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Photoshop Camera RAW v. Bridge Camera RAW

New Here ,
Jan 12, 2018 Jan 12, 2018

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I have a Nikon D800.

Why when I save a max jpeg from Bridge Camera RAW the file size is around 4MB but if I save the same max jpeg file from Photoshop Camera RAW the file size is around 39MB?

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Jan 14, 2018 Jan 14, 2018

You don't have to do anything - this happens without any action on your part.

But if you resave the jpg in Photoshop, it may compress to a different file size.

Also, editing and resaving a jpg is not recommended, image quality will suffer.

Assuming that you start out with a raw file, do all the editing you can in Camera Raw, and if furhter editing in Photoshop is needed, do this on a PSD or Tiff, and save a jpg when you're done editing.

The jpg format uses lossy compression, which means that every t

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Adobe Employee ,
Jan 12, 2018 Jan 12, 2018

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Hi Glennphoto,

Please have a look at this article as it might shed some light on the topic: Working With Camera Raw In Adobe Bridge vs Photoshop

Regards,

Sahil

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New Here ,
Jan 13, 2018 Jan 13, 2018

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Hi Sahil,

Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful in explaining the differences between the Photoshop and Bridge versions of Camera RAW but it didn’t explain why there is such a big difference in the saved maximum jpeg file sizes (4 mb in Bridge v. 37 mb in Photoshop), using the same raw file.

Can you help me with that?

Or maybe you can suggest where I can look?

Thanks,

Glenn.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 13, 2018 Jan 13, 2018

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Bridge will show you the compressed file size (on disk)

When a jpg is open in Photoshop, it will decompress, so Photoshop will show you the uncompressed file size.

This tells you that without jpg compression, the file is 37 mb, and that the compression reduces it to 4 mb on disk.

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New Here ,
Jan 14, 2018 Jan 14, 2018

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Thank you for your reply.

So would I have to uncompress the jpeg I saved from Bridge before taking it for printing?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2018 Jan 14, 2018

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You don't have to do anything - this happens without any action on your part.

But if you resave the jpg in Photoshop, it may compress to a different file size.

Also, editing and resaving a jpg is not recommended, image quality will suffer.

Assuming that you start out with a raw file, do all the editing you can in Camera Raw, and if furhter editing in Photoshop is needed, do this on a PSD or Tiff, and save a jpg when you're done editing.

The jpg format uses lossy compression, which means that every time you save a jpg, some information is thrown away. Repeatedly saving a jpg can cause serious quality loss to the image.

If you have to edit a jpg, do the editing in Camera Raw, or use the Camera Raw filter in Photoshop. This will reduce the quality loss.

For more information about jpg and other formats, see File formats

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New Here ,
Jan 14, 2018 Jan 14, 2018

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Thank you so much. This answers my question. After editing in Bridge RAW I save as a DNG file and a max jpeg.

So even though it saves as a 4mb jpeg from Bridge RAW I can just put it on a flash drive and take it for printing knowing that it will open as a 37mb file at the printer, correct??

Thank you so much for explaining this to me.

Glenn.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2018 Jan 14, 2018

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File size is not a good indicator of image quality, and that is especially true for jpgs.

The file size of a jpg can vary greatly, depending on image content. An image with lots of fine, sharp detail can be five times or more larger than an image with large flat, smooth areas.

Pixel dimensions and quality setting used when saving are much more important.

If you want the highest possible quality in your prints, you have to make sure that there are enough pixels in the image to print with the required ppi at the specified dimensions (pixel dimensions divided by ppi = dimensions in inches), and you have to use the highest quality setting. That's all you can do. Here's another article I wrote that you may find useful: What is a digital image?

knowing that it will open as a 37mb file at the printer, correct??

The printer/printer driver doesn't care about file size - it cares about pixel dimensions, and these pixel dimensions are the same - compressed or uncompressed. But when saving a jpg there is always some quality loss (at max quality it is unnoticeable in most cases), and this quality loss doesn't disappear when you open or print the image.

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New Here ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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Thanks, I will read your article.

However, if after editing my RAW file in Bridge RAW, I save it as a max jpeg then that should be the best quality jpeg I can get. correct??

I also save my edited RAW file as a DNG.

Thank you for your patience in explaining all of this to me.

Glenn.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2018 Jan 15, 2018

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However, if after editing my RAW file in Bridge RAW, I save it as a max jpeg then that should be the best quality jpeg I can get. correct??

Yes, max quality (12) is the best you can get.

Unless you want to resize the image, make sure that Resize to fit is unchecked under Image sizing in the Save dialog.

Resizing (reducing size) will not affect quality as such, but there will of course be fewer pixels in the image.

I also have Nikon D800E, and use Lightroom for editing. But I looked at the Save dialog in Camera Raw, and noticed that when Resize is unchecked, it says Default (36.2 MP). I wonder if you are confusing megapixels (MP) with megabytes (MB), because the uncompressed file size of a 36.2 MP jpg will be 103.4 MB. Although it is possible to get a 4 MB max quality jpg from a 36 MP file, the original will have to be be very smooth and/or out of focus. But maybe you had Resize checked, and saved a jpg with reduced pixel dimensions?

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New Here ,
Jan 16, 2018 Jan 16, 2018

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I’m sure My resize is unchecked but not 100% sure.

I go on vacation tomorrow morning so wouldn’t have time to check it for 2 weeks. I will let you know ASAP.

Thanks.

Glenn.

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