Crossdressers-Haven.com

There are some great sites out there that can provide in-depth information. http://www.zdnet.com is great for product comparisons, pricing, and technical specifications when researching digital cameras and printers.

Article I - October 11, 2003

Digital cameras are fast becoming the popular choice among both the amateur and professional as well. Yes, many still prefer 35mm and 2 ¼ format roll film cameras for portrait work but, the high-end cameras, 7meg-pixels and up to 12meg-pixels, while expensive, are edging their way into the professional market.

Most of us cannot afford these high end cameras so we will principally talk about those that are affordable right now. As well, printers are coming of age with actual pigment based inks (the new Epson water-proof series). As with any new technology you are going to pay considerable more for the latest and greatest technology at first.

Printing issues are relatively simple. Pigment based ink or soy based ink which the later is not water proof. Also, the soy inks’ fade considerably faster than a pigment based ink. If you take a soy ink picture and leave it near a window, in 12 – 24 months the picture will have faded noticeably. Another year or two and forget it. The picture is toast and ready for the shredder. How can we avoid this? Well, you can only slow down the process by placing the picture behind glass and away from sun light. My chemistry professor told me that nothing leaves this universe, it is just transformed into other chemical properties or base properties but it is all right here in the same universe it started in. Example: burn a piece of wood in a hot fire. Reduced to ash, the remainder was converted in gas and lighter particles that went into the air. That entire piece of wood is still in the Universe, it has just been divided and it’s parts scattered about but still here in some other forms.

So your pictures will still be here 100 years from now, they just may not be recognizable and after all, that is what we want to see, a photo that we can identify with. So protect them in albums (non-acid paper, with plastic sleeves) and keep them out of the sun light, moisture and dampness. Pretty soon you will find out another amazing fact. “Stuff” owns us, we do not own the stuff. Just how much stuff can we collect before we die? I am testing that idea I think, when I look at my closets and it seems my wife as well has the same idea, ha ha ha LOL.

Buy the best paper you can afford. It does not need to be a brand name but after a few prints with your present printer, you should be in a good position to judge weather the quality is what you want. I had to go through 7 packages of different papers to decide on what I wanted. For my 4 x 6 work I use, “Office Depot” Premium Selection, borderless print tab, premium high gloss, precut, 100 sheets, 69lb, 10.25mils, 260g/m.

Lets look back for a minute.

What are the variables that we need to deal with?

Ink type
Software
Paper
Printer characteristics (dpi etc)
Price
Storage

That’s it for today girls. I will pick up with this next week.!

Article II – October 13, 2003

The printing industry sees the writing on the wall. Use the Schick/Gillette approach. Price the printers in a reasonable range, make the ink the profit center. Ink jet manufacturer’s can tell you the “ball” size in diameter of their respective inks. That is, in the smallest measurable droplet of ink, the ball size is a specific diameter to pass thru the electronic control nozzles. Not to get to complicated here, the finer the droplet, the tighter the control and thus the better the finished picture will look at a specific dpi. Still today, a picture 0f 300 dpi or better is impossible to discern with the naked eye. Once you get past the point that as a human, you can “see” a difference, what’s the point? Well, just like in today’s best hi-fi equipment, because you have an 500watt amplifier does not mean you intend on turning up the volume that high. You are looking for a range with the best response characteristics that can be provided at a modest volume for pleasurable listening by a conservative aficionado of music. More so, something that sounds good to you specifically. By the way girls, (gg) have a more finely tuned pair of ears and can hear higher freqnencies with greater distinction than their male counterparts. Something to talk about another day!

So if you can except soy ink any of the mid-range printers will do the job for home use. That is, if you know how to take good pictures and if not, how to use and what software to use to render a quality image. I prefer Adobe Photo Deluxe Home Edition ver 4.0 if you can find it these days. Also, for the software aficionado, Adobe Photoshop – full version 6.0 or better has absolutely no competition. Of course, it sells for $599.00USD in most software stores. Ouch! Professional price, professional results, from a professional user with professional eduation/experience. The right tool, for the right job!

Most of us can get by with the PDHE ver 4.0 edition at $69.00USD. 95% of the time, I can do what it is I desire in that version if it is about touch-up, air-brushing, dodging, burning, cloning etc. You will need a Pentium II 233mhz processor with 256mb of memory and 16mb or better of memory on the video card to make the program work quickly. Yes, you can have less and make it work but there are trade offs when you do this. Less memory requires Windows to do more file swapping with the hard drive and that slows things down a bit. Memory is cheap today. I can remember when 1mb of basic memory (1991) was $50.00USD. Today, super memory can be had in sticks of 128mb for $19.00USD and with a rebate coupon, $9.00USD per 128mb simm. Newer memory types for the Pent IV crowd are also falling in price now. What a deal! Now if only people would apply that to automobiles!

There are other great software packages out there as well. Microsoft just introduced a buffed up package at $99.00USD with some really nice features and the ability to put your photo files in albums. Everyone is trying to help you organize your photos to make it more fun. Photo Suite V - Roxio, is an excellent bargin at $79.00USD with many great tools and features. Read the box, study your application and make a decision to buy. Kodak was providing a CD for free, $9.00 s&h, that allowed basic printing, made use of all kodak’s different paper sizes, and had an album feature. Could be still available via Kodak –on-line.

