Photography And The Computer

by Ted Peterson
The computer can be a good tool that the photographer can use to improve his pictures besides record keeping.
This article is made up in three sections. The first part is about taking, inputting and storing your pictures on a computer. The second part is about what you can do and not do to a picture with a computer, and the third part is about the outputting your pictures to either a printer or having a slide or negative made of your picture.
INPUT
There are different ways to get your pictures on a computer and with varying cost.
One way is to take a new roll of undeveloped film, take your pictures and then have Kodak develop them and at that time have them scan the pictures on a CD Disk. Their charge is $3.15 a roll to develop the film, $10.00 for the blank CD and $.41 a picture for all the pictures on the roll. For a 24 picture roll this will be $22.98 to $30.00 for either slide or print films.
If you already have negatives or slides, they will charge $10.00 for the CD and $1.49 each for the first 49 slides or negative.
Another way is going to an independent processor. They will charge $10.00 for the CD, and from $.50 to $1.00 per picture depending whom they are. They will also add pictures to a CD that you already have without the CD charge and then charge for each picture. They may have a minimum service charge.
For non salon print or slide (record) you can have some labs, including Kodak, scan your pictures on 3 1/2" floppie disks. The quality is not as good but for record shots or Xmas cards, web sites, etc. it is OK. The price will be about $7.50 extra.
You can scan them yourself from both a flatbed or a 35mm scanner.
A 35mm film scanner will scan a 35mm black and white or color slide or negative.
They scan at a high resolution so that the output is as good as the input. They cost from $400.00 and up. More information later on.
Flatbed scanners are used for prints. You scan them like you would with a color copy machine. More about them later on.
After you have scanned them you will need some way to store them for later use.
If you are using the picture at the same time as you scan the picture, you can use your hard drive. You then go into the Adobe Photoshop or Print Shop Pro programs. This will also be later on.
If you are scanning them yourself you need to have some place to store them. One way is using your computer's hard drive. A picture uses 8 to 32 meg of memory. I picked up a 4 gig drive and divided it into 5 drives (E to I) so I could save different type of pictures on different drives.On my new computer I have 3 30 gig drives.
Another way is to use Zip Drives. You can save 12 8 meg pictures on each 100 meg disk. See article later on.
Another way is to use a CD recorder. The disks costs from $.10 to $1.00 each. The recorders cost from $100.00 and up. See this article later on.
FLATBED and OTHER SCANNERS
There are a large number of scanners that can scan and insert pictures into a computer. This part will cover both print scanners and a way to input video pictures into your computer.
Most of the scanners for sale are what are called "Flatbed Scanners". They are made to scan a 8 1/2 x 11 to an 8 1/2 X 14 inch picture or other items. They work like an office copy machine. They are made by almost all the computer companies like Hewlett Packard, Microtek, Canon, Sony, etc. with the first 2 being the largest makers.
When you pick a scanner up, make sure that it is both a color and a black/white scanner, and with a resolution of 2400 and up (if it is a flatbed scanner). For others see below.
The price, at this time, for flatbed scanners will be from $49.00 and up. (It changes from day to day). The better price ones, most of the time, are a lot faster and have a higher resolution. Some of the middle price ones are GOOD. The price may also include items that they pack with their scanners.
Some of the flatbed scanners will come with a Scsi adapter that you can use if you do not have one installed in your computer. This adapter may be for one Scsi devices only, or a full Scsi adapter that you can attach 6 different Scsi devices in a chain. You can also pick up a Scsi adaptor, if needed, for from $60.00 to $198.00. Most of the new ones are USB.
A larger number of the new scanners are ones that plugs into the printer port of the computer and then the printers are plugged into the back of the scanner. No Scsi port needed.
Some of the newer one plug into the USB port of your computer.
With these scanners you can use it as a black/white scanner, a copy machine, or a color scanner. You can scan a page out of a book or a mounted picture, etc.
Another type of scanner is one that you roll your picture through. These are good for scanning your documents or receipts etc. They cost from $50.00 and up. They cannot scan a page out of a book or a mounted picture, etc., because the item may have to bend going through the scanner. I have one by Hewlett Packard.
Most of the scanners will have some programs bundled with them. Some will come with a small or light, version of Adobe Photoshop and a black and white word processing program. More information on Adobe further on. What the word processing program will do is let you scan a printed copy and then you will be able to transfer it into a word processing file that you can work with.
Another type is one that you roll over the pictures called a hand scanner. They sell from $49.00 and up. I have one that costs me $39.00 with the computer adapter. You may have to make 2 or more passes with this type because they are only 5 inches wide. They come with a program so that you will be able to combine 2 or more passes together to make one page or picture. These are good if you are moving around and need to copy with a notebook computer.
