New D60,Mac OSX,Pwrbk G4 user

[felixfoto]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post to the boards. I just recently purchased a D60 and Mac Powerbook G4 laptop. I also have Photoshop 7.
I am wondering if someone can help me with a scenario I want to do.
I would like to be able to go on location and photograph an engagement portrait session with my D60. After the shoot I want to sit down and have coffe with the couple bring up their images on my Powerbook G4 (via Lexar card reader).
I want to be able to burn a low res CD for them on the spot and I want to burn a Hi Res copy for me via CD/DVD.
SO, here are my questions:
1) Should I open them up Via i photo and organize the in i photo? Is there another alternative way I should do this?

2) Should I shoot in Raw mode instead of Large JPG? If I shoot in Large JPG and couple wants to make an 11x14 print am I gonna be in trouble?

3) What and how is the best way to make a low res cd for the couple? i photo or Photoshop 7?

Thanks for all your help!
Louis

[AJSJones]

Having only just started to play with iPhoto, I'm not experienced enough to recommend a best way.

However, rather than try to create a PS action to make a low-res copy of each and then batch process over coffee(!) you could import to iPhoto, create an album of those you want to give them a low-res version of, and then export to a web page - in this mode you can specify the max width/height for images and the size of the thumbnail. (also check the box to include filenames) The export command will then generate a page (or pages) of thumbnails that are clickable to give a screen image (of the size you set it to) and the whole thing is viewable in any browser. These pages (and associated folders of thumbs and images) could be burnt onto a CD. I have no idea which approach is quickest (or how much coffee you have!). This approach has major merit if the clients are not familiar with digital image manipulation but are familiar with internet browsing.

If you're already PS savvy concerning actions, this might be easier but I have no idea which would be quicker on your G4. Try each with a smallish number of trial images... Then try the same number of images where the action includes a conversion from RAW before re-sizing to the low-res version. You need to balance the speed of conversion and/or re-sizing, the size of the image to burn and speed of burning...

As for RAW vs Large JPG, my guess/impression from sites like this, is that it's only BEYOND 11x14 where the difference (from a D60) would be large enough to need to shoot all RAW - especially if your lighting and exposure is under tight control where the extra bits in the RAW wouldn't help much (not much to "rescue"). The loss during compression on large/fine might be an issue for very large prints. When I first got my D30, I played with RAW vs large/fine and was impressed with the jpg such that I wasn't immediately a convert to "always shoot RAW". In your situation where "real-time" review is a high priority for the clients, you will need to test the fastest raw converter and see if it's fast enough - then you'd have the best of both worlds...

Let's hope some Mac user with the experience with raw converters can chime in, I'm interested in the answer to your question as well...

Andy

[jsewell]

Louis,

I have the same setup as you (D60 and PowerBook Titanium). I would recommend that you use Apple's Image Capture application. It will do a lot of what you're looking for.

Once you've launched Image Capture, go to the preferences and set the application to automatically open whenever a camera is connected.

Once you've attached a camera, you'll see an "options" button appear in the application. Use this to set the "Automatically download all items" option.

Next, set the "Automatic Task" option to "Build Web Page".

Now, as soon as you attach the camera (or inset the CF card into a reader), your PowerBook will automatically download all of the image files, and build a web page with thumbnails and low-res versions of the images (to give to your clients), and you'll have the high-res versions in your "Pictures" folder.

Also, instead of using a USB card read, use a CF to PCMCIA adapter. It's a lot faster than USB.

Finally, I haven't had much luck using iPhoto. I've found that after using it for a few minutes, it becomes unusably slow. I suspect it's a bug but it may be something specific to my setup.

-Jason

[redbutt]

As for RAW vs Large JPG, my guess/impression from sites like this, is that it's only BEYOND 11x14 where the difference (from a D60) would be large enough to need to shoot all RAW

There are other reason why you should shoot RAW, especially for portrait photography. It will allow you MUCH better results if you need to tweak anything in PhotoShop. If this is for a "real" job, shoot in RAW.

