Question to those who like to take screenshots.

[kathrynfr15]

Sorry if this doesn't belong here.

 

So I've been taking screenshots a lot ever sense I started playing Skyrim and there's always been some things I've felt stupid about asking.

What format? I use ENB's so whenever I snap the shots it saves two as enb2015_12_26_08_50_47 blah blah and another as just ScreenshotXX.png. Which one do I use?

Do I need to convert them to another format to avoid compression or some bullsh*t?

[roamwild]

JPEG compression is a tradeoff between file size and preservation of detail / original characteristics of the image. People on capped connections (like a "data plan" for a phone only allowing you 5GB) will thank you if you use this format because of its high compression - it makes the image files use less storage space.

 

Judge for yourself - save some of these PNG screenshots as JPEGs with 60 - 90% compression and see how much of a difference you can perceive. People viewing screenshots on the Nexus will never fullscreen most of what they see, though.

 

PNGs captured from a 1080 frame will be pretty darned big. (3 - 6MB depending on the image) and depending on your intent are probably 'too big'. They are still compressed, just not as much as your standard JPEG.

 

Not a lot of people care or consider file size though since broadband is so widely available these days and the display of these images are, for most people, pretty instant. For anyone on a slower DSL or rural 3G connection, viewing 3+MegaByte images can be pretty painful.

 

You would also save the Nexus some server space by compressing your uploads :o) Kind of a drop in the bucket, but there it is.

 

This is an article I found by a quick google search which I think gives a pretty good overview of different image file formats and when they are best used.

 

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/graphicformats/f/summary.htm

[JimboUK]

The Nexus has a 2MB limit on screenshots so you'll either have to resize the PNG or covert to JPG, the latter is preferable.

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

Use the screenshot created with Enb, it should record all the changes made by overlays that regular fallout screenshot might be missing. It's best to load your .png or bitmap in editing program like Gimp where you can preview file size when converting to .jpg. Some screenshot files have bigger size than others even when the resolution is identical. 80-90% jpg compression should reduce most of 1920x1080 screenshot to 1.8-2.0mb without any noticeable loss in quality. If you care about loading times and internet connection download limit of users viewing your pics on the site, you can go as low as 60% compression. As stated above nexus and many other sites allow only <2mb files to be uploaded.