Digital Art Zone

Welcome,

Please use this thread for casual discussions regarding digital imaging and related topics.  Including, but not limited to, still and video imaging as well as cameras, cinematography, concepts, equipment, HDRI, lighting, photo-realistic rendering, render post-processing, software, techniques, timelapse, and tutorials.

By participating in this thread, you agree to abide by the following:

1) All posts must comply with the DAZ Forum TOS.  Graphics attached to a post should adhere to the Gallery Conduct guidelines.  You may view the DAZ Forum TOS Guidelines here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewannounce/6_98/

2) Posts, threads, and images MUST NOT contain ANY nudity, violence, or profanity as currently there are no flags available so that others may filter these things out.

3) Please keep your posts civil.  This means no personal attacks, name calling, or derogatory remarks.  Let’s keep this thread a friendly place for discussion, inspiration, and learning.

4) Please refrain from any “my dog is smarter than your dog” types of comments.  Everything made my man is the product of many compromises from design through implementation.  People have differing priorities in regards to the choices they make.  What works best for you may not be the best choice for someone else.

Please see this DAZ thread regarding known forum issues:

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/123/

Please Note: Updated 1 Aug 2012:  Photos at 1024x768 are now posting on this forum.

Posted: 25 May 2012 01:07 PM
Richard Haseltine - Administrator

Although the information on image posting indicates that sizes up to 2,000 pixels square are allowed, at the moment the resizing code is broken (the images should be resized to 800 pixels square for display in threads). As a result we need you to make sure that any images posted are, for now, no more than 800 pixels square - you can of course post a link to an off-site full-size image and treat the local image as a glorified thumbnail if you like. We apologise for this, and hope it will be fixed anon.

Link to the old DAZ forums:

http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/index.php

To get the ball rolling…
I found some interesting *free* software from MS Research that I am experimenting with…

Geodesic High-Dynamic-Range Photography Tool
A simple tool for combining photos into a single HDR photo.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/da1b7a10-a0e5-4aef-bf7b-78ad5c575d0c/

Cliplets: Juxtaposing Still and Dynamic Imagery
A type of imagery that sits between stills and video, including imagery such as video textures and “cinemagraphs”. The app provides a simple, yet expressive way to mix static and dynamic elements from a video clip.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/cliplets/

Image Composite Editor - ICE
An advanced panoramic image stitcher. Given a set of overlapping photographs of a scene shot from a single camera location, the application creates a high-resolution panorama that seamlessly combines the original images.  ICE can also automatically stitch a panorama directly from video.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ice/

Here are a couple of photos I took over New Year’s 2012 in Las Vegas using my then new Canon G12.  These are jpg’s as output by the camera with only minor cropping and resizing.  The G12 is the first camera I have used with image stabilization.  It makes a huge difference when it comes to hand-held shooting in low light.  It’s certainly no DSLR but it is small enough to be relatively concealable.  I doubt I could have gotten in the door with a full size DSLR.

I believe I shot these images in Program mode with Automatic White Balance.  Both are handheld using the camera strap for stability.

Planet Hollywood

Canon PowerShot G12
f/4.5
1/2 sec.
ISO-80
Focal length: 30mm (equivalent 140mm)

Vegas New Year 2012

Canon PowerShot G12
f/2.8
1/5 sec.
ISO-500
Focal length: 6mm (equivalent 28mm)
On camera flash, slow-synchro

Last week, onOne Software released “Perfect Effects 3 Free”.

Description taken from the onOne website:

Perfect Effects 3 Free, the next generation of PhotoTools 2.6 Free. Choose from over two-dozen effects to enhance and stylize your images, including effects to create the popular HDR and retro looks. Instantly add any effect with a single click or combine them to create a look of your own.

Perfect Effects 3 Free is based on the popular Perfect Effects and can be used as a standalone or directly with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom or Apple Aperture.

When you download Perfect Effects 3 Free, you’ll also get Perfect Layers so you can experience the power of layers without Photoshop.

  Extend the image editing power of Lightroom & Aperture
  Combine the best parts of multiple photos
  Retouch portraits and landscapes

http://www.ononesoftware.com/products/perfect-effects-free/

Note:  I am in no way affiliated with onOne Software. Just passing along info re. free image editing software.

Hank, great to see you went ahead with the thread and that DAZ have allowed it back to it’s original home!

I was waiting ages for someone to start it:  Bjorn can’t stand the website, the stubborn Boekenwuurm has disappeared, Dan has disappeared, Horo is a Peasant, and Peter is often busy.  I thought it would never return!

Can I just ask that you add “Cinematography” to the list of allowed topics?  At least three of us have interest in the cinematography side of things.  Dan, Peter (I think), and myself all have at least some interest in the Cinematography aspect of things, so it would be unrealistic not to discuss it.  Anyway, no worries here on the other stuff, there’ll be no more brand debating from me, I got fed up of it last time - really fed-up of it.

