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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Best zoomable picture viewer
RobinS - Aug 4, 2006 - 2:21 pm
Preview doesn't work for me because it cannot:
"fit to image width".
Also its zooming is way to coarse. Its either way too big or way too small. The smart way is to zoom too big then fit to image width. All my pics are landscape, not portrait.
Now one of the most useful tools I have found is to check image clarity, (I use a 8 mp DSLR) is to zoom it several times the window size. If the clarity doesn't stay intact, I trash it. Strangely, iPhoto 6 doesn't seem to have any zoom function. How does one check the clarity of the shot? There is no way in the world the average 1280 x 1024 monitor can discern clarity at full screen.
The Opera browser does it all, except I can't open more than one file at a time with it.
And is it true that every time I make a change to a jpg it degrades the picture a little bit?
"fit to image width".
Also its zooming is way to coarse. Its either way too big or way too small. The smart way is to zoom too big then fit to image width. All my pics are landscape, not portrait.
Now one of the most useful tools I have found is to check image clarity, (I use a 8 mp DSLR) is to zoom it several times the window size. If the clarity doesn't stay intact, I trash it. Strangely, iPhoto 6 doesn't seem to have any zoom function. How does one check the clarity of the shot? There is no way in the world the average 1280 x 1024 monitor can discern clarity at full screen.
The Opera browser does it all, except I can't open more than one file at a time with it.
And is it true that every time I make a change to a jpg it degrades the picture a little bit?
Cheryl - Aug 6, 2006 - 2:37 am
Robin,
I have also found that Preview does not do justice to images - while it is great to view PDF files (it loads faster than Adobe's Reader).
Try Graphic Converter to view and edit your images.
http://www.lemkesoft.de/en/graphcon.htm
It is a powerful image editor that also has an undo if you do not like the results.
Depending on how drastic you change the picture depends on how much the image is degraded, but yes, it does degrade slightly. Especially if you are enlarging the image. I take small increments when adjusting the zoom on the image. Once I see the image lose clarity, I go back one edit and stay there. There is a limit as to how far you can enlarge an image. The trouble is that the limit is different for each picture/image.
Cheryl
I have also found that Preview does not do justice to images - while it is great to view PDF files (it loads faster than Adobe's Reader).
Try Graphic Converter to view and edit your images.
http://www.lemkesoft.de/en/graphcon.htm
It is a powerful image editor that also has an undo if you do not like the results.
Depending on how drastic you change the picture depends on how much the image is degraded, but yes, it does degrade slightly. Especially if you are enlarging the image. I take small increments when adjusting the zoom on the image. Once I see the image lose clarity, I go back one edit and stay there. There is a limit as to how far you can enlarge an image. The trouble is that the limit is different for each picture/image.
Cheryl
RobinS - Aug 8, 2006 - 12:43 pm
Haven't tried that program yet but wanted to clarify some points: I'm never zooming but often changing brightness/contrast/sharpness/minor retouching.
Do these changes degrade the quality of the jpg?
Can you give me an example of why one would enlarge a picture? A pic from a 3 mb camera at the best resolution setting should be at least 1600 x 1200 shouldn't it? That's pretty big, isn't it? Unless you're printing posters. I'm new to this.
Do these changes degrade the quality of the jpg?
Can you give me an example of why one would enlarge a picture? A pic from a 3 mb camera at the best resolution setting should be at least 1600 x 1200 shouldn't it? That's pretty big, isn't it? Unless you're printing posters. I'm new to this.
Cheryl - Aug 8, 2006 - 1:35 pm
Robin,
Not all cameras have a large resolution that creates an image that is as large as your computer screen - or larger. You also stated "Now one of the most useful tools I have found is to check image clarity, (I use a 8 mp DSLR) is to zoom it several times the window size."
I was also thinking of not only images from a digital camera, but scanned images as well. I have scanned images and needed to enlarge it. I have also cropped pictures from my digital camera, then enlarged it to fit in a project. I have also decreased an image size to fit the screen of my computer. Having the image fit your screen is the best way to judge its quality and work with it as you edit it.
To answer you question, changing the brightness, contrast & sharpness is tricky and you can degrade the quality of the image if you are not careful. That is why I recommended Graphic Converter. You can do small increment changes and if you go to far, you can undo the edit and try again. It took me a while to learn the color contrasts and what looked good to my eye and in print.
You can use Graphic Converter in the trail basis and experiment with an image. You can also download the user guide to help you with some of the terminology that you are unfamiliar with.
Cheryl
Not all cameras have a large resolution that creates an image that is as large as your computer screen - or larger. You also stated "Now one of the most useful tools I have found is to check image clarity, (I use a 8 mp DSLR) is to zoom it several times the window size."
I was also thinking of not only images from a digital camera, but scanned images as well. I have scanned images and needed to enlarge it. I have also cropped pictures from my digital camera, then enlarged it to fit in a project. I have also decreased an image size to fit the screen of my computer. Having the image fit your screen is the best way to judge its quality and work with it as you edit it.
