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August 29, 2005
[ CANON PS A95 goes to the Outback ]
ANDREW LANE took his CANON POWERSHOT A95 to the centre of Australia in August and came back with a gallery of photographs of places around Alice Spring and Ayers Rock. You can see the pictures here in the Gallery.
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August 27, 2005
[ Teaching Granny to suck digital eggs! ]
LAST WEEK TELSTRA BIGPOND shut down dpexpert's mail box five times, for committing offences over which we had no control. It so happened that two helpful friends decided to share their photographs with us at the same time. And the images that they sent were straight from the camera memory card, averaging about 2.7MB in size. The mailbox limit was exceeded by a big margin.
Once the offending images are downloaded from the ISP the mail box is unclogged, but in the meantime other would-be e-correspondents were having their emails bounced, and you know how aggravating that can be. Anyway, it set us thinking.
dpexpert had assumed that something as simple and essential as resizing digital pictures for transmission on the Internet would be the first thing that any new digi-photographer would learn. Apparently not so.
For the benefit of those who haven’t given the matter a lot of thought here is a step by step guide to preparing pictures for email or for posting to a web site. The advice is offered here in the full realisation that for many, if not most, readers this is akin to teaching Granny to suck eggs.
We opened one of the pictures in PaintShop Pro 9, the fully featured image editor that is a viable alternative to Photoshop at a fraction of the price. The image has a pixel size of 3072 by 2304 and a resolution of 180 dots per inch -- good for making large prints but too cumbersome for the Internet. What’s more the image has not been heavily compressed (it comes from a Canon Powershot S70 7 megapixel camera) so there is room to reduce the file size with further JPEG compression without noticeable loss of quality. JPEG compression is “lossy” but low levels of compression are hard to detect on a PC monitor.
In PaintShop Pro the rough steps to resizing an image are easy to remember. Open the image, select Image from the menu bar and then select Resize. In the Resize dialogue box select Pixels from the resize options.
So far so precise. Now the question is: “How many pixels?” dpexpert has standardised on a vertical pixel count of 640 for our Gallery, letting the horizontal take care of itself. The reasoning is that the average computer monitor is 1024 by 768 pixels. Some image area is lost to menu bars, tool bars and so on, so the available vertical space is not really 768 pixels. And choosing 640 leaves a little room for a frame around the picture and that adds zap to the image.
Just shrinking the pixel dimensions reduces the file size from 2.8MB to 134kb, which is an acceptable size for transmission over a broadband connection. For a dial-up connection an even smaller file is more internet-friendly. But before compressing the file further, let’s gild the picture.
Click on Image in the menu bar and then choose Picture Frame. The dialogue box has a selection of frame styles and the simple mattes are particularly attractive. Once the frame has been applied it only remains to compress the file information.
Click on File, Export, JPEG optimiser and in the dialogue box where it says “Set compression value to…” choose a value. 1 is least compression, 99 is greatest. For our picture, which we wanted to be less than 100kb, we chose a value of 30. The file size was reduced to 96kb. We finished up with a photograph of the right dimensions to display on a PC monitor without scrolling and it is small enough to be uploaded and downloaded quickly.
FOR PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS ...
Open the image file in Photoshop Elements, then click on Image/Resize/Image Size
Make sure that Resample Image is checked and then highlight and adjust the vertical dimension to 640 pixels.
Once the image is resized click on File/Save For Web and make sure that the file format chosen is JPEG. Adjust the Quality slider and watch the file size under the second version of the image change. As the quality goes up the file size increases, as quality goes down so does file size. The aim here is to get an acceptable compromise between image quality and file size. This involves subjective judgement. Generally speaking a Quality setting of 50 or above will give acceptable results, but higher quality settings will obviously give better results. However, don't get hung up on this. Create three or four versions of the picture at different quality settings above 50 and compare them. It is not easy to pick the difference on a PC monitor.
Photoshop Elements is seriously crippled in one department – the program doesn't have any macro recording facility, called Actions in Photoshop CS. There are a few Frames that can be applied to pictures, found in the Styles and Effects palette, but for interesting mattes it is necessary to create your own.
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August 26, 2005
[ NEW NIKON D70 photos in the Gallery ]
SYDNEY PHOTOGRAPHER SHIRLEY PLOWRIGHT has been travelling in Bangladesh, Europe and America. A collection of her superb photographs are now on display in the Gallery. Prepare to grind you teeth with envy!
