Image size of minimum 17 MB?

[spacecadet]

 

Where's that Alamy sticky forum posting on image and file size gone?

 

I don't think there are stickies here.

There's a theory that not explaining it helps weeding out and discouraging noobs.

 

wim

 

edit: typo

 

Good policy from now on. Just tell them to read the guidelines.

Has anyone noticed that the OP (the original OP) of this thread stopped after 4 images, presumably his QC sub? Too bad. Or not.

Edited February 16, 2016 by spacecadet

[M.Chapman]

 

Where's that Alamy sticky forum posting on image and file size gone?

 

I don't think there are stickies here.

There's a theory that not explaining it helps weeding out and discouraging noobs.

 

wim

 

edit: typo

 

 

Good thought. I'd never thought of Alamy's image submission guideline as a "entrance test question". But you're right. Alamy could have expressed their requirements in pixels to avoid confusion, but using >17MB uncompressed jpeg terminology ensures that new contributors must have at least some awareness of the basics to get started. 

[MDM]

 

 

Where's that Alamy sticky forum posting on image and file size gone?

 

I don't think there are stickies here.

There's a theory that not explaining it helps weeding out and discouraging noobs.

 

wim

 

edit: typo

 

 

Good thought. I'd never thought of Alamy's image submission guideline as a "entrance test question". But you're right. Alamy could have expressed their requirements in pixels to avoid confusion, but using >17MB uncompressed jpeg terminology ensures that new contributors must have at least some awareness of the basics to get started. 

 

 

 

I'm not sure Alamy is that devious. I think they removed the sticky when they changed the file size criterion and never rewrote it. There is always somebody willing to re-answer this most frequently asked question on the forum although there is often a detectable air of frustration and annoyance in the answers.

 

I think part of the problem is that Alamy continues to use the term "uncompressed file size" which is not a standard term in any case - the normal term is pixel dimensions or pixel size perhaps. But using megapixel size would be far simpler nowadays as it is a quantity that is easily understood and easily seen in Lightroom.

 

In relation to Diego's question, it is not clear what the problem actually is but it may be that he is accidentally downsizing in the raw conversion as was the case with another recent post. 

[hdh]

Hi I have a Canon EOS REBEL SL1

And no matter how many RAW photos I take is always no more than 3MB. 

I saw that my photos have 72 dpi. But I don't know if is enough to upload to Alamy, or even how to find the "super secret real" uncompressed size. 

 

Please some help from great experienced photographers to a starters like me, please remember you were a starter once . 

 

Thanks, 

Maybe you fiddled around in the settings and only record small pictures. 

Suggest you check the camera settings. 

[MDM]

 

Hi I have a Canon EOS REBEL SL1

And no matter how many RAW photos I take is always no more than 3MB. 

I saw that my photos have 72 dpi. But I don't know if is enough to upload to Alamy, or even how to find the "super secret real" uncompressed size. 

 

Please some help from great experienced photographers to a starters like me, please remember you were a starter once . 

 

Thanks, 

Maybe you fiddled around in the settings and only record small pictures. 

Suggest you check the camera settings. 

 

 

 

I doubt that it is possible to vary the size of raw images on an entry level camera. If he is really shooting raw and coming out with tiny files, then he must be downsizing during the conversion. Alternatively he may be shooting jpegs and mistakenly thinking they are raws.

[hdh]

 

 

Hi I have a Canon EOS REBEL SL1

And no matter how many RAW photos I take is always no more than 3MB. 

I saw that my photos have 72 dpi. But I don't know if is enough to upload to Alamy, or even how to find the "super secret real" uncompressed size. 

 

Please some help from great experienced photographers to a starters like me, please remember you were a starter once . 

 

Thanks, 

Maybe you fiddled around in the settings and only record small pictures. 

Suggest you check the camera settings. 

 

 

 

I doubt that it is possible to vary the size of raw images on an entry level camera. If he is really shooting raw and coming out with tiny files, then he must be downsizing during the conversion. Alternatively he may be shooting jpegs and mistakenly thinking they are raws.

 

Yep, you are correct. Supported sizes are:

 

L (Large) :Approx. 17.9 megapixels (5184 x 3456)

M (Medium) : Approx. 8.0 megapixels (3456 x 2304)

S1 (Small 1) : Approx. 4.5 megapixels (2592 x 1728)

S2 (Small 2) : Approx. 2.5 megapixels (1920 x 1280)

S3 (Small 3) : Approx. 350,000 pixels (720 x 480)

RAW : Approx. 17.9 megapixels (5184 x 3456)

[MDM]

Yes - thanks for verifying that hdh.