The next group are special small scanners that you slide small pictures into that will then scan them. The first one is called Easy Photo that have a resolution of 1200 and at this time cost $100.00 after rebate. The second one is one by Kodak that cost $149.00 with a resolution of 600 , you cannot see any difference between them. These are also good when moving from place to place with a notebook computer. You can use the HP Film Scanner below for small pictures up to 4 X 6.
The next group of scanners are the ones that you attach to your VCR or camcorder. When a picture comes up that you would like to use on your computer you hit a key and that picture is scanned into your computer. One is called "Snappy", cost $99.99. There are also a group of different cards that goes into your computer that cost from $150.00 to $400.00 ea that will use one of the bays in your computer. Some of the sound cards that you may have will have a plug that you then plug in your camcorder.
FILM SCANNERS
One way that you can scan your pictures into a computer is by a film scanner.
There are more then ten different models for sale. What you need is a scanner with as high a resolution as you can get. The more the better.
The standard that Kodak installs on their CD, is becoming the standard for 35mm color slides and negatives. They use over 2,750,000 pixels or 7.9mb of memory. To make the best pictures that you can, you will use 11,000,000 pixels or about 32 meg of memory.
As you can see they are fine pieces of equipment. Where flatbed scanners will cost less then $500.00, film scanners will cost a lot more.
Some of the above scanners are priced out of the amateur price range and I will not talk about them at this time, but I will take up the others.
The lowest priced one is the one by Hewlett Packard. This one sells for $499.99 and will do a good job. The top scan will be be 2400 and in the tif mode will use 17.5 megs. That is the one that I work with. It will scan a 35 mm slide in under 2 minutes.
The next one up is the one by Microtek that sells for from $700.00 to $750.00. It is a good start but the other two are better. The Microtek has a resolution of 2592 x 2592 so the film size would be OK, both vertical and horizontal, at the posted resolution rate of 1950 dpi. The other 2 have better resolution, etc.
Minolta has come out with a medium grade scanner that sells for about $600.00. It has a resolution of 2,336. This should work in most places.
Minolta Quickscan 35 and Polaroid are a lot better. Minolta feeds from the front end and goes in horizontal and you change the vertical pictures in the computer. Polaroid feeds from the side and will scan the picture and you change vertical pictures in the scanner.
The resolution of the Minolta is 2820 dpi and the Polaroid is 2850 dpi so they are about the same. The picture scanned on the Minolta is 4032 x 2688. As you see they make a better resolution picture than the Microtek. The cost of the Minolta is from $875.00-$950.00 and for the Polaroid from $1,200.00 and up.
The Polaroid works a lot faster then the Minolta and it loads either vertical or horizontal. Also the Polaroid picture, in pre-scan, looks almost the same as the picture. In Minolta a pre-scan picture is a poster or poor copy of what is scanned, but it will show you what the picture will look like and the picture size.
If you have larger format film then 35mm, Minolta has came out with a large industrial scanner that will take all films from 16mm up to 6X9. (120/220,6X4.5, 6X6, 6X7, 6X9, 17.28mm, 16mm, and Microscope 56.16mm. ) They have holders for them all. The cost is $2,500 with a dpi of 2,820 resolution.
Working with Adobe Photoshop you can scan a picture so that any part, or the conplete picture, can be saved to your computer.
There are 2 ways to scan in a picture. First way is to use the program that comes with the scanner. You will scan in the picture, save it and then see the picture by loading the saved picture in Adobe. The second way is to let Adobe control the scanner and then you will see the picture, and then you save that picture if you wish.
You can save the picture with any file type that you would want. If using the scanner program , from the scanner, it will save as a .bmp file. With Adobe you can use other types of files.
ZIP and OTHER HARD DRIVES
Because of memory requirements of programs, pictures and files a 3.5" floppy does not have enough space to do some of the work needed.
A 3.5" floppy can hold only 1.44 meg of memory. A good 35mm color picture will take from 5 to 30 megs of memory depending on the program and the needed use. As you can see you would need from 8 to 30 floppies so floppies will not work.
There are three different ways to store a large amount of data. They are: Hard Drives, CD recorders, and Zip drives.
A Zip drive is a 100 megs (some of the new ones can be up to 250 megs) removable recorder hard drive. They are made by Iomega and comes in four models. One model plugs into your computer printer port and then your printer plugs into the back of your Zip Drive. The 2nd one is one that plugs into a Scsi port. The third one will work both by connecting to the printer port or into the Scsi but will cost about $80.00 more and the last one will plug into the USB port..