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August 25, 2005
[ TRAVELLING WITH A PHONE CAMERA ]
When Melbourne photographer Laurie Davis headed off to Europe for the first time in June he took with him a Nikon D70 digital single lens reflex in his camera bag and a SonyEricsson K750i mobile phone camera in his pocket.
As Davis travelled for five weeks through Greece, Italy, Spain, France and England he pushed the phone camera to its limits, taking over 1000 photos. He says that he is well pleased with 500 of them.
As the Memory Stick filled with images he transferred them to his laptop computer and sent them back to Australia via the internet and while he was still travelling the pictures were printed here to A4 size, mounted and prepared for an exhibition when he returned three weeks ago. His folio of photographs can be seen on his web site at He also has photographs on the web site taken with a SonyEricsson K700i, which lacks the 2 megapixel sensor of the 750i.
Davis says that the little phone camera had two advantages over his more bulky digital SLR. It went everywhere in his pocket and it was less conspicuous. “People tend not to notice the phone camera and therefore it is easier to catch them in a spontaneous moment.”
Laurie Davis is, by profession, a Portfolio IT Manager for visual arts faculties at RMIT. By inclination he is a serious photographer, being in the last stage of finishing an advanced diploma of photography. After many years of amateur photography he started his formal photographic studies at the age of 50. When a representative from SonyEricsson saw some photos that he had taken with the earlier version of their phone camera he was so impressed that he offered Davis a phone and accessories for his European trip. SonyEricsson also took responsibility for the printing and mounting of the photographs for exhibition.
The K750i is a veritable Swiss army pocket knife of a mobile phone, incorporating camera, video (Davis took 150 video clips on his travels, including a clip of a busking orchestra in the Paris Metro that he says he would not otherwise have been able to capture), voice recorder, FM radio and MP3 player. He uses all the functions and says that the phone is now his go-everywhere visual and audio diary. He even uses it as a portable photocopier to snap pages from books and magazines when he needs to record them. The K750i has the facility for sending photos from one phone camera to another and for emailing image files once the multimedia service has been set up.
Davis carried the optional accessory flash unit that plugs into the multi-function socket that serves as battery charger and file transfer port and took some spectacular flash lit shots that he says he would not otherwise have been able to take. He uses a Bluetooth wireless connector to transfer the pictures from the camera memory card to his Mac laptop and he charges the phone battery every night via the USB connector. Charge time straight from the mains socket is about 3 hours from flat to fully charged and via the USB connector charge time is about 6 hours.
The one feature that he doesn’t use is the digital zoom because of the degrading effect that it has on image quality. The 2 megapixel images enlarge to A4 size, at which degree of enlargement digital artefacts start to become apparent.
Laurie Davis says that the key to getting good results from the SonyEricsson phone camera is understanding its technical parameters -- aperture (it is fixed at f2.8), focal length, also fixed, and the judicial use of exposure compensation which is controlled from the phone navigation joystick.
And apart from all that, how is the SonyEricsson K750i as a telephone? It is a solid little block of a phone, 100mm by 45mm and about 17mm thick. It has good sensitivity but is not quite as comfortable to use as a flip phone (this is a personal and subjective assessment). With so many truly useable functions in such a small volume and weight it is a remarkable piece of technology. In Laurie Davis’s opinion no traveller should go abroad without one.
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See the Davis European photographs here >>
Posted by cw at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 23, 2005
[ REVIEW — SonyEricsson K750i PHONE CAMERA ]
Price: $700 -- or a mobile phone contract deal
Rating: Impossible to rate
The lowdown: The Sony Ericsson K750i is a mobile phone with an in-built 2 megapixel camera. The LCD display, which doubles as a viewfinder, is a 176 by 220 pixel screen that has good resolution and colour.
The auto-focus lens, with one fixed aperture [f2.8] is a fixed focal length affair with 3x digital zoom. When not in use as a camera the lens is protected with a sliding cover. The camera works like a conventional digital camera -- half depressing the shutter button sets the focus and exposure. There is some shutter lag but it is not objecionable.
The K750i uses Sony’s Memory Stick Duo and the number of images contained on a Stick depends on the size and JPG compression selected. There are three picture sizes available. The camera also captures video in two image sizes.
