Poor Quality Digital Pix....suggestions?

[cynthia howard]

Today I borrowed a Sony Cybershot 2.1 camera and took parallel shots with that one and mine. Guess what,
they looked very similar. They looked fine until I resized the image and then they too looked bad. SOOOO...maybe I am compressing the jpegs down too much or the software I use to play with the pictures(olympus camedia software ) is not the best. Third option is I am a complete blithering idiot, but I do not want to go there...yet.
More to follow. I still have not printed the pix out to see what they look like. Will try tomorrow but resized and au natural...stay tuned. I will also try Photo shop.
Cynthia

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I think you are going to find this is not a camera specific thing, but a digital "thang". My Sony will do it. Higher settings help, but it is like the old optical illusion where filming a spinning propeller makes it look like it is moving backward slowing instead of spinning madly forward. It is not the optics and it is not the camera, but the nature of the digital camera. Digital cameras have small apetures and I suspect it is related to the high glare, small apeture combination, but I have not found any technical info to support my guess. Shoot that same wall in low light and the rainbow and pattern disappear. Again, shoot at high resolution and it will often go away. Check others comments

LINK TO DIGITAL CAMERA SITE

 

[EDWARD BERRY]

Friend of mine says shooting from INSIDE the car TOWARD the house toward the passinger's side helps.(that way you are in the shade)

I tried it, you have to pull the camera back and forth a little so as not to get the window sills of the car but it does help.

Good luck.

 

[Pat Butler]

You should try a camera with a higher resolution or set your camera at its highest UNCOMPRESSED resolution. Also try a higher quality editing software like Photoshop. The moire pattern can be introduced anywhere during your workflow. It's basically a stair-step type pattern that is getting introduced because there aren't enough pixels to draw the subtle angles that are in your picture. Compressing and/or downsampling the image too much when you create a jpg image will do it too. I'd start with the high resolution settings and test it out by printing on paper. Then see where along the line the moire gets introduced. You really can't test it on your monitor because monitors are such low resolution-- usually around 96 ppi or so. Even in Photoshop, any particular image might appear to have a moire pattern as you zoom in and out to differing sizes.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I also second, or is it third now?, using Kodak. I have three, two 210s and a 215. The 210 has a better lens.

Don't sweat the picture quality. Most lenders don't really care. Have never even had a question on picture quality from an underwriter.

Try shading your camera with your clipboard. Avoid shooting into the sun as much as possible. If you need to take a picture of chipping paint or other damage, try using the flash even in bright sun light.

Several camera stores have seminars on photography, usually for free. Very helpful for the novice camera person.

Camera tip of the month: When shooting interior pictures, lower the camera to your waist level when shooting. It give a better perspective of the room.

 

[DB]

I was using a 2.1 mp camera and getting so-so results. About 4 months ago I went ahead and bought a Nikon 885 Coolpix and I have never been happier. The pictures are sharp, they look great in my reports, my CG (who is not technology friendly) even likes the way my reports look now. Occasionally he even asks me to shoot and print some 4x6's for his commercial work. I highly recommend this camera. Find them on E-bay with a 3 year warranty for around $200.00 Worth 3 times that much. No hassles, point and shoot, super bright flash and more bells and whistles than anyone will ever need. And no... I don't work for Nikon or E-bay! LOL Good Luck!!

 

[Roger R. Patzold]

I have always used Kodak. I currently use a DX3600 purchased new for about $350.00 Don't quote me on that price.

I buy most of my cameras from B&H import in New York city. 800)947-9927. They have a catalog that list more cameras than I want to even think about. They run from $100 to over $10,000.

They have a digital section.

I use the docking station and the San memory card reader with ease and good success. The only real flaw I have found with the San reader was when I deleted a picture from the file in the PC. It also deleted from the memory card. Solution is to pull the memory card from the reader first. Works fine then.

I have also found that if the house is in shadow I get a better picuter if I can get the camera in the same shadow. Just switch sides of the street or walk up to the fence.

If I take a picture of a shaded house from out in the bright sunlight the pciture requires tinkering on the PC.

Good Luck

Please join me in a prayer for all those brave young souls who are putting their lives in danger for the world's freedoms

 

[David Bodtcher]

I got a panasonic 2.0 megapixel (Linux, I believe). GREAT camera, i think. Went to san francisco, and took some pictures in high quality. I have a couple of them that look like generic pictures you would put on windows desktop. Wish I could show you. Another plus, they use the smallest memory card
(Secure Digital)

 

[Steve Forstner]

I'm using the Olympus D500L and my pictures also look odd. But, they print just fine. It has something to do with the way the monitor shows the pictures, rather than what the camera is doing.

The bigger complaint I have with the Olympus is the narrow angle to the lens. I had a guy stand next to me with a Sony and get a picture about 1/2 again as wide as I can. Really makes a difference when you're trying to take a rear picture in a small yard.

Steve

 

[Pat Butler]

Most paint-type programs only optimize your view at particular resolutions-- ie- 25%, 50%, 100%. Other resolutions will tend to look fuzzy. There's always the problem of the monitor being rough 96dpi versus the image which is typically much higher. Ultimately, its the look of the printout that matters..