Camera Raw files

[giljones]

On a recent visit to Holland I accidentally set my Nikon D70 to camera raw, this resulted in some rather large files. I have managed via Photoshop/CS3 to convert them to JPEG files but they seem larger than normal to me. Most seem in the area of 1MB or greater. Is this normal? can I do anything to reduce the size of the files? Most of them are of the gardens at Het Loo and I particularly want to make them into a sequence on PTE5. Any help in this would be much appreciated. Gilbert

[jevans]

Hi Gilbert,

When converting to jpg, Adobe RAW probably had the compression set to minimum. Import your files back into CS3 and then save them as "Save for web".

[alrobin]

Gilbert,

Since you plan to use the images in an AV production, in PS you can also reduce the size in pixels from the maximum in your RAW images to the same resolution (and size in pixels) as that of the monitor or projector you will use to view them.

[giljones]

Hi Gilbert,

When converting to jpg, Adobe RAW probably had the compression set to minimum. Import your files back into CS3 and then save them as "Save for web".

[giljones]

Hi Gilbert,

When converting to jpg, Adobe RAW probably had the compression set to minimum. Import your files back into CS3 and then save them as "Save for web".

[giljones]

Thanks for your help. Could you please clarify what you are suggesting. Do you mean that I should import the newly created file in JPEG into Save for the Web and Devices which is what I find in my programme. If I do this I end up with a GIF file and more than double the size of file that I started with. Am I doing something wrong?Gilbert

[bmccammon]

Hi Gilber. My recommendation would be to open Photoshop CS3 and then click on FILE, select "scripts" and then select "image processor". This will open a window that will allow you to specify the directory that has your JPG (or RAW) files, the output directory you want to store the converted images in, the size of the JPG you want (I'd recommend 1024x768), and the quality of the JPG file to produce (7-10 works fine; smaller number produces smaller file sizes). Then click on "run" and go get a cup of coffee or do some errands as CS3 processes the whole folder for you. The files that are output will be stored in a subdirectory named "JPG" in the directory you specify for the output. Good luck.

[jfa]

Hi Gilber. My recommendation would be to open Photoshop CS3 and then click on FILE, select "scripts" and then select "image processor". This will open a window that will allow you to specify the directory that has your JPG (or RAW) files, the output directory you want to store the converted images in, the size of the JPG you want (I'd recommend 1024x768), and the quality of the JPG file to produce (7-10 works fine; smaller number produces smaller file sizes). Then click on "run" and go get a cup of coffee or do some errands as CS3 processes the whole folder for you. The files that are output will be stored in a subdirectory named "JPG" in the directory you specify for the output.

Gilbert, Bruce's advice above is quite sound. I would recommend that you make a backup of the RAW files first and save them somewhere safe, preferably on DVD or an external hard disk.