gan_esh

Hi all.

I have been away from photography for nearly 3 years (humanitarian work) and am thinking of starting up again.

My question,

Over the past years, I've been primarily a Linux user (used to be Apple)...... I'm wondering if there are

solutions for color management, printing (open source Epson drivers for x800 series), tablet compatibility... etc

for Linux.... stuff that would at least make it possible to produce and print artwork that people would want to

hand on their home/office walls.

I'm familiar with GIMP, and although I'm pretty sure it's not as advanced as PS CS, it can hold it's own for the

stuff I need to do (probably more due to my familiarity with it than anything else)

Also, are there any good painting software solutions? (other than GIMP).... something that's at the same level as

the latest Corel Painter, perhaps? (I know it's a longshot but I'm still asking)

I don't mind going back to Macs if there's no other choice, but I'm more comfortable with Linux since all my

other applications are Linux based.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers.

P.S... love the new site layout.... when did that happen?

Any 'study' funded by Microsoft = Highly Suspicious!

My rigs:

Fujitsu LifeBook running Linux (SLED) - Banking, Surfing, Online Shopping, Beta Testing...etc.

MacBook Pro - PhotoShop, Corel Painter, Illustrator, iTunes, Video.

Acer Windows Notebook - Surfing for porn, collecting malware.

Like they say.... horses for courses. Heh!

Greetings,

As many of you may have noticed, Solid State Drives (SSD) seem to be the 'next

big thing' in the mobile computing market. More and more manufacturers are

introducing notebooks with SSD's included or as an option (Toshiba 800, MacBook

Air, Asus eePC).

It's still new tech and relatively pricey, and currently offered mostly with

'ultra-portable' type notebooks, which aren't the ideal rigs for photo editing,

IMHO, but I think SSD's will eventually trickle down(up?) to larger 17"

powerhouse notebooks an maybe even desktops in the future as prices drop/stabilize.

I've read quite a few articles regarding their benefits and all, and the words

'reduced latency' keep popping up often.

What does it mean, actually? For example, if the next gen Macbook Pro line had

SSD's as an option, all else being equal (CPU, RAM,) would a SSD outperform a

HDD with regards to performance in Photoshop CS3, Illustartor, Corel Painter

X...etc?

Thanx in advance. Cheerz!

Both Mac and Windows(XP) are just as good, I'm sure.

I have 3 systems. A MacBook Pro 17", a 11" Fujitsu notebook running Ubuntu(Linux) and PC-BSD(Unix) and a 15" Acer running winXP.

Here's how I use them. The Mac is used for Photoshop, Corel Painter, printing, occassional browsing and iTunes. The Fujitsu (open source box, I call it) is used for programming work, office work, secure online shopping and lots of browsing, downloading/uploading. The Acer running WinXP? Err..... Porn and ...Err.... Porn... That's it really. Oh, I guess it's also used to check my secondary e-mail (hotmail) and collect spyware/malware/adware.

Just my 2 cents.

If u got the paper, I'd recommend the new Mac Pro with at least 2GB RAM or an equivalent windows box. Cheers!

Martha,

Here's another link,

http://www.benvista.com/main/content/content.php?page=ourproducts&section=photoartist_1

I've not tried it, but there's a free trial version available for download.

Cheers.

Maybe Alienskinz have a plug-in. Try googling their website.

I use Corel Painter X and I think it's the absolute best program for converting photos to paintings. Try Corel's website and see if you can download a free demo version.

Good Luck.

Hi all,

I returned a few days ago from a long photo trip to Thailand.

Had great fun and shot lots of photos (10,000+). I also brought along my JVC

Everio G7-HD7 camcorder.

Upon reviewing what I shot with the JVC, I thought to myself that some of it

would make great photos/artwork.

I'm wondering how large I'll be able to print these. I'm not looking for

absolute resolution coz I'm sure my D2x will blow away a camcorder still, HD or

not, but I'm wondering how the still will respond to interpolation, sharpening

and Corel Painter X application (I plan to convert some of these to paintings).

May also try solarizing.

This was the first time I've considered using stills from a camcorder, so any

advice at all will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Cheers!

Hi all,

I've been away from this forum for a while so I apologize in advance if someone

asked a similar question.

I was thinking of getting a Mac Pro a few months back but decided to hold onto

my paper until Leopard was released. I currently run a MacBook Pro.

I got back yesterday and found out that Apple just released it. Does anyone here

have any impressions/issues with it from a digital photography/art standpoint?

