Minolta Dimage 5, dimage7 instruction manual About SUPER-FINE and RAW Image Quality

RECORDING MODE

ABOUT SUPER-FINE AND RAW IMAGE QUALITY

Because super-fine and RAW data files are so large, the continuous-advance mode (p.52) cannot be used with these image-quality settings. If the continuous advance is used with either of these settings, only one image will be captured when the shutter- release button is pressed and held. With the bracketing drive mode, the continuous advance is canceled and the shutter must be released manually for each frame of the bracket. When capturing super fine and RAW images, a delay of between thirty to forty seconds can occur as the image is saved to the CompactFlash card; the monitors will be blank and the access lamp will glow during that period.

In the RAW image-quality mode, the image size is set at full and cannot be changed. The image size will not be displayed on the monitors. The digital zoom, enlarged playback, and data imprinting cannot be used.

Unlike the other image-quality modes, RAW image data is unprocessed and requires image processing before it can be used. To view the RAW data, the DiMAGE Image Viewer Utility software is required. The utility software can reconstruct the image and apply the same image processing controls as the camera. RAW data is saved as a 12- bit file; the DiMAGE Viewer Utility software can convert this data into 48-bit TIFF files.

When the camera is set to RAW image quality, the camera’s image processing controls alter the live image displayed in the EVF and on the LCD monitor in recording mode, but have no effect on the stored image. When the image is played back on the camera, image processing is not applied and the colors of the image can look unnatural. When viewed on a computer using the DiMAGE Image Viewer software, the natural colors will be restored.

A RAW image is stored with a file header that contains white-balance information, changes made to contrast and saturation with the digital effects controller, any image processing applied in a subject-program setting, and changes to sharpness. The color mode has no effect on the final image; a raw image taken in the black and white mode can be restored to a color picture. The changes in camera sensitivity are applied to the RAW data; ISO values can be manually set to control noise (p. 62).

IMAGE-FILE SIZE AND COMPACTFLASH CARD CAPACITY

The number of images that can be stored on a CompactFlash card is determined by the size of the card and the file size of the images. The actual file size is determined by the scene; some subjects can be compressed further than others. The tables below list approximate file sizes based on average file sizes.

Approximate file sizes.

Image	Image 2560 X 1920	1600 X 1200	1280 X 960	640 X 480
	size (2048 X 1536)*
quality
RAW	9.5MB (6.1MB)	–	–	–
Super fine	14.1MB(9.1MB)	5.6MB	3.6MB	0.96MB
Fine	2.1MB (1.6MB)	1.0MB	0.66MB	0.27MB
Standard	1.1MB (0.9MB)	0.6MB	0.41MB	0.2MB
Economy	0.65MB (0.59MB)	0.38MB	0.29MB	0.15MB

Approximate number of images that can be stored on a 16MB CompactFlash card.

Image	Image 2560 X 1920		1600 X 1200		1280 X 960		640 X 480
	size (2048 X 1536)*
quality
RAW	1	(2)		–		–		–
Super fine	1	(1)	2	(2)	4	(4)	16	(16)
Fine	7	(9)	17	(15)	28	(23)	80	(57)
Standard	15	(16)	33	(26)	50	(38)	115 (81)
Economy	22	(27)	46	(41)	67	(54)	135	(104)

* The figures in parentheses apply to the DiMAGE 5 only.

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