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Bewildered Newbie!

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Lizzie

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I'm very much a beginner and I have a couple of things I would like clarification on (if someone would be so kind) before deciding which program to opt for.

Firstly, as things stand with my current program (Picture It), if I take a photo of say 1.7mb .jpg and then after a simple adjustment I save as a.jpg file it reduces in size (and presumably quality) by as much as 60 or 70%. If I save in Tiff, the file increases to 12 or 13Mb. (which for my needs is a bit of overkill). Are all programs the same or do they provide more options? Ideally, I would like to save the files in similar size and quality to what the photos were taken at.

Secondly, do both PS Elements and PSP7 have similar 'red eye' removal functions that are more refined and visually better than my current system of replacing a big red blob with a big black blob?

Lizzie
 
Yes, other programs have finer resizing controls than Picture It. Paint Shop Pro has the better of the red-eye correction wizards compared to Elements since it corrects eye reflections of all colors. Do yourself a favor and grab Elements right now. If you're not satisfied with it, you can always get PSP, too. Elements is more user friendly for beginners.
Isabel

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipets/?yguid=11497599
 
I have some advice for your first concern: You can save images to a large size in most programs (I don't know specifically about PictureIt). First, never work on or adjust the original. Always tweak a copy. Second, when you modify the image and you're ready to save it, select "Save as....". In the dialogue box, there should be a setting for "Quality." Select high/maximum/best/etc.. This should minimize any donwsizing. Sometimes the "quality" option does not appear until you submit the save command. For instance, in PS7, select "Save as" and you will be prompted for a file name, location, etc. No "quality" option appears at this step. However, after clicking "Save," a JPEG Options window opens up that allows you the set the quality.
 
Lizzie:

If you haven't reviewed the following thread, there's a pretty good deal going on PSE 2 (clock is ticking to get Amazon rebate), even better if you're replacing a qualified competitor w/Adobe rebate.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=3238085

Although PSP has a somewhat better installed red-eye tool as Isabel noted, "manually" correcting red-eye isn't all that difficult. There are a bazillion tutorials on how to do it on the net using Photoshop, which would be the same way to do it in Elements. It's about a 3 minute "manual" job.

Though both applications have a lot of functionality and are not trivial to learn for one with not a lot of experience, Elements has more built-in features geared toward newbies.

HTH...
DannyR
Lizzie said:
I'm very much a beginner and I have a couple of things I would like
clarification on (if someone would be so kind) before deciding
which program to opt for.
Firstly, as things stand with my current program (Picture It), if I
take a photo of say 1.7mb .jpg and then after a simple adjustment I
save as a.jpg file it reduces in size (and presumably quality) by
as much as 60 or 70%. If I save in Tiff, the file increases to 12
or 13Mb. (which for my needs is a bit of overkill). Are all
programs the same or do they provide more options? Ideally, I would
like to save the files in similar size and quality to what the
photos were taken at.
Secondly, do both PS Elements and PSP7 have similar 'red eye'
removal functions that are more refined and visually better than my
current system of replacing a big red blob with a big black blob?

Lizzie
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Isabel and Dannyraphael for your thoughts and opinions. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Amazons deal is not applicable to the UK (Boo hoo)!

Thanks also to john, I will take your advice about only tweaking copies....saved me learning the hard way. As far as the file size/quality is concerned, as far as I can tell, Picture It only gives a choice of file types, without any quality levels.
The concensus of opinions seems to lean towards Elements doesn't it!

Lizzie.
dannyraphael said:
If you haven't reviewed the following thread, there's a pretty good
deal going on PSE 2 (clock is ticking to get Amazon rebate), even
better if you're replacing a qualified competitor w/Adobe rebate.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=3238085

Although PSP has a somewhat better installed red-eye tool as Isabel
noted, "manually" correcting red-eye isn't all that difficult.
There are a bazillion tutorials on how to do it on the net using
Photoshop, which would be the same way to do it in Elements. It's
about a 3 minute "manual" job.

Though both applications have a lot of functionality and are not
trivial to learn for one with not a lot of experience, Elements has
more built-in features geared toward newbies.

HTH...
DannyR
Lizzie said:
I'm very much a beginner and I have a couple of things I would like
clarification on (if someone would be so kind) before deciding
which program to opt for.
Firstly, as things stand with my current program (Picture It), if I
take a photo of say 1.7mb .jpg and then after a simple adjustment I
save as a.jpg file it reduces in size (and presumably quality) by
as much as 60 or 70%. If I save in Tiff, the file increases to 12
or 13Mb. (which for my needs is a bit of overkill). Are all
programs the same or do they provide more options? Ideally, I would
like to save the files in similar size and quality to what the
photos were taken at.
Secondly, do both PS Elements and PSP7 have similar 'red eye'
removal functions that are more refined and visually better than my
current system of replacing a big red blob with a big black blob?

Lizzie
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I tried Photoshop 6: couldn't understand it. Tried Arcsoft Photo Impression that came free with Canon camera: absolute rubbish, works one minute then goes mental the next. David Hewson who writes in The Sunday Tiimes says U_Lead Photo Impact is best and they do a free 30 day trial. Trouble is when I tried to download it it's a 4 and a half hour download time which my ISP understandably won't wear. I'm personaly worried that PS Elements will be tooo compliacted.
 
Given the various opinions I've decided to opt for PS Elements. My personal experience of other programs (non image editing) is not whether they are too complicated but more a question of how much time and effort is one able or willing to devote to learning them and Elements seems to be a nice compromise between inadequacy and overkill.
Thanks all for your help

Lizzie
 
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