The macro mode is very good and the K750i can take photos in black and white and sepia. And, working on the assumption that the camera will be used to take “Look at me, I am in front of the x” type photos, there is a tiny concave mirror alongside the lens for framing self-portraits.
Image files can be sent by phone or email from the camera, provided that the particular services are set up for transmission.
Like this: The image quality from this tiny phone is remarkable. Auto exposure is good and detail is excellent. The controls on the phone serve a number of purposes, exemplified by the use of the navigation joystick to control exposure compensation, reviewing pictures and scrolling in enlarged mode.
Dislike that: There is nothing to dislike simply because it is astonishing that it works at all. An optical zoom would be nice and no doubt such a thing is just around the corner.
Parting shot: This is not a camera to replace a dedicated picture taking instrument but as an image recorder that will always be on hand for celebrations and disasters it is a little ripper. The K750i also incorporates a voice recorder, MPG3 player, email client, web browser and FM radio!
[There are sample images from the Sony Ericsson K750i in the Gallery]
Posted by cw at 03:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
[ IN BRIEF — Nikon Coolpix 4200 ]
Price: $449
Rating: 4
THE NIKON COOLPIX 4200 has come to the end of its product life after just one year on sale. This little 4 megapixel camera scores top marks for design and appearance and also for its performance as a basic point and shoot camera.
At $449 the CP4200 is an attractive buy, giving a 4mp sensor, 3x Nikkor optical zoom [and a very good lens it is, too – 38~114mm film equivalent], an optical viewfinder [showing about 80 per cent of the image area] and just enough manual over-ride to cope with tricky situations.
The 4200 tends to over-expose, but exposure compensation is easily adjusted with the navigation rocker. The LCD screen is small by this year’s standards, but perfectly acceptable. The aluminium body is beautifully crafted and quite rugged. It has a slight bulge at the right hand end that gives a reassuring grip and makes the camera easier to handle than most of the point and shoot tiddlers.
The camera comes with a rechargeable battery and uses an SD memory card. There is a 12mb internal memory storage.
Why bother even noting the passing of a camera? Because the replacement, the Nikon Coolpix 4600, while no doubt offering some new features, is not as pretty as the 4200 which shares its body form with the 5900 and 7900. It is hard to resist a product that offers the very best in industrial design aesthetics for the lowest price.
There may be a few 4200s around in the shops and it may be possible to drive a hard bargain. Perhaps a 128mb SD card should be thrown in with the camera to sweeten the deal.
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PANORAMA stitched together from four images from the CP4200...
Posted by cw at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2005
[ FIRST IMPRESSIONS—SonyEricsson K750i ]
To paraphrase the great Samuel Johnson: “Sir, a telephone camera is like a dog’s walking on its hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”
With just such low expectations dpexpert approached the Sony Ericsson K750i camera phone. This little device sports a 2 megapixel camera within the body of the phone. The lens is fixed focal length f2.8 with a 3x digital zoom. The camera screen doubles as the viewfinder and image viewer and does it well enough.
There are no manual controls for aperture or shutter speed but there is an exposure compensation control using the phone’s navigation joystick.
We were inspired to take a serious look at the K750i by the photographs taken by Melbourne photographer Laurie Davis on his trip to Europe. Laurie carried two Sony Ericsson phones and he took some beautiful pictures that are now displayed on his web site.
So far we are impressed with the K750i. Images are reasonably well exposed with decent colour rendition. They are a little soft. The camera excels at close-ups of faces or objects and is at its limits with landscapes.
Sony Ericsson acknowledge that this phone will be mainly used for self-portraits by providing a tiny concave mirror alongside the lens for framing the photographer’s face. Very clever!
The K750i’s weakness is in the lens. The digital zoom is unimpressive, so an optical zoom is needed to make the camera a serious contender as a photographic tool. No doubt a 2 megapixel sensor is an interim device which will be quickly superseded.
Watch here for a full review of the Sony Ericsson K750i phone camera. Or is it camera phone? Interestingly Sony Ericsson do not commit themselves to a preferred terminology anywhere in the documentation.
