I wanna post pics on this board

JoeF · 07-28-2003, 03:55 PM

I want to be able to post pics on this board but I have to go out and get a digital camera first. I do not think this is OT because I am buying this camera to take pictures of mostly Porsches.
I need recomendations on what camera to buy or what features to look for. The camera should be able to zoom a llittle so I can get closer to cars on a track or at Auto-X. I am looking for a decent camera but I really dont need the bestest, I just need a reasonably good one. Any one have an opinion or recomendation?
JoeF

350HP930 · 07-28-2003, 04:00 PM

What ever you do make sure you don't get anything with less than 3 megapixels of resolution.

I own a Sony Mavica myself.

911pcars · 07-28-2003, 04:35 PM

Nikon's 950 digital camera was "state-of-the-art" just a few years ago (about $1000). It "only"had 2 Mp, but the pics were very good. For the web, this resolution is more than enough. However, with more resolution, you can crop tighter during image manipulation without as much loss.

For shooting for the web, digital camera requirements are not as stringent.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

I use a "state of the art '98" Nikon 950 for all of my shots and then drastically shrink them for the web. I have also used several other brands. The quality of the optics and DSP are important. I have found that Nikon and Canon give consistantly excellant quality, I am sure that there are other good ones as well, but those are the ones I have been happiest w/. If you go 3 or more mp you will need to shrink that much more but its nice to have the better quality in many situations.

Another issue is size, the smaller cameras that can fit unobtrusively in your pocket will more likely be there when you want them and they can take as good a shot as the bulkier models.

96conv · 07-28-2003, 05:34 PM

Speaking of posting pics, how does one shrink a pic's file size to 100Kb? I've been trying post my new car's pics but can't figure out how to shrink 'em. I can decrease the actual picture size but that doesn't seem to affect the file size much.

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

I like JASC Paint Shop Pro, others like MS Picture It and Irfan's free ware

I edited because I had also tried Adobe Photo Shop and didn't like it, too complicated. I sometimes get confused by the 2 names, 'Old Timers' appears to be setting in, or maybe just the wine)

350HP930 · 07-28-2003, 05:53 PM

When you save an image as a jpeg using most imaging software it should give you the option of specifying how much compression you wish to use.

Pick somewhere between 20% and 25% and make sure your largest image axis is 800 pixels or less and that should easily get the bit size down to less than 100K.

911pcars · 07-28-2003, 06:18 PM

Not sure how most digital cameras configure stored files, but if it's going on the web, change the pixel resolution to 72 dpi and, like 350hp930 suggests, size the image to 800 pixels wide or less (I think 500-600 pixels is sufficient). The smaller the width/height, the smaller the file. Jpeg quality can be set to "medium" (or equivalent) without too much image loss.

Sherwood

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

When I take pics at medium res(most of the time) they are 200-300k, I archive at this res. but for web work shrink to 40-60% of the original size, this generally yields a 30-100k image

This original was 172k w/ 50% shrink w/ Paint Shop results in this 43k

Waynes software appears to add 1k or so.

PSP is a 1 button reducer, couldn't be easier.

dfink · 07-28-2003, 08:40 PM

Make sure that what ever you get had USB connection. Serial is way to slow to upload to computer. Any good modern camera will be USB. I have a Kodak DC290 again really good 2 years ago but also takes really good pics. There is a kodak on the market with 3 Mpixels and real handy base. You just set the camera in the base and press the transfer button. Appears to work really well. Also make sure your computer is at least windows 98 SE or better. USB connections on earlier versions do not work well. Basically from installing various cameras for customers any camera from one of the well know manufacturers of standard cameras will do a good job. The difference is often in how hard it is to get the picture from the camera to the computer using the supplied software. And yes Paint Shop Pro is a very good editor. I think you can still download a trial version but unlike the original trial this one actually quits working.

derek murray · derek murray's Garage

i use a canon g1... great camera... here is a good website with good reviews

http://www.dpreview.com