On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:24:16 GMT
Marvin <physchem.DeleteThis@verizon.net> wrote:
> Paul Allen wrote:
> <snip>
> >
> > Ummm... Even 8-bit JPEG has 16 million available colors. Rather
> > than making stuff up, wouldn't it be better to ask the OP for more
> > context?
>
> Banding, as in skies, can occur when the jpg file is
> compressed. Most digicams let the user decide how much to
> compress a jpg image, usually called an image quality
> setting. I haven't heard of it, but it it is possible that
> some cameras have compression software that somehow controls
> banding. Sounds like a nice idea.
What do you know? I grabbed one of my images with lots of sky and
saved it as a 10% quality JPEG. It looks like the compressor
restricted itself to half a dozen distinct shades of blue. Pretty
awful. It's hard to imagine that any camera would let you do that
to an image. I certainly haven't seen anything like that in any
of the cameras I've owned. I generally try to avoid buying dreck,
but perhaps I've been lucky?
I think I'd call what you're talking about a compression artifact
rather than "banding". There is an actual phenomenon called "banding"
in digital cameras. That term is probably used because the effect is
similar to the banding defects that can occur in raster printers and
similar devices. The symptom is horizontal or vertical pattern noise
superimposed on the image. Clogged nozzles on an ink jet printer
will produce banding in the output.
Paul Allen
>> Stay informed about: anti-banding