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For those who post photographs...


Guest exConn

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Guest exConn

For those who post photographs with your logs would you mind sharing your equipment and formatting procedure?

 

It would be great if you could provide the following:

 

1) What brand/model camera do you use? (specify digital or film)

2) If film, how do you get your photographs into a digital format (scanner? online service? burned to CD?)

3) What software do you use to format your photograph to 100K or less for the site?

4) What are your tips for achieving balance between picture quality and picture size (<100K)?

 

My answers would be:

 

1) Kodak DC4800 / Digital

2) N/A

3) Microsoft PhotoDraw, WebGraphics Optimizer (just downloaded a trial version to try out)

4) This is what I'm mainly interested in and why I posted. I'm interested in hearing from you pros (or those who have learned how to do it well).

 

I generally shoot pictures at the 3.1mp low compression setting on my DC4800 which gives me a picture close to 1mb in size. I want to know how to best bring these down under the 100K threshold and save as much picture quality as possible.

 

I've seen some photographs on here that, while highly compressed, still look fantastic.

 

Even if you don't have an answer for #4, I would still be interested in your answers for #1-3 just out of curiosity...

 

-exConn

 

------------------

What is Project Virginia?

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Guest apersson850

So far, I've used two methods, depending upon what I had at hand.

 

1. Olympus digital camera. It can be set down to VGA (640*480), which gives pictures that are closer to the 100 K limit.

2. N/A

3. I've used PhotoShop and various other software, but something that many have, and that also works, is Imaging (under Acessories in Windows).

4. Open the pictures with Imaging, Select Page then Properties, then Compression. I set down the Quality first, then resolution if necessary. This is based on the idea that low resolution is usually more annoying in this concept than bad colors.

 

Now, the second alternative:

1. Panasonic analog video camera.

2. Captured via Pinnacle S-VHS video capture card.

3. Frame grabbed from the video stream with Studio DC 10+.

4. If necessary, do the 100 K limit modification as above. That's not necessary most of the time, with this raw material.

 

If you look here

http://home.rixtele.com/~anders/bamse.htm you can see some pictures done with the second method.

I guess you've already seen pictures done with the first method... icon_biggrin.gif

 

Anders

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Guest apersson850

So far, I've used two methods, depending upon what I had at hand.

 

1. Olympus digital camera. It can be set down to VGA (640*480), which gives pictures that are closer to the 100 K limit.

2. N/A

3. I've used PhotoShop and various other software, but something that many have, and that also works, is Imaging (under Acessories in Windows).

4. Open the pictures with Imaging, Select Page then Properties, then Compression. I set down the Quality first, then resolution if necessary. This is based on the idea that low resolution is usually more annoying in this concept than bad colors.

 

Now, the second alternative:

1. Panasonic analog video camera.

2. Captured via Pinnacle S-VHS video capture card.

3. Frame grabbed from the video stream with Studio DC 10+.

4. If necessary, do the 100 K limit modification as above. That's not necessary most of the time, with this raw material.

 

If you look here

http://home.rixtele.com/~anders/bamse.htm you can see some pictures done with the second method.

I guess you've already seen pictures done with the first method... icon_biggrin.gif

 

Anders

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Guest AlienPuppy

Hi,

 

1) Canon PowerShot S10 (digital)

2) NA

3) Photoshop 6.0

4) more lengthy discussion below...

 

I usually shoot at the max resolution, max quality on the S10. This gives me pictures that are much larger than 100K. So, to get them to 100K, I do the following:

 

- Image->Image Size... 640x480

- File->Save For Web...

Click the 4-up tab.

I've messed with the setting, but usually I have a low, medium, high JPEG settings. This bit of software shows you four copies of the image, the original and three preset compression settings, along with file size. I usually pick the one that looks the best and is under 100K. You can also slide the quality setting until the image is just at 100K, which should give you the best quality possible under that size.

 

I've also used SuperJPG from MidnightBlue software, but this doesn't give you the same amount of control Photoshop does.

 

The 4-up software used to be called ImageReady from Adobe. You may be able to pick that up cheaper than full on Photoshop.

 

/Alienpuppy

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Guest gstrong1

e, I find this the way to go.