In most cases, the software has the tools, you just need to develop the talent. Practice and more practice makes the difference between a so-so photo, and a WOW photo. Getting the picture right to begin with helps!

On to digital cameras.

"Well, just like in today’s best hi-fi equipment, because you have an 500watt amplifier does not mean you intend on turning up the volume that high."

ahem . . .

Hello Girls:

I have just switched over to Win XP with all the up-dates as of last night. Sorry for the delay on camera information but I have been doing my homework.

With the plethora of camera models today, I think a few words are in order.

Everyone has their favorite ideas. Favorite brand names in automobiles, and appliances. So too, cameras are no exception. I think that I would be clearly in the wrong to just recommend some particular brand because I own it.

Each manufacturer has models with good and bad points. The trick here is, how to decide what is good and bad. Currently, there are no standards as such to go and apply. “One woman’s trash, another girl’s treasure!”

I use a Minolta S304/404 (same but newer version with 4.0mp vs. 3.3mp in older S304 model). Why? I liked the all-glass precision lens feature, and the body weight-distribution after the batteries are loaded (4 ea HD-AA). The lens comes from the more expensive ($1100.00) Dimage7 model. To me the “lens” quality and type was a critical factor in choosing my camera.

There are 5.0mp cameras now in the same price range ($499 - $699usd). Canon is very popular and there are others. 30 years in electronics/Aerospace taught me that cameras with flip-open viewers could be a troublemaker down the road. Any time you have a flip-open door hinge that relies on a micro-interface cable to connect the LCD screen and the body, there is trouble coming from wear and tear.

The Minolta view screen is not the largest but it is directly on the back with no view door to get in the way. I bought my camera with a long term, heavy usage application in mind. I do not like intermittent and technical failures to occur so I look for simplistic design coupled with high-quality manufacturing and functionality.

http://www.zdnet.com provides extensive information in the field of cameras. There are other sites mentioned in this thread that I am sure are up to the challenge. You have to decide what is best for your understanding level.

I like cameras that use the AA battery style. Reasonably priced high-density batteries are available just about anywhere you travel. Rechargeable, these batteries will last for 1000 recharges usually. Turning off the flash and the LCD screen, one can get 100+ pictures on regular alkaline AA batteries in a pinch.

People want to be told what is best as in most product searches. This would certainly help in narrowing down your list to choose from. You would not have to make any in-depth decisions. Cameras are rather personal appliances. So, I leave it up to the buyer to decide what they need and want in their new digital camera.

I prefer to have both auto and manual modes. I us a customized manual mode more than any other mode for portrait work. This mode permits me to add or subtract light dependent on the subjects clothing and background.

Exposure-compensation is often available in .3 values. +/- to add or subtract lightness on the subject. Often, when wearing “white” outdoors, a sunny day, in the shade, I must add a +1.0 compensation so that the fill-flash mode will balance out with my face. If not, I will look darker than I really am. A western European brunette skin tone that looks more South American. The additional compensation does drive the light spectrum into the yellow-green area but that can be adjusted in your photo software. Some cameras have photo color compensation that can be used if you do not have the software at the time.

The software on your computer is the best thing to have for after-the-fact photo work.

Okay. A little complicated but this is not a course in photography. Too many books already offer that information at a reasonable price. Good luck girls. I will take questions at my email address.

"The software on your computer is the best thing to have for after-the-fact photo work"

Agreed!!!! If you want to do special effects, do it on the computer, not in the camera! Also take the best picture you can with your camera, because "fixing it in photoshop" is often a series of compromises whereas doing special effects in the camera sort of limits your flexibility.


Danielle, I have my eye on those dropping prices . . . I used to scoff at flip out viewers on videocameras comparing them to "training wheels" until I figured out the benefits for professionals too . . .

Can it be? Samsung making a 10mp camera for under $200.00? Yes. On the other hand megapixels is just one piece of the equation. The internals such as hardware and on-board software to control the camera make the differences.

This new family of cameras will not beat the Canon, Nikon, Sony etc, DSLR cameras that run from $600.00 - $6,000.00, but they will do in a pinch.

If you are not to concerned about making enlargements greater than 8 x 10, then these smaller cameras will do the trick.

A very basic issue:

Pictures in sunlight. If the subject has her back to the sun and you want to take a really good picture...forget automode on most cameras. You will need to go to manual mode and change some settings yourself. WHY? The camera lens is like the iris of your eye. Notice that you squint when first looking at the subject if the sun is at 10:00am - 12:00pm. You are looking into the sun so wait until a bit later or earlier for that sun shot. Overcast days are great for photographs. No real shadows, even light, no need for photo umbrellas etc.

If you squint, so does the camera lens. It closes down to adjust for the bright incoming light just like the iris of your eyes. People then look darker than they really are. If they are dressed in white, they look even darker to the point of losing recognizeable details about their face.

In manual mode you can use "fill-flash" and change the offset to the diopter settings. This makes the lens open more fully for a longer time period. More light will give a better over-all picture. Experiment with your camera and read the book! Read the book! Often there are some very good ideas packed inside that little booklet that came with you camera.




Hugs

Danielle Marie