Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
07-05-2009, 03:11 PM   #1
Senior Member
MoparFreak69's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Boise, Idaho
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 197
New "Amateur" looking for some pic help.

I got my K20D a couple weeks ago. It is my first "real" camera and it has by far the largest file output I have ever seen. My biggest question is that I have played around with settings and am starting to feel comfortable taking "good" shots of various subjects whether indoors or out. When viewing the pictures on my computer, when they are shrunk to fit the screen, they look crisp, clear, sharp and have good detail. When I start zooming in and especially when I view the photo at 100% - actual size, the details just dont seem "there". Is this normal for digital cameras with photos this large? What size photo can I realistically print up and still have the stunning details that I see on what is essentially 8x10 format on my screen? I would like to attach a full photo for consideration but I do not have any software that can crop without killing image quality (hooray for paint huh?). What suggestions do we have for cheap/free good quality cropping/shrinking software?
Thanks in advance!

07-05-2009, 04:43 PM   #2
Veteran Member
rparmar's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 8,795
Well, you're miles ahead of most on the net, since you can at least spell "amateur".

It is entirely normal for 100% so-called "crops" to be indistinct or blurry in some way. The key is to compare one to another over time and get a feel for what is "right". That is, if you even need to bother viewing images that large. Remember that this is a totally artificial way of looking at pictures. While it might be useful for some tasks, it is not the be-all and end-all.

The single best way to know how large you can print is to print large. Take a shot you really like and try it at several sizes. See what works.
07-05-2009, 04:45 PM   #3
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
eaglem's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Perth Western Australia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 43,013
I use Adobe Photoshop CS4 myself but that isn't free or cheap but I have heard that GIMP is very good and it's free so let google be your friend.
07-05-2009, 04:51 PM   #4
Veteran Member
Marc Sabatella's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Denver, CO
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,685
The higher the camera resolution, the higher quality lenses you need in order to take full advantage of it when viewing images at "100%" (which equates to a poster sized print), and the more important it becomes to use a good tripod, etc.

Basically, if it looks good on your 8x10" screen, it will look good on a 8x10" print.

07-06-2009, 06:14 AM   #5
Senior Member




Join Date: May 2009
Location: Eastern TN
Posts: 269
Concerning software, I always recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements. They are in version 7 right now. It is significantly less expensive than Adobe Photoshop CS4 that runs several hundreds of dollars. Elements can be found for under $70 and uses much of the same command set as Photoshop. Although I have both Elements 7 and CS3, I use Elements almost exclusively. It does virtually EVERYTHING I want to do with photographs. When I grow up and become a "real" photographer, I may want to use CS more, but for now, Elements does it all.
One other reason I am inclined to suggest Elements is, you can ask a question on this (or any of a dozen other) board, and have answers almost instantly. Ask a question related to some of the other processing software and you might have to wait a while for a response.
07-07-2009, 10:51 AM   #6
Veteran Member
Duck Dodgers's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: in the 24˝th Century!
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 439
Another thing to consider is that Pentax DSLRs typically do not do much sharpening "in-camera" (at least, not at the default jpeg settings, much to the consternation of camera reviewers everywhere ). Try using a touch of "unsharp mask," as it's called, in a photo-editing program...just a bit, don't over-do it. Then look at it at 1:1 on your screen...quite a difference...but again, "less is more" with sharpening.
07-07-2009, 06:58 PM   #7
Senior Member
MoparFreak69's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Boise, Idaho
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 197
Original Poster
Thanks for the advice everyone. I will be sure to look up GIMP and play around with it. If it at least gives me a few "pro" style tools to crop and shrink I can deal with that until I can afford something like Photoshop.
A friend of mine purchased a K20D a couple months before me which is my reason for purchasing mine. I finally got a chance to look at some of his pictures at "100% crop" size and they also lose quite a bit of detail yet he is able to get some pretty large prints that look great so I think I am just concerned about nothing.

07-07-2009, 07:12 PM   #8
Junior Member




Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 31
There are also Lightroom, Aperature, Paint Shop Pro which will do cropping and other basic manipulatory functions (some do more than others). Further, you've got Picasa and the various Aviary utilities.

There are probably too many, but that just means someone makes something that'll work well for you.
07-08-2009, 02:42 PM   #9
Kai
Senior Member




Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: San Diego, Ca. USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 148
I have used Picasa3 by Google to do some basic tasks and quick watermarks. I think it works well and free. Another is Fast Stone, recommended by Heather. This got a PortableApp version as well. Also, InfranView is another free one, you may need a plugin for Pentax Raw format. -Kai
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, details, pentax help, photo, photography, quality, screen, size, software
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sports "Highside Exit" took 1st Place in DPReview "Missed It by THAT much, Part 1" Challenge MRRiley Post Your Photos! 27 02-21-2010 08:26 PM
Help revive "Post a pic" thread smf Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories 2 12-11-2009 04:30 AM
"Business" cards for amateur glanglois General Talk 15 10-26-2008 03:45 PM
"Hunger for a DA*50-135?" or "The DA*50-135 as a bird lens!" or "Iron age birds?" Douglas_of_Sweden Post Your Photos! 4 08-13-2008 06:09 AM
The "Pentax proud owner pic" ? guillermovilas Photographic Technique 2 04-01-2007 02:25 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:22 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top