posted on February 3, 2001 04:42:53 PM new
Hi all! I bought this last night ~ am VERY happy with it so far, except for one thing. I take pictures in the lowest size ~ 640x480. I do that so I can take more pictures at once, like 30. The problem is, when I upload it onto my photo editing program it is about 1.2mg so I have to obviously resize it. I get it down to about 350kb or so ~ but alot of times the photo comes out looking VERY resized. It tends to squish patterns so that gingham, for example, comes out with all these lines. And, the edges are weird looking and disproportioned almost. See the photo I enclosed. What do you think I'm doing wrong? Do I need to take it in a higher res? Let me know what you think! Thanks,rachelsmom
posted on February 3, 2001 05:10:23 PM new
rachelsmom -
It's GOT TO BE your photoediting software! What are you using?
I used the FD85 for months, taking 640x480 pictures and converted to TIFF for editing they were just under 1MB ... saved AS JPG for eBay they were 20-50K.
posted on February 3, 2001 05:24:38 PM new
Abacaxi ~ I use Paint Shop Pro. It's what I've always used, but I would love to know how to make my pictures that low of kb for eBay! I did get an editing program with the camera that I haven't used yet, so I'll mess around with it tonight. Thanks for the help ~ =)
posted on February 3, 2001 05:53:44 PM new
My sister-in-law uses IrfanView along with the Sony camera she uses. It is easy and quick to resize (resample) your photos.
posted on February 3, 2001 06:16:57 PM new
rachelsmom ~ In PSP 5,6, or 7 (possibly version 4 as well):
Open your image
Crop
resize~ Go to "image" "resize". New menu comes up.. at the bottom part, under "resize type" make sure "smart size" is in the box. Make sure "maintain aspect ratio" and "resize all layers" are checkmarked. Under "pixel size" choose something smaller than than what your current measurements are. Typically 320x240 .. or thereabouts. This won't be percise if you've cropped the image. Only choose 1 number, the other will be chosen automatically in order to maintain the aspect ratio.
Click "ok".
If you feel the image is "too small" go to "edit" and then "undo resize" and repeat the "resize" step and choose a larger number.
Once it's at the size you want. Go to "file" "save as" (this way you're saving a copy and not the original)..
Under "save as type".. choose "jpg-jfif".
Under "file name" .. name your file.
There's an "options" button right next to the file type lines......... click it.
Under "encoding" make sure "standard" is checked
Under "compression" .. the higher the number, the more compressed the file is (IOW: the smaller the KB size). Warning, the more compression you have, the "less clear/clean" picture you have. Default compression for PSP is 15.. use the slider to bring it to about 20 and this should save a jpg file (240 max width or height)to about 15kb or so.
Once you've set the compression click "ok"
Now you're back at the "save as" box. Choose the file folder you want to place your image in and save the image.
This *should* correct any aspect ratio problems as well as any images that are too large (kb size). As far as the border that you have on your image.. that looks like a croping problem? How are you cropping the image? It looks like it's trying to feather, so I'm thinking that you are using the rectangle type tool and that an antialias is set on it....... that would account for that effect.
In order to crop: On the tool menu (left hand side menu) use the 4th thing down. It's right above the "t" tpype tool with arrows on all ends. Place the tool on the edge where you want the crop.. and drag it to the opposite edge. Let go of the mouse. If you're cropping, there should be a box that is somewhere on the screen *depending on where you've put it* and it will be saying "tool options - crop"... hit the "crop image" button that's there. This should give you a nice clean crop without any of the feathering /antialias that is showing up your other picture.
Remember, if you're saving the copy to the same place that you have the originals, rename the copy to something else, otherwise it will overright it. This way, it saves you from having to retake an image if you've closed everything out and then decide you don't like something.
If that doesn't help.. please post again.
[ edited by rosiebud on Feb 3, 2001 06:17 PM ]
posted on February 3, 2001 09:56:20 PM new
Thankyou ALL for your help! I will try the suggestions made, and see what happens. Thanks for helping out a newbie to the Mavica world! =)
posted on February 4, 2001 07:18:34 AM new
rachelsmom -
I think your problem is that you are saving in PaintShop Pro's "native" format, which includes LAYERS and all kinds of crap that you do not need for eBay pictures.
OR, you could be trying to edit the JPG, which is guaranteed to produce crap because with every edit/save cycle the image loses quality.
Here's my working method:
1. COPY pictures from diskette to the editing directory. (save disk until I'm done).
2. CONVERT pictures from JPG to TIFF for editing (I use an image conversion program called XNVIEW that does nothing else)
3. Open with photoediting program, CROP as needed, save, then do the rest of the editing AS TIFF files. SAVING after each step, I use the "Gamma correction" to bring out the mid-range details, color correct if needed, then "unsharp mask" to enhance fine detail (also helps reduce final size), then (maybe) increase contrast a bit. This sounds complex, but it's under 2 minutes a picture with practice.
4. Final stage: RESCALE or RESIZE ... pick the option that lets you pick the pixel width ... to about 250-300 pixels wide. (appx 1/2 screen width on the web). Make sure 'Maintain ASPECT RATIO" is selected.
5. Save the TIFF (just in case) ... then SAVE AS JPG and COMPRESS so you get the smallest size possible without distortion. If it's compressed too much, reload the TIFF and save again with diferent compression. YOur editing software might let you see a preview of the output. Just slide the lever down until you see it distort, and then increase it a bit at a time until you like what you see.
