How can I reduce large photo files?

Godsentme

I need to reduce about 300 large files (total; almost 2 GB) to fit on a 700 mb disc. I have PS3. Can I reduce them all together? And will they still have enough pixels to print 6x4s or even 10x8s?

Thanks in advance for any advice.:o

hbr

Godsentme wrote: »

I need to reduce about 300 large files (total; almost 2 GB) to fit on a 700 mb disc. I have PS3. Can I reduce them all together? And will they still have enough pixels to print 6x4s or even 10x8s?

Thanks in advance for any advice.:o

What is the resolution of your original images?

If they are bigger than 8-10MP, you can reduce file size by rescaling
them to a smaller size. 6x4 at 300ppi is just over 2MP. This is about
the same resolution as a full HD TV picture. 10x8 is just over 7MP
at 300ppi. Using JPEG compression will also reduce file size.

You are aiming for an average file size of 700/300 = 2.3MB. That
should be big enough to give decent print quality.

I'm not familiar with PS3. Does it do batch processing?

The "mogrify" tool from ImageMagick can do batch rescaling and
JPEG compression.
http://www.imagemagick.org

I have to ask the obvious question. Can you not just put them on
a DVD instead of a CD?

Godsentme

Thanks hbr. That imagemagik looks like a useful site. i never came across that one before. I'll have to wait till I go home to try it.;)

5uspect

Irfanview will also batch process.
http://www.irfanview.com/

Use a combination of down scaling and compression to get the best results.
What has the PS3 got to do with this? Are you running Linux on it? If so stick to ImageMagick from the command line.

mogrify -resize [S]% -quality [C] *.jpg

This will resize every photo in your folder by percent at [C] compression where C is from 1 to 100. 75 should be fine.

Obviously cp -r your folder to a new one as this replaces the originals.