Sony A1 Sony help guide giving wrong numbers?!

[AlphaWorld]

Someone referenced a Sony HelpGuide when asked how many X files fit on a memory card.
I thought I’d look for the same page in the A1 Help Guide, just for reference, and I found it: https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/2040/v1/en/contents/TP1000409236.html

But it’s not matching what I see after formatting a card. So I took a CFeA 160GB card, formatted it, and checked the numbers.

Uncompressed RAW: it says 1200; my A1 says 1379
Lossless compressed RAW (L): it says 1900; my A1 says 2224
Lossy compressed RAW: it says 2200; my A1 says 2561

for anyone who cares, my A1 says 3763 lossless compressed M, and 5038 lossless compressed S. the Help Guide predates those formats (Although it does say Lossless Compressed L - I hadn’t noticed that before!)

I can understand rounding down, but that’s a long way down. I also cannot imagine uncompressed file counts varying much - those files are very consistent in size.

Maybe they understate it so you can feel smug that you are getting more than they promised?

 

[Alan Clark]

I think the explanation is that raw files are not all the same size, so the numbers are merely approximations. Looking at my own raw files, most are roughly the same size, but some are only half as large from the same camera. (I don't understand why).
Sony seem to use a cautious estimate, understandably.

 

[AlphaWorld]

The uncompressed RAW files vary only a little, because the RAW part is always the same size, and the variation is just the differing sizes in the embedded JPEG.

The lossy compressed files are fairly similar in size (surprisingly) because Sony’s lossy algorithm works to reduce the low-end ”noise”.

The ones that vary the most in size are the lossless compressed images, because they keep all the tiny low-bit “noise”. So images with lots of details (foliage at a distance, for example) will be larger files, and images with less detail (expanses of clear blue sky) will be smaller files.

I am a bit surprised that Sony don’t use roughly the same estimates on the camera as they do in the documentation. After all, the number on the camera is just an estimate, too. Stil, I guessSony is less likely to be sued by our litigious friends in the US for the number on the camera, particularly as it updates its estimate of images remaining as it goes. Ever noticed that the number remaining doesn’t always go down after taking a shot?