Benefits of lower minimum resolution options

The camera software of mobile phones and the firmware of digital cameras and camcorders offers a range of photo and video resolution options a user can select from.

While precluded camera software in some mobile phones, such as more recent Samsung Galaxy devices, has a very high minimum photo resolution option of 3.7 Megapixels (2560×1440), third-party software such as Open Camera can provide access to lower resolutions.

Although higher resolutions have significant benefits, benefits held by lower image/video resolutions might outweigh those in specific situations.

Space storage

When capturing and recording less significant moments, or information where details provided by lower resolution images are sufficient for a purpose, a lower minimum resolution option may be sufficient for the letters to be clearly recognizable and helps reduce space storage usage.

An example is on-screen text where screenshots are not applicable. A lower resolution option may be sufficient for the letters to be clearly recognizable while sparing space storage consumption.

This could also be useful for photo/video junkies (such as children curiously experimenting with a camera like with a “sandbox”), who tend to capture photos and videos of many things. Another possible use is recording video footage of very long conversations.

When having low remaining storage space, a user might prefer to extend the remaining number of photos and remaining time for video recordings using lower resolutions and/or bit rates.

For example, the file size of a 640×480 (0.3 Megapixel VGA) photo might only be around 200 kilobytes (size varies depending on content and compression parameters), while a 2560×1440 (3.7 Megapixel WQHD) photo could demand 2 to 3 megabytes each, which means that 1 GB could fit around 5000 of the former, while only around 400 of the latter.

Categorization

The differences in resolution as well as photo file sizes, sorting files—the latter of which is supported by most, if not all file managers—can also act as categorization between more and less important moments.

Compatibility

Although lower resolution videos are more compatible with earlier devices with insufficient chipset performance, and may allow for faster loading times, higher resolution photos and videos can always be converted to lower resolution footage at any later point.

In some cases, some photos might just have the purpose of conveniently being shared imminently after being captured (“out of the box”), for which a low resolution might suffice for capturing the needed information.

In streaming

Lower resolution options can not only be beneficial in photo capturing and video recording, but also in video streaming, such as faster loading speeds.

Some people prefer to watch videos sped up to save time or to find a position in the video faster. With a JavaScript bookmarklet, it is even possible to play back beyond speeds offered by the website's HTML5 player user interface.

Seeking and skipping through a video is also more practical at lower resolutions which suffice to recognize a desired position in the video, and allow for quicker buffering.

Thumbnails during hovering over the video time bar vary in availability. For example, YouTube's mobile website HTML5 player does not show seek bar preview thumbnails like the desktop website or the mobile app, while Dailymotion's mobile website video player does.

In case of limited internet data plans, as well as in countries such as Iran with poor Internet speeds, clocked availability and censorship which forces users to fall back on even slower proxied and virtual private network connections, lower resolutions could allow for a more economical data plan consumption and a smooth playback, which is more convenient than a stuttering playback at a higher resolution.

Other

A lower selected resolution enables a greater leeway for lossless digital zooming.

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