Digital Photography and Software

[Sparky]

Alright, I'm trying to get a digital camera for the office.

I'm looking hard at the Sony CyberShot S75 and am pretty much settled on that model if we go digital as opposed to 35mm.

My general question is this...alot of our photos need to be enlarged for court purposes as a display. While this particular camera (and many others) will CAPTURE an image in the 3 million pixel range, I have heard talk (and had only limited experience) that most of the software used to pull and print the phots automitically reduces the image to a smaller file size by also reducing the dpi down to about 300 dpi or so..

Now, part of this is due to converting to JPEG...but what are some software and system concerns that I should be aware of before going digital.

Image quality is a big concern. We need to not only view high quality photos on the computer, but we also need to print them out in good quality for discovery and court records.

Any help is much appreciated!!

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-Sparky

[RaychelR]

If you want great image quality WITHOUT altering the photo in any form, I would go with the Sony Mavica line. Sony Mavicas can take pictures at a 1184 x 800ish resolution.

Our department doesn't use them, I have one personally that I use for design. I do know of other departments that when they use digi pics, they print two copies out automatically. They then send one to the professionals (doctor, researcher etc..) or defense where applicable. In court they then hold up the two photos and compare them to see if the image has been altered.

To print these images out, you need to invest in a quality color printer. I recommend something in the Hewlett Packard 4000 series at least. Sure they cost a bundle but they will deliver the quality you need. If you cannot afford this you can always take the images to a printer but then you would compromise confidentility.

As for the images themselves, Sony Mavicas automatically take the pictures in a jpg formst. You can then open the photo in Internet Explorer even and print the photo as is. If you need to adjust size, you can use any number of programs such as Adobe Photoshop, or Miicrosoft Image. They will not alter the image quality in any way.

[JKT]

The Sony Mavica line is excellent. The newer ones even have a CD burner built in. You should be able to find a Photo Lab in your area that can make negatives (35mm) from the digital images. That way you can get the quick photos for evidence, and the enlargements for court.

Or, possibly use a projection system in court? just a thought.

Seems to me that the Mavica CD line would help prevent tampering. We use an older Mavica for ID photos and various things and it is great.



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Optimistic pessimist: Hope for the best, but expect the worst.

Jack

[RaychelR]

In addition, here is a link to a Kodak product specially suited for law enforcement they say.. Comes with a software package as well: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/government/specialImaging/press/pr19970414-01.shtml

They offered free training on it, don't know if the officer is still good.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/pressReleases/pr19970403-01.shtml

[Sparky]

We do have an excellant developer in the area where we can burn new negatives if needed and for high quality prints, it would not be a problem to have them printed. They are secure and maintain chain of custody on evidecne photos.

The big functionality with the digital is that we can esily use them in power point and also e-mail any photos we need printed in high quality or enlarged. This saves the trip to drop of photos and negatives.

I don't care for the Mavica functionality too much, but I am sure this is just my personal preferance. Also, without going up to semi-pro or pro level cameras, i think only the Mavica CD300 goes up to over 3 million megapixels.

According to what i have found, the S75 has a high quality resolution of 2048x1536 and has an effective 3.14 million megapixels.

We have cd burners at the office and can download to those for record.

ANYWAY...

When you shoot into whatever format you happen to choose and the file is five kajillion dpi, does the software reduce the file size to allow the computer processor to handle it?

For example, MS PowerPoint is designed to not allow you to embed images into a slide over a certain file size. The theory being that if you put in too big of a file it will cause the slide show to run slow or to even lock up the 'puter. So they "idiot proofed" it and made a limit.

I have seen some of the "gimmie" software that comes with the camera do the same thing. The stuff i have with my Sony camcorder also takes digital stills, nut the software that pulls them from the memory stick into the 'puter automatically sets image quality at 300dpi max. Yet, the picture is taken at much higher resolution.

So what I am left with is a, say 750dpi image on the memory stick, but software that will only pull it up at 300 dpi.

At least I THINK I am understanding this correctly.

I appreciate the help.



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-Sparky

[PelicanDriver]

Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw will open an image in whatever resolution it was saved in. You can burn the original hi-res to a CD then downsample a copy in Photoshop to fit into Power Point if you need to.

[Sparky]

Excellant!

...but now I have to spec out PhotoShop!

Darn government purchasing requirements!

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-Sparky

[Sparky]

Okay, the more I learn, the more I am confused? (Didn't I see that on a t-shirt once?)

I think I have figured out that the loss in image quality comes with the format that the photo is taken and/or saved in.

Evidently, JPEG and Bitmap formats compress the image, so even if you take the picture in one of these formats, you lose some image quality as compared to 35mm or other films such as medium formats.

I really like the S75 for it's functionality, but it seems that it will only take photos in the JPEG format. It's "newer" 3 million megapixels in this format are considered good for vacation and usuall photo album stuff, but are a little subpar for anything requiring very clear 8x10 prints or any enlargements.

For this type of quality, you need to use the TIFF format, which does not compress the image. (You can, of course, convert or "save as" a JPEG or Bitmap for compression and easier electronic transfer by e-mail, etc.)

Now...my only proble, is that the cameras that will take pictures in TIFF seem to be the higher end cameras that are a little out of our office's price range.

While we don't really need the high quality for forensic examination purposes (such as footwear impression comparison), we do need good quality photos for enlargement for use as court displays.

Anyone out there with some experience in this stuff? I'd appreciate any observations or comments.

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-Sparky