 

------------------

Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

 

[This message has been edited by gstrong1 (edited 05 March 2002).]

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Guest broek

This is something for the comment box in your Profile. Change the homepage for Groundspeak to the profilepage on Geocaching.com and list your homepage there.

Check out mine.

 

[This message has been edited by broek (edited 05 March 2002).]

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I've shot with both digital and film (point and shoot) cameras.

 

If I use a film camera I have it processed and then scan it in at home on my scanner.

 

If I use my digital camera then I just download it to my computer.

 

Then I open the photo in Paint Shop and edit it. First I change the DPI to 72 (if it isn't already) and then crop and size it how I want.

 

Then I upload it. icon_smile.gif

 

TIP: Most monitors will not render any better than 72 DPI (75DPI on the top models). Use a photo editing program to reduce the size to 72 DPI you can post a large sized (resolution) photo and still keep its size (kb) small.

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I've shot with both digital and film (point and shoot) cameras.

 

If I use a film camera I have it processed and then scan it in at home on my scanner.

 

If I use my digital camera then I just download it to my computer.

 

Then I open the photo in Paint Shop and edit it. First I change the DPI to 72 (if it isn't already) and then crop and size it how I want.

 

Then I upload it. icon_smile.gif

 

TIP: Most monitors will not render any better than 72 DPI (75DPI on the top models). Use a photo editing program to reduce the size to 72 DPI you can post a large sized (resolution) photo and still keep its size (kb) small.

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Guest LazyLeopard

quote:
(75DPI on the top models).

 

These days, top models are 200dpi and can run at up to 3840x2400, but you probably won't find them in the shops just yet, and they do cost about $18k. Be a while before home users get that sort of kit though....

 

------------------

Purrs... LazyLeopard http://www.lazyleopard.org.uk

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Guest kbraband

When I go geocaching with my Sony digital camera, I set it to 640x480 image size, and set the resolution to "standard" instead of "fine". This gives me shots that are usually about 65k in file size - perfect for geocaching.com uploads. If I make a picture that I like a lot, I'll change the camera settings and take a larger size and higer rez version of it so I can work with it in PhotoShop. (Ken & Robin)

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Guest GeoGuru

1) Sony Cybershot 1.6 megapixel

2) N/A

3) Paint Shop Pro v7 Much cheaper than Photo Shop with the same capabilitites

4) I shoot the pictures at 1024x768 resolution in JPG format. They are about 350-400k in size. In PSP I resave them as a JPG. For some reason PSP compresses them to anywhere from 40-100k when I do this (I am not sure of the compression settings I use in PSP to acheive this). If they are still over 100K I resize using PSP's ability to repixel and not lose the quality.

 

PSP is a great program and is under $100. They have a web page were you and can download a trial version for 30 day.

 

GeoGuru

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Guest Pat in Louisiana

I use either a Sony MVC or an Olympus ultra zoom.

I have used either of our flat bed scanners in the past. (don't remember the brands)

I use Micrografx Picture Publisher to crop or reduce the pictures.

As stated before 75 dpi if fine for on screen viewing. I find that the end results are pixelated beyond my taste but what can you do? I wish they would go up to 150K limit.

 

------------------

Pat in Louisiana

30:27:13.392N

91:02:55.054W

 

I never get lost!

I simply investigate alternate destinations!

 

[This message has been edited by Pat in Louisiana (edited 05 March 2002).]

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Guest tecmage

Hi,

 

We use a Sony CyberShot DSC-P20. The camera is set for 1280x960 resoluion and standard quality. That gives us about 11 pics/ 4M memory stick. We use the MGI software that came with the camera, size the pics down to 800x600, and save them as compressed jpegs. We keep both the untouched original and the compressed jpeg.

 

GeoGuru, good choice of cameras!

 

Richard and Tracy

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Guest Bodoni

quote:
Originally posted by exConn:

1) What brand/model camera do you use? (specify digital or film)

2) If film, how do you get your photographs into a digital format (scanner? online service? burned to CD?)

3) What software do you use to format your photograph to 100K or less for the site?

4) What are your tips for achieving balance between picture quality and picture size (<100K)?