 

Another point here related to inconsistent terminology is the incorrect use of "DPI". This is used right throughout the industry and the popular literature to refer to "PPI" (pixels per inch) - even Alamy has had blogs misusing the term. The fact is here that neither is relevant - it is simply the number of pixels in the image that is important. But this is a mistake that is made by many - it's no wonder the newbies are confused, moreover if English is not their first language. 

[Matt Ashmore]

I really think it's time Alamy wrote some sort of a guide, explaining this whole file size thing in simple terms and adding it into their submission guides which new contributors (hopefully) read. It comes up time and again and I have to admit to having to scratch my head a bit when I started on Alamy myself.

[hdh]

Think Keith made the point. It is the Megapixel that count and drive the filesize: 

 

Alamy are pretty clear on the requirements for minimum file sizes, namely that the image needs to have 6 megapixels. If you are in doubt about whether the image is large enough, forget about file sizes and what the software says (which only seems to add confusion). Multiply the width of the image in pixels by the height of the image in pixels. If the number you get is equal to or more than 6,000,000 then it's big enough! In Windows Looking at file properties will tell you the dimensions in pixels, I'm sure there's something similar on a Mac.

 

It's also not too difficult to work out the minimum pixel sizes for some common photo ratios, e.g. 3000 x 2000, 2450 x 2450

[dustydingo]

How many thousands of contributors does Alamy have?

 

In the absence of asking questions in the forum, how did all those thousands manage to undestand the file size requirements I wonder . . .

 

dd

[spacecadet]

They learnt about it first, read the guidelines and interpreted them correctly, as I did.

[dustydingo]

They learnt about it first, read the guidelines and interpreted them correctly, as I did.

 

Yup!!

 

dd

[M.Chapman]

They learnt about it first, read the guidelines and interpreted them correctly, as I did.

If if that doesn't work, a quick search on this forum should do the job, there are more than enough threads on file size...

[spacecadet]

Shhh! Remember the new policy, survival of the fittest.

[Alamy]

I really think it's time Alamy wrote some sort of a guide, explaining this whole file size thing in simple terms and adding it into their submission guides which new contributors (hopefully) read. It comes up time and again and I have to admit to having to scratch my head a bit when I started on Alamy myself.

 

Here's what we say on the contributor help pages: 

 

We need your photos to meet all 4 points:

 

Good enough quality for all our customers’ needs

There are a number of technical reasons why images might not pass our QC checks. If you’re uploading for the first time, take a look at our QC Failure Reasons PDF to avoid any issues.

 

Photos from a camera that has a minimum of 6 megapixels

Cameras with less than this won’t be able to produce a good enough quality for us to sell

 

JPEGS

Shoot or illustrate in whatever format you like, but you’ll need to submit your images to us as JPEGs.

 

JPEG file size of over 17MB (when uncompressed)

This is likely to have a compressed JPEG size of 3-5MB. Opening a JPEG in an image program such as Adobe Photoshop will show you the uncompressed (open) file size.

 

Alamy

[spacecadet]

That's the guidance I followed and it hasn't changed in six years apart from the numbers. It's quite clear to me.

[MDM]

 

 

JPEG file size of over 17MB (when uncompressed)

This is likely to have a compressed JPEG size of 3-5MB. Opening a JPEG in an image program such as Adobe Photoshop will show you the uncompressed (open) file size.

 

Alamy

 

 

 

Unfortunately the guidance is not clear enough for many people - viz the frequency with which this question is asked in the forum.

 

I think the problem for many people lies in the use of the term "uncompressed file size" which is a term that is only used by Alamy as far as I can see. It might be clearer if the  Alamy guidance stated something along the lines of "You can see the uncompressed file size by opening your JPEG file in Photoshop, then clicking Image - Image Size. The uncompressed file size (called Pixel Dimensions in Photoshop) is shown in the top left corner of the Image Size dialog box. This must be at least 17MB.

Edited February 17, 2016 by MDM

[Keith Douglas]

I don't want to be picky, but I will! Specifying a 6MPixel minimum camera sensor size assumes that the image is not cropped or downsized in post-processing. 

