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I like to think of digital photography in three categories or stages.� First there is the capture stage, then the manipulation stage and finally the output stage.  The first stage in digital photography requires a digital camera.� The image is captured directly to digital form.� This can also be "stills" from a digital video camera as well. The second stage is where the fun begins.� Photographs can be digitally manipulated once the image is imported into the digital form via scanned prints or negatives. Drawings and other art can be digitized as well.� Once in the computer, sizing, cropping, color balance and other traditional darkroom techniques can be applied to enhance or completely modify your photo with the use of a graphics editing software.� This stage of the digital process requires the most skill, time and attention. The third stage is the final output of your image.� This usually involves the digital file printed out onto a physical medium.� It can be done on your home color inkjet printer, or taken to a service bureau and printed on quality photo paper.� Output options onto a film scanner where an original 35mm slide or negative can be made from your digital file.� Other printable medium include T-shirts, mouse pads, clothing, baseball caps and coffee mugs. � �
With prices coming down and
image resolution going up, digital cameras have become increasingly popular
over the last couple of years.�� In a nutshell, digital cameras
expose images on a CCD (Charged Capacitance Device) or a CMOS (Complementary
Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) which act as the camera's digital "film." CCD
chips are more common but some cameras are using the CMOS chip due to its
inexpensive manufacturing process and low power consumption.
Newer CMOS sensors are found in the top 11 and 14 MP cameras. Once the image is exposed onto the chips, the picture is stored onto some type of removable
storage medium such as a compact flash card (CF), memory stick, smart media
cards, secure digital SD, xD or floppy disk, and even recordable CD-RW disks. The resolution is
measured in pixels. Higher the pixel count, better the image quality, especially
for printing enlargements beyond 4x5 inches. Not to confuse you, but pixel recording resolution may differ slightly from the actual image output dimensions due to differing CCD sensor configurations and in-camera image processing methods. Lets take my favorite digital Nikon D-1x for example. It has a optical pixel resolution at 1324 x 4024, however, after the in-camera imaging processing a 1980 x 3008 pixel count is the actual printable outputted dimensions. This has to do with the way different camera sensors capture the image. For a more accurate calculation, determine the exact pixel dimensions of your final image by selecting the Image Information menu selection in your graphic program. Digital medium is equivalent to that of a 100 speed print film in terms of overall light gathering properties. Digital "noise" replaces the grain factor in these "films." Some pro models can record at higher speeds. In terms of the quality of digital vs. print, a print made from a traditional film camera with an ISO 100 speed taken with a professional quality SLR camera and lens would be equivalent to that of an image made from a 40 Mega Pixel camera! 14 Mega Pixel camera from Kodak which accepts Nikon lenses is the current top of the line in digital photography. Did I mention that it will set you back around $10,000!!! Suddenly that $100 point and shoot collecting dust in your closet looks appealing eh? However, to be fair, digital is evolving quicker than traditional film has in the past. Canon makes an 11 MP camera within reach of dedicated photographers. So, if you needed the picture yesterday and the final output is for the web, then by all means buy a digital. But if you don't mind waiting a few hours for film processing with higher quality, then stick to traditional film cameras. Some higher mega pixel cameras allow you to record low resolution video clips in the compressed JPG file format stored as an AVI file. This gives you a postage size window to play back your "movie" on the web. Fine, but don't expect to make broadcast quality full screen documentaries with it. Some video cameras can capture "stills" from the video image. Nice idea, however, the quality is worse than the cheapest consumer still digital camera. Advantages of digital cameras: -Instant preview of the picture seconds after you take it -No chance of your pictures being lost or damaged at the photo finisher -Direct interface to a computer -Less moving parts to fail Disadvantages of going with
a digital camera:
For a more accurate gage of resolution, there are two basic things to know about image resolution. Images for the web are at 72 dpi and those intended to be printed out should be scanned in at around 300 dpi. Print resolution is about 4 times greater than that of your computer monitor. That's why when you print out a photo from a web site it appears smaller on paper than it did on your computer screen. Printed medium requires a higher resolution to obtain readable text. To print out an image at 8 x 10 inches you should scan the original image in at about 360 dpi which translates into 2880 x 3600 ppi. A flatbed scanner with a scanning resolution around 600 dpi (optical resolution) or higher would be needed for best results. To create an image file outputted to a 35mm original would require a resolution of 3000 ppi. Here is a rough scaling of the maximum size of the print capable from your digital camera. Take the larger pixel value from your camera and round it to the nearest number below for an idea of how large you can print without losing image quality. Example your camera has a 1980 x 3008 pixel count. 3008 is the larger of the two dimensions and thus rounded to 3000 shown below. At this resolution, you are able to make a print about 10 inches wide. I estimate a final print to be about 6 1/2 x 10 inches. Not bad! Dimensions from the Pro level Nikon D-1x at about $5000!!! Quality digital is NOT cheap.
