charmianjoy

<p>Thank you so much everyone! I will look up these online companies that you have all suggested. Any more information would be great...the problem is that I print my photos full frame from my 2:1 sensor camera (5D), so I'm always needing custom framing/matting and it can get really expensive. :(</p>

<p>I still wonder if anyone has used ArtSupply.com...</p>

<p>Has anyone used ArtSupply.com? And if so, has using them been a positive experience (service, shipping, quality, reliability)?</p>

<p>They seem to have very good prices on many things I am looking into purchasing to help me with my photo art - aka Logan Mat Cutters, Gator board, Mats, etc. </p>

<p>I'm also interested in the framing kits they have; I have only used framing kits back in college but I don't remember where we purchased them. Now I live in Hawaii (Oahu) and no stores carry the kits that I'm aware of. Any suggestions? I'm looking for a good gallery-style good quality but relatively unexpensive black frame kit. I prefer frame kits since my photos tend to be printed at odd sizes.</p>

<p>Any other online store suggestions (besides the obvious Adorma, B&H, etc) - or...if you live on Oahu, any local supply stores that you have had good results with? - I have been to Hawaiian Graphics, but they run pretty expensive. </p>

<p>Thanks for any suggestions!</p>

<p>The FIRST crop by Michael Lawson is by far the best. Go that route! :) The others have too many distraction elements that make your eye confused. The composition of the first crop is great and definitely makes the image interesting!</p>

<p>Charles - thank you so much for your detailed description of the waterslide process that I'm interested in. Thank you also for the great referrals...you really helped to answer my questions. :)</p>

<p>Peter - glad to hear you work in this area...I will be doing some research and contact you in the near future. Thanks!</p>

<p>Thanks...I've noted InkAID and Golden's...<br>

Yeah, I'm definitely expecting these services to be expensive...do you know of actual companies that provide the actual straight-to-print...where all I'd have to do is send them the digital file and money?<br>

I'm also interested in this transfer medium - waterslide...I'll look it up but do you have any more information on that?</p>

<p>Hi friends,<br>

I would like to print several of my photos on mediums other than paper/canvas. This is something I would like to make available to my customers...so it needs to be <strong>very professional quality</strong>.</p>

<p>I am looking for a good company to do stuff like this...printing on:<br>

-cloth (for pillows, table cloths, etc)<br>

-wood (for wall decor mainly)<br>

-glass<br>

-ceramic</p>

<p>I have been searching on the internet but haven't come up with anything I'm impressed with. Any referrals or suggestions? <br>

I'm also interested in any companies that can take one of my photos and produce area rugs from it. I live in Hawaii, but I could work with a mainland company if they are willing to ship directly to my customers.<br>

Any suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!</p>

<p>Thank you everyone for the discussion! I know this always brings out the worst in Mac and PC fanboys but I still appreciate the comments. ;) Every comment brings up good points so I will definitely take all into consideration. I'm pretty comfortable on both PC and Mac, so I will do some more checking around for pricing comparisons...I have Photoshop on my PC so it would be beneficial to stay PC...but I love Mac's tools...aaah. <br>

Okay, THANK YOU once again.</p>

<p>Very good points about PC's. I am still on the fence.<br>

My current PC has Windows XP, but I have used Vista on other computers and HATE IT.<br>

The best arguements I can come up with for Mac right now are the imaging related tools, security (they don't get viruses)....and...I've heard monitor callibration is internal?<br>

...seems to me that the PC really is a better idea even though there are faithful Mac users out there.</p>

<p>Thank you everyone.<br>

Okay, yes sorry for the confusion...it was 4gb RAM and 3.06ghz. So why should I get the 2.8ghz version if the 3.06 is faster...especially with a 750gb hdd? Is it just not <em>that </em>much faster?<br>

And thank you for the advice for the Apple Care Extended Warranty since that is definitely something I will be purchasing...I will check LA Computer.<br>

Can someone explain the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB <strong>vs</strong>. NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory for me?<br>

I definitely would prefer to get an Apple computer over a PC, I just want to make sure that the price tag is worthwhile. :)</p>

<p>ooooopsss...yes it was 4gb RAM sorry! 512mb something else...obviously I don't know what I'm talking about. ;)</p>

