PLEASE Optimise Your Pics!

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1408312510' post='2528980']
Wibble.
This whole thread is in a foreign language. I don't even know why I'm here.
Luckily for you I don't tend to post pics.[/quote]

Modern cameras (even those in 'phones) can take fecking ginormously huge pictures. If you post these without tweaking their bits it can block up teh interwebz for some of us.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1408310482' post='2528940']
For techno muppets like me, what's an optimiser and what is the opitmum image size/resolution etc please?
[/quote]

IMO...

For essential stuff (pictures of kittens etc.) 800px by 600px @ 72ppi &, if possible, set the file size to 250KB or less.
For instances where a higher quality/viewing size is desirable (e.g. if it's to go in a For Sale thread), then 1024 x 768 & 250KB to 500KB ought to be an elegant sufficiency.
If you need to display it on the Moon, icastle's already posted the spec.

An optimiser (like the one built into [url="http://www.irfanview.com/"]IrfanView[/url]) should make this easy enough...

Image >> Resize/Resample (or CTRL+R) brings up this:—



To set the maximum file size, you have to do a 'Save As' to get this dialogue box:—



This box only appears for JPG & GIF; other image types trigger a format-dependent box with appropriate options.

Here's a 250 KB (actually 239 KB) pic at 800 x 600:



Same image forced to 100 KB:—



It's a bit grainier, but you can still read the pot code and just about see the reflected switch code (under the brown wire top right).

Here it is again, but now squished to a mere 50 KB:—



Noticeably grainier, the pot code is starting to go & the reflection of the switch code has had it. Still acceptable though, depending on what you want the image to show.

One caveat with any of the freeware image-mulchers... beware of unwanted add-ons. The app that Skank linked to wants to install all manner of browser toolbars, & while it's possible to turn down the first lot, I gave up at the second hurdle as there seemed to be no way of declining the free PC Health Checker that it desperately wanted me to have. IrfanView isn't 'clean' either, but it's a whole lot more upfront about it & presents a nice clear checkbox for you to untick.

P.

[discreet]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1408335756' post='2529053']
Noticeably grainier, the pot code is starting to go & the reflection of the switch code has had it. Still acceptable though, depending on what you want the image to show.
[/quote]

Good demonstration of file size reduction without reducing the apparent size of the pic.
If you don't want to download software or buy Photoshop or similar, this simple online doohinky might be useful:

[url="http://www.resize-photos.com/"]http://www.resize-photos.com/[/url]

Just input required width of pic, select the quality (lower quality means smaller file size), click the button... et violin!

Edited August 18, 2014 by discreet

[ead]

Thanks people, that was really helpful and in words I can understand too. All good and will check all my future images for compliance.

[charic]

Soooo tempting to load a hi res picture to this thread so discreet can't load it anymore

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1408335756' post='2529053']
The app that Skank linked to wants to install all manner of browser toolbars, & while it's possible to turn down the first lot, I gave up at the second hurdle as there seemed to be no way of declining the free PC Health Checker that it desperately wanted me to have.
[/quote]

Arrgh! Sorry for pointing you at a spamware-laden app. It would seem that things have changed since I downloaded this some while ago. At the time it came without any superfluous add-ons and that's the version I use.

Last thing I'd want to do is subject BC-ers to unnecessary trouble. I shall delete my post accordingly