For a photo quality print out from a high res scan, you will also need to calibrate your monitor and printer to match the color through the use of ICC (International Color Consortium) color spaces.� This is due to the differences in how colors appear on screen, the inks used in various printers and how they react to different types of photo papers. Images on a computer monitor are "emitted" color and the printed photo, "reflected" color. Be sure to open and save an edited image file in the RGB mode. CMYK mode is reserved for the 4 color separation process used for printing magazines and newspapers.
This is not to be confused with the Image CD, Picture Disk or Picture CD which is nothing more than low res JPG files stored on a CD-R.� If you want to put them on the web or send them as E-Mail attachments, then this may be all you need.� However, Kodak Photo CD costs a bit more and the service is not available in most places. If you are comfortable in using graphic editing programs and are looking for an economical way to archive your images to a digital format, I highly recommend using Kodak's Digital Science Photo CD.� Your negatives, slides and or prints are scanned in at 5 different image resolutions in a compressed "Image Pack" form in a PCD file format. Each image is compressed to a 4 - 6 MB file with 100 images fitting onto one 650 MB Kodak Digital Science Master rewriteable CD-ROM disk. Here are the various resolutions and their corresponding printable output sizes-
The standard Photo CD disk itself usually costs around 5 to 10 bucks and up to 100 photos can fit on one disk. It usually costs around $2 to scan one image, so be selective about what you want scanned. I prefer this method over scanning them in myself. The disks, along with your originals, come back from the photo lab with an index print (extra charge) with numbered thumbnails of the images. Once opened in the computer, you're given a choice at the resolution you want your working image to be. Your image will look a bit dark and some of the borders from the slide mount or negative edge may be visible. This is normal. These are raw scans and the image needs to be cropped and equalized to get rid of the Photo C.D. haze. Brightness and contrast or Auto Levels in your graphics program should do the trick. I use the Curves function in Paint Shop Pro. Also remember that these disks are multi-session.� More times it is written to, the more working memory is used up.� For maximum memory capacity, try to have all images scanned at once, or at least limit it to no more than 10 rewirtes. For medium format images or very high res 35mm scans, Kodak offers a Pro Photo C.D. Which offers one more resolution in addition to the regular 5 found on the regular disk. 4096 x 6144 ppi 72 MB file capable of producing an 11" x 17" print at 300 dpi. 35mm images should be of highest quality and finest grain since all and any flaws will be magnified at this resolution. Pro Photo C.D. scans are about $20 a piece. 30 images at this resolution can fit on one disk. �
PhotoShop from Adobe is the industry standard for graphics professionals. (At a professional's price as well.) It is more software than most people need and is slightly overkill for web graphics. Unless you are doing pre press work and you are comfortable with CMYK color separation protocols, I'd recommend instead a very capable and easy to use PaintShop Pro by JASC Software, the only graphics program you'll ever need. PaintShop Pro can do many things Adobe's PhotoShop can, and even automates some hard to achieve effects Abobe does not have built-in. You can download a FREE trial version at download.com or at the JASC home page. Download time approximately an hour on a 56K connection. If you decide you like it, it will cost you a hundred bucks to register it. This includes full version and product support as well as discounts on future upgrades. Adobe PhotoShop retails for around $600 bucks and no full version trial program for you to test either. Don't get me wrong, I like Adobe PhotoShop, just not the price. (I also own a copy of PhotoShop 7 which has a "healing" tool which I use for photo touch ups.) Some features of PaintShop