<p>Aloha Friends,</p>

<p>I am purchasing a new computer to help further my career in photography. My current computer is a Dell laptop that I used in college for papers/internet and it's way too slow now...plus I am unable to use callibration software on it. I have worked with Macs for imaging purposes in college, but that is about the extent of my Mac knowledge. I didn't find anything majorly groundbreaking with Macs that makes me think they are truly superior, but I keep hearing that they are for imaging.</p>

<p>I am planning on getting an iMac...24inch / 3.66ghz / 500gb hdd / 512mb RAM etc etc...basically the best iMac that exists...including everything I want, the price tag is about $3200.</p>

<p>Problem: I can get the the same thing in PC except a 750gb hdd for only $2100. I am divided. I have always wanted a Mac, but is it REALLY worth it?? Really people, I need a good educated answer.</p>

<p>Also, I have heard that there is a reocurring problem with iMacs...after 2 years they just quit on you and lose all your information; of course I back everything up, but I want a computer that will last and be worth the $3200!</p>

<p>Thank you for any input! :)</p>

<p>Thanks Charles!! I really appreciate the advice. I will also check out your website!</p>

<p>Thanks guys...I always shoot RAW and of course I would use a tripod and cable release. I know I could work with just about any lighting, even natural lighting, but I actually want to experiment with studio lights...</p>

<p>I guess my question was more, is there a specific (brand)...something small, a kit including a light, backdrops, inexpensive that someone can reference and vouch for?</p>

<p>Hi friends,</p>

<p>I am wanting to photograph flowers, shells, and other small little items on plain black/white simple backgrounds and w/ subdued studio lighting as an experimental fine art project. </p>

<p>I've seen some amazing fine art flower still life photos and some seriously crappy ones. I want it to be very artful rather than basic studio. </p>

<p>My question is, what kind of small portable studio/lighting would you suggest to fulfill this? I photograph mainly outdoors and haven't touched studio or studio lighting since college so I need some suggestions. :) I'm not wanting any major expensive equipment...something small and portable...simple. Thanks for any input!</p>

Hi Sarah, I appreciate your comments; I apologize for not responding to your comment earlier; I haven't checked

back for several days because the other posts weren't helping me at all. Compressing Tiffs to Jpeg of course isn't

optimal for anything, but it is necessary when working in the stock industry. Regular Jpeg compression takes you

from about a 50mb Tiff to 10-12mb Jpeg at maximum quality; whereas BoxTop can cut that in half. Anyways, I'm

looking into the Save for Web options and also looking at any new options offered with CS. I've used Save for Web

for my personal websites before, but never for stock; we'll see what I come up with. :) That link is great and gave me

some ideas. Thanks again!

 

As for the rest of the posts, they did not help me at all; talking story with me about how much you know about

cameras and jpegs doesn't help. I know what jpegs are, I know what tiffs are, I know the difference in quality etc etc

etc; working in the stock industry is different than what you may do for your personal photography; i know what file

size digital SLR cameras produce, so telling me all the information does nothing for me. All I want is someone to

shed light on another jpeg compression mode other than BoxTop and the regular built-in Jpeg compression.

Basically, give me a better option than the one I must use right now.

Ok, first of all, I am very aware of Photoshop CS3. We currently use CS2 in the office, but are moving in the CS3 direction very soon; there were a few bugs with CS3 which is why we waited to get the program until now. So what you're saying, Ellis, is that there might be a compression system that would replace us having to use BoxTop compression while using CS3 digital darkroom?

 

Secondly, I'm talking about BOXTOP jpeg compression; NOT the regular jpeg compression that everyone knows and uses. I'm looking for something comparable to what BoxTop does, but doesn't have the same bugs.

Hello,

 

I work for a stock photography company as an image retoucher. I work with photography from a number of different

contributing photographers. They all submit in Tiff, but after optimization, we compress to jpeg for online storage,

sending to clients, etc.

 

Currently we work with 50mb Tiffs, then we compress using BoxTop Jpeg to about 5mb for storage/sending. While

Boxtop works fine for now, we're increasingly becoming irritating with it's little bugs and we'd definitely like to move

on to a better compression jpeg format. I've been doing some research but can't seem to find anything

groundbreaking. Does anyone have any input?

