Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/01/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This is really a danger, and one reason I have not tried to digital print anything: I prefer the "hobby" of the darkroom, BUT I also admit to its great weaknesses On 23/01/2007, at 11:41, Jerry Lehrer wrote: > Peter Klein wrote: >> I'm a bit of a squirrel. I rarely throw anything away unless >> forced to. Then once in a while, reluctantly, I do a big >> cleanup. As with life, so with computers. I have files on my >> computer that date back to 1983, the year I started working with >> PCs, plus some converted CP/M files from even earlier(!) This has >> not been much of a problem--most of it has been text, and the size >> of the hard drive on the new computer I buy is always bigger than >> the old one. So I never hit the ceiling. >> >> Until now. Enter digital photography, where one TIFF is the size >> of my entire hard drive 10 years ago!! A 16-bit TIFF of a scanned >> frame of color film is about 125 megs. An E-1 RAW file is 10 >> megs, and a 16-bit work TIFF is 28 megs. B&W films scans are 40 >> megs. It adds up. >> >> My hard drive is nearly filled with RAW files, scanned TIFFs and >> intermediate work TIFFs. I was embarking on a ruthless rampage >> through the directories, meaning to get rid of lots of digital >> flotsam and jetsam. Then I found a keeper RAW file I hadn't >> noticed before (see "Found on my hard drive"). And this gave me >> pause. >> >> Problem is, I end up with a lot of unneeded junk on my drive, but >> it's hard to decide what's needed and what's not. I'd be >> interested in how other LUGgers cope with this--what do you keep? >> What do you throw away? How do you decide? >> >> My inclination is to keep: >> >> 1. RAW file or the original scan. >> 2. Final version, unsharpened (8-bit TIFF, PNG, or high-quality JPG) >> 3. Reduced JPG for Web. >> >> But with film, sometimes it seems to make more sense to keep the >> spotted version of the original, or even the 8-bit version after >> the curves are right. It depends on the image. Sometimes I save >> several version, decide on one, then come back and use another >> curve or cropping later. Or I don't spot until I decide the image >> is worth working furthre. That's where it gets confusing. >> >> Add to that, what format do you keep your final files in? I used >> to think TIFF was the only way to go, but I'm now wondering if PNG >> might be better (lossless compression, often 30% smaller than an 8- >> bit TIFF). And I've read that some people keep a very high- >> quality JPG--and I must say, with my E-1 DSLR photos, I usually >> don't notice a difference between TIFF and such a JPG. >> >> I'm also wondering whether it's worth it to go through years of >> files and delete intermediate files, or just buy a bigger disk and >> try to streamline my future workflow to leave fewer files in the >> first place. Or buy a DVD burner--but I'm concerned about the >> longevity of any home-burned optical media. A big hard drive or >> two, plus a matching external for backup seems better. >> >> Note that I use Picture Window Pro, not Photoshop, so I end up >> saving several different files at various stages of editing, >> rather than having layers in one humongous file. Then again, I >> don't need a gamer's PC with 2 gigs of RAM just to get by. >> >> --Peter >> >> > Peter, > > Your saga of computer photography has only discouraged me from > going digital! I work at a computer for eight hours or more each > day in the field of > aerospace engineering. Now the thought of working at a computer > for FUN has turned me off. It is not fun; tedium. > > Jrrry Lehrer > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information