New Camera - Tractor Shot

[RobS]

I'm working with the metering. It doesn't have a backlight mode and the flash is pretty gutless. I just have to remember to look at the darn pictures right away. I'm too used to waiting for developing /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

What photo editing software are you using?

 

[TresCrows]

Here is a similar pic inside my garage. If it looks crowded there you should see it now with both a 2410 and a BX2200 stuffed in the 3rd stall, only my oldest Toyota sits outside. I hope to cure that this summer by building a new barn and maybe selling the little Toyota.
Hey, when did they quit selling that model of tractor you have? It looks in great shape!

 

[TresCrows]

Sorry, second try.
J

 

[RobS]

So far, I'm only using the software that came with the camera. I also have something called "Arcsoft"? I should be able to play some more with it this afternoon.

J, that is a fine mess you've got there /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI45905-CI313,00.html?>This is a link to the camera that we have</A> (and we didn't pay even half of that price at Office Max). I take my pictures at the high resolution setting, something like 1792x1200. Then I aquire them to an old Win95 PC running Paint Shop Pro. They come in at over 1 meg each. I then convert them to JPEG format, which reduces them in file size to around 350K. Then I use the resize function to change them to 800X whatever is proportional and they end up about 100K. 600X whatever gives me around 50K. The nice thing about taking them at the highest resolution, then reducing them, is that there is more detail than if you take them at low resolution to start with. Try a test with two photos of the same subject at low and high res. Go through the reduction process I described and reduce the high res shot to the same 600X that the low res shot was. Then compare them side by side. See if there is a difference.

That's what I like so much about digital photography. If you don't like it, delete it. You get instant results. We took some family pics over the holidays and several were real dogs! Eyes closed, kids with fingers in the nose, you name it. We plugged the camera into the TV and saw results that you couldn't see on the tiny LCD on the back of the camera. And the little kids love seeing themselves on TV. They can see that they had their eyes closed and understand what you are doing and they stand up perfectly for the next shot. OK everybody, line up again. Somebody hold the baby. Say cheese!

 

[RobS]

Re: New Camera - Playing in the Snow

Still not much "real" tractoring to do, so today we all went out the property and just played in the snow. Here's our rig with my wife in the back of the truck getting her cross country skis...

 

[RobS]

Re: New Camera - Tractor in the Snow

One last shot. While my wife was skiing I pulled the kids on a sled around the property. We also checked up on our trees (vs. deer) and I split some wood I cut a few weekends back. All in all, a great day in the outdoors /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Thomas]

Re: New Camera - Playing in the Snow

Kinda like around here,but they haul snow machine for winter fun. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: New Camera - Playing in the Snow

Lotta snow machines around here too Thomas, quite an extensive trail system just down the road. Right now, my tractor will have to do double duty as our snow machine as well /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[beenthere]

Re: New Camera - Tractor in the Snow

I don't consider myself a safety nut (but try to be safety wise), and only pass this on FYI as a personal experience pulling my kids behind the tractor on sleds. They got going faster than the tractor and I quickly found them sliding underneath from the back between the big rear wheels- and for a moment I did not know what to do. Stop? Try to turn out of their way? Or what? I did stop - quickly with both brakes on. No one hurt - whew! But never will do that again!

 

[Spencer]

MossRoad,
Don't convert your images into jpeg until you are all done changing their size and resolution. You are losing alot of detail by converting them to Jpegs and then resizing them. Every time you save an image in jpeg format it compresses the file which loses some of the detail. If you take the same jpeg file and save it again and again, each time it will compress it further.

Spence

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Don't convert your images into jpeg until you are all done </font color=blue>

Good advice for the professional, Spence, but I would argue that, like so many things, there are trade-offs.

Although it's true that JPEG uses a "lossy" compression scheme, I'll bet there are darn few of us who can actually see the difference between an uncompressed and a moderately compressed image. The result is accumulative, however, so your warning about repeated savings of the same image is a good one. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif

When I was doing professional work, I always saved my original scans as TIFF or Photoshop files, so I always had a good starting point when I went back to the archives. With my digital camera, on the other hand, I only use the TIFF format when shooting portraits or something that contains subtle detail and may wind up in an 8 x 10 or larger print. The "trade-off" for me is being able to get 16 high quality JPEG's or just 4 super high quality TIFF's on a single 32MB SmartMedia card. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

Many of my tractor-oriented shots, which are mainly for screen viewing or posting on TBN, are shot in medium high quality JPEG format. This gives me 55 shots per card at 1280 x 1024 pixels with "good enough" quality to crop and/or resize.

I carry 2 SmartMedia cards, so that's usually enough to get me through a weekend of tractorin'. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

In all cases, I save the original files to hard disk and then periodically archive them to CD-ROM. At an average of 2MB per file, that's over 300 pictures on a 69-cent disk. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

So I ain't disagreeing with anything you said, just putting my own spin on it.

 

[frank_f15]

HARV: i do the same as u i usually shoot in HQ, JUST BELOW TIFF SETTING, for general pics. then resize then to post, . at family functions i use a combo of digital and 35mm. have way more control of the slr. but i love the digital, for the instant gratification and usablilty.course if i went to a better digital i could have both/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>have way more control of the slr</font color=blue>

I hear ya, Frank. That was a predominating criterion when I was shopping for my digital camera. It was painful coughing up the bucks at the time, but I am so glad I got it.

 

[Buck]

Re: New Camera - House Shot

Rob,

Glad to see you got some land to go with that tractor. Did you get it with the tractor (through your dealer) or third party?

Buck

 

[RobS]

Re: New Camera - House Shot

Got the land third party as justification for the tractor. Seriously... I had the tractor pretty well picked out while we were still land shopping. My wife thinks we got the land for some peace and quite and to escape subdivision life but for me, it's all about the tractor /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

You are correct. Resize it first, then convert it to jpeg. Thanks.

When I use Paint Shop Pro to import the pictures from the camera it defaults to PSP format. I could save them in any format I select. Which format do you suggest?

 

[MikePA]

The other digital camera I have, in addition to the Olympus UZ-C2100, is the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinions.asp?prodkey=sony_d770>Sony DSC-770</A>. It is the best digital camera I have seen that comes closest to the control available in a 35 mm SLR. It reminds me of the Yashica FR1 I owned many years ago. Manual focus with a sliding prism, manual zoom, etc. Loads of fun to use.

 

[frank_f15]

mike i just found out my camera has spot metering capabilities./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif knowwhere in the printed manuel does it mention it(very limited manuel) had to slip the cd disk in to cd rom to acess the full manuel and low and behold there it was.have not messed with it yet, not enough hours in a day. wonder what else i will find.when u mention yashica or mamyia u are getting into some really good stuff,oldies but goodies!!!