Dino Saga 071230 _ Photo Editing for 2008

Dino Saga 071230 _ Photo Editing for 2008

Way back in 2005 I talked about editing pictures and getting sharp looking images onto FChat. Talked a little about tinted windows and film copying during 2006. Thought this would be a good time to talk about cameras and editing as we go into the New Year.

I now have a Fuji S6000 and after 6 months of hard use I am delighted with it. So far I have not been stumped by any camera limitations. Basic specs are 7 MPixel, 2800 x 2100 pixel format, .jpg file size of 1.4 MByte. Lens is fixed to body, Zoom, 28 to 300 mm equivalent focal length. F 2.8 to 4.9. Fast! Macro and Super Macro. Zoom is COMPLETELY manual with a Ring and Focal Length markings. No slow buttons with no indication of focal length. Focus is Auto Continuous, Auto with Shutter, or Manual with a momentary Auto pushbutton override. Manual lets you set focus for action shots that will occur at a known distance. Shutter lag is then nil and focus is perfect for everything that happens at that distance. Camera is larger and heavier than my previous S5000 but not by much. Camera is smaller, lighter, more flexible than digital SLRs. Good electronic viewfinder plus 2.5” LCD. I use N/Mh AA cells charged every month. Never have run them down at 150-300 shots per month. Many with flash.

I boil those shots down to 30-50 during editing. Computer runs Windows XP. I still use PhotoStudio after checking others including new ArcSoft and Adobe products. Have used PhotoStudio 5.0 since 2002. Recently bought 5.5. Some functions have been improved but am disgusted by the effort to cater to first time users. Large instruction signs pop up every time you select a new function or tool. You have to turn them off or move them at every change. There is no way to get them to go away and stay away during an editing session. Complained to ArcSoft that they had destroyed the editing flow for an experienced user. I keep 5.0 and 5.5 ready to go and use one or the other depending. Bought PhotoStudio Expressions, $30 at most retailers. Slow, awkward waste of time as a full fledged editor. Fine to add decorative frames, make cards, calendars, etc. Perfect for Grandma. Useless for really good car pics. Adobe PhotoShop Elements is OK but slow.

Here is the minimum you will need if you are serious:

Speed-To load, process, respond. Got to know where you are and be able to get back.

Lots of info-Size of shot, position of cursor, size of marquee. In pixels.

Precision Rotation-not 90 deg. increments. One deg., or less. Camera is never level.

Perspective Correction-Fix lots of wide angle shots with architectural backgrounds.

Cropping to an Aspect Ratio-4x3 is it. Make a chart, 800 to 3400, 100 pixel steps.

Ability to Clone-There is always a pot hole you have to remove, a ding to repair.

Exposure Gamma-Usually need to bring up the mid tones.

Brightness and Contrast-Restore “oomph” after tone change.

Saturation-Restore color after tone change.

Color. Got to fix shots. You will take a daylight shot with the camera set to tungsten.

Precision Resize, Sharpen-Last thing before posting. Makes everything else work.

PhotoShop, $600 and PhotoStudio, $79 fit. $79 one is smaller, faster for these basics.

John
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Yeah, You started me thinking and things ran away with themselves. I have another Saga all written for next week about Perspective, etc. I don't do much slide copying or negative processing so can't add much to my Sagas concerning the Binocular Objective lens. Attached are a few shots of the setup with some comments. I have thousands of slides stored away and one day I will take them to a service. In the meantime, I can get one every 6 months.

Close-up is something different. My Wife has an EBay store and shoots 100 objects a week. I built the little foam Light Box for her. Handles everything from Jewelry to Flatware to Fine China. She uses her Konica Minolta Dimage X60 and is happy. When she is not happy with the lighting or quality, I help out. She does not edit much, just shrinks without sharpening. Stuff sells. Again, once the price gets up there, better pictures help and I help out.

I have spent God knows how much time in the Darkroom and am offended when folks don't use the techniques that used to be SOP in every B&W darkroom in the world. It is so easy now. And fun.

Enjoy the quickie pics and quicker editing.

John
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Mark,
I get a kick out of solving photo problems. Lots of photography through microscopes, close up lenses. Scientific stuff. Jewelry is the most difficult and I have a set of miniature lights and special holders, glass tables, etc. that go in the light box. White cloth over the front is necessary sometimes with the camera looking through a hole. Expertise paid well in my prior life in the semiconductor processing industry. Won many Patent lawsuits with knock-dead pictures and a very high priced law firm's attorneys. Amazing what pictures can do to a jury. Or an opposing attorney during a deposition. If you are curious, I can add to this thread. Not much Dino content other than the NGK platinum plug and the front marker bezel. Don't want to push the monitors too hard but there is no other place to post this kind of stuff. At least here I know that a few are interested.
John

P.S. Best way to copy prints is to lay them out in the sun, 10 AM or 2 PM, put camera on a tripod and shoot them head on. Color is as good as it ever will be. A 7 Mpixel camera will give you all there is on a print. Just set up stops, feed the prints, hit the shutter and do it again.
JC