 

1) I also use a Kodak DC4800 digital

2) For the rare occasions when I use a film camera, I scan them with an HP ScanJet 5200C.

3) Believe it or not, I just use Microsoft Photo Editor. It comes with Office, but is not always installed by default. If I want to edit a picture I use JASC Paint Shop Pro 7. To view all the pictures I have in the camera I copy them to my hard drive, then use JASC Media Center Plus 3.1 to view them as a slide show.

4) I take my photos at 2.2mp, unless I think I might be taking something I'd want blown up, in which case I switch to 3.3mp. With a picture at 2.2mp, I open it in MS Photo Editor, choose Image, Resize, and reduce it to 50%. I then just save as a .jpg and compress it to 80 or 90% of original. That usually nets me a picture size of about 60K and looks fine.

 

[This message has been edited by Bodoni (edited 05 March 2002).]

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1) I'm using a Toshiba PDR-M21 2.1 MEGA pixel camera.

2) No film. I can store 113 images at 1600X1200 medium quality.

3)I use a lovely little shareware program called Paint Shop Pro. If you find version 4.12 the shareware version does not expire.

4) I find that at medium quality which I beleive is about 85% quality on the stored jpegs that if I take them from 1600X1200 down to 640X480 then they are always under the 100K and look pretty good on the web site.

 

mcb

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Guest Curtis

1) Fuji Finepix 2800 2.1megapixal (6x optical zoom)

2) NA

3) Photoshop 5.5

4) I shoot everthing at hi res. I then scale down the pic to about 6 in on wides part. I then do a unsharp mask (it is actually sharpening it). I then save it using photoshop's save for web feature and use medium jpeg compression/quality.

 

------------------

geocaching.gif

Joshua Curtis

http://curtisonline.net/

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1) Kodak DC50 (early model digital camera)

2) n/a

3) CorelDraw9 Photopaint

4) Keep final pixel size to under 500 x 400 pixals,Convert image palette to 256 colors, then convert to JPG with 60% compression. Typical results under 50KB.

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Guest GatoRx

I have a Canon Powershot A20 digital camera (bought it about 3 weeks ago.) Unless I see something really spectacular that I know I'll want to print a copy of, I just use the 640 x 480 resolution, and then use Corel Photo House 5 to cut out unnecessary portions of the picture (if its over 100k.) However, after reading the Infranview idea, I think I'll give that a try.

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Guest Gossamyrrh

1) Kodak DC200

2) SanDisk smartcard reader

3) Photoshop. I generally bring the pics down to about a 2x4 onscreen appearance at 100%..usually don't have trouble.

 

When using scanned images, I have better luck scanning at a high resoultion, cropping out any unneccesary part of the image, and then gradually manipulating the size and resolution down to the intended filesize.

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Guest Alan2

The only photo I've posted (on one of my placed caches) was taken on the fly with a company Poloroid camera I had in the trunk for months. The scene was kinda nice so I ran back to the car, grabed the ice cold camera and took the last shot in it. Fortunately the cold didn't kill the pix like others I've taken. I scanned it on my HP5100 and posted it using jpeg from the HP scanner program.

 

Very professional? icon_wink.gif

 

Alan

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Guest Alan2

The only photo I've posted (on one of my placed caches) was taken on the fly with a company Poloroid camera I had in the trunk for months. The scene was kinda nice so I ran back to the car, grabed the ice cold camera and took the last shot in it. Fortunately the cold didn't kill the pix like others I've taken. I scanned it on my HP5100 and posted it using jpeg from the HP scanner program.

 

Very professional? icon_wink.gif

 

Alan

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Guest rdwatson78

Film:

1. Canon Rebel 2000 w/24-85USM

2. Slightly old HP scanner

3. Photoshop

4. I like to leave the picture big (as long as it fits in the browser window without scrolling) and reduce the JPEG quality when I save it. If it is a picture I want to keep a hi-res copy of, I will save it in PSD (Photoshop) format.

 

Digital:

1. Kodak DC3400 - 2.0 MPixel

2. USB baby.

3. Photoshop again

4. I have a 128MB card in the cam which gives me 200+ full size hi-res pics. (1760x??) I usually cut the pics in half so they will fit in the screen and save as low quality. As with film, if I want a good copy for myself, I will save it at full size and resolution in PSD format.

