New to Digital

[guy]

Hi,

I'm new to digital photo, I bought a HP R707 5.1MP, this model was strongly recommended to me. (By the way I work for HP) I don't know if I'm experiencing problems or if I'm not familiar enough with my new R707 but I feel that the resolution or focus of the pictures are not what I would expect. I took picture at the highest resolution and when I transfered it to a photo shop to produce prints, I was told that the resolution is not enough for 8"x10" prints.

I tought with 5.1MP I could have equal quality prints that I had with 35mm .

Can anybody help me,

Regards,

Guy

[Michael Fanelli]

Hi,

I'm new to digital photo, I bought a HP R707 5.1MP, this model was strongly recommended to me. (By the way I work for HP) I don't know if I'm experiencing problems or if I'm not familiar enough with my new R707 but I feel that the resolution or focus of the pictures are not what I would expect. I took picture at the highest resolution and when I transferred it to a photo shop to produce prints, I was told that the resolution is not enough for 8"x10" prints.

I tought with 5.1MP I could have equal quality prints that I had with 35mm .

The first thing to realize is that digital provides you with many tools but also a lot more responsibility for the results.

Out of focus results are usually just that: the focus was incorrect. You have to make sure that the AF system is pointing where you think it is. If your camera allows it, set the focus to the center point. This allows you to focus-recompose-shoot. This is very fast and very accurate.

Beginners often mix up "out of focus" with a lack of sharpening. All digital images must be sharpened, either in-camera or in external software. Try setting the sharpening to a higher level if your camera allows you to. See if that makes the photos look more "in focus."

I have no idea what you mean when you say that PhotoShop doesn't allow you to print 8x10s. I have PS and have never seen this. My old 3 MP Canon G1 produced 8x10s as good as 35mm film. You 5 MP camera will create images a lot better and bigger than that.

Why not post a sample or two along with the EXIF data so we can get a better idea of the problems you are having.

[guy]

I tried to download an example but I receive the following message "File Too Large. Exceeds PHP's limit of 2.00 MB.", is there a way that I can post a picture so you can see it.

[Michael Fanelli]

I tried to download an example but I receive the following message "File Too Large. Exceeds PHP's limit of 2.00 MB.", is there a way that I can post a picture so you can see it.

Extract the EXIF and then use PS to reduce the image to 72 dpi with 500-550 pixels in the longest direction. That should give you less than 100K at reasonable jpeg compression.

[guy]

Extract the EXIF and then use PS to reduce the image to 72 dpi with 500-550 pixels in the longest direction. That should give you less than 100K at reasonable jpeg compression.

Since I'm a beginner I have no clue about what is EXIF, can you please give me more details.

Thanks,

[guy]

Extract the EXIF and then use PS to reduce the image to 72 dpi with 500-550 pixels in the longest direction. That should give you less than 100K at reasonable jpeg compression.

Here is the EXIF info. but when I try to apply 500 x 550DPI I get a file of 14Mb, can you help me .


Make - Hewlett-Packard
Model - HP PhotoSmart R707 (V01.00)
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
DateTime - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
YCbCrPositioning - Co-Sited
ReferenceBlackWhite - 0
ExifOffset - 410
ExposureTime - 175/100000 seconds
FNumber - 4.80
ExposureProgram - Not defined
ISOSpeedRatings - 7008
OECF - 924
ExifVersion - 220
DateTimeOriginal - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
DateTimeDigitized - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
ShutterSpeedValue - 1/572 seconds
ApertureValue - F 4.83
BrightnessValue - 7.32
ExposureBiasValue - 0.00
MaxApertureValue - F 2.64
SubjectDistance - 4.02 m
MeteringMode - Other
LightSource - Other
Flash -
FocalLength - 8.00 mm
FlashPixVersion - 100
ColorSpace - sRGB
ExifImageWidth - 2592
ExifImageHeight - 1952
FocalPlaneXResolution - 0.00
FocalPlaneYResolution - 0.00
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - No unit
ExposureIndex - 100
SensingMethod - None
SceneType - Other
CustomRendered - 2912 (other)
ExposureMode - 6096 (other)
WhiteBalance - 6320 (other)
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 6800 mm
SceneCaptureType - 7024 (other)
GainControl - 7216 (other)
Contrast - 7440 (other)
Saturation - 7664 (other)
Sharpness - 7936 (other)
DeviceSettingDescription -
 0000A00007A00008A0HPSI0002 0011A00001A00001A000000000 0021A00000A00000A000000000 0031A000¤
SubjectDistanceRange - 5440 (other)

