Hub2dee ....

[Millie1]

If you're around, could I please ask you the dumbest, most simple question re pixel size and printing?

Finally made a decision re camera and got a Sony DSC-H1 ... yep, stepped away from Canon! Have only had it a few weeks and printed some pics in Jessops yesterday but am sooo disappointed with them and know it's my personality clash with Photoshop Elements that is causing the problem!

If you're around, I'll ramble on about what my settings were ....

TIA

Hiya,

LOL... Well, I'm sure you'll be able to tweak camera and PE to get good results. I haven't ever installed / used PE nor Photoshop proper... have only ever used iPhoto (free with my Mac)...

But... Camera settings: Jpeg / Largest Size / Highest Image quality (ie. lowest compression) will yield best results. (Semi-pro or pro would shoot in RAW and post process, but IMHO amateurs are probably best off with JPEG. I shoot all mine in JPEG but may move to RAW with next computer etc. etc.)

Photoshop settings - heck, I know very little about resolution... BUT.... 'screen' res is typically 72dpi. Desktop Laser is 300 - 600 dpi. Printing at 150dpi looks semi-rough.

Then you've got bits per pixel / millions of colours etc.... I can only suggest highest colour depth / highest res really. My 8.2MP sensor creates JPEG images between 2 and 4MB in size depending on image dynamics etc.

Fire away with any questions, Millie1 !

Yikes H2D .... I've got both children out at the moment and am supposedly blitzing the house from top to bottom so will definitely come back with some questions (and a guilt-free conscience!) later. Thank you!!

OK, finally back but first must ask whether you got your Canon yet and how you're finding it? I'm assuming you did and that you're taking fantastic photos of your little lady.

Right ... to business. Camera is set to take pics at 5MP although I must spend a bit more time with the instruction manual to see whether there are any further settings which I should change.

Am pretty sure that Photshop is my problem ... essentially the pics are massive when I import them so to print, I've been resizing them to 6x4. I'm pretty sure that I selected the constrain proportions box (although it's not checked now but that would explain why it's 6 x 4.5 rather than 6 x 4), didn't change the resample image - bicubic box which was checked. These changes changed the width to 432 pixels x 324 pixels high and gave a resolution of 72ppi.

The quality (as printed in Jessops) was terrible - and believe me, it was nothing to do with Jessops! Prints had that waxy/digital look about them.

Today I've tried playing with different settings ...

Unchecked the resample box and reduced to 4x6. However, when I uncheck the resample box, for some reason the program puts a 'locked' symbol around the width, height and dpi fields and leaves the dpi at 72. If I manually try to change this to say, 400, it reduces the image size to 1.08x0.81". As soon as I uncheck the resample box it doesn't let me deselect the constrain props box which becomes checked.

If I do it the other way and select the resample, bicubic but not constrain proportions, enter 6x4 and 400dpi and look at it on screen at 100% size, it's awful! Same problem as before.

Having done that, I went back and unselected the resample image box and this time it didn't automatically lock the other fields together so I printed off a 6x4 ... no difference between that and above.

So, in a nutshell, I'm totally confused. This has to be the simplest problem to fix but I just can't get my head around it ... I know that the more pixesl etc mean best print and think that I need a good high resolution for printing but something ain't right so any further light you can shed would be so much appreciated!!!

Thanks

Hi ! Yeah, I got the Canon. A 20D in the end. I found the 350D just too small for my big hands, LOL and I wanted greater 'old school' manual control IYSWIM. I picked up a fast 50mm lens to play with and have shot about 5000+ frames in the last few months (mostly of dd, LOL). The multiple shot mode is absolutely fantastic. It makes editing a 'stack' of shots tedious and hard (is this frame better than that one, which has the best focus etc. etc.) but it becomes much easier to get a keeper from a burst of 4 or 5 IYSWIM.

Photos are here if you're interested !

Out of the box, I am sure your camera is on large / high quality (maybe not 'superfine' but 'fine' nonetheless). Read the manual to check, LOL !

Photobox offers 6X4.5 printing, a size I'd never heard of, but now you mention it I guess some cameras output at this pixel ratio.

