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Photo Forum / General Photo Topics / UK Photography / March 2004Software to crop 4:3 to 3:2 easily
Hi there Does anyone know of any dedicated software that can very easily crop digital pix (in 4:3 format) to 3:2 for printing? I've had a digital camera for some time now and getting prints from it are a pain because of the ratio change. I know that Paintshop Pro can do it, but it's a bit of a procedure. I wondered if anyone had encountered any software written to only do this. Some kind of editor that just pops up a 3:2 ratio crop box that you can move around, resize, and then crop and save with. Irfanview does it, but flakily. I really don't want to go out and buy a decent colour printer, and then spend the earth on cartridges & paper. cheers -DaveB > Hi there > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > -DaveB Hi Dave Chris Breeze's "BreezeBrowser" program will do it - using the 'Proofs' option. I've never tried it but there is an option to crop all the selected images to any given ratio you require. Personally I'd rather be in control of which bit of the image I was discarding/losing - but if you're dealing with hundreds of images (perhaps for event photography) then I can see why you my need a batch facility. BreezeBrowser can be found here ... http://www.breezesys.com/  SignatureSorby >> Hi there >> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > >BreezeBrowser can be found here ... http://www.breezesys.com/ Hi there I'll try that one out. Yes, I want to be able to control what I crop. The sort of thing I'm after is where you click on a menu item/toolbar item, and up comes a resizable 3:2 box that I can move around. -DaveB > >> Hi there > >> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > The sort of thing I'm after is where you click on a menu item/toolbar > item, and up comes a resizable 3:2 box that I can move around. Hi - Unfortunately BreezeBrowser doesn't provide this drag'n'drop box you describe (neat idea though!). If you've got PaintShop Pro then why not try this (I just did and it works fine) : For each ratio & size combination you are likely to use : (You only need to do this bit once per ratio & size!) Create yourself a new blank, black image - make sure it is larger (in dimension) than the image that your digital camera generates. This will become a black mount) Now use the rectangle drawing tool to draw a solid white rectangle that is in the required ratio. (This will become the see-thru' window in the black mount) Save this as a .psp file with a suitable name that tells you what ratio the white rectangle represents. For each image you want to crop to a certain ratio : Load the .psp ratio file we created above - Select All (CTRL+A), copy & 'Paste as Transparent Selection' (Shift+CTRL+E) into the photo image. Move the selection (effectively a black mount framing the photo) until you are happy - then Invert Selection (Shift+CTRL+I) - then Crop To Selection (Shift+R). Job done! I know the above might sound like a bit faffy but once you've created your ratio 'mask' it's a doddle. p.s. You may be able to achieve this more simply with PaintShop Pro's 'Mask' feature - but I've never used this. p.p.s. If all the above is gobbledegook then say so and I'll try and explain it better - perhaps with a few home-made diagrams! :o) SignatureSorby > > >> Hi there > > >> [quoted text clipped - 69 lines] > p.p.s. If all the above is gobbledegook then say so and I'll try and explain > it better - perhaps with a few home-made diagrams! :o) Just thought I'd add that to work out the image ratio (when creating the white rectangle in your 'mask') just watch the value in the [square brackets] in the status bar at the bottom of the window as you drag the rectangle out. Your 4:3 ratio equates to 1.333.... in landscape mode or 0.75 in portrait mode. But, for the 3:2 ratio you require, your rectangle needs a value of 1.5 (landscape) or 0.666.... (portrait) in those [square brackets] Hope that helps - sorry if you knew this already. SignatureSorby > > > >> Hi there > > > >> [quoted text clipped - 89 lines] > > Hope that helps - sorry if you knew this already. Easy way with psp pre 8 . Double click the crop tool this opens a options box enter 0 for left. 300 right. 0 top. 300 bottom that gives a crop box of the correct ratio Place the cursor inside the area and it will become the 4way arrow move tool move the area into the centre, You must move it away from the edge as the next step will extand it on all four sides at once. Hold the shift key down as you grab a side and that will constrain the ratios as you increase or decrees the crop area. > > > > On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:59:59 +0100, "Sorby" <Sorby@hotmail.com> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 131 lines] > Hold the shift key down as you grab a side and that will constrain the > ratios as you increase or decrees the crop area. Ahh - that's a *much* better way - thanks Trev. I've been using PsP for years and never used that tool! Always cropped from the drop-down menu! DUH! Thanks SignatureSorby >> > > > On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:59:59 +0100, "Sorby" <Sorby@hotmail.com> >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > >Thanks This is looking good, except...after selecting a crop box and getting it where I want, Crop To Selection on the Image menu is greyed out (and Shift-R doesn't work either). Sorry to be a pain, but what am I missing here? -DaveB > >> > > > On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:59:59 +0100, "Sorby" <Sorby@hotmail.com> > >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Sorry to be a pain, but what am I missing here? Are you using Trev's method? (Don't use mine or a combination of his & mine - Trev's method should work fine on its own!) What version of PSP are you using? SignatureSorby >> >> > > > On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:59:59 +0100, "Sorby" <Sorby@hotmail.com> >> >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > >What version of PSP are you using? Version 8. Trev's - >Easy way with psp pre 8 . >Double click the crop tool this opens a options box enter 0 for left. