software for 717?

[chia73]

hi guys/gals....

just invested in a F717... (damn solid cam!!)

can advise on accessories which i will need??, besides a dry cabinet n a tripod?? are polarized filter any good?? how abt lowpro bags? where to get??

anyway the software bundled seems rather 'basic'.. can the bros here recommend a fairly good software so maybe i try out post processing??

me totally new to digital cam... hope u guys can gimme some 'hints' ehehehe


thanx

 

[arikevin]

UV Filter to protect the front lens. That is the most basic.

If you are doing indoor shooting, i highly recommend you external flash HVL-F32X.

I am not sure about bag, i just whatever that is available to me.

 

[cheersjy]

Hello Chia,

This is a cam that will grow on you. Hope you will like it as much as i do

Just to share some of my experiences here:

1. As mentioned by Arikevin, a UV/skylight filter is a must to protect the precious Carl Zeiss lens. Usually a Hoya one is good enough. Others will depend on your need. If you take a lot of scenery shots, a circular polarizing filter will help enhancing the colour. If you take a lot of macro shots, a Hoya +4 closeup filter will be good. Star filters could add some effects to your night shots. You don't have to get softner filters as you can always add the effect using Photoshop.

2. i got myself a small cam bag that just fit the 717 so that i can bring it anywhere i go. Just ensure that the cushioning is thick.

3. Adjust the LCD brightness to "dark". "Normal" and "bright" settings will make the picture looks very good on LCD, but not necessary so when loaded into computer. If the pictures you take still look nice in the "dark" setting, then most of the time they will also look good on PC without much adjustment.

4. Bring along a white card together with 717. Use it to adjust the custom white balance whenever you are taking photo on people without using flash (flash will have its automatic white balance) so as to give a nice skin tone.

5. Set the ISO at 100. Noise will increase tremendously at higher ISO.

6. Software wise, get a Photoshop 7 or Paint Shop Pro 8. If you are using ISO higher than 100, a NeatImage 3.0 will be necessary.

There are many more tricks to pickup along the way. Shoot more and have fun!

 

[Triton]

If u take alot of indoor pictures i suggest that you buy an external flash. The F7x7 tends to illuminate the lower half of the picture leaving the top part a little under-exposed. This is especially so when you take group pictures. Besides the benefit of better illumination, your battery will also last longer as the external flash has its own power source (powered by cheap AAs - whether Akaline or Ni-MH). For that quick wipe in the field buy a micro-fibre cloth. you can get it from Popular Bookstore.

and last but not least - get more memory.. You don't wanna run out of "ammo" during the heat of "battle".. If possible get some sort of portable storage like X's-Drive, Nexvue etc..

Enjoy your new camera! I am sure u will be happy with it.

 

[chia73]

thanx man for all replies... really appreciates them... :thumbsup:

already got a Hoya uv filter... wondering if ND or PL filter will help in the pics?? :think:

definetly will consider the external flash soon....

ok here's one thing i notice; when i turn on 'red eye' reduction, there are pre-flashes, causing delay/lag time when i press the shutter. but without it, red eye appears.. any way to get around this?? or will getting a external flash unit with a tilt head solve this?? pls advice.. thanx

will go funan tomorrow to checkout the softwares...


thanx again all bros

 

[Triton]

<<snipped>>

already got a Hoya uv filter... wondering if ND or PL filter will help in the pics?? :think:

definetly will consider the external flash soon....

ok here's one thing i notice; when i turn on 'red eye' reduction, there are pre-flashes, causing delay/lag time when i press the shutter. but without it, red eye appears.. any way to get around this?? or will getting a external flash unit with a tilt head solve this?? pls advice.. thanx

will go funan tomorrow to checkout the softwares...

thanx again all bros

Filters:
If you are just looking for a lens protection kinda filter then look no further than UV. Cir-POL filter very good for outdoor photography. However make sure it is really bright as this very dark filter will cut down light onto your CCD. Cir-POL great for landscape pictures with the georgeous blue sky in the background

Red-Eye:
Yes turning on Red-eye on your cam will delay your shot. Having an external flash that bounces the light from the ceiling will certainly remove Red-eye syndrome. In any case, red-eye can be easily be remove by post-processing using software such as Photoshop.

Software:
For normal image viewing i recommend FireGraphic. This ultra sharp and fast image viewer lloks extremely pretty on your monitor :bigeyes: The colour is like looking at your pictures under Photoshop. You can download the free version from http://www.firegraphic.com/ If you purchase the license version, you can batch-process image rotation etc...
You may also try ACDSee This fast image viewer can also playback movie clips! IMO the colour and sharpness on ACDSee are not as good as FireGraphic.
If you don't wanna pay you can check out IrfanView. Absolutely FREE and and view a wide variety of formats as well as movie formats. Downside is that the pic quality isn't so good and it is very slow compared to the above.
Of course the King of all imaging software would be Adobe Photoshop, now into its eighth incarnation the Photoshop CS. This is *THE* software for all your digital imaging needs. Unfortunately it is very expensive and learning curve is steep for a beginer.. Look for for academic edition of the software.. or if you come across the magazine ComputerArts, once in a long while they would bundle with a FREE but older version of Photoshop.. You can then buy an upgrade license for just a few hundred bucks! BUT you do not need to have deep wallet to have Photoshop.. there is a Photoshop Elements, a low-cost cousin of Photoshop. Retains many of the common functionality but minus many pros features. Other popular imaging software but much cheaper is the Paintshop Pro..

 

[chia73]

thanx man...

will check it out at Funan 2morrow.. opps i mean today..!!


btw can software resize the pics..? i hv problems sending via email as file size is too big..

cheers

 

[Triton]

thanx man...

will check it out at Funan 2morrow.. opps i mean today..!!


btw can software resize the pics..? i hv problems sending via email as file size is too big..

cheers

Yes most of these softwares allows u to resize the pictures. However If you are running Windows XP, all u need to do is right-mouse click on the image file ---> Send To ---> Mail Recipient ---> Make all my pictures smaller (you can specify how small or big by clicking-on Show More Options.

 

[chia73]

Yes most of these softwares allows u to resize the pictures. However If you are running Windows XP, all u need to do is right-mouse click on the image file ---> Send To ---> Mail Recipient ---> Make all my pictures smaller (you can specify how small or big by clicking-on Show More Options.

juz go ACDsee... nice

geez.. i thought taking pics is like piece of cake!! until i saw mine..yuks! :cry:

now i can appreciate those posted!!