>>531552 (last bread)

>So do you think alamay.com has a better/larger version of the photo?

I'm not sure who the original owner is. I thought it was Getty, but I think the 53mb file is original quality.

To explain, somewhat:

Usually the pros will shoot a .cr2 file type (RAW) or a large JPG file type. I think, but I'm not sure, that a pro DSLR would make a file in the 25-30mb range. IOW, the original file from the camera, be it .cr2 or .JPG, would be <30mb or so. If the new cameras spit out a 53mb original, what I say below may not be necessary

An editor wouldn't work on an original file. An editor would export the original to, say a TIFF type file, and work on that. Those TIFF (or TIF) files would be around 50-55 mb after the export/conversion. It's not the original file, although the quality would be the same if we're talking about enlarging it to read a phone screen.

The problem with a TIF is that it an original .cr2 file 'could' be edited (changed in some way) and saved as a TIF. A large JPG original would be the same. You could edit the original JPG and save it as a TIF. I'm not saying that's the case, but there is that possibility. I actually think it's a remote possibility.

To make it clearer, if you shot the original as a .cr2 (RAW) file then edited that original .cr2 in an editor like PS, you couldn't save it again as a .cr2 file. You'd have to save it as another file type, so getting a .cr2 file means you know you're getting the original (or, more likely, an exact replica of the original).

To answer your question, then, the 53mb file you mention should be the original file shot in the camera exported to, say, a TIF. It could be unedited, just converted. That would make sense because they don't want to send you the original and it should contain all the information the original did. So, I'd say it would be the largest unedited version.

The smaller 2.3 mb .jpg is what an editor uses after working on the file and wants to publish it on the web. They change the color space of the of the original file to sRGB and reduce the file size to make it look better and easier to handle on a web page. That wouldn't be the best file to use for enlarging.