If you are using Windows 3.1, the one that plugs into your printer port will make you reload the program each time you turn on your computer.
Also, in most of the PCs, if you have Scsi devices on your computer and you have the printer port Zip drive turned on, you will NOT be able to use the other Scsi devices. If you can pick up the Scsi Zip drive and use it, so much the better. The Scsi Zip drive will work as fast as your regular hard drive and you can keep it on all the time. You have to turn on your Zip drives first before you turn on your computer on all models.
The Zip drive will use disks about the same size as a 3.5" floppy but about 2 times thicker. The cost was about $10.00 (for the 100 megs and $20.00 for the 250 ones) but the price the other day was down to $6.99 for the 100 ones. The 250 megs will use record on both the 100 meg and the 250 meg disks but the price for the 250 megs will cost more. The 100 megs drives themself will cost about $49.00 and uo and the 250 megs will cost $179.00 and up.
For help, you will not get an answer on the phone and if you write a letter to Iomega you will get a form letter saying to contact them on their web page or by e-mail only. You cannot get through to them on the phone.
All PCs needs a Zip drive. Both as a way to save a lot of memory, to store pictures, or if you are working in a place that other people can get to your computer when you are not there, you can do your work on a Zip and then take the disk with you, or lock it up until needed or when you send in your pictures to have slides or prints made.
New hard drives can be used if you need more memory. All PCs are made so that they can have 2 hard drives with as large a number of partitions as needed. If you are using Window 3.1 or 95 none of your hard drive partitions can be over 2 gig. If you have a larger drive (like a 4 gig) you have to partition it out. With some Window 95, all Window 98 and Windows ME you do not have this trouble.
The price of hard drives have come down (you can get a 60 gig drive for as little as $99.00). You can then place this new drive in with your main drive therefore 2 different hard drives. I have picked up a 60 gig drive and then set the new drive up as 2 different 30 gigs. You can also pick up a different hard drive to use on your Scsi. They are a lot faster.
CD RECORDERS
You can now own a CD recorder. Until a couple years ago it was against US law to inport CD Recorders into the US.
CD's are a way to store a little over 630 meg of memory, (most people will list 650 meg to be on the safe side). If you are picking up a CD player only, make sure to buy one that is a multi-tasking type. The difference in price between a 12X and a 24X is only about $25.00 and as the 24X will cost under $100.00, you should pick up the 24X.
There are three types of CD Recorders for sale. I have all 3 of them.
The first type sold in the US market were the ones like the Pinnacle Micro Recordable CD. They were good, but any CD recorded on them could not be read on a regular CD player. You had to use that recorder to be able to read that CD. The cost, when I picked it up, was $1,500.00.
The second groups are the new ones like the Philips CD Recorders. Any CD recorded on them can be read on any CD player that will play at 4X or higer..
The third type of CD Rewrightible Recorder is the ones that you can use the CD over and over again for about 5 times. The disks cost $15.00 each, but you can use regular blank CDs if you do not rewrite to them. I have 3. See my article on CR-CRW Recorders about them. The price has now came down to about $100.00
A new program that has came out has corrected the biggest drawback of all CD Recorders. That is, in the past if you stopped recording and wanted to start over on that CD at some other time, you would lose from 6 to 10 meg of space.
That program called "Direct CD" will let you use your CD recorder like you would any hard drive but without being able to record over any part that was already recorded. You will not lose any space.
There is one drawback to Direct CD. After you install the Direct CD program on your computer you CANNOT use any of your scsi scanners until you uninstall that program. At that time you can then use your scanners. It takes about 3 min to uninstall the program. With the price of blank CD at this time you do not need to do this. You can also install the Direct CD program on a Zip disk so that when you need to use it you can then use that Zip disk. You take it out when not needed.
You will be able to place about 87 7.99 meg pictures plus index on each disk. The disks will cost from $.10 to $1.00 depending on brands and time that you buy them. The computer stores play with the price on this item. The last 30 blank CD cost me $.00. I picked up 20 for $19.95 with a rebate of $20.00. The price in 4 different stores the other day was $3.99 for 10 or under $.40 ea.
CD recorders makes a good backup for your hard drives.
The Philip CD Recorders cost from $500.00 to $600.00. There are a lot of different brands on the market but make sure that you get a correct type. Most of them will record at 2X and play back at 4X. You will be able to play them back on any CD player at 4X or faster. Some of the models on the market will sell for under $350.00.
CHANGES to PICTURES - ADOBE PHOTOSHOP - PICTURE PUBLISHER
After inputting your pictures into your computer, you can do a great number of things to them.