Pro 7 worth mentioning:
WEB RELATED FEATURES
Not only does your Palm Pilot keep your life organized, it can also store and display your photos as well. And with Kodak's PalmPix Digital Camera Module, you can take digital pictures right on your Palm. It's a lot of fun sharing your latest vacation photos right from your Palm at parties. I have the Color Palm 3c. Unlike the Color Handspring Visor or the Pocket PCs, the Palm 3c displays clean whites and sharp blacks. The color depth is only capable of displaying 256 colors which make some colors a bit dithered, but you get bright, vivid colors unmatched by any handheld device out there. Using the supplied Album To Go software, you can download images directly from your computer via the HotSync cradle to your Palm. The software allows you to organize your images right on your handheld. The image viewing area on the Palm is 160x160 pixels, so be sure to crop your image at 156x156 pixels due to a two pixel border which frames the image on the Palm. Non-colored Palms can also take advantage of the digital features by way of greyscale images, without color of course. The Kodak PalmPix module snaps images at a resolution of 480x640 to 600x800. Picture resolution is fine for the web but not quite up to par for a quality print out. The image can be viewed in real-time at the time of exposure, however it is in black in white. Once the image is taken, you can view it in color. However, it may look a bit pixelated, I recommend loading it into your computer and re-save it as a JPG from your graphics program and dump it back into your Palm via Album To Go for better image quality. One other photographic use I have for my Palm Pilot is to use it in conjunction with my Nikon N90s SLR camera. The "N90s Buddy" is a very useful piece of software which allows the user to control most of the on-board camera functions as well as trip the shutter via data cable. Exposure information and auto bracketing can be performed from this software running on the Palm. This is the portable version of Nikon's Photo Secretary program. � �
Nikon D-1x. 5.2 Mega Pixels. Pro quality digital SLR at a pro's price. Also accepts standard film camera lenses. Minolta DiMAGE 7. 5.2 Mega Pixels. Only camera with a high res ferro electric LCD VIEWFINDER in place of a traditional optical one. Nikon CoolPix 995. 3.34 Mega Pixels. Excellent quality for the money. Olympus E-10. 4 Mega Pixels. Built-in 35-140 F-2.8 zoom lens. Also has a dual card memory storage capability. Sony Mavica CD 1000. 2.1 Mega Pixels. 20x optical zoom lens. 156 MB 3 inch mini CD-R disk storage medium. Olympus C-3040. 3.4 Mega Pixels. 3x zoom with an extremely fast F-1.8 lens. Canon G-1. 3.1 Mega Pixels. This cameras offers a 3x optical zoom and has one of the highest color rendering quality available in a digital. Kyocera (Yashica) Fine S3. 3.3 Mega Pixels. Smallest digital camera on the market with a ton of features.
Epson Stylus Photo2000P- One of the best consumer photo printers out on the market. This printer uses archival inks which lasts up to 200yrs. Not bad considering most photographs fade within 10 to 40. The Epson Photo 1270 is another excellent photo printer half the cost of its archival bigger brother. The HP Photosmart 1115 An excellent all-around printer. Good photo quality and excellent text and graphics printing for around $200. Quality Scanners: Polaroid SprintScan 120. Film Scanner. 4000 dpi at 48 bits with SCSI or FireWire (IEEE1394) connector. Nikon Super CoolScan 8000ED Film Scanner. Scans at 4000 dpi at a color depth of up to 48 bits. Minolta DiMAGE Scan Multi Pro.� Film Scanner. 4800 dpi 33 MP file at 4800x7200 pixels. Digital ICE3, ROC and GEM image enhancing technologies. High speed SCSI and Firewire connectivity. MicorTek Scanmaker 8700
Flatbed scanner. 2400x1200 dpi resolution. 42
bit color. |
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