How does it work with programs like Adobe Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3,

Lightroom, Corel Painter X, Genuine Fractals, PhotoZoom Pro, Digital Anarchy

Plug-ins, PK Sharpener and hardware like Wacom Intous/Graphire tablets, Epson

x800/x880 printers and color calibration equipment.

Also, how fast is it compared to version 10.4 in general.

I'm not sure how long ago it was released, and maybe it's a bit too early for

detailed impressions, but any opinions at all would be appreciated.

Thanx.

I'm not familiar with the HP, so I won't comment on it.

I own a Eizo CG 241W, and I think it's the absolute best monitor currently available for pro photo/art work. It's pretty expensive but I think it's worth every penny.

Here's a link someone sent me when I was looking to buy a new monitor some months back. The link still works, but you may have to register (free). It features an older Eizo model (CG21, I think) and the CG241 would most likely score better.

http://www.shootsmarter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=165

Too much info. Will probably take me many visits to read everything, just looking at the number of archives.

Thanks for the link, Patrick.

Also thanx for the Mac Pro advice you gave me a few weeks ago.

Cheers.

Looking forward to your opinion, Patrick.

I'm also currently on the look-out for some good CS3 books.

Cheers!

I'll be very happy if everything Nikon says about the D3 is true. Most importantly 9fps at 14bits.

I recently heard that the D300 goes down from 6 to 2.5 fps in 14 bit mode. I hope this isn't the case for the D3 as well.

Also, I hope the D3's AF performance with it's new CAM3500 isn't flawed like the 1Dmk3 from Canon (from what I've heard at least).

In the future, I hope Nikon release a dSLR shaped like Panasonic's DMC-L1, but with a better viewfinder. I don't mind if its DX, I just like the shape. Probably won't happen, though.

Cheers!

I personally think the Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D is the best portrait lens ever, and I've used many, from Zeiss to Leica to Canon's f1.2.

Too bad the crop factor on my D2x has limited my use of this gem. I guess I'll be getting a FX body soon.

In my opinion, both AF and MF have their place.

I have not once used AF while doing macro, still-life or landscape work.

On the other hand, going manual seems stupid while following an F1 car or MotoGP bike through a fast corner.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!

It depends on what kind of pet photography. Are they your pets?

If you're doing it for someone else, it would depend on the comfort level of their dog/cat/iguana/mongoose...etc with you around. If you're shooting indoors the 70-200 may be a bit too long on a 1.5x body. If you want close-ups where the face fills the frame, a macro lens may be more suitable.

My take:

- for small pets, a macro lens

- for indoor stuff with flash/strobes... 17-55

- for outdoor stuff, like shooting in the yard... 70-200

Think of how you shoot. Have you ever wished for a larger aperture when using your 18-200. If yes, at which focal length most often?

I guess I didn't help much. Sorry.

Cheers!

Dave,

I have experience in both the wet and digital darkroom environment.

When I moved to digital, I first started learning photoshop with drum scanned images of my 35mm/med-format negs/slides. A few months later (around 2yrs ago) I got my first digi-slr. I learned all aspects of color-management, RAW workflow, sharpening...etc. Then, a few months later, I got my first inkjet printer (Epson 4800). After many months of reading books, attending seminars, trial n error and help form forums (this one included), I was able to get prints that, In my opinion, exceeded what I could achieve in the wet darkroom (10yrs experience, mind you).

What I'm saying is, the learning curve is just as steep with both methods, but with patience, the right advice and sweat, you'll be able to get great results.

I now have a new Epson 3800 and have converted my 4800 to take the Piezography K7 inkset... http://www.piezography.com/ I plan to get a 24" printer by year's end (either Epson or HP)

Inkjet printers and their drivers have come a long way with regards to print and software quality. For example, I can get better neutrality with the canned paper profiles for some popular 3rd party papers with my Epson 3800 today than with an expensive RIP with my 4800 a year ago.

These days, you have tons of resources to learn from on the net. Video tutorials, in particular, are very useful. In my wet darkroom days, I had to see someone work in person to learn something new.

Lastly, for someone like me who sell's my work for food, consistency in print quality is key. For an limited-edition type print, for example, once I get the settings right, I can print knowing each print will look exactly the same. I rarely achieved that in he wet darkroom, especially if there was a lot of masking and burning involved.

The current generation of printer's make it even easier to get quality results, as long as you understand color management and theories, especially the new HP z3100 series, with it's built in paper profiling hardware.

Just my 2 cents.

The is the first I'm hearing of 2.5 fps in 14bit mode for the D300.

I can imagine a Nikon PR guy saying, "It shoots at an amazing 6 fps BUT only 2.5 fps at it's highest quality setting." C'mon.... What the F*#K, man!

