Why does UAV imagery lose quality in Arcgis 10.1?

[MonicaGumede1]

I am using arcgis 10.1 to plot and print maps with a background with UAV imagery. When I insert an image (Tiff format), it loses quality.

The program prompts me to create pyramids, once this is complete, the image loses quality. What causes this? Is there a parameter which can be used to retain the original image quality? 

[NeilAyres]

What is the format of the imagery files - tiff, fgdb...

Pyramids create subsampled data so that the image draw quicker when zoomed out.

How is the image "degraded" and what does it look like when zoomed into, say <1:2000.

If you are printing these, what is your output dpi?

[CodyBenkelman]

Monica

Sorry for the delay -

Can you post some screenshots and describe this more fully?  When you say "loses quality" do you mean the result is blurry or lower resolution?  Or is the color changing, or perhaps brightness/contrast?  And I assume you are starting your comparison with some other software - what are you FIRST viewing in, to say quality is lost in ArcGIS? 

Or do you mean if you look at ONLY the imagery in ArcGIS it looks good, but when you are using the same imagery as background in a map with other feature data THEN it loses quality?

To determine if this is related to the Pyramids (reduced resolution views created to speed up displays), can you zoom to full resolution and let us know if that still looks good, but it's only when you zoom out that it loses quality?

Thanks

Cody B