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Hold the shift key down as you grab a side and that will constrain the >ratios as you increase or decrees the crop area. -DaveB > >Are you using Trev's method? (Don't use mine or a combination of his & > >mine - Trev's method should work fine on its own!) [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > >Easy way with psp pre 8 . Note the "Pre" In 8 the presets in the dropdown do that for you. There basically just a script to produce the same thing > >Double click the crop tool this opens a options box enter 0 for left. > >300 right. 0 top. 300 bottom that gives a crop box of the correct ratio [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > -DaveB > >> > > > On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:59:59 +0100, "Sorby" <Sorby@hotmail.com> > >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > -DaveB Yes your cropping not selecting. Once your ready to crop either double click in the image or press the crop image button in the tool options (O key Oh not zero). Its better to crop with the crop tool then the selection tool as the crop tool will increase the PPI resolution to produce the 6 x 4 print from the selected area. >> > >> Hi there >> > >> [quoted text clipped - 89 lines] > >Hope that helps - sorry if you knew this already. No I didn't, but I've got PSP 8 at home so as soon as I get back I'll try this out. I'm sure it's going to be just what I want. I've been using one of those desktop digital film machines in my local ASDA store's photographic dept for the past year. You know, the ones where you pop in a CDR, mem stick, floppy, or whatever, and it selects the pics you want. Thing is, we've been photographing our baby daughter since she was born last March, and all the photos we got looked fine. Turns out they were being cropped top and bottom, but we didn't realise...because all the photos were of her lying down (as babies under a year old are wont to do). Now of course she's starting to sit up, and I've suddenly noticed all the pics have the top of her head cut off! I'm so surprised (though maybe I shouldn't be) that when you buy a digital camera this discrepancy between the 4:3 ratio of dig pix, and 3:2 ratio of standard 6x4 prints is never made clear to the punter. Obviously because the people selling the cameras (and indeed the people in the photo shop) don't know anything about this. Ah well. Technology. Thanks for your help. -DaveB > I'm so surprised (though maybe I shouldn't be) that when you buy a > digital camera this discrepancy between the 4:3 ratio of dig pix, and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > -DaveB Yes but the paper is not always the same ratio as the negative either and it happens to prints from film too I.e.. 35 mm prints at 10 x 6.5 so to get a 10 by 8 you have to crop off some from the sides and In PSP 8 there are presets in the drop down for cropping to stranded paper sizes such as 6 ox 4 or 4 ox 6 [snip] > I'm so surprised (though maybe I shouldn't be) that when you buy a > digital camera this discrepancy between the 4:3 ratio of dig pix, and > 3:2 ratio of standard 6x4 prints is never made clear to the punter. > Obviously because the people selling the cameras (and indeed the > people in the photo shop) don't know anything about this. If you would like an alternative there are retailers who offer a 6x4.5 and other 4:3 ratio prints. I use www.byphotos.co.uk, same as www.photobox.co.uk but with a good intro offer. Of course you need to upload through a broadband line. You get 30 free photos for the cost of postage (?1.50 I think) when you register so well worth trial. Otherwise about 19p each if you buy in any volume. There are cheaper but these get regular recommendations and I have found them reliable. TIP : Ask for a calibration print first so you can adjust what you see on your monitor to what they will print for you. > Ah well. Technology. > > Thanks for your help. > > -DaveB > Hi there > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > -DaveB Depends on which version of psp. Sounds as if you have seven or earlier as 8 has presets to do it. But its something that you want to be in control off as your chopping a bit of your image of ,you want to control which bit. > Hi there > > Does anyone know of any dedicated software that can very easily crop > digital pix (in 4:3 format) to 3:2 for printing? I don't know of any dedicated software, but both Photoshop Elements 2 and ThumbsPlus do this, so if you use either then you're sorted :-) Signature'The person one loves never really exists, but is a projection focussed through the lens of the mind onto whatever screen fits it with least distortion.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 'The Road to the Sea' --------------------------------------------------------------- Simon Waldman, UK email: swaldman@firecloud.org.uk http://www.firecloud.org.uk/simon --------------------------------------------------------------- > Does anyone know of any dedicated software that can very easily > crop digital pix (in 4:3 format) to 3:2 for printing? Lots. Some of them are PixumUp: http://www.pixum.de/ cPicture: http://www.cpicture.de/en/ DigiCropper: http://www.digicropper.com/ FotoView: http://www.polamar.net/fotoview/index.htm PhotoCutter: http://www.escape-computer.de/photocutter/ JPEGCrop: http://sylvana.net/jpegcrop/ JPEGCrops: http://ekot.dk/JPEGCrops/ Since I'm the author of the last one, I'll refrain from making any recommendations for a specific program. >> Does anyone know of any dedicated software that can very easily >> crop digital pix (in 4:3 format) to 3:2 for printing? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >Since I'm the author of the last one, I'll refrain from making any >recommendations for a specific program. And, human nature being what it is, it was of course the first one I tried. Well actually it was the only one I tried because it was 100% what I wanted! It's rare these days that you find exactly the piece of software you need to accomplish a certain task, but in this case all I can say is thankyou very much for replying to my post! And thankyou to everyone else who responded with so many alternatives. As I work for a Uni IT dept where digital cameras are frequently loaned out to staff, several of these links will come in very handy. cheers! -DaveB |
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