Photography Forums

Do you always shoot at the highest pixel quality that your camera will take, despite the storage issues? Or do you alter the number of pixels according to what the use of your shot will be-ie, printing just at 5x7, compared to printing at 10x13?

I always shoot highest quality as it gives me the option of printing at any size I want. I have about 15 memory cards anyway

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I shot at the highest quality, but with a 2.0 megapixel camera and a 1gb memory card storage isn't much of an issue for me. Sometimes its good to have outdated equipment.

Haha, I have the same issue. When you have a 2.0 megapixel its not an issue. I'd imagine the newer 5-10 megapixels can eat up room pretty quick. I still think I'd be more likely to use the higher quality setting. You could always use multiple memory sticks or review them more often and delete anything you need to.

I have a 10mp 400d and i use the highest quality and highest compression as i only have one 4gb card at the minute.

I have a 7.1mp camera and only one 1GB card. This, at a moderately high resolution will take over a thousand photos.

More of the problem for me is the permanent storage of those photos, as I fill that card approximately every three to four weeks. My hard drive is only 60GB and I don't like leaving them all only on CD.

I was just reading an article about storing files and what is appropriate. A CD or DVD is appropriate for long term because they are not susceptible to moisture and can be cleaned. A memory drive on the other hand is only appropriate for short term use such as temp file storage. As long as the CDs are kept in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight they should be fine for anywhere up to ten years easily. By then most likely we will have cheaper, larger storage options.

I had read that re-writeable CDs are better for long term storage because they have a double protective coating-both sides of the disk, where as writeables only have it on the data side. This makes RW more durable, less likely to start to crack and chip.

So, given the fact that CDs and DVDs do wear out, do you date and check your media on a regular basis to make sure that the information on them is safe, and that it doesn't need moving to another CD? And do you keep two of each in case on breaks down without you realising?

I usually shoot pictures at the highest camera quality and then I transfer the pictures from the memory card to my computer. I always back up my pictures and I take excellent care of my storage disks.

Shoot RAW(CR2-Canon/NEF-Nikon) if you can. It doesnt compress the image so you dont get any loss of detail. Also it allow you a bit more creativity in post processing and if you do mess up exposure on the shoot you can usually correct it within about 1 or 2 stops, plus many other things.

However the file size its pretty big so you need lots of storage. Also ull need a RAW converter like Lightroom, Aperture or Photoshop CS3(CS2 didnt have this feature).

I usually import via Lightroom which copies them to wherever you want, then edit your pics in there and export as jpegs or tiff format if your then going to Photoshop. Then back up to an external HD every week or so, depends on how productive my days have been.