Small Photo Camera Image Quality Settings

Find the best settings for each photography situation

Settings on a camera lens.
William Andrew / Getty Images

When it comes to adjusting the settings for your camera to achieve the best possible images, one aspect that many photographers forget about is setting the image quality and image size to the best possible levels. Most of the time, shooting at a maximum resolution is the best option. But sometimes, a small photo camera file size is the best setting for a particular shooting situation. 

Determining the best settings isn't always easy. For example, if your memory card is starting to fill up, you may want to shoot at lesser image sizes or quality to save as much storage space as possible. Or, if you know you're only going to use a particular set of photos in e-mail or on a social network, you can shoot at a lower resolution and a lower image quality, so the photos don't take as long to upload.

Use these tips to help you find the right settings for your photography needs in a particular shooting situation.

Each Megapixel Isn't Created Equal

One confusing area for photographers migrating from a point and shoot camera to a DSLR is in trying to only use megapixels to measure image quality. DSLR cameras and advanced fixed lens cameras typically use a much larger image sensor than point and shoot cameras, which allows them to create a much better image quality while using the same number of megapixels. So setting a DSLR camera to shoot a 10-megapixel image should create a much better result than setting the point and shoot camera to shoot a 10-megapixel image.

Use the Info Button to Your Advantage

To see the current image quality settings with your camera, press the Info button on your camera, and you should see the current settings on the LCD. Because Info buttons are typically limited to DSLR cameras, if your camera has no Info button, you might need to work through the camera’s menus instead to find the image quality settings. More often with newer cameras, though, you'll find the number of megapixels at which you're currently shooting will be displayed in the corner of the LCD screen.

Consider RAW Image Quality Files

Most DSLR cameras can shoot in either RAW or JPEG file types. For those who like to do editing of their photos themselves, RAW file format is preferred because no compression occurs. However, it's important to remember that the RAW files are going to occupy quite a bit more storage space than JPEG files. Also, some types of software cannot display RAW files as readily as JPEG files.

Or Use Both RAW and JPEG Together

With many DSLR cameras, you can save photos in both JPEG and RAW file formats at the same time, which can be handy for making sure you end up with the best possible image. Again, however, this will cause you to need a lot of extra storage space for a single photo than shooting in JPEG only, so make sure you have plenty of storage space. For beginning photographers, shooting in RAW is probably not necessary, as only photographers who plan to use image editing software on their photos need to bother with shooting RAW.

JPEG Compression Ratios Matter

With the JPEG file types, you sometimes have a choice between two or three JPEG options. JPEG Fine indicates a 4:1 compression ratio; JPEG Normal uses an 8:1 compression ratio; and JPEG Basic uses a 16:1 compression ratio. A lower compression ratio means a larger file size and better quality.

Understand the Difference Between Quality and Size

Keep in mind that image size is different from image quality in the camera’s settings. Image size refers to the actual number of pixels the camera saves with each photo, while image quality refers to just how precise or what size those pixels are. Image quality often can be "normal," "fine," or "superfine," and these settings refer to the preciseness of the pixels. More precise pixels will result in a better overall image, but they'll also require more storage space on a memory card, resulting in larger file sizes.

Picking Large, Medium, or Small

Some beginner-level cameras don't show you the exact number of megapixels in the resolution of each photo, instead calling the photos "large," "medium," and "small," which can be frustrating. Selecting large as the image size might result in a photo with 12 to 14 megapixels, while selecting small as the image size might result in 3-5 megapixels. Some beginner-level cameras only list the number of megapixels as part of the image size menu.

You Can Control Video File Sizes Too

It's also worth remembering that when shooting video, many of these same guidelines apply in terms of video resolution and video quality. You can adjust these settings through the camera's menus, allowing you to shoot at just the right video quality to meet your needs.