LR2 -> Edit and merge in PS CS3 (pano) - what format to save result as?

jasonstone

Hi everyone,

I've imported a series of (roughly) 10 photos to make a panorama out of.
In LR2 I select all the photos and then use the Edit in Photoshop and merge photos (whatever it's exactly called) to get PS to make the panorama.

Which it does.

I then say to save the file - so I can edit it back in LR2 BUT

It's 2.2GB :huh:confused as PS saved it as a TIFF

I can't be doing this too much as it will :binge up my hard drive space

Any suggestions??? should I use something other than TIFF??

Thanks all
Jase

Scott_Quier

A couple of thoughts come to mind:

1. You say PS saved it as a TIF. I think you have the option of saving it in whatever format you deem appropriate.
2. Is your TIF flattened? If not, does it make sense to flatten it - will you loose anything that you really need?
3. Do all the work in PS. Open the photos, do the merge, do the editing, export/write to JPG. Done.
4. Save as a TIF, but as 8-bit. Yes, you will loose some data/information, but your file size will be more managable.
5. Will LR2 accept a PSD? Is the PSD version of the PS product smaller than the TIF version? If so, flatten the PDS and use that. I think this is probably the best option.
6. If LR2 will handle the 2.2GB file, save the file as a TIF, work it in LR as you would and save it as necessary. Then delete the temporary TIF file.

BinaryFx

I don't know what Lr can handle. I am not sure if the file size limit is the uncompressed size or if lossless or lossy compression is also a factor.

http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/10.0/

"TIFF documents have a maximum file size of 4 GB. Photoshop CS and later supports large documents saved in TIFF format. However, most other applications and older versions of Photoshop do not support documents with file sizes greater than 2 GB."

I presume that Photoshop format has the same general capabilities/limitations as TIFF in this regard.

I don't think this is an option for Lr, although it does come to mind when large stitched panoramas are created:

"The Large Document Format (PSB) supports documents up to 300,000 pixels in any dimension. If you save a document in PSB format, it can be opened only in Photoshop CS or later. Other applications and earlier versions of Photoshop cannot open documents saved in PSB format. Note: Most other applications and older versions of Photoshop cannot support documents with file sizes larger than 2 GB."

Edit: I am sure that TIFF and PSD used to have a pixel limit, not just file size. I would have to go digging to see what that is as my memory is a bit fuzzy.


Hope this helps,

Stephen Marsh

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/