'll ask the obvious question: why don't you conduct your own test?</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Tam, if the OP has no D800 and wants to know this particular info to drive a decision? ;-)<br>

Either way, I have a faint idea most who have a D800 are shooting RAW, and the medium-size only exists for JPEGs. So there may not be too many who did actually test.<br>

And it's not 20,3M<strong>B</strong> files, but M<strong>P</strong>... the actual JPEGs should be quite a bit smaller than 20MB.</p>

[nick_baker]

<p>My bad, I did not appreciate this was only an option in jpeg. </p>

[Ian Rance]

<p>I use the 20.3 setting as default on my D800 and results seem OK. Would you like an image sent over to look at?</p>

[nick_baker]

<p>Thanks Ian<br>

I was interested in the comparison with larger file sizes, and particularly if anything was detectably better/worse with this setting. So your overall opinion might be more valuable than a couple of selected test images. If you happen to have a suitable comparison (perhaps just a crop to reduce file size for mailing), then sure, I'd like to look.<br>

thank you<br>

Nick</p>

[Ian Rance]

<p>Nick, tomorrow I will take a photo of the same scene with a sharp lens/tripod and send you a crop of the images.</p>

<p>What I find is that for so much of my photography the 20.3 is just right and it prints up really well.</p>

[stevenseelig]

<p>This is a complex question as it depends on the intended user output need. If you intend to show your work on a computer or smaller prints, then it will make no difference at all. For prints, decide how many dpi you need for quality prints and then back calculate how large your file size needs to be. </p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>I'm curious as to why anyone would buy a 36 MP camera to shoot 20 MP images. Why not save money by buying a camera with lower resolution?</p>

[elliot1]

<p><em>"</em><em>why anyone would buy a 36 MP camera to shoot 20 MP images"</em> They wouldn't, but there are likely times when it is not necessary to generate a 36mp file that will produce a 6' image.<br>

<br /><br>

This subject has been discussed previously and it appears that for best results, you are better off shooting a full resolution image and downsizing in Photoshop or equivalent software.</p>