Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/01/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jerry, As a retired AE, I'm curious. Are you working in design or analysis of some kind? Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Lehrer" <glehrer@san.rr.com> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 6:41 PM Subject: Re: [Leica] Drowning in digital files > 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 >