Why are my images 5mp and under all of the sudden?!

[meganb]

I am very new to canon and somewhat to photography but I just had a shoot and now as Im editing I noticed the quality is off and then that ALL of my images are 5mp and under! =( I reset everything and they are still shooting super small. I usually have 9-14mp after editing, these people are not going to be able to print these large at all now. Very bummed =( Thank you for your help!

[TCampbell]

Can you please tell us which Rebel model you own -- that'll help.

As a generaization, you can change both the size and the quality of the images your camera takes.

If you shoot JPEG there are several choices.  You'll notice the the quality options include choices with a L, M, or S (these represent Large, Medium, and Small image sizes respectively) and ALSO... you'll notice that next to the letter is a curved corner of a circle -- the rounded edge is either nicely rounded OR jagged (like a staircase).  The nicely rounded curve means the camera will use high quality (minimum JPEG compression) and the jagged (staircased) edge means the camera will use lower quality (high JPEG compression for smaller file sizes).  

I'm going to guess that you've either reduced the JPEG quality by asking for higher compression (which results in smaller files) and/or also asked the camera to create smaller resolution images.

Your camera can also shoot in "RAW" format -- these files preserve all original data and are the largest files your camera can produce, but a side-effect of asking the camera to preserve all original data also means that some standard processing normally applied in-camera when shooting JPEG will NOT be applied when shooting RAW.  These are things such as white balance, noise-reduction, etc.  As such, most RAW images need at least some mimimal processing on your computer, but because all original data was preserved, they have the highest adjustment latitude (if you like to adjust images on your computer, it's the best file format to start with.)

[meganb]

Oh geez sorry! Im shooting with the t4i. I am shooting in the L quality and shoot JPEG 😃

I would love to shoot raw bc I LOVE editing 😃 (slightly addicted I think) but havent found an easy program to convert them yet

[ScottyP]

Easy answer on the processing program.  Lightroom 5.  Lightroom used to be like $300.00 up until like a year and a half ago.  Now you can get it for about $100 bucks.  Given what things cost in this hobby, I think it is a pretty easy decision to spend for the gold standard program rather than cobbling it together from free internet software.  Working with RAW in Lightroom is basically automatic.  You don't have to sit there and do any manual conversion, and the editing tools are great, and Lightroom is really good for organizing your 10's of thousands of photos into a logical, searchable filing system.

[meganb]

Oh that is cheap! I have elements 7 and paint shop pro 5 but for some reason I can never figure out how to convert batches into jpeg =(

Now I just need to figure out what the heck im doing to make these pics so small bc I have another session tomorrow and this is NO BUENO

[TCampbell]

If you use a program such as Lightroom (highly recommended), know that it doesn't technicaly "convert" the RAW images to JPEG.  It leaves the files in their native format.  But it can open them and allow you to apply adjustments to them.  The JPEG conversion actually happens when you _export_ images.  That way it keeps them in the highest quality format at all times to allow for best possible adjustment latitude.

[meganb]

Ya for sure. Do you guys know why in the world my camera is taking such small pics though =( Im freaking out still. I have reset everything, its on the L setting for image size/quality, I dont know what the heck its doing but it needs to stop by 10am! =(

[ScottyP]

Are you in L mode with the smooth rounded hump, or L mode with the jagged stairs-looking symbol? Look at page 87 and 88 of your manual. The jagged symbol indicates it is compressing the files.  You want the smooth one.

Can you confirm that?

If you don't have your manual you can Google for it online.  It is nice to keep a digital copy around.  I know you can also find it on this Canon website somewhere.

You said you reset everything, but did you go into the MENU and go to the yellow tabs and use the thing that says revert to default settings? (paraphrasing here)  I'd do that first for sure.

Also, what program are you downloading the files into? You could have some kind of setting going on in that program that is compressing or even discarding data when you export the photos.

If you have extra memory cards you can shoot it RAW + JPG so you get both images.  It will slow down your burst rate, but if you don't need to shoot continuous shots, it is good backup.  And it could be the thing that gets you to buy Lightroom.  You can download the program directly from the Adobe site.  🙂

[meganb]

No the smooth hump, The top one for size and quality. I did reset but as horrible as this sounds I can NOT remember where the default option is to save my life! I will open my manual again and try to find it and see if that works

[ScottyP]

Hit the MENU button.  The menu is divided into multi colored tabs.  Red, Green, Blue and Yellow.  The one you want should be in the YELLOW ones.