iPhoto and Raw image conversion

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Level 1

45 points

iPhoto and Raw image conversion

When you import photos from your camera to iPhoto as a RAW image, iPhoto makes a copy of it as JPEG. My question is, does iPhoto use JPEG basic or JPEG fine? Is it a higher quality JPEG image or a lower quality one. And can I change the JPEG image quality for iPhoto on import?

MacBook Pro 2009 13", Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Dec 27, 2009 3:31 PM

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Answer 1

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Yer_Man

Level 10

162,260 points

Dec 27, 2009 11:22 PM in response to Sovelin

All iPhoto is doing is making a fast Preview of the Raw. You can then edit and process the Raw to your preferences and save the output as a Tiff or Jpeg, and these will replace the preview. In previous tests Old Toad - an experienced poster on here - calculated the iPhoto jpeg to be about the equivalent of 8 on Photoshops's scale of 12. No there is no way to alter these settings in iPhoto. If you're shooting Raw it might be worth considering an app like Aperture or Lightroom, which are more geared to that workflow.

Regards

TD

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Answer 2

Sovelin Author

Level 1

45 points

Dec 29, 2009 10:20 PM in response to Sovelin

I guess that answers my question. It kinda ***** that I can't use iPhoto to create higher quality JPEG's, but I guess I can live with what it gives me. Thank you.

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,260 points

Dec 29, 2009 11:11 PM in response to Sovelin

A I always tell people: iPhoto is firmly geared for the home shooter with a point and shoot camera. Average out the cost of the apps in iLife and it's a $16 app. For that you get a lot, but not everything. As I said above, apps like Aperture - though more expensive - are much more powerful, offer much more fine control for the Raw shooter and have many, many more options.

Regards

TD

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Answer 4

Sovelin Author

Level 1

45 points

Dec 30, 2009 6:28 AM in response to Yer_Man

So let's say iPhoto makes a JPEG at about a quality level of 8. Does Aperture make a higher quality JPEG? I'm really not too interested in any photo editing. I just like the way iPhoto organizes things. The most editing I will ever do is if an image is too dark or too bright, I'll adjust it. That's really it. Maybe do some prints every now and then, or share photos with friends, so I would like the highest JPEG possible.

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Answer 5

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,260 points

Dec 30, 2009 6:41 AM in response to Sovelin

With Aperture you can define your one export settings, including the size of the file and the pixel dimensions. You can download a free trial from the Apple site.

Regards

TD

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