In This Issue Intro Everyone Loves Koalas Digital Camera Image File Formats Simple Is Often Better   Everyone Loves Koalas         Koala FAQ Koalas range in size from 27-36 inches tall Koalas weight from 9-20lbs with Southern Koalas weighing about 30% more than Northern Koalas Southern Koala fur is brown while the Northern Koala fur is gray Koalas can live up to 17 years Koalas are nocturnal and sleep during daylight hours for up to 16 hours The estimated Koala population in Australia is thought to be around 80,000 to 100,000 Koalas consume the leaves of about 120 of the 600 varieties of Eucalyptus trees Contrary to popular belief, Koalas are not bears they are marsupials Fossils indicate that Koala-like animals have been around for 25-40 million years Koalas are not social and prefer solitude Even after a Koala dies, other Koalas will not inhabit the tree until the scent of the old Koala is completely gone Koalas don't drink water because they get all they need from Eucalyptus leaves Only in drought situations will Koalas search for and drink water Since white settlement of Australia it is estimated over 80% of Koala habitat has been destroyed Koalas have two thumbs on their front feet for better traction in trees French Island, in Victoria, has one of the densest population of disease free Koala of anywhere in Australia  [Back To Top] Visit our Sceneramic Photography website at... SceneramicPhoto.com

Dear Reader:    Visit CafePress.com/SceneramicPhoto for a large selection of mousepads, framed prints, calendars, postcards and coffee mugs. Images include landscape, seascape and cityscape of Australia, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and the USA. If you see an image you like in the Sceneramic Photography gallery that's not yet featured in our CafePress store, send an email telling us which image you like and what product you want it on and we'll be sure to add it for you. Digital Camera Image File Formats    Three File Formats To Choose From Most digital cameras give you three options for saving your images to the camera's memory card. They include: JPEG (Joint Photographics Expert Group) TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) RAW (Unprocessed Image) JPEG Most Popular Format By far JPEG is the most popular of these file types. Its compressed file format and smaller file size allows you to save many more images on the camera's memory card compared to other file formats. You can also choose the level of compression by selecting either High Quality (HQ) or Super High Quality (SHQ) from your camera's menu options. HQ is a more highly compressed file than SHQ, meaning you'll be able to save even more images, but at the sacrifice of some image quality. Is TIFF Better? TIFF is an uncompressed file format. This means the file size is much larger than that of a JPEG so you won't be able to store as many images. Given that a TIFF file is about 4 times bigger than a SHQ JPEG file, you'll only be able to save one-forth of the number of images. The unquestionable reason to use TIFF, though, is the far superior image quality. Any time you employ file compression, as with JPEG, there will always be image degradation. The higher the compression, the worse the degradation will be. Because TIFF files are not compressed, all of the processed image information is maintained in its entirety. The RAW Deal RAW files theoretically produce the best quality image, better than even TIFF. The reason is the image is not processed at all by the camera's firmware. The image is captured and passed directly from the CCD or CMOS chip to the memory card. There is absolutely no processing performed whatsoever -- hence the term RAW -- so it contains more image information than any other file format. Also, RAW files are smaller than TIFF consuming only about 3 times more space than a SHQ JPEG. The downside of RAW is that because there are no set standards, every camera manufacturer manages RAW files differently. Often you must use the PC software that came with your camera in order to open, work and save them to other file formats. Is JPEG, TIFF Or RAW Better? Most, if not all, digital cameras are sold with marginally sized memory cards. The HQ or SHQ JPEG file options appeal to a lot of people who want to squeeze as many images as possible on the original memory card. That's fine if you don't intend on blowing your images up to make large prints. If you do plan on making large prints, you'll certainly want to invest in a bigger memory card and save your images using either TIFF or RAW. The highly cropped and magnified TIFF image on the right clearly shows a far superior image when compared to that of the above JPEG. How Many Images Can You Squeeze On A Memory Card? The following chart for my 5 megapixel Olympus E20 camera shows the relative file sizes for each file format and the number of images that can be saved on a 128MB SmartMedia card. Of course, these numbers will be different for cameras having higher or lower resolution so you'll want to check your camera's manual for the supported files types and the number of images your memory card will hold. Quality Pixel Resolution (default settings) Compression (default settings) File size (reference value) 128MB SmartMedia TIFF 2560 x 1920 1:1 non-compressed 15MB 8 shots RAW 2560 x 1920 1:1 non-compressed 10MB 12 shots SHQ 2560 x 1920 1:2.7 JPEG 3.7MB 32 shots HQ 2560 x 1920 1:8 JPEG 1.6MB 80 shots Sandisk has a very good Images Per Megabyte Guide to help you decide how many images you'll be able to save for popular sizes of memory card. As a side note, I use a 1GB Compact Flash card so I can save about 80 TIFF files. Which File Format Is Right For You? If you plan on making large prints, your work is used for publishing or you just want a ultra high quality image, I'd suggest using TIFF. Even though RAW is the smaller of the two uncompressed formats, unless you have a good way of working with RAW images, they may not be practical. That said, if you do have the software to work with RAW files, you want the absolute best possible image and you want total control over the image, RAW is the way to go. If none of these scenarios apply to you and you don't mind giving up a little image quality, certainly SHQ JPEGs are a good compromise and will suite the majority of people and situations. Unless you're blowing up an image to very large proportions or you're regularly cropping images very tightly, you'll be hard-pressed to notice a difference between a SHQ JPEG and TIFF image. If you're just saving images that will only be used on the web or for making small prints then HQ JPEGs will be fine. My final word of advise is to experiment with each of the file formats and decide for yourself which is best for your particular use. There is no right or wrong file format to use. It just depends on what you want to do with the final images.  [Back To Top] Simple Is Often Better    Look For The Not So Obvious Often when we're in search for the perfect subject matter, we look for complexity to incorporate into our images. We believe if we place enough carefully arranged elements within our image in just the right places the picture will be absolute dynamite. That may or may not be the case. The Complexity of Simplicity Next time you're out with your camera, I challenge you instead to look for the simpler elements around you to photograph. Simplicity can often portray volumes more than a complex image. And, in simplicity one can often find complexity. The two are not always mutually exclusive. It may sound easy but composing for simplicity can in and of itself be a complex thing.  [Back To Top]

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