 

Secondly, specifying a JPEG file size, uncompressed, of 17MBytes is the most confusing specification. In fact, a file of size 17MBytes is actually less than 6 million pixels! A 6 million pixel image is 17.17 Mbytes. Relating millions of pixels to MBytes of storage requires a good grasp of the way that pixels are stored and how MBytes are defined.    

 

Here's my definition, that I think would get rid of a lot of confusion:

 

All images submitted to Alamy should have a minimum of 6 million pixels  To determine whether the image is large enough multiply the width of the image in pixels by the height of the image in pixels. If the number you get is equal to or more than 6,000,000 then it meets the minimum size requirement.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Keith Douglas

[TokyoM1ke]

 

 

 

JPEG file size of over 17MB (when uncompressed)

This is likely to have a compressed JPEG size of 3-5MB. Opening a JPEG in an image program such as Adobe Photoshop will show you the uncompressed (open) file size.

 

Alamy

 

 

 

Unfortunately the guidance is not clear enough for many people - viz the frequency with which this question is asked in the forum.

 

I think the problem for many people lies in the use of the term "uncompressed file size" which is a term that is only used by Alamy as far as I can see. It might be clearer if the  Alamy guidance stated something along the lines of "You can see the uncompressed file size by opening your JPEG file in Photoshop, then clicking Image - Image Size. The uncompressed file size (called Pixel Dimensions in Photoshop) is shown in the top left corner of the Image Size dialog box. This must be at least 17MB.

 

No name for it at all in PS, just a file size on the tab in the bottom left. At least I know what it means... also that size includes additional layers if you've not saved as a JPG and reopened. [sorry - just found it, had not noticed before]

 

It would just be so much easier if Alamy specified minimum w x h in pixels (colour depth is already specified).  

 

Just out of curiosity, is there a minimum height or width? 

Edited February 17, 2016 by TokyoM1ke

[Matt Ashmore]

 

JPEG file size of over 17MB (when uncompressed)

This is likely to have a compressed JPEG size of 3-5MB. Opening a JPEG in an image program such as Adobe Photoshop will show you the uncompressed (open) file size.

 

 

Yes.. all good.. but I think this could be a little more 'wordy'. I understand what Alamy's guidlines mean but I suspect other people, particularly amateurs/enthusiasts who might have a good eye for an image but might not be so computer savvy might get a little confused as to what "uncompressed"/"compressed" means. To some people "uncompressed" might mean a JPEG that hasn't been zipped up into a zip file. Maybe a few words to explain that an image stored as a JPEG file is already compressed.

[spacecadet]

Well, the new policy is that we want them to be confused-and stay away.

[DDoug]

deleted

Edited February 17, 2016 by DDoug

[Gurcharan]

Canon 5D I hope generates 22.3 Mega pixels image, which should be large enough even after cropping. Actually any image above 3 MP (as it shows in thumnails) should be large enough by Alamy standards. I have Canon 550D a 18 MP camera. One can always see uncompressed size by opening image-> size in Photoshop. Here are statistics of some of my images

 

image compressed (as it appears in thumbnail) in mega pixels       Quality                   Uncompressed size in mega pixels

 

7.45                                                                                        12                          51.3

4.14                                                                                        10                          51.3 

4.76                                                                                        11                          42.7

6.83                                                                                        12                          42.7

[Alexandre Fagundes]

6 Mpixels would be much less confusing as a rule of thumb IMO

[M.Chapman]

Canon 5D I hope generates 22.3 Mega pixels image, which should be large enough even after cropping. Actually any image above 3 MP (as it shows in thumnails) should be large enough by Alamy standards. I have Canon 550D a 18 MP camera. One can always see uncompressed size by opening image-> size in Photoshop. Here are statistics of some of my images

 

image compressed (as it appears in thumbnail) in mega pixels       Quality                   Uncompressed size in mega pixels

 

7.45                                                                                        12                          51.3

4.14                                                                                        10                          51.3 

4.76                                                                                        11                          42.7

6.83                                                                                        12                          42.7

The ratio between compressed and uncompressed jpeg sizes also depends on the nature of the image. Lots of fine detail doesn't compress as much as flat skies etc. So your guideline cannot to be relied on. I think you've also confused MP and MB. Best rule is that you need more than about 6,000,000 pixels in your finished jpeg. For a 2:3 aspect ratio image, dimensions of 2000 x 3000 pixels or larger is fine. If you have any doubts, download the excellent Alamy SizeChecker from here.

Edited February 18, 2016 by M.Chapman