I don't know / can't quite follow the exact nature of your problem, but you shouldn't really be 'resizing' to print... more 'constraining ratios' IYSWIM... You don't want to throw any pixels full of information IYSWIM, rather just tell it how big an area you want to 'stretch' your pixel data to...

A 72ppi print will look OK on screen and crap on paper.

Also the 432 X 324 you mention is a very very tiny image (print wise).

(obviously the two are linked: 72ppi X 6 inches = 432 wide IYSWIM.

I think PE is in a mode / has a setting where it thinks you are outputting for the Web, where 72ppi would be normal... I imagine you need to get in there and set it up for high-end printing where the dpi would be 300+ IYSWIM.

You CAN'T just change ppi on an existing image that you are editing that is, say, 72dpi, (ie. upping it to 300) WITHOUT having it shrink !

You would need to reimport the origianl (LARGE) file and resize / change ppi / print from that.

Let me know if that helped any or if you solved the problem by some other means.

Check what files size you are importing. They should be, at a guess, at least 1.5MB JPEGs, quite possibly more like 2 or 3MB...

off subject a bit but, when will we see more pictures of your beautiful little girl hub?

LOL, Tamba, you need to practice a bit of PATIENCE, dear !

I'll put some more up in a month or so maybe. Don't want to bore everyone toooooo much, LOL.

can i request one of her and the shoe box pls cause its lovely seeing how much she has grown

me - patient??? pull the other one

How old is she now? Whats she up too?

(can you tell im a little broody atm lol, just dont want one of my own!)

LOL, Yep, I'll do some shoebox pictures for you. It is INSANE to look at the shoebox now and to think she was small enough to fit in.

She is 22 weeks. She is still an incredibly well-behaved and easy bambino. Dig this: She slept till 8 this morning ! ANGEL ! LOL. Big sleeper.

She is keen on milk. She smiles but doesn't really do giggles regularly. If I put my hands behind her feet when she's on her tummy she will push against them and move forward in an ungainly manner. She has chubby little legs. She quite likes nibbling on my nose. She doesn't need a dummy as she delights in her thumb. When she can't reach it (thick coat in car seat etc.) she goes slightly mad, LOL. Nice and strong, she can bare weight very nicely. She's tops !

There. Now go deal with yer broodiness, LOL.

Now im even more broody!!!!

She sounds adorable!

H2D ... thank you!!

5000 shots in a matter of months? Goodness, you must have the most photographed little lady ever! I will have a look at the pics but for some reason the link isn't working? . Maybe it's just a blip and I'll try again later! I'm sure she's just beautiful.

I spent last night playing with PS and reading my Intro to Pshop e book and what you say makes perfect sense. I've gone back to scratch with half a dozen, re-sized and now have a resoluation of around 432dpi per print which is much better .. I hope. Anyway, will be in Boots tomorrow so will print them off and see what they're like. Will keep you updated.

Meantime, am off to find that setting in pshop and see if I can change it.

Thanks again ... will let you know what happens.

Woops... correct link .

432dpi sounds like it might be around right. Hope your prints are lovely. Otherwise just upload the originals to photobox.co.uk and use their service. It's good.

5000 shots involves LOTS of rejects, LOL ! And I've taken loads of our NCT groups' babies, and take shots just to improve technique, muck around with the camera etc.

Ooooh, she's just gorgeous. Makes me feel quite broody! Seriously though, fantastic photos and I can't believe how big she's got - I second Tamba's request for a repeat shoebox pic!

Okay, photos were much much better on Saturday. I now need to work out why it's bringing them in at a resolution of only 72 dpi but have had a tummy bug all weekend [ugh emotion] complements of my youngest, so Photoshop has been fairly low down on my list of priorities.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!!

LOL.

It would be worth double checking camera is set to take the biggest size pictures (pixel X pixel) at the highest resolution - just incase it's not Photoshop that's being a PITA.

Good luck. Will try and do a shoebox shot in next set !

hey hub .. worked it out .. .its right click .. doh

Stick to pigtails, and pretend tea parties, eh, twiggy one, and leave the complicated stuff to the boys, eh...

kittens and knitting I thought it was

oh I don't know .. girly brain and all that

am pleasantly sozzled .. and really really broody

I blame cam

Cam is like Magic Broody Dust and she infects all who meet her, LOL.

Now tell me to get the eff off MN and go pack.