April 2000• Vol.11 Issue 4 Page(s) 38-39 in print issue

The Digital Darkroom Tools & Tips To Transform Your Images

It sometimes seems that bringing simple concepts to computers adds several levels of difficulty. Photography is a good example. Traditional photography at its simplest is point, shoot, and drop in a mailbox. When you digitize this, it becomes point, shoot, upload to computer, tinker with lighting and color, then print, e-mail, or work into your Web page. Once you get used to it, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without digital photography, but getting to this stage means understanding the basic tools involved in it.   The Camera Digital cameras have improved greatly over the past couple of years, both in terms of cost (down) and quality (up). The advantages over traditional cameras are many: They are cheaper to use (no film), private (no photo lab technicians), and instantaneous. (Pictures are immediately viewable via the camera LCD or on your computer.) Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a camera: Price: The more money you spend, the more creative control you’ll have over such things as shutter speed and aperture. Battery: What is the life of the battery? Does it come with a spare or an AC adaptor? Zoom: When choosing between an optical and digital zoom, go with the optical for higher quality shots. Storage and Transport: Digital photos can get huge, so try to get as much storage as possible in your camera. Many come with options such as CompactFlash which make it easy to store and transport images to your computer. Your camera will also need some way to get images to your PC, so make sure you have ports on your computer, such as USB, and cables that will match your camera.   The Scanner Digital cameras aren’t the only way to get started in digital photography. You can continue to use regular cameras and film and scan the pictures into your computer with a scanner. This is also a great way to bring new life to old photos. Most scanners you see on the market now are of the flatbed variety. Choosing one may seem simple, but there are actually quite a few things to keep in mind when buying a scanner: Physical issues: Will it fit on the desk? Does it connect in a way that the computer can accommodate (USB, parallel, SCSI)? Bundled software: What kind of software comes with the scanner? Price: Unless you have a real need for a hard-core, professional look, basic models will fill the needs of most users. Bed size: Scanning beds usually come in legal size or letter size. Letter should fit most users needs, but if you’re looking for a larger scanning area, go with legal. Specifications: Make sure the computer has the proper system requirements, such as operating system and amount of random-access memory (RAM), to work with the scanner. Resolution: This is the big area that differentiates one scanner from another. The better the resolution, the more you’ll pay, but you may be buying more than you need. Most monitors can only display around 72-80 dots per inch (dpi), and laser and color printer output is generally 300-600dpi. A scanner capable of more than this is probably a waste.   Software Most scanners and cameras come bundled with software that lets you manipulate your images; most should also come with driver software and color calibration software to acquire and manage color. This software lets you crop pictures, zap “red eye,” and edit your photos in numerous ways. If you’re in the market for a scanner, keep an eye open for special “bundle” deals; you may just be able to pick up a top software package, such as Photoshop, for next to nothing. (See “Photoediting Software Adopts A New Image” in this issue for more information.)   Storage Digital photos tend to come in multimegabyte chunks, and the infamous “Drive C Is Full” messages will start popping up on your Desktop in no time if you don’t have adequate space to store them. Luckily there is a wealth of options now available. Diskettes really aren’t practical for image storage; they’re too small. Zip drives, in 100 megabyte (MB) and 250MB sizes, are a good, lower-cost option. SuperDisk has storage options of 120MB, while Jaz pushes the size up to one gigabyte (GB) or more. A newer option, the Castlewood ORB, uses low-cost ($30) disks that hold a whopping 2.2GB. If you’re looking to get seriously into digital photography, consider a CD burner. CDs are cheap and long lasting, and they hold 640MB of data/photos. Best of all, anyone can access them.   Printers If you’re looking to print your own photos, you’ll need a special photo inkjet printer to get high quality. Photo inkjet printers generally use six different ink colors, as well as special photographic-quality paper that can run upwards of $1 per sheet. For sharper, more vivid prints, consider spending a little more to get a camera that offers two megapixel resolution. Initially, digitizing your photographs will seem a great hassle. You’ll have to invest in additional hardware and software if you don’t already have a digital camera, a scanner, and a printer, and you’ll have to learn how to use it all. Gone, however, are the finicky chemicals, darkrooms, and special lights. Best of all, the results, including more durable and less cumbersome storage media, the ability to use software to edit and enhance your pictures, and nearly instant photographs, are well worth the start-up inconveniences.   by Rich Gray