[Ash]

This may be a difficult one to resolve.
PEG requires images to be around 900px in height.
For landscape oriented images, the length will exceed the 1024px threshold that will force the forum's JPEG compression upon uploaded images.
The result is softer images than what the originals are, and is probably affecting the way the images look to judges on the PEG panel.

A couple of examples:

Surfer on PEG:


On flickr:


100% crop:


Tettigonia viridissima on the members photo gallery:


On flickr:


This is only raised as images (like Tettigonia viridissima above) have been critiqued as soft, and voted 'no' to as a result, when the original is clearly sharp.
Is there anything that could be done about this, like not having any JPEG compression/resizing applied, even if just for the PEG submissions?

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Last edited by Ash; 01-17-2011 at 10:36 PM.

[Adam]

Requires them to be at least that wide - the originals are uncompressed and not resized.

[Ash]

Thanks Adam, so how does this explain the same originals appearing softer on the forum's galleries (as above) compared to flickr? I'm sure my images are as they look on flickr before submitting them to PEG.

[Adam]

The user photo gallery doesn't use compression at all- all other areas do, but only if your photo exceeds the dimensions/filesize.

Adam
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[Ash]

So we're left with the dilemma that compressed images are being presented to PEG judges and are being considered soft as a result.
What then to show submitted images aren't soft?
Link an original image from a third-party host site to the submission for reference?

[Hound Tooth]

not much of a dilemma... resize your images before submitting them. Then you can control how sharp/soft the final image will appear.

edit: this also prevents the annoying giant-width forum syndrome, where the width of the page becomes wider than the browser, and therefore the entire page of posts becomes a pain to read. Like, for example, this page.

[Adam]

In the approval interface, clicking on the photo will show you the full-size version of the image. Never judge the photos by their embedded thumbnails.

Adam
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[Ash]

not much of a dilemma... resize your images before submitting them. Then you can control how sharp/soft the final image will appear.

Missing the point. Look at post #1.
All my images are resized prior to submission, but sized to meet the resolution requirements, which can exceed the compression threshold mentioned above for panos, for example.

.
edit: this also prevents the annoying giant-width forum syndrome, where the width of the page becomes wider than the browser, and therefore the entire page of posts becomes a pain to read. Like, for example, this page.

I am on a 13 inch Macbook at the moment, and this page fits perfectly fine on it.
You must have a low-resolution screen if this page is exceeding your screen's width, in which case I'm certain you would be in the minority these days.

[atupdate]

This may be a difficult one to resolve.
PEG requires images to be around 900px in height.

Ash,

I think you need to read the gallery announcement thread closer. The directions state: "A resolution of at least 900x500 pixels; preferably around 1500x1000." You do not have to post an image 900 pixels in height. I always post my longest dimension at 900 pixels no matter what the orientation is for my image.

Tim

[Hound Tooth]

I am on a 13 inch Macbook at the moment, and this page fits perfectly fine on it.
You must have a low-resolution screen if this page is exceeding your screen's width, in which case I'm certain you would be in the minority these days.

24" screen here. But I don't maximize windows. I keep them to a normal width (about 1024px wide). Especially web browsers, since most web sites are meant to be viewed at 1024. The only time a web site doesn't fit in 1024 is when people post ridiculously large pictures.

[Adam]

Are you suggesting we up the resolution of embedded images in the EG only? It's certainly possible for me to do- I can also disable compression on the thumbnails with a little bit of modification!

[Ash]

24" screen here. But I don't maximize windows. I keep them to a normal width (about 1024px wide). Especially web browsers, since most web sites are meant to be viewed at 1024. The only time a web site doesn't fit in 1024 is when people post ridiculously large pictures.

...which should not be happening to you for this page, since the largest image posted here is 1024px.

[Ash]

Thanks Tim, I understand the requirements. The preferable dimensions is what I aim for since they are 'preferable'. Limiting landscape and panoramic images to under 1000px wide means a smaller image that would look OK, but a lot better for judging (and viewing) in a larger dimension such as 1300x900 (since most people have screen resolutions that exceed this).

So Adam, yes, as per my first post I'd like to know if resolution can be upped in the EG only - at least for the full-size image. The thumbnails may not need to have compression disabled to aid download speeds. If others object to this suggestion, please advise.

[Adam]

Ash, I think you do mean thumbnails, because the large thumbnails are what's actually displayed on the page. You can always view the full-size/unmodified version of the photo simply by clicking on the large thumbnail/.

I've bumped up the thumbnail size for just the eg- could you upload a sample shot to see if it works?

[Ash]

No worries Adam.
Submitted the image at 1618x1056 as a test.
Thanks for clarifying and making this happen.