HUMOUR/ As long as people remember that Miu is the most bestist camera there is, there’ll be no more arguments. /HUMOUR

Anyway, thanks for the opening links, I checked those out when you originally posted them but haven’t checked the new one yet.  I wasn’t even aware Microsoft produce HDRI software.  Maybe they’ll start competing with Adobe’s products, an indication of things to come.

Regards your photos from Vegas, that looks like an enjoyable place to be.  Mind you, I always thought Planet Hollywood was a family place, I didn’t think they had table dancers and that sort of thing!

pumeco - 31 July 2012 08:07 AM

Bjorn can’t stand the website, the stubborn Boekenwuurm has disappeared, Dan has disappeared, Horo is a Peasant, and Peter is often busy.  I thought it would never return!

No, I LOVE the website.  I HATE the new forum software which remains broken how many months with no sign of improvement and not even any information now???
I suspect those that are MIA just share my opinion that the site “was” great but now the software is just too messed up to bother with.

A few recent shots…

All tractors great and small
Ancient boat launch
Mystic Clouds
Freighter in the forest
Teamwork

Robinia husks backlit.

Thanks Len for getting this thread back on the Bryce Talk forum so people can find it.

The table dancers are in the Miracle Mile Shops at PH. That’s where I got lost for a couple of hours trying to find the elevators so I could get back to the suite I was staying at. It was 3am and I had been celebrating New Year’s so my navigation was impaired along with most other higher brain functions.

“Family Oriented” takes on a whole different meaning in Vegas. At the Miracle Mile Shops, there is even a place called “Stripper 101” where “Students are encouraged to lose their inhibitions while having fun learning sexy strip club moves with boas, chairs and of course, poles (no nudity). Ladies only ages 18+.”  What can I say, it’s Vegas.

@BjornLO - Considering how many problems DAZ is having transitioning to their new website it will likely be some time before they get around to fixing the forums. What a nightmare it must be for DAZ employees.

Regarding “Best Cameras” see this post by Ken Rockwell. He has some interesting links too.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

I’m am struggling to learn how to edit my photos in Photoshop. I managed to qualify for academic pricing which was still more than I could really afford. I also bought the smallest Wacom Bamboo tablet which is barely adequate but better than nothing. Trying to get the pressure sensitivity dialed in is driving me nuts.

My Canon G12, like all digital cameras, has a few hot pixels. I have a pretty good idea where they show up and can easily edit them out in Photoshop. Found a free app that removes hot pixels from RAW files but haven’t tried it yet.

Pixel Fixer - Remove hot pixels from RAW files

http://www.pixelfixer.org/

Hot pixels (sometimes called stuck pixels) appear as brightly coloured spots in your images. They are

often more noticeable with slow shutter speeds or high ISO settings. Given the location of these hot

pixels, Pixel Fixer can automatically remove them from the RAW data in one or more RAW files. Dead

pixels (pixels that always appear black) can also be removed by Pixel Fixer.

Extra criteria such as minimum pixel value, ISO or shutter speed can be specified for each hot pixel so

that Pixel Fixer will only try to map it out in certain conditions. You can also specify a range of

dates or shutter releases, so that the hot pixel will only be mapped out of photographs that were taken

within a given timeframe.

Note: Since the hot pixels are only removed from the RAW data it is necessary to create new JPEG/TIFF

files from the corrected raw file to get images that are free from hot pixels.

Here are some other free tools. They are a bit dated but may still be useful:

Free Digital Camera Enhancer - http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/enhancer.htm

HotPixels Eliminator - http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/hotpixels.htm

BlackFrame NR - http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/blackframe.htm

Hokulea - 01 August 2012 08:39 AM

@BjornLO - Considering how many problems DAZ is having transitioning to their new website it will likely be some time before they get around to fixing the forums. What a nightmare it must be for DAZ employees.

Well I’d be a bit more sympathetic if this was not a self-inflicted wound which festers only due to their desire to keep it so.  I buy large (costly) software applications all the time for work.  I always put in an acceptance test / proof of concept (test deployment) and we test stuff.  When it does not work we do not deploy it.  If issues arise after we deploy it which impact our ability to do business we do not allow them to carry on for weeks.  Worst case was 2 days.  While I have worked at larger companies, I have for the past 5+ years worked for a small one with around 1000 computers and an IT staff of only 12.  Our methodolgy is not due to some brilliance on my part it is part of every computer department I know if.  There are variations called ITIL, MOF and others… they relate to risk assement, change control, problem management and so on.  They are the basis for any reasonable companies computer operations.  Either Daz does not follow this methodolgy or the persons administering it need a VERY stern talking to maybe some training.  Honestly why they do not just drop this software and roll it back escapes me.