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Posted by cw at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2005
[ REVIEW — SONY CYBERSHOT DSC-H1 ]
Price: $899
Rating: 5
The lowdown: The Sony Cybershot DSC-H1 is Sony’s entry into the hotly contested market segment of 5 megapixel, 12x zoom cameras. Canon, Panasonic and Konica Minolta all have cameras with similar specifications.
The Sony H1 has a zoom range from 36 to 432mm film equivalent and a maximum aperture of 2.8 at the wide end to 3.7 at the longest extension. This is a fast lens that zooms smoothly and focuses quickly. Resolution, exposure, focus and white balance are excellent. The camera has image stabilisation that Sony calls “Steady Shot” and even with the lens fully extended and with slow shutter speeds the images are free of camera-shake blur.
Comparing the Sony H1 with the Canon S2 makes for a difficult choice. The Sony costs $100 more than the Canon but the Sony looks and feels like a more expensive camera. If pride of ownership is a consideration then the Sony wins hands down.
When it comes to useability both cameras are amazingly responsive for units that sport electronic viewfinders. There is none of the dreaded shutter lag that has been expected in this type of camera hitherto. Both have superb lenses and image stabilisers that really work.
The Canon, rather surprisingly, produces over-saturated colours. Once the saturation setting in the camera is set to its lowest the problem disappears, but the Sony produces more realistic images straight from the box. The Canon has a swivelling LCD screen, which is a plus, but the Sony has a bigger screen.
Like this: The Sony H1 is a beautiful camera and all controls work flawlessly. It is so responsive that following moving subjects is a breeze. This camera is great fun to use, and it produces beautiful images.
Dislike that: A discrete Review button, rather than having to dial in Review on the mode dial, would be nice.
Parting shot: We never thought we would say it of a camera with an electronic viewfinder, but this Sony is highly recommended. The 5 out of 5 rating is meant to indicate that it perfectly fulfils its intended purpose and is value for money.
(See sample images from the Sony H1 and the Canon S2 in the Gallery)
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[ LO-RES PHOTOGRAPHY ]
HOW MANY PIXELS DOES IT TAKE to make a great photograph? Not many it seems. The obsession with megapixels has produced a sort of low-tech reaction with a revival of interest in crude, primitive pinhole cameras and a growing fascination with the possibilities inherent in the camera phone.
The pinhole camera in which the lens is no more than a small hole poked in the side of a cardboard box -- light-tight of course -- has always had a small following from artists interested in the spooky, foggy, romantic and antique images that it can produce.
Have a look at Rob Gardiner’s blog to see some charming examples of pinhole camera art taken around London.
If the idea has appeal then Czech blogger David Balihar has a full set of instructions, in pdf, for making a 35mm pinhole camera from stiff paper. Balihar has a gallery of his own pictures on his blog.
Pinhole cameras are about as low tech as cameras can get but the low resolution bug is also biting some more adventurous owners of phone cameras. Much is being made of the role of the phone camera in capturing the drama of the London Underground terror attacks, more or less as they happened, but there is also a developing interest in the phone camera as a tool for the serious photographic artist.
Robert Clark, an American professional photographer who has done work for National Geographic and Time and is no stranger to high tech cameras, set out in February to cross the US and Canada with a Sony Ericsson S710a phone camera to record what he sees. Clark’s images are being posted as he travels. The results prove that the technology of the apparatus is not as important as the artistry of the photographer.
The SonyEricsson camera is a 1.3 megapixel affair with an 8x digital zoom, a specification that is laughable even as an entry level point and shoot digicam these days. Clark pushes the limits of the capabilities of his little camera and produces beautiful images.
Australian photographer, Laurie Davis, on his first trip to Europe carried two camera phones – a SonyEricsson K700i and a K750i – and the spectacular results can be seen on Laurie's web site. The K750i, with a 2 megapixel sensor, is verging on being a serious camera.
Most camera phones are as primitive as a pinhole camera when compared with the 14 megapixel full frame digital single lens reflex that professionals use. However Samsung are already promising a 5mp sensor for phone cameras to be ready within the next few months and the French company Varioptic reckons that its true optical liquid zoom lens will be the ideal optic for tiny cameras in the future. The irony is that as the technology improves the romantic challenge of making art with primitive equipment will be gone.
There will come a day when photographers in search of a novel medium will be scouring the op-shops looking for obsolete 1 mp phone cameras and publishing their results on the Web.
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