Caesium to reduce file size

hark

hark

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Has anyone tried Caesium Image Compressor to reduce file size? After each theater production at the local high school, I make a 20"x30" poster to hang in their lobby. Since I know kids that age tend to like posters, I've tried to figure out ways on how to share these large @20MB files.

Last week I came across this free software which compresses the overall size and isn't supposed to adversely affect the image quality. Granted I highly doubt there is any compression software that won't slightly affect the image, but can you tell from these two photos which one is the original and which one was compressed while retaining 80% of the quality? Due to privacy laws, I won't display the poster from school; however, please take a look at this image which shows both an original and its compressed version below.

The original file size is 22.9MB while the compressed file is 5.33MB. I uploaded the full size images to flickr. What are your thoughts? Can you tell which one is the original and which one is the compressed image? No fair peeking at the EXIF data! ;)

And here is the link for the software if you want more info on it. Caesium - Image Compressor


Waterfalls 1:

12095229313_841d6da6b0_b.jpg



Waterfalls 2:

12094947115_f5b3413265_b.jpg
 
K

Krs_2007

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I'm going to stay neutral, but ask how in the world can anyone tell. They both look the same on my monitor and not sure I would know what to look for anyway.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

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At the size that they're linked here there's really know way of knowing which is which. I'd guess 2 as I'm seeing here, but that could all be due to resizing on the link. If you had links to hi-res copies it might be a more educated guess.
 
hark

hark

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BackdoorHippie said:
At the size that they're linked here there's really know way of knowing which is which. I'd guess 2 as I'm seeing here, but that could all be due to resizing on the link. If you had links to hi-res copies it might be a more educated guess.
Click to expand...

The largest they will show up are the following links. And both images are full size as much as flickr allows anyway--not sure where else I could post them that would allow their true full size.

Here's the link for Waterfalls 1: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/12095229313_841d6da6b0_b.jpg

And here's the link for Waterfalls 2: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/12094947115_f5b3413265_b.jpg
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

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They are still showing up as smaller images on my laptop. I can look at them on your Flickr stream

1: All sizes | Waterfalls 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

2: All sizes | Waterfalls 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

... and they display at maximum viewing resolution (1600px), but they are likely resized images Flickr did on upload since you have it set so no one can view the Original upload - or at least those following you can't.

Based on these I'll go with #1 as there seems to be a touch more noise.
 
hark

hark

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Between the two photos I posted initially, Waterfalls 2 is the original photo and Waterfalls 1 is the compressed photo. The only difference I can see on my monitor (which is 4 years old) is the compressed photo has a little more contrast.

When I first created the drama poster for the school, I used PowerPoint. Apparently the default to save jepgs in PowerPoint is with a resolution of 96dpi. The only way to change it is to go into the registry which I don't want to do. So I tried saving the poster as a PDF which is supposed to yield the best image quality. After opening the PDF with PSE10 and enlarging it 100%, I could tell the poster wasn't sharp at all--and this was before even doing any compression with Caesium.

So I built a collage in PSE10 from scratch. I can't use the templates in PSE10 because they aren't sized large enough (I want 20"x30"). So I started with a background layer and added 20 photos varying in size from 4"x4" up to 6"x6" along with some 4"x6". Then I added a beveled edge and drop shadow to each photo. So far I haven't added the text, but as of right now, when saving it as a jpeg, the file is 31.5MB.

I took the jpeg into Caesium just to see what it would do. WOW!!! I compressed it while retaining 80% of the quality, and the overall file size dropped to between 5-6MB. So I compressed the original file again this time at 90% of the quality and wound up with a file between 9-10MB. Both attempts yielded excellent image results!

Both of the compressed PSE10 files are WAY better looking compared with the uncompressed PowerPoint file I tried initially. I still have to add text, but I don't think there will be any problem with it. For anyone who will be creating posters and wants a small enough file to email, you should check out Caesium! :)
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

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Thanks for the feedback regarding this. Just a question have you thought about hosting it on dropbox and then you can upload hi res files and share the link, they can then download the same hi res file.
 
hark

hark

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Scott Murray said:
Thanks for the feedback regarding this. Just a question have you thought about hosting it on dropbox and then you can upload hi res files and share the link, they can then download the same hi res file.
Click to expand...

No, I haven't tried Dropbox but will check it out. Thanks! ;)
 
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