Hokulea - 01 August 2012 08:39 AM

see this post by Ken Rockwell

CAUTION, Ken Rockwell is a complete tool.  He is perhaps the worst, least reliable source of information on cameras on the internet.  He has written dozens of reviews on stuff he has only seen pictures of.  He has written about his alien abduction, and other crackpot theories.  So many good reviewers out there on cameras.  Try DPReview, Steve’s Digi-Cam and Thom Hogan instead of Ken Rockwell.

Hokulea - 01 August 2012 08:39 AM

My Canon G12, like all digital cameras, has a few hot pixels.

I would not say all digital cameras have them.  I have owned over a dozen and only 1 had hot pixels.  I sent it in and they replaced the sensor (Nikon d90 less then 90 days old).  My Minolta 7d, Nikon d700, Canon 500d, and various pocket cameras have not had any at least none I could detect.

@BjornLO

Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. Had to replace the PSU in my PC.

I agree. I am mystified that DAZ put their new website up with so many issues unresolved. Even a week or two of testing would have revealed how screwed up it is. Doesn’t make any sense and no doubt their revenue stream has suffered because of it.

I agree with you regarding Ken Rockwell as well. However I do believe the particular link I posted is valid. It doesn’t matter how much you spend on a camera system or what its specs are if you can’t see photographically. I remember a few decades ago a woman won the Pulitzer for best photo using a Kodak Instamatic with a plastic lens.

The “old school” adage was “f/8 and be there” attributed to Weegee in the 50’s I believe. While the f stop is for the most part irrevelant in this age of digital photography the being there part still applies. Weegee captured some amazing images using a 4x5 Speed Graphic camera with wire filament flash. Another of my favorite photographers is Henri Cartier-Bresson who coined the phrase “the decisive moment”. For much of his career he used a 35mm Leica camera with only a 50 mm lens with which he worked wonders.

My point, as well as Ken Rockwell’s, is simply that the equipment you use doesn’t matter. What does is your mind’s eye and your imagination. Learn the limitations of whatever system you are using and maximize its potential as well as your own. That’s how you make great photographs. Plus being in the right place at the right time with the right light.

Every digital camera has hot pixels. Most of the time they are mapped out by in camera processing and may not be noticeable unless you use long exposures and high magnification, but it is simply the nature of digital sensors. See these links:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2507

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2529

http://www.anandtech.com/show/1619/2

Nonetheless, my G12 is showing hot pixels in short exposures when it shouldn’t so I plan on returning it to Canon under warranty.

Here are a few photos I took using my G12 in macro mode handheld. When I shot film I always shot macro on a tripod but with image stabilization I’m getting good results without one. These are full frame jpeg’s with miminal post processing in Photoshop, mostly resizing for this forum.

@Bjorn
I like the first three, but don’t like that effect on the last two, looks a bit overdone with the HDRI or whatever it is you used.

@Horo
Well that’s looking pretty creamy, peasant!

@Hank
Thanks for the edit.

I think you’re doing the right thing in returning the camera for repair, I wouldn’t put up with dead pixels on the sensor either, no way.  I mean when it’s on the screen that’s bad enough, but at least it doesn’t effect the image.  That’s not the case when it’s on the actual sensor though, and it’s an absolute no if you use it for video.  Whenever I buy a camera or monitor, anything like that, it’s the first thing I check, can’t be bothered with software that fixes it.  I don’t pay for faulty gear, it goes back - simple as that.

As for the reviewers; I think they all talk bull to an extent, even DPReview do sometimes.

As far as I’m concerned, reviews are just a handy little pointer, something to give me a rough idea.  Once I find something that interests me, I look into it using plain old common sense.  If a notable amount of people starts praising something then I’ll take a look, see if it’s warranted, and usually it is.  Likewise, if a lot of people start dismissing with a passion, something a reviewer said, then the chances are that the reviewer was talking bollocks (which they often do).

BTW, nice pics Hank, looking sharp for handheld macro!

Handheld Macro… some great shots here from everyone, here’s one of my recent favourites taken while out for a walk two weeks ago.

That’s a neat looking shot, love the cold tones and the black against black, very nice!

Wow! Nice one Dave. Like the tones and texture.

Here are a couple of photos of a 20 month old whom I was babysitting while his momma was working. Never had much experience with kids before. As a matter of fact, his was the first diapers I’ve ever dealt with. Of course I did put them on backwards at first. He was a lot of fun and I really bonded with the little guy. Unfortunately, he and his mom recently moved away. Photographing him was challenging as he was rarely still for very long.

No disrespect to the subject of the photo, but I have to say I love the background in that top photo.

The warm tone on green, just the right amount of defocus, and the tilt all looks really good.  I don’t think it would have been quite as good if it wasn’t tilted, so whether it be fluke or intentional, I think it came out well.