To answer you question, changing the brightness, contrast & sharpness is tricky and you can degrade the quality of the image if you are not careful. That is why I recommended Graphic Converter. You can do small increment changes and if you go to far, you can undo the edit and try again. It took me a while to learn the color contrasts and what looked good to my eye and in print.
You can use Graphic Converter in the trail basis and experiment with an image. You can also download the user guide to help you with some of the terminology that you are unfamiliar with.
Cheryl
RobinS - Aug 8, 2006 - 2:04 pm
Why not just make a copy of the original and work with that?
The only way to judge clarity is to blow it up several times the monitor size, unless you're using a 30" Apple monitor of course. The human eye and typical 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768 monitor just cannot resolve details to judge a picture's clarity. If an image isn't clear, it has no business being on my system. A useful keyboard shortcut that I use in Opera is the "Fit to Screen width" which instantly allows me to see it full screen for over all perspective. Bouncing between these 2 screen settings is great.
It looks like I'll be working with RAW images in the future. It seems like there are a lot of advantages. If I ever get an Intel machine up and running, speed shouldn't be a problem especially as the new motherboards are taking 4 gbs of 667 mhz dual channel DDR2. Coupled with a HT P4 processor near 3 ghz and I should be smokin'. My Mini can always be used a backup if things can't be patched on the Intel.
The only way to judge clarity is to blow it up several times the monitor size, unless you're using a 30" Apple monitor of course. The human eye and typical 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768 monitor just cannot resolve details to judge a picture's clarity. If an image isn't clear, it has no business being on my system. A useful keyboard shortcut that I use in Opera is the "Fit to Screen width" which instantly allows me to see it full screen for over all perspective. Bouncing between these 2 screen settings is great.
It looks like I'll be working with RAW images in the future. It seems like there are a lot of advantages. If I ever get an Intel machine up and running, speed shouldn't be a problem especially as the new motherboards are taking 4 gbs of 667 mhz dual channel DDR2. Coupled with a HT P4 processor near 3 ghz and I should be smokin'. My Mini can always be used a backup if things can't be patched on the Intel.
Cheryl - Aug 8, 2006 - 2:27 pm
Robin,
It sounds like you know a lot already about editing images. Graphic Converter does handle RAW as well as many other formats.
Yes, you can use a copy of the original image to work with, if you have the space on your hard drive to accommodate the additional image.
But I must point out, that even you say that the human eye and a typical monitor can not judge the image's quality. That is what you are working with - your eye. And when you blow up an image, you will see the distortion - even if it is minor.
You can only work with what the camera gives you. If you have a 3MB resolution - that is as far as you get. The pixilation will get distorted with any larger size. You will get that in RAW images as well as jpg.
Let me explain. When a camera takes a picture, you have pixels (tiny dots) for each color or blend of color. Each space is taken up by a pixel. When you enlarge the picture larger than the actual resolution, suddenly you have spaces that does not have a pixel covering it. There wasn't a pixel created for that space, hence the distortion and fuzziness in the image.
Cheryl
It sounds like you know a lot already about editing images. Graphic Converter does handle RAW as well as many other formats.
Yes, you can use a copy of the original image to work with, if you have the space on your hard drive to accommodate the additional image.
But I must point out, that even you say that the human eye and a typical monitor can not judge the image's quality. That is what you are working with - your eye. And when you blow up an image, you will see the distortion - even if it is minor.
You can only work with what the camera gives you. If you have a 3MB resolution - that is as far as you get. The pixilation will get distorted with any larger size. You will get that in RAW images as well as jpg.
Let me explain. When a camera takes a picture, you have pixels (tiny dots) for each color or blend of color. Each space is taken up by a pixel. When you enlarge the picture larger than the actual resolution, suddenly you have spaces that does not have a pixel covering it. There wasn't a pixel created for that space, hence the distortion and fuzziness in the image.
Cheryl
RobinS - Aug 10, 2006 - 7:32 am
Remember this is for large images - nothing scanned, no 3 mp cameras used here. As you can see by my profile I'm using
So will Graphic Converter allow me to instantly "fit to screen width" AND to expand the image to several times the normal 1280 x 1024 screen size? (That was the original query.) Those are the only 2 things I need right now. iPhoto seems fine for retouching (I'm just starting that so it will take a while before I become discerning in that area).
So will Graphic Converter allow me to instantly "fit to screen width" AND to expand the image to several times the normal 1280 x 1024 screen size? (That was the original query.) Those are the only 2 things I need right now. iPhoto seems fine for retouching (I'm just starting that so it will take a while before I become discerning in that area).
Cheryl - Aug 10, 2006 - 7:42 am
Robin,
Yes, Graphic Converter will do all that and more.
But I must apologize as your profile does not show up. I am not sure if that is due to our working on the site code or the Help App not working correctly.
In either case that will be corrected soon.
Cheryl
Yes, Graphic Converter will do all that and more.
But I must apologize as your profile does not show up. I am not sure if that is due to our working on the site code or the Help App not working correctly.
In either case that will be corrected soon.
Cheryl
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