Of course one other option is to spring for a 1Ds and use the simultaneous RAW/JPG capture feature ;o)

[felixfoto]

Thanks guys for the advice. I will try the info out.

Someone told me I should use a card reader instead of plugging my camera directly to my Powerbook G4. Is the card reader a better way of downloading my images to my laptop??
My card reader is a Lexar (firewire)
Thanks again,

Louis

[jmublueduck]

felixfoto wrote:
Is the card reader a better way of downloading my images to my laptop??

Louis... I have a Powerbook G4 & D60 as well. either method of transferring your data will work fine... neither is really any better... it's just a matter of convienence.

I have a card adapter for the pc slot & it works great w/ CF media. I use a microdrive primarily, but have used it w/ 128, 256, & 512mb lexar cards w/o problem. Firewire is great as well, but you have to deal with an extra cord. no big deal, in my opinion... I don't think you can go wrong either way.

USB works too, but when there are faster methods that cost about the same, avoid it & make use of the technology at hand.

[AJSJones]

I've been using a Firewire card reader with my iBook because it doesn't have a PC card slot. It's about 10x faster at downloading than USB connection to the camera (also true on my home G4). For location work, a PC card adapter for the CF card/drives would be even less space in the kit bag and should also be faster than USB but I don't know the speed. Some of the microdrives come with the card adapter (and at $200 or so are great value) so you could shoot raw all the time and be downloading one (and processing the raws and extracting the jpegs with a PS action) while you continue to shoot with another to make the location visit even more efficient! It's not only microprocessors that can parallel process!!!

Andy

[felixfoto]

Hi Andy and others,
Thanks for the info. Andy,what microdrive do you use and what is the benefit above CF cards?
Also,what function in photoshop were you talking about?
Thanks for your time!

[AJSJones]

Louis, I'm referring to the Microdrives manufactured by IBM that conform to the CF type II card specs. The original was a 340MB but the 1 GB is what I have 2 of. Their main benefit is capacity - there are even bigger capacity ones in the works (but not all cameras can use them: Fat32 vs Fat64 or some such formatting issue). Other than that they work just like "normal" CF cards but use a hard disk the size of a US quarter.

The "function" in Photoshop I was referring to is the "action" - I'm still on PS6 and they may have a different name ("script"?) in PS7. In any case it allows you to record a series of operations as a single command and save it for future use on other images. You can also "batch" process using them.

Let's say you have a card/drive/folder full of large/fine jpgs and you want to convert (a copy of) each to a smaller size you would open one, start recording the action, apply any editing you want to do to each of them, then resize it to your desired smaller version and then stop recording the action. Next time you open an image you can just "run" the action and PS will perform all the operations you recorded. The neat thing is the batch operation. You can tell PS to take each of the images in one folder(source), open them, run the action and save to a different folder(destination) and go have coffee or take some more pics on another drive etc....

Andy

[stefancook]

Probably the fastest way to burn a low-rez cd is to use the automate function in Photoshop to create a web page. You can specify the image size and quality. I usually set up the one that creates a slide show where the images change every 10 seconds. It plays on any CD that has a web browser, which is cool.
As to RAW vs. jpg, I'd shoot RAW with the following caveats:
1. You've got enough compact flash cards that you won't be stopping to download every two minutes.
2. You don't mind converting them prior to showing them. This could take a little while, especially if you shoot 100-200 photos.

The great thing about RAW is you can change WB, etc, in the software. Also, you have a greater dynamic range, and can even convert to 16 bit tiffs if you REALLY have to pull some detail out of heavy shadows.
One thing you might want to warn the couple about: Mac uses Gamma 1.8, while Windows uses Gamma 2.2, so the images may look a little dark on a Windows PC if they look right on a Mac.
Hope this helps.