Quickest Path from Camera to Internet?

[milkyspit]

Hi Folks, first post in the photography subforum. (Didn't know we had one! Really need to get out more.)

Over this past Christmas, I received a Panasonic ZS7 digital camera. So far so good... still learning how to use its various features, but the picture quality seems quite good, especially given its price point.

That said, it does present a small dilemma. In the past I'd gotten accustomed to using Canon's proprietary software to load photos from the camera into a folder in Windows, from which I would set about choosing the photos I wanted to post, then using Photoshop to crop, composite, resize, and otherwise clean up the photos as needed. Afterward, I'd upload the photos to a server I keep on the Internet. Simple workflow but it was fine for my very limited needs.

Now I'm at a loss. Panasonic doesn't have comparable software, and even if they did, I can't help thinking there's a better way for me to be handling the overall workflow. My goal is to take some photos of a particular flashlight, do some minor editing, and get the photos online as quickly and painlessly as possible... with the quality of the resulting photos good enough for a decent presentation in a thread here on the forums. What is the best workflow to accomplish that?

Bonus points for keeping my local copy of the photos eminently MANAGEABLE: meaning they're not lost in some proprietary format that may or may not disappear down the road... and I can easily keep them on my home server for easy backup and referral as needed.

I know what I've been doing is not the best way. What IS the best way?

Many thanks in advance, all! I have no doubt there are a great number of folks more knowledgeable in these matters than I. Thank you in advance for helping me improve on where I'm at!

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I have just been using windows built in software myself letting it copy the pictures to the folder I choose. Once you create a folder for them or use one in my documents there I think called photos or something you can then get an account at a picture hosting site like photobucket or imageshack or whatever and use their uploader.
If you have a decent photo editor it should support most formats then convert them to a more standard version. Some like PNG I use JPG about 75-85% quality depending on size needs mostly I go with about 85% for internet pics of decent size (800x600+).
I keep the originals and when I edit and shrink it for posting I add an s on the end of the original file name for smaller version that way I can trace it back to the original picture in case I messed up.

 

[Yoda4561]

I just access the memory card from "my computer" in windows, copy the whole thing to a folder on the desktop and then use your favorite image browsing/editing software to do the rest. I use fastpictureviewer to do the initial scanning of all the photos to hand pick the ones I want to play with or upload, and paint.net for my editing.

 

[will]

I use GOOGLE's PICASA software to copy from the memory card to the PC. The software is free to download. I also use Nikon View on the same PC.

 

[Lost Hawaiian]

Other than the way you actually transfer the images to your computer, your workflow should remain the same. From what I see of the Panasonic, it doesn't capture RAW images, and for the most part, a jpeg is a jpeg.

I assume the Canon software you mention is most likely Zoombrowser, which pretty much walks through everything once you plug your memory card into a reader. Instead of ZB doing this, just click & drag/copy & paste your files from the card to whatever folder you like, then do what you normally do. Once they're in there you can still use ZB to classify and sort if you like.

The only possible problem I could foresee is that if you use Canon's software to edit or convert images they might not retain their EXIF or geo-tagging data. I don't think this is proprietary, but I could be wrong.

As far as whether or not your workflow is good, that depends entirely on if it works for you. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. For what it's worth, here's what I like to do...

I shoot RAW + Jpeg, each type writing to a different card.

1) First I set up my folders on the 'puter. ex: XYZ Wedding. I might have subfolders in here for preparation, ceremony, reception, etc.
2) Download all images to dated folder in each category
3) Once all images are downloaded, I back up the master folder to an external drive.
4) While that's running, I clean and pack all my equipment.
5) When it's finished, I reformat all my cards for next time.
6) Open folders in Zoombrowser, use slideshow to go through and rate images. 1's have good: focus, subject, lighting and composition. 2's have good: focus & subject, 3's have bad: focus OR subject.
7) Using ZB's filter, I select all 3's and delete them, then select 2's and move them to a subfolder marked "seconds".
8) Switch from ZB to DPP, I correct, if needed, the WB, then batch process the 1's folder to jpegs and add an extension to their file names so I know they are not the original untouched file.
9) Run through the 2's file and correct for exposure & WB, then batch process as above.
10) I then use PSP (I'm not much of a PS person) to do any cropping, touch-up or USM needed.
11) Save, upload and voila!

When I've finished a project, I'll back up the finished folders. I keep a copy on my PC for a few months, then I will clear them out. I do have at least 2 back up copies of every image taken, one on an external drive at my house and one at my office. I also have a couple os TB's on portable's that I use to transfer from one to the other.

After typing this out, it really looks like a long drawn-out process, but this is pretty much the way I've done it for years, and it is actually quite a smooth process, and more importantly, it works for me.

Just my 2c...YMMV

Rich

 

[csshih]

quickest path from camera to the internet, huh?
well, since you asked.. I use a program called "zscreen" to basically take screenshots (which in some cases is photos) of my screen and automatically upload it to my ftp server.
it's been an amazing time saver to me and many friends.

So this is how it works:
connect camera to computer
open the image file
resize it to a reasonable size on your screen,
press the upload/crop shot shortcut,
select the part of the screen you want,
paste automatically formatted link into a post in a few seconds.

I don't know how many hours I've saved using this program.
I can basically do this:

in 3 seconds. Yes, it's an image.

Craig

 

[will]

zscreen[/URL]" to basically take screenshots (which in some cases is photos) of my screen and automatically upload it to my ftp server.


Craig

If I upload an image from my camera to my PC and that image is 8 meg, the resulting .jpg file is 8 meg. If I put the image to the PC screen, then save the snapshot of the screen - Will it still be an 8 meg .jpg file? Do I loose significant detail?

 

[PapaLumen]

Plug usb lead from camera to computer. select pictures, copy to folder of your choice. Go to imageshack, upload pics, choose size you want, original unaltered pic remains on your computer.

 

[csshih]

If I upload an image from my camera to my PC and that image is 8 meg, the resulting .jpg file is 8 meg. If I put the image to the PC screen, then save the snapshot of the screen - Will it still be an 8 meg .jpg file? Do I loose significant detail?

no it will not be a 8mb file - the file size will based on whatever your screen resolution is.
if you use the "crop shot" function, it'll tell you the dimensions of the images, be sure not to exceed 800x800 for these forums.

the images can be either compressed with jpeg or png. filesize will be determined by what's getting captured, but will be *much* smaller than 8 meg.
you will not be able to zoom in on the pictures you upload on this method - the captures is only what you see on the screen.

Craig

 

[will]

no it will not be a 8mb file
Craig

that is what I thought.

 

[Tazzdad]

You might want to take a look at the Eye-fi sd cards. There are several different models, but most (if not all) can be set up to post directly to photo sharing sites like Flickr and/or straight to a folder on your computer. Just make sure your camera is listed as compatible. Some cameras even have Eye-fi control in their menus.