Digital Help
Q&A For Digital Photography
This department will attempt to provide solutions to problems readers may have getting into and using digital cameras, scanning, and using digital photographic images with a computer and different kinds of software. All questions sent to me will be answered with the most appropriate information I can access and provide. However, not all questions and answers will appear in this department. Readers can send questions to me addressed to Shutterbug magazine, through the Shutterbug web site, directly via e-mail to: editorial@shutterbug.net or fotografx@mindspring.com or by US Mail to: PO Box 2830, Lompoc, CA 93438. Enlarging Digital
Camera Images A.
I am not entirely clear on your thinking. In part, you did not indicate
what kind of printer you have. If you are suggesting making prints on
8.5x11" paper of sections of an image and then putting them together
to make a single large print, I doubt that would work very well. Even
if you applied a very large, precise effort, it is doubtful it would
look like anything other than a patchwork. New To Photography A.
Adobe's Photoshop Elements has the most built-in and company-sponsored
support of just about any software sold. If you have not explored all
of the Help and Tutorials installed with Elements, as well as Hints
and Recipes included in Elements, you can obtain further and copious
information on how to use Photoshop and Elements from the Adobe website
at the two following URLs: http://studio.adobe.com/expertcenter/photoshop/
main.html and www.adobe.com/support/products/ photoshopel.html. Reader Tip On Scanning
And Printing Black And White A.
Thanks for your e-mail with included tips. I believe I pretty well covered
much of what you described in a Shutterbug article published in the
December 2001 issue titled, "Digital In Black And White--Ink
Jet Printing Problems And Solutions." I also covered an advanced
black and white scanning technique in a more recent article (September
2002 issue) titled, "B&W Negative Scanning--A Step By
Step, Easy Way To Quality Images." Problems With Files
On Digital Camera Storage Media A. A
CompactFlash card, like any other computer file storage device, is susceptible
to a specific file writing failure. This can be caused either by the
writing device making an error or by a portion of the storage card having
a "segment" that is bad. In either case, you should not
assume the CompactFlash card is bad or unreliable. If this error occurs
try using the camera's controls to delete the file that has the
error. That may clear the card so it will accept more files. If not,
then taking the card out, recovering the other files, and formatting
the card should restore it to proper functioning. I am assuming that
formatting will identify any defects and structure the card so further
writes are possible. Paper Size Standard
And Formats A. Yes, the "standard" paper sizes have been an issue 35mm photographers have complained about for as long as I can recall, and I've been using 35mm cameras for 50 years. In fact, some years ago one photo paper company did a trial marketing of paper in sizes which matched the 2:3 aspect ratio of 35mm. Those papers did not sell! But then, only in America do you have to have something to complain about. In Europe and Asia there are standard paper sizes that are much closer to the 2:3 aspect ratio of 35mm. And then, there has always been 5x7, which is close. Since digital and ink jet photo printers have become popular there is another set of standard paper sizes that are quite amenable to the 35mm image format ratio, including 11x17 and 13x19, the latter being the largest paper size that the 13" wide photo ink jets accommodate. I have personally chosen to make all of my 35mm scans to fill a 12x18" image size (at 300dpi), and that provides a nice 1/2" border on 13x19 paper. If you want a smaller 2:3 aspect paper size for ink jet printing you might look into what one of the larger paper suppliers has available at: www.digitalartsupplies.com. Grainy Photos From
Subjects Shot In Fog Choosing Save Options
With Pro And Prosumer Digital Cameras A.
My attitude is quite basic: never choose to do what you'll maybe
regret later. I have one of new Canon EOS Digital Rebel cameras with
the same chip size as your D60. I shoot everything in raw format at
maximum resolution using Adobe RGB color space as the parameter setting.
The file size as stored on a CompactFlash card is the same as it is
for a high resolution, high quality JPEG! And then, I always have everything
the sensor captured saved in raw format. Video Cards For The
Best Photo Performance With PC Windows Computers A.
I believe it was one of my articles to which you are referring. The
same technical considerations are applicable to the current PC market.
The video cards that are optimized for games, 3D, and animation are
not necessarily those which will provide the best 2D image reproduction
and support optimum Photoshop performance. Panorama Photographs,
Film Or Digital? A. Creating
a successful panoramic photograph is in itself a complex and involved
challenge, whether it is done with a specialized camera like the Widelux
or whether a "normal" camera is used to make a series of
exposures in a very controlled way. Which is more effective and the
best choice, I think, is influenced by the kind of subjects a photographer
chooses as scenes for panoramas. Then there is the question of whether
a photographer is going to make panoramas frequently, which would justify
specialized equipment, or just occasionally, which calls into question
the investment in special cameras. You also need the means to print
or scan the resulting film image. I'm sure those factors are things
you have considered. The Mac Vs. PC Debate
Continues A.
First of all, your assumption a Mac costs more is incorrect. To obtain
equal graphics performance and component quality (like the same video
card) the same quality of RAM chips, etc., etc., the PC will cost you
more. If you want to compare prices for equal quality and performance
of a Mac G4 or G5 you have to select one of the PC workstations made
specifically for graphics, and the price is usually higher than for
a Mac. Mac vs. PC, Part
II A.
It has been a few years since processing speed has been a significant
issue, even to someone like myself with years of full-time experience.
Even an inexpensive eMac is more than fast enough working in Photoshop
so I never have to wait for it, except maybe when processing 250MB 48-bit
files, and then it is just a few seconds pause to apply a process like
a Hue/Saturation adjustment, not even enough time to take a break. |
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