Which software for my Pictures ??

[lanason]

I have a load of digital pictures taken of my boat but the file size is around 400mb each - ranging from 250 up to over 600. Anyway I want a piece of software that I can use to edit them - cut bits out and merge together and then save with a smaller resolution so that I can both e-mail and put on the web.

Don't wanna spend mega bucks on a "profesional" program - so whats out there thats cheap and will fit the requirements????

PC is 2.2Gb with 80Mb disk and XP so no problems with the hardware........

Adrian

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>Pics of Kelisha</A> /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[lanason]

Second question ......

Has anyone got a Webcam and uses it for video chatting to distant friends if so what hardware and software do you use and what "service" ??

Adrian

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>Pics of Kelisha</A> /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[pete]

Try ~ irfanview ~ it`s a free download from tucows.com

 

[MapisM]

400 Mb each pic ???

Or rather 400 Kb?
Besides, probably your hard disk is 80 Gigs, not Megabytes.
And you probably meant that the PC is a 2.2 GHz, not 2.2 Gb.

...gosh, forgive me for that.
I have so little time to spend boating, that I'm probably not able to swim anymore.
And on the other hand, I do remember this rubbish of Mb, Gb, etc. etc...
Time to look for psychiatric help, maybe.
As wife already suggested years ago, actually...

OK, back to your question.
Do you have MS office? If so, give a look at MS Photo Editor.
It's a simple tool, but fits the bill of your requirements, and has also some other "effects" that can be applied to the images.
Most important, it's included in the Office suite, so no extra bucks if you already have that.

Alternatively, there are some basic softwares which are normally included with digital cameras.
Didn't you get any CD with your camera?

 

[BrendanS]

For simple size conversion www.photoisland.com. Free photosharing site, but has a really simple little downloadable program to resize most format into jpg.

Thumnail Plus is an excellent shareware program that builds albums but contains all the features that most beginners would need to play with files

Tacmi Pixia has a lot of features but is more complex and is better suited to intermediate users
both the above can be found by typing name into google search

For full feature advanced stuff, there are several which would suit, but photoshop always takes some beating, but takes time to learn. Expensive, but always hacks available.

Other option is to buy a magazine on digital artwork which usually has CD crammed with freebies and trial software

 

[byron]

Ifranview, is a viewer not an Editor.

What you need should have come as software with your Camera. Failing that buy a copy of the Magazine "PC ESSENTIALS" that comes with hundreds of free and shareware programs amongst which there are several editors.

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[Piers]

Photoshop.

Piers du Pré
www.playdeau.com

 

[martinwoolwich]

Yup:

Camera is a Creative PC 300 (I think)

Software is MSN messenger but the video side only works with XP

(although I believe there is some utility that you can get for WIN 98 )

This combination is simple and excellent if you have a broadband connection both ends. Don't know how acceptable using 56K modem or ISDN

I use it a lot with some close (no pun intended) friends of mine who live in Sydney. The only real problem is getting to an acceptable time for both of us.

 

[Geoffs]

Photoshop is big bucks, I use Paintshop Pro, does 90% of what Photoshop does and is about £80, instead of £400.

Old Chinese proverb 'Man who sail boat into rice field, soon get into paddy'

 

[Forbsie]

I have a feeling PC World has Paintshop Pro on special just now at around £37.99. It is frequently sold at this price so worth shopping around.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/forbsie>My Project Pics</A>

 

[jon_bailey]

Photoshop Elements. £70 from PCWorld but you can find it cheaper on line.

Takes a little while to get into but well worth the effort.

 

[boatone]

Now listen up Sandra and everyone esle that wants to resize piccies so's they are small enough for the web and emails.........
You do NOT need to spend money on this cos little ol' b1 is going to tell you where to find a great little program FOR FREE ............
You cand find it BoatsOnTheWeb and Boaters Photo Gallery

 

[davel]

Irfan view does provide some basic but very useful editing facilities as well as being a great viewer.
One of it's most useful features (for me at least) is the bulk conversion feature. This allows you to specify a bunch of files (say Adrians 250 pictures) and have them all converted to a different format/colour depth/compression etc with the press of a single button (and a fair bit of processing power).

Dave L.

 

[byron]

Thanks Tony, just downloaded it and tried it out. It is a superb program all the better 'cos its free (already, my life)

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[lanason]

Re: 400 Mb each pic ???

Well spotted that all the suffixes were wrong /forums/images/icons/wink.gif
Were in Italy are you ?? My brother has bought a house and moved to Umbria - nr Perugia.

Adrian

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>Pics of Kelisha</A> /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[lanason]

Excellent software - just downloaded it. Many thanks. Wow - It impressed byron as well......!!!!

Is there a recommended size (both in file size and width and height) for
a) Icons
b) Pictures on your website (I seem to remeberber no bigger than 30kb)
c) E-mails
or does it depend on the size of the original ........

Adrian

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>Pics of Kelisha</A> /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[boatone]

When you view pictures on the web all that matters is the pixel dimensions and what resolution you (or the viewer) have your screen set to.

For instance, if you have your screen set to 800 x 600 and a picture is 800 pixels x 600 pixels then it will effectively fill the screen. If the picture is only 400 x 300 it will take up that proportion of the screen area etc.

The problem is of course that the image will look bigger on a screen set for, say, 640 x 480 and smaller on a screen set for 1024 x 768 etc. I generally recommend a size that will fit into a 400x400 or 500 x500 square as being a good compromise.
The uncompressed file size for a 500x500 square in colour is around 700Kb but as a jpg you can usually compress it down to aorund 30Kb at reasonable quality.

For the 'icon' or Profile piccies used on the forum the size needs to be 65 pixels wide x 75 pixels high and if you 'point' to a picture bigger than this the forum server resizes it 'on the fly' Trouble is that the larger file is actually 'transferred' from its location every time it appears on a message page so a prolific poster can have their image called many times which increases the kilobytes moved by the server unnecessarily. As an example, tcm's little panther has been 'called' over 18,000 times in the last 6 weeks and the next most prolific is hlb with over 10,000calls !!!!!Large pictures 'plugged in' to a message page also increase the time it takes for pages to come up.

As with most things, someone who knows what they are doing can rework an image for a particular purpose and optimise the quality and file size but most folks dont have that knowledge and many find it quite difficult to get their heads round.

All nice and clear now........? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.boatsontheweb.com/galleryframes.html> BoatsOnTheWeb and Boaters Photo Gallery</A>

 

[MapisM]

Re: 400 Mb each pic ???

Milan. Unfortunately, I must say.
Not only it isn't as nice as Umbria, but also far from the sea.
But it's OK if you like high cost of life, foggy winters, hot and humid summers.
...well, still better than London maybe...

 

[byron]

quote:- As an example, tcm's little panther has been 'called' over 18,000 times in the last 6 weeks and the next most prolific is hlb with over 10,000calls !!!!

Blinking 'ell it doesn't bear finking abaht. Good job it's a Panther and not a piccie of TCM's Bum the thought of TCM's Bum flitting across people's screens 18,000 times is enough to give you the collywobbles.

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[MBJB]

any resolution of more than 72 dpi (I think thats the right number) is a waste of time on a PC screen. Any more than that and it makes no difference to the quality of what you can see - just takes up more memory.