what gives - sharpness issues

[thegf]

can someone please explain this to me:

i open up a picture in Adobe Bridge. i hit the spacebar for a big preview (or open it in PS, for that matter), and it looks soft. rather than fretting about it, i post it to Flickr regardless. once it's posted to Flickr it looks sharper, and the colours are much better.

why does this happen? am i going mad?

 

[Dan]

I have the same issue with Bridge. Don't understand why but I suspect the spacebar / full view is interpolated or an enlargement from cache, but this is just a wild guess.