I hope it's not the same case with the D3. If Nikon suddenly say 9/11 fps in 12bit but only 5/6 fps in 14bit, I won't believe a single thing they say after that.

Hello,

I do a lot of photo painting with Corel Painter X. I currently use a Wacom

Intuos3 (A4) with their Art Pen, Ink Pen and Air Brush.

I first heard of the Cintiq 21 Tablet Monitor sometime last year. I have yet to

see one in person and the local stores don't have one in stock. They say I'll

have to order one if I want it, there isn't enough demand for it, considering

it's price. But here's the thing, the A3 size Intous3 costs more than the Cintiq

21".

I haven't read any in-depth reviews online yet but some of the 'first-look'

reviews seem to be positive. As a monitor, the people at

http://www.shootsmarter.com/ say it calibrates well and has excellent color

reproduction...etc.

I'm very tempted by the idea of 'painting directly on screen'. Can anyone give

me an opinion of how it works compared to the Intous3? Perhaps someone can give

me a link to some in-depth reviews/tests. I'm particularly interested in how it

performs compared to the Intuos3 in Corel Painter X, Adobe CS3 Photoshop and

Illustrator. Also, will the current pens I use with my Intous3 work with the Cintiq?

Thanks.

Cheerz!

Christopher,

Thanks for the advice on the monitor. I don't want to brag, but I don't think the Apple Cinema Display is an upgrade compared to my Eizo. Go to the Eizo website to see what I mean. It cost me a bomb. I've used ACDs before and the Eizo just works better, especially when it comes to soft-proofing.

You mentioned, "The (2.66) quad processors really do speed up CS2 a lot and CS3 somewhat"..... I thought CS3 would run faster than CS2 since it's Universal Binary designed to run natively on Intel Macs, that's the case with my current Macbook Pro.

Cheers.

Thanx Godfrey,

I'll check Disk Utility and Wikipedia to see if I can learn more.

The RAID Card option is a pretty expensive one, though.

Godfrey,

You stated, "and twin internal 500G drives, striped into a one-volume RAID."

Could you please elaborate. Does it mean RAID-1.... Also, what's the difference between RAID 0 and 1? Is there performance to be gained compared to using the second HD as a 'scratch disk' without RAID?

With regards to RAID, I'm more interested in performance. Back-up will be handled by my external Firewire 800 HD.

Cheers.

Hi all,

I'm contemplating getting a new Mac desktop.

Firstly, my current setup:-

MacBook Pro 17" Glossy (4GB RAM), EiZo CG241W LCD Monitor, Wacom Intous3, LaCie

250GB Firewire 800 external 'scratch' hard drive. Software I often use are Corel

Painter X, Adobe Photoshop CS3 & Lightroom, Nikon Capture NX, Canon DPP,

PhotoKit Sharpener, PhotoZoom Pro 2 (interpolation). Printers are Epson 3800(K3)

and 4800(Piezography K7). Monitor calibration is X-rite.

I work with files from 12/16 MP Dslr's and some med-format scans. Heavy

photo-editing alternating between Lightroom, CS3 and Painter X constantly,

followed by int. Many layers involved and sometimes file sizes go into the GB

region.

I'm actually reasonably satisfied with my current laptop....still I plan to get

a new Mac desktop when Leopard is released before year's end, after which I will

relegate the laptop to location painting, tethered shooting and presentation to

clients. The Eizo will be migrated to the desktop.

I'm currently looking at the Mac Pro. What specs would you guys recommend. I

expect to be working with a 20MP+ Dslr in future and will probably purchase a

24" printer. Plan to experiment with Fractal generation software. Maybe get

another monitor, if I have cash leftover or at a later time.

I know what you buy today will be obsolete next week, but I expect to use this

new setup for at least 3-4 years, with maybe a Ram upgrade in between. I can't

give a budget because I live in Singapore and I'm not familiar with US/UK

pricing. Please recommend something you think will be adequate....I don't grow

money in my garden and I'm not working for Pixar/NASA. I don't want to spend

more than I have to.

Is the quadcore CPU option overkill? 4 or 8 GB RAM? Video Card(s)? Will RAID be

useful for my purposes and if it is, do you think the high-cost is worthy?

If you guys have the time, try http://www.apple.com.sg/store/ ....It's the

Singapore website. I'm hoping I can get something between 7k-10k SG$ (including

Apple Care, Bluetooth, Keyboard...no monitor).

Thanks in advance. Appreciate the advice.

Cheerz!

P.S... Can someone explain Xsan and XServe RAID to me, please. I apologize for

being an idiot.