 

Here are some of the bugs that I've experienced with BoxTop Jpeg:

 

-Files color shift when compressed; the colors in the files look very dull compared to the Tiff; they do not retain the

same color information in Adobe RGB that I see while viewing the Tiff file, unless I switch them to sRGB.

 

-There is a slight bit of pixel corruption when compressed to BoxTop jpeg from Tiff.

 

-Sometimes I work with converting color photos to B&W in Photoshop; I use the Channel Mixer to do this, thus

allowing me to work with then individual color channels (Monochromatic); I save in RGB. HOWEVER, when

compressing a Tiff to BoxTop Jpeg, the Image Mode defaults to Grayscale....I don't want it to be Grayscale if I didn't

change it myself.

 

-BoxTop doesn't really have updated versions to fix such bugs, so it's just a bit hard to work with at this point.

 

Any ideas?

Thanks much! This was very helpful.

Thank you Richard. I will take all this into consideration and do a bit more searching.

 

I am probably going with a Bogen 488RC2 ballhead that has a quick release 3157N camera plate...do you happen to know if this would fit with the RRS L-Plate for the L-Bracket? I think I would be more interested in an L-Bracket than an Arca Compatible plate anyways.

Thank you so much for the input, Craig. I think I'm staying at way from the L-Brackets for now to simplify things and I definitely think I can live without it.

 

I just found a tripod from Giottos that I think would fit my needs, the Giottos MT-9360. I'm wondering why it's so cheap compared to other similar tripods from Giottos...possibly because it's 5.5lbs? :)

Aloha,

 

I am going to be taking a two-week trip in Aug/Sept to Yosemite and the

California/Oregon coast and I currently have $40 tripod that doesn't let me do what

I want and is too long when folded for my travel bag. I need to purchase a new

reasonably-priced/somewhat small and light-weight tripod for my trip. I don't need

anything majorly fancy, but here are the basics of what I do want:

 

Legs:

-less than $170

-able to support about 10 lbs

-less than 23" when folded

-less than 5 lbs

-adjustable legs for ground-level shots

-adjustable center column

-twist lock legs

 

My two picks for legs are:

1. Flashpoint F-1128

http://www.adorama.com/FPTPF1128.html?searchinfo=flashpoint%20F-

1128&item_no=1

2. Giottos MT-9251

http://www.adorama.com/GTMT9251.html?searchinfo=giotto%20MT-

9251&item_no=1

 

Head:

-less than $130

-quick release

-ball head

-tight lock

 

My two picks for heads are:

1. Bogen Manfrotto Midi Ball

http://www.adorama.com/BG488RC0.html?searchinfo=bogen%20ball%

20head&item_no=10

2. Bogen Manfrotto GripAction Ball head 322RC2

http://www.adorama.com/BG322RC2.html?searchinfo=322RC2&item_no=2

 

So now my question is, which legs and which head should I choose? What is

everyone's recommendations on this? There seem to be plus's and minus's for

all. Two of my main questions are as follows:

 

-I like the price on the Giottos MT-9251 tripod legs, but the specifications on the

tripod seem a little sketchy because they don't match the title, does anyone have

positive or negative feedback on this tripod??

 

-I like the idea of the Bogen Manfrotto GripAction Ball head 322RC2, but how

strong is the grip? What are the negatives? Would it be safer to stick with a more

traditional ball head like the other one I mentioned?

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! :)

Thank you all for the advice!!! I'll do some adjustments and see if that helps...will post again if I notice an improvement. :D

Aloha!

 

I've been using the Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED for scanning my 35mm slides

(mostly Fuji Velvia 50). I have noticed that the scanned image is very "flat"

and desaturated compared to the transparency itself. I am scanning at 16bit,

using Digital ICE and I just can't seem to figure out why my end project is so

different...it's very hard to correct in photoshop too. It seems like the

problem areas are the lighter parts of shadows (instead of color it reads

gray)...as if the scanner cannot read certain colors in the upper shadow

range. I've been reading up on Digital DEE and ROC/GEM but after playing

around with those settings it still doesn't help. Any thoughts?<div></div>