Stupid newbie questions

micromontenegro

micromontenegro

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Ok, so I am a digital doofus. I know nothing at all about all this newfangled, non film things, so please bear with me.

Tired of living in the XX century, I bought an M8, to test the waters. And I am finding something very odd: when I chose "jpg fine" and "10MP" fron the menu, I exepcted to find a 10 mega jpg file. Instead, I am getting jpg files closer to 1K. Going down on resolution gets me files as small as 100K. I am used to getting 20-30 M from my film scans, so... that can't be normal, can it?

Also, choosing "DNG+JPG fine", I assumed I would get a DNG file and a JPG file. But nooo, I am getting two DNG files. Pray say, what am I doing wrong?

I know from what I have read that I should be using the RAW files anyway, but my PC does not have a CD drive, so I haven't installed the sofware yet. So I'd like to stay with jpg's for a while... but 1K files amount to almost nothing.
 
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What software are you using to import the files? It sounds like all of your problems ought to be easily fixed in that program.
 
I've never encountered this problem before. What is your version of Windows, and how are you importing your images (via USB cable or directly by mounting the SD card)?

Edit: Wait...Elements 2.0, vintage 2002? It could be that you're running a much older version of Windows, which doesn't recognize the modern file structure of your M8's SD card.
 
Never used a leica digital camera, but MP is megapixels and that does not have an equal relationship to megabytes which is the size of the file. A 10 megapixel jpeg will not be 10 megabytes. Not sure if that is what you were asking about though....
 
Chyn, I am using an USB cable and Windows XP.

David, you make a very good point. I was wrong to expect 10 megabytes. But even so, my files are 60x smaller than my wife's point and shoot ones.
 
I think a 10megapixel jpeg should be 1.5 - 2.5 megabytes depending upon the quality. Not totally sure about that but I think that is a good approximation / guess.
 
When I first got my M9 I did not have the right software either. I transferred files via a USB cable also and got strange results. I got small tiff files. Then I tried transferring files from the card and all was well.

Good luck
 
Thanks, Ric. I'll try on my wife's laptop- my card reader died- and I'll report back.

David, I am checking my wife's Canon G1o files, and they run 6-6.5 megabytes. Mine are between 1 and 1.9 kilobytes!
 
I just checked some old M8 Jpgs and they are around 4 Megs or so, depending upon how well the content compresses. I am pretty sure that is for the Fine setting. Unless you are shooting a white wall or empty blue sky I think you are going to get files a lot larger than 2.5 megs and of course 1.k sounds way off....
 
Folks, now I am using a card reader and I am getting far bigger files- around 2 Mega. Still small, but now within reason. I am flabbergasted, but very thankful! I shall now commision my wife's notebook until I get a reader of my own.

Still, it should work with the USB connection!
 
Also, now I am getting JPG previews for RAW files, whereas I was getting two TIFF files in my PC (and no jpg preview). Again, go figure. Might need a new computer.
 
you just need the software. I like Lightroom. Simple to use.

I use dng and jpeg. My jpeg files range from 2-5 megs and the dng files are 35megs.
 
micromontenegro said:
Also, now I am getting JPG previews for RAW files, whereas I was getting two TIFF files in my PC (and no jpg preview). Again, go figure. Might need a new computer.
Click to expand...

And they try to tell you digital will save you money! Get Lightroom while you are at it, a much more pleasant experience to Elements.
Best of luck with the new camera!
 
STOP using software programs to import files.

Just copy them into a folder on your computer with a card reader.

Toss out all your crummy software that came with cameras, etc.
 
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