[Michael Fanelli]

Here is the EXIF info. but when I try to apply 500 x 550DPI I get a file of 14Mb, can you help me .


Make - Hewlett-Packard
Model - HP PhotoSmart R707 (V01.00)
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
DateTime - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
YCbCrPositioning - Co-Sited
ReferenceBlackWhite - 0
ExifOffset - 410
ExposureTime - 175/100000 seconds
FNumber - 4.80
ExposureProgram - Not defined
ISOSpeedRatings - 7008
OECF - 924
ExifVersion - 220
DateTimeOriginal - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
DateTimeDigitized - 2004:06:19 14:09:44
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
ShutterSpeedValue - 1/572 seconds
ApertureValue - F 4.83
BrightnessValue - 7.32
ExposureBiasValue - 0.00
MaxApertureValue - F 2.64
SubjectDistance - 4.02 m
MeteringMode - Other
LightSource - Other
Flash -
FocalLength - 8.00 mm
FlashPixVersion - 100
ColorSpace - sRGB
ExifImageWidth - 2592
ExifImageHeight - 1952
FocalPlaneXResolution - 0.00
FocalPlaneYResolution - 0.00
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - No unit
ExposureIndex - 100
SensingMethod - None
SceneType - Other
CustomRendered - 2912 (other)
ExposureMode - 6096 (other)
WhiteBalance - 6320 (other)
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 6800 mm
SceneCaptureType - 7024 (other)
GainControl - 7216 (other)
Contrast - 7440 (other)
Saturation - 7664 (other)
Sharpness - 7936 (other)
DeviceSettingDescription -
 0000A00007A00008A0HPSI0002 0011A00001A00001A000000000 0021A00000A00000A000000000 0031A000¤
SubjectDistanceRange - 5440 (other)

Without seeing the actual photo, I can make a fisrt guess. You are shooting with a high shutter speed and a large aperture (f/4.8). That large aperture reduced DOF so only parts of the image will be in focus. This is less of a reduction with the camera you have as the actual focal lengths are very small.

Is there any portion of the photos, no matter how small, that actually is in focus?

[guy]

Without seeing the actual photo, I can make a fisrt guess. You are shooting with a high shutter speed and a large aperture (f/4.8). That large aperture reduced DOF so only parts of the image will be in focus. This is less of a reduction with the camera you have as the actual focal lengths are very small.

Is there any portion of the photos, no matter how small, that actually is in focus?

I used the automatic setting, so I had no control over aperture. I think I was able to reduce the file enough to attach it now. I bought a book on digital photo to figure how to do it.

Let me know if It's ok.

Thanks for your help,

[Michael Fanelli]

I used the automatic setting, so I had no control over aperture. I think I was able to reduce the file enough to attach it now. I bought a book on digital photo to figure how to do it.

Let me know if It's ok.

Yep, this is good. The reduced DOF is not the problem as I could see nothing in he camera that was sharp.

I did a small amount of sharpening which made a big difference. I am assuming that you did not do post-processing? But, to be honest, it still wasn't the way it should be.

As you work for HP, I'd suggest having someone look at the camera to make sure it is operating properly. First, do two things. One, make sure your lens is clean. It is really easy to get fingerprints or other gunk on it. Second, if it is possible with the camera, set it to "Av" mode and set the aperture to f/8. See if things are soft at this aperture.

Let us know!