Message-Id: <mailto:199409092008.PAA22735@library.wustl.edu> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 1994 12:33:21 -0400 From: "Theodore R. Strollo" <mailto:tstrollo@CNRI.RESTON.VA.US> Subject: Re: slide imaging technology To: Multiple recipients of list IMAGELIB <mailto:IMAGELIB@ARIZVM1.BITNET>
I've been reading a couple of comments here about 8 bit vs 24 bit color, and here is my 2 cents. While files with only 8 bit color are a factor of three smaller, the color reduction from 24 bit to 8 bit is a major quality difference. With BMP or GIF - 8 bit format, whether you dither, diffuse, or match you are attempting to map the 24 bit color space into 8 bits, and you either sacrifice color quality or image sharpness or BOTH.In the PC world, a board which displays all 24 bits of color with very speedy graphics and text is about $100 (a specific example here, there are many, is the Diamond SpeedStar series of super vga board).
I doubt you can even get a regular, 8 bit color VGA board for under $50.
I don't know the comparable numbers for MAC computers. Perhaps someone else can give us this information.
I'm very concerned about unnecessary quality reductions. I don't believe in reducing color quality to below 24 bits of color information per pixel unless it is absolutely necessary. Ted Strollo Corporation for National Research Initiatives My opinions do not necessarily reflect those of my employer