Does a longer exposure create a larger image file?

Asked 5/4/2012

1 views

2 answers

0

Does shutter speed affect photo file size? For example, will a long exposure create a larger file than a short exposure because the sensor collects light for longer? Also, for the same exposure time, would a daylight scene produce a larger file than a night scene? I'm asking about both RAW and JPEG.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

10

No, it doesn't work that way. The image file isn't built up as the exposure goes on, but rather is made from a full read of the sensor when the exposure is complete. So, you're not writing more data to the memory card when you expose for a longer time.

Each photosite — one "pixel" on the sensor — is a counter that goes up as it's hit by more photons. It's actually an analog device, but when read at the end of exposure, a single digital value is produced (usually 12 or 14 bits). This value is simply the total amount of light that site received. If the particular pixel is all dark, it'll be 000000000000, and if it's all light, it'll be 111111111111. There's no record of how long it took that all-full sensor to get to that state — it could be very, very bright with a wide aperture, so you could get that value in ¹⁄₁₀₀₀th of a second. Or, it could be so dark out that it takes 30 minutes to get the same result.

In the end, though, it's the same single value. And all together, there's no more or fewer values no matter how long the exposure is.

There is another factor, though. Some files will compress better than others. Patterns compress well, and of course large identical areas compress best of all. Arbitrary detail compresses poorly, and random data worst of all. Since noise is by definition random, very noisy images produce the largest files. There isn't a direct correlation to exposure length here, but longer exposures may have more noise as the sensor heats up. So, that may be a practical consideration, but it isn't because of the accumulation of data per se.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

14y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

No. Exposure time by itself does not make the file larger. The camera does not keep appending image data to the card during the exposure; it reads the sensor after the exposure ends and saves one value per pixel.

Each photosite records the total light it received, and that final value is written to the file. The file does not contain a history of how long it took to reach that value.

For RAW, file sizes are usually very similar from shot to shot because the camera stores essentially the same amount of sensor data each time.

For JPEG, file size can vary because JPEG is compressed. Scenes with more detail, color variation, and brightness variation often compress less efficiently and may produce larger files. Simpler scenes, such as a very dark night image with less variation, may produce smaller JPEGs.

So: long exposure ≠ larger file. Scene complexity matters more for JPEG; RAW is usually much more consistent.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

Your Answer