There are different programs that you can use. I have two programs. They are Pictures Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, and Print Shop Pro.. I am using Adobe and trying Picture Publisher.
With these programs you will be able to do all the following:
Combine 2 or more pictures into one picture. You will think that it is then one picture and not be able to see any difference in the picture.
Change the overall color or tint to the complete picture.
Change the color or tint of one item in the picture.
Change the color or tint of all items that are of a given color.
Take out a tree, phone wire, a car or some other item.
Change an item in a picture. Like changing the shape of a nose or any thing else. You can change any thing. I know of one member that changed a picture of a car that was new so that it looks like it was in a wreck.
Changing the size of an item and then combining that item into another picture. You can then have a man that is two or more feet high with a 10 foot door, etc.
Rotating an item in a picture.
Hand drawing in an item, Like adding a name to a hat, etc.
You can do almost any thing you can think of to a picture.
These 2 different programs may come bundled with your scanner. These copies will be "Light Version". That is they are incomplete copies but they will work.
Adobe has a large number of versions. I have version 1.1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 5.5. Number 5.5 is the latest version. The "posted" list price is $540.00, but you can get a better price by shopping around or if you have a old version get a update 5.5 for $181.00.. Picture Publisher will cost about $125.00 and will do most of the things that Adobe will.
OUTPUT
After you have corrected the photo so that it is to the point that you would like to keep or show it, you can do all the following.
You can save it to your hard drive if you have room.
You can save it to a CD by using a CD recorder.
You can save it to a Zip disk. By doing this you will be able to take the disk to a local lab and they will be able to make a 35mm color slide or negative for you. Most major cities have labs that will do this. The cost can be from $2.50 to $4.00 each picture. When you get the slide or negative back you will not know the difference between it and any other slide or negative.
If you cannot find a lab in your town contact Ellis M. Zacharias: 3300 North 7th Street, Broken Arrow, OK 74012-8200. If you need information on the cost ($3.00 ea)(24 hour turnaround) or what format he needs send a e mail to: EZach111@aol.com
Another thing you can do is to output this photo to a color printer. Use an inkjet or lazer printer, as dot matrix printers (tractor feed) printer will not make a good print.
There are a large number of printers on the market from $39.00 to $1,500.00. The two largest makers are Hewlett Packard and Epson, both are made around Portland Oregon. These are the only two that I checked into. They make the most computer printers.
Both brands will print better then 600 dpi and will do a good job with the picture.
Hewlett Packard will print faster then the Epson except the Epson 800, 850,860 and 900 that are as fast as the H.P. The Hewlett Packard will print at about 650 dpi while the Epson will print at 720-1440. The average person cannot tell the difference. Also Epson has a good printer that will print color pictures at 1440 up to 13 X 41 and sells for about $499.00.
One of the largest non-profit testing labs printed a article saying that the Epson Stylus Pro, 400 color 600 color, and 800 are the best color printers on the market, BUT where the Hewlett Packard will take 3-4 min. to print a 8 X 11 full color print the Epson will take from 10-12 min. to do the same job from the same negative, except the 800-850 that will take 5 minutes..
I picked up the Epson because it cost less and my time is open.
One thing you may want to think about when ordering a ink jet printers is the cost of the ink jet cartridge or the price per page to print. Cartridge cost from $19.95 ea to $35.95 each. Each Epson B/W cartridge will print from 900-1600 pages depending on how much is printed on each page.
Another thing that you should think about is that ink jet ink is water soluble so do not let the paper or picture get wet or may run. Some of the new ink will not run as bad. Also the pictures can fade if hung in strong light or sun unless you spray some type of protection on them. The new 6 color Epson ink will not fade if hung in strong light.
The H.P. and Canon can be refilled as they donot use vacuum to spred the ink. They use heat so you can refill each cartridge from 3-4 times. The ink is cheap and by using a hypo needle most can do a good job.
You CANNOT refill a Epson. They use a vacuum to spred the ink and if you punch the cartridge you will make it so that it will not work.
I only checked on these two companies but there are a lot of good printers out there. Lexmark has the best warranty. I sold a Lexmark that I got with my Aptiva to a friend after I had it for 6 months. He took it out of the box and used it for 2 months when a spring came out and he could not get it back together again. He called the 800 number on the box to find out what to do, they asked for the model number and his name and address.
They asked nothing else but said that they would take care of it. They shipped a new one out that day by Fed Exp and he received it the next day with a label to send back the old one by UPS. They did not care what he did to it or what was bad or when he got it. I do not know of any other company that would do that.
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