Mother-in-law's photos pixelated in Photo Mechanic. Sony a7iii.

[Breezebytheocean]

My mother in law took some practice photos of her other daughter in law with her Sony a7ii. She shot in RAW only. She went to open them in photo Mechanic and they were pixelated....like REALLY pixelated, not the normal minor pixelation that you see from zooming in. They were larger pixels.

She's never had this problem before. She has a 2015 MacBook Air. She's updated to the latest version of PM. I should also mention that her photos are just as pixelated when just double clicking on her SD card and looking at them that way. Again, she's had no issues before, but ever since taking a trip here to visit, any photos from then are this way. There's no problem in Lightroom Classic. Is there any way to fix this?!

I've looked at other forums and people recommend shooting in Raw and Jpeg. But that's a pain, and it's so weird she's just barely having this issue. Any tips at all? She really wants to use PM to look at sharpness quickly by zooming in on faces and eyes, that's why she got it in the first place.

Background: MIL and I are getting into photography. I am a hobbyist and she's planning on making it into a business. We are both familiar with Photo Mechanic and Lightroom Classic.

[Kirk Baker]

My mother in law took some practice photos of her other daughter in law with her Sony a7ii. She shot in RAW only. She went to open them in photo Mechanic and they were pixelated....like REALLY pixelated, not the normal minor pixelation that you see from zooming in. They were larger pixels.

She's never had this problem before. She has a 2015 MacBook Air. She's updated to the latest version of PM. I should also mention that her photos are just as pixelated when just double clicking on her SD card and looking at them that way. Again, she's had no issues before, but ever since taking a trip here to visit, any photos from then are this way. There's no problem in Lightroom Classic. Is there any way to fix this?!

I've looked at other forums and people recommend shooting in Raw and Jpeg. But that's a pain, and it's so weird she's just barely having this issue. Any tips at all? She really wants to use PM to look at sharpness quickly by zooming in on faces and eyes, that's why she got it in the first place.

Background: MIL and I are getting into photography. I am a hobbyist and she's planning on making it into a business. We are both familiar with Photo Mechanic and Lightroom Classic.

Photo Mechanic is using the embedded JPEG preview in the RAW file for thumbnails and previews.  There may be a setting that will increase the size/quality of the embedded previews, but most Sony Alpha cameras only include a fairly small preview.  Some of the newer models include a full size preview.  Lightroom will render the RAW file and if it uses the embedded preview, it will likely use it only temporarily.

One solution would be to convert the RAW files to DNG and have the Adobe DNG Converter create full size previews.

To comment further on the pixellation, I'd have to have one of the images exhibiting the behavior.  Use the 'Attachments and other options' link when you're composing your reply to this message and there you'll be able to upload your file.

Thanks,

-Kirk

[Breezebytheocean]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am somewhat tech savvy but I am not familiar with DNG's, let alone converting the Raws into DNG's what exactly is a DNG? Can you maybe explain how to do all of that if need be?

I've heard that the previews on many Sony cameras are small, however it's odd to me that she is just now experiencing this issue. In the past she's been able to zoom into the eyes to see if they are sharp and now it's too pixelated which is so frustrating for her. Again she bought PM in order to check sharpness on top of being able to cull her photos quickly.

I have attached the sample photos. 2 are at normal zoom and the others are zoomed in, enough to see the face/eyes...or I mean, attempt to see them. Haha. She took pics of her computer screen with her phone and sent them to me.

Thanks for your help.

[Kirk Baker]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I am somewhat tech savvy but I am not familiar with DNG's, let alone converting the Raws into DNG's what exactly is a DNG? Can you maybe explain how to do all of that if need be?

I've heard that the previews on many Sony cameras are small, however it's odd to me that she is just now experiencing this issue. In the past she's been able to zoom into the eyes to see if they are sharp and now it's too pixelated which is so frustrating for her. Again she bought PM in order to check sharpness on top of being able to cull her photos quickly.

I have attached the sample photos. 2 are at normal zoom and the others are zoomed in, enough to see the face/eyes...or I mean, attempt to see them. Haha. She took pics of her computer screen with her phone and sent them to me.

Thanks for your help.

I agree, very pixellated--I didn't doubt you.  Would you mind posting the actual RAW file?

-Kirk

[Breezebytheocean]

I apologize. I do not have the raw file at the present moment. Let me see if she is willing to send it to me.

[Breezebytheocean]

Here are the RAW files. I hope they work.

[Kirk Baker]

Here are the RAW files. I hope they work.

Thanks.  The files worked for me.  They're not pixellated on my system.  At this point I suggest contacting our support folks at:

By email: support@camerabits.com

By phone: +1 503.547.2888

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