At 11:31 AM 12/10/2000 -0700, David Councill wrote:
>....
>.... my question is what you guys use for digital cameras? Will a 1.3
megapixel resolution be sufficient for good quality desktop, 8 x 10 and
1280 X 960 pictures? ....
Okay, it's a slow mail day, so why not?
I use a digital camera with 1.3 megapixel resolution, which is 1280 x 960
in the high resolution mode. An image this size fills the screen on my
high resolution 20 inch monitor. This will allow you to crop the sides and
pick out a section of the middle of the picture that you like best (sort of
a telephoto result), and still end up with 640x480 for use on a web site.
Most of the time I just leave the camera in low resolution mode and take
shots at 640x480, and then trim the edges a bit to put them on line at
600x400 or 580x385, because that's the largest format that will fit in a
browser window on a VGA format monitor. You can of course reduce the
larger image to get a smaller one, but that just ends up with the same
resolution as if you had used low-res to take the picture.
Occasionally I find the high-res mode nice for capturing small detail in a
larger image, but I seldom put images larger than 640x480 on line. Larger
images have significantly longer download times, and folks with smaller
monitors have to pan around and can't see the whole picture at once. When
I do put larger images on line I will place a smaller image on a web pagee
and link it to the larger image. That way folks don't have to wait too
long for the web page to come up, and those folks who really want to see it
and don't mind the large data download can then click up the larger image.
Incidentally, as a matter of clarity of detail, check this image:
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg/mgtech/electric/fg_03.htm#fg_297
It is a closeup of the inside of a MGA fuel gauge, and it clearly shows
wires which are only 0.004 inch diameter. This image is 580x435 and only
33KB of data required. If you have a camera with closeup capability you
can capture images like this with a low-res camera at 640x480 resolution,
whis is generally all that is required for images on web pages.
If you have intention of printing the digital images as color glossies,
particularly if they will be enlarged to 8"x10" size, then by all means go
with at least 1.3 megapixel resolution to get a clear image in the larger
format.
My camera is a Fujifilm FinePix 1400 Zoom. It has 1.3 megapixel resolution
and 3x optical zoom, which is equivelant to 38mm wide angle to 114mm
telephoto on a 35mm film camera. It also has a 2x digital zoom feature,
but that only works in low-res mode with 640x480 images, being the
equivelant of taking a 1280x960 image (zoom enabled) and cropping a 640x480
out of the middle of it. It also has a Macro feature which works in either
high or low reslution mode and allows the camera to focus as close as 4
inches to the object (without zoom). This is the mode I used to take the
picture noted above. This would allow you to snap a 2 inch wide object and
produce a 1280 wide image which would fill a large high-res monitor. That
could be up to 8 times larger than life.
This same camera has a retractable lense with built in lense cover, which
makes it convenient to slip into your pocket. It also has built in flash
(up to 3.5 meters distance), autofocus, auto exposure, red-eye correction,
delay timer, 1-1/2" LCD review screen, and a built in USB interface for
fast downloading of the data without removing the memory chip from the
camera. This will download of 32 megabytes of data in one minute. The
32MB memory chip will store nearly 100 high-res images and over 300 low res
images. In the middle of a picture taking tour you can review and delete
some unwnated images to free up data space, and continue taking more pictures.
This last spring I paid about $400 for the camera, which included a 4MB
memory chip, about $100 more for the 32MB chip, and another $29 for 4
rechargeable AA Ni-MH batteries and automatic shutoff quick charger. I
have taken so many pictures with it since that it has nearly paid for
itself by elimination of film developing and printing. This is good for
me, as nearly everything I do with it is for web use.
For about $100 less you can get a digital camera with 2x optical zoom, and
maybe 2x digital zoom (but not at the same time), 1.0 megapixle resolution,
built in flash, and a serial port (not USB) for data download (slow).
There are some digital cameras available for under $100 with 640x480 (0.3
megapixel) resolution, no zoom and no closeup. These are simple point and
shoot devices, very small (commonly thin), and can still yield images
suitable for use on a web site. As usuall these days, any of these spec's
and prices can change to the good without notice.
What I really like most about the digital camera is the instant picture. I
can take a picture and immediately download it to the PC. If it doesn't
suit my need for any reason I can go back and take another picture. When I
get it right I can post it to a web page or attach it to an e-mail message
for a friend. It is the sort of revolution that allowed word processors to
obsolete typewriters.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg
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