 

Tips:

1. Know what you eventually want to do with the picture before you take it. Is it a GPS proof picture?? If so, make sure you get it in the picture and make the picture sharp. You'll waste a lot less time if you know what you want the picture to be.

 

2. Learn the macro mode on your camera if it has it. In geocaching, we often find ourselves taking pictures of small things close up. Using a macro mode allows a small object to be focused sharply and fill the frame.

 

3. Crop, crop, crop. Cut out the junk that is not essential. This cuts down on the size of the picture and keeps it simple. If you're taking a picture of your travel bug, you don't need or want half of your living room in the picture. The object should fill the frame except for a small buffer area at the edges.

 

4. Use a simple background with a neutral color. Again, no pics where the background is your entire living room with a TV, computer, chairs, desk, etc cluttering up the picture. No blaze orange or lime green backgrounds either. A piece of white paper or the back of a poster can be a great neutral background.

 

Sorry if this sounds preachy, but I have seens tons of pictures posted to this website and others that make me cringe. If people would follow a few simple rules, their pictures could be so much better.

 

Here is a picture of Curious George the travel bug that I took today. Taken spur of the moment with my digicam in macro mode with the bug sitting on top of a concrete parking block in a state park. Shrunk it, cropped it, posted it.

 

rdw

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Guest TTracker

top. I use PSP to crop and resize because it's a lot easier than Photoshop. When I was using 35mm (Nikon F3) I scanned the images with a Nikon LS-2000 film scanner. My wife uses a Nikon Nuvis 160i APS camera and I use the film scanner to input her negs as positives. I try to keep the res as high as possible, within limits. Find the center of interest and keep it sharp and try not to have distracting backgrounds.

 

[This message has been edited by TTracker (edited 05 March 2002).]

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Guest kablooey

1. Ricoh RDC-6000 / Digital

2. USB

3. Photoshop 3.0 (heh)

4. Usually, I take my photos at the lowest (640x480) resolution but highest quality, then resave them as JPEG. That'll usually bring them under 100k. If not, I'll crop or resize the image smaller or just choose another photo to upload.

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I use the basic Pencam. Available at Walmart for $60.00, it's about the size of a short toothbrush case and fits in the front pocket of my GPS case easily. It has no fancy features but will give me 26 hi-res pictures (640x480) or 105 low-res (320x240). Sometimes not having a flash is a problem, and a zoom feature would be nice to have but this camera is cheap, rugged, easy to operate and easy to carry. It's great for geocaching because it does the job and can be easily replaced if I lose or break it. I have enough expensive gadgets to worry about in the field. I don't want to add to the list of things that will empty my wallet if nature stakes a claim on them.

 

geosign.gif

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1. My camera is an Olympus C-700 UltraZoom 2.1mp

 

2. Digital

 

3. I usually just use MS Paint to re-size photos, although I also use Camedia Master, which came with my camera.

 

4. What I usually do is use Paint to crop the image down to show the part of the image I really want to show, and then I just use the "stretch/skew" function until the image gets under 100k. This is kind of Mickey Mouse, but it seems to work okay. I will be watching this thread to see if anything better is available.

 

bunkerdave

6327_1600.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by exConn:

 

1) What brand/model camera do you use? (specify digital or film)

2) If film, how do you get your photographs into a digital format (scanner? online service? burned to CD?)

3) What software do you use to format your photograph to 100K or less for the site?

4) What are your tips for achieving balance between picture quality and picture size (<100K)?


 

Sony Mavica. It's the lowend model that only has 640x480 resolution so most of the pictures are below 100KB already.

 

For the few that aren't below 100KB, I'll use Macromedia Fireworks (very old version) or Irfanview to reduce them.

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I too use a Kodak 4800. I shoot everything at 3.1 megapixels (you never know when you might want to do a big blowup or some serious cropping).

 

I generally use Microsoft Image Composer (comes with FrontPage) to crop and compress my images for posting.

 

For printing photos, one of the best and easiest programs I've found Kodak Picture Page. Best of all it's FREE!!! You can download it at:

 

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/digital/inkjet/premiumKits/softwarePicturePage.jhtml

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