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Photo Forum / General Photo Topics / General Topics / April 2008

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High speed camera vs. HD video

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AKA gray asphalt - 15 Apr 2008 23:14 GMT
Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
the video?

Thanks, I'm thinking about a small wedding
photo business.
Burgerman - 16 Apr 2008 13:09 GMT
> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
> the video?
>
> Thanks, I'm thinking about a small wedding
> photo business.

The resolution of HD does not compare to the resolution of a typical 10 or
12 million pixel SLR camera. Again noise is worse (as are point and shoots)
focus and exposure accuraccy has little creative control in comparison.

But forgetting about image quality and thinking only about pixels then I
think that of all the HD standards 1920 wide is the biggest HD resolution So
at 300dpi for a photograph on priont with good quality then that would be
6.4 inches... Hardly wedding photo territory! You could print at double that
size at 150 dpi but thats only practical where the source photograph is of
superb quality of the sort you could get with some skill on a modern SLR
camera with good optics. Its not likely to be that good from a consumer
level HD camera. Or close to it.

A D300 Nikon for eg makes 4288  wide images. So 14 inches wide at 300 DPI.
but because image quality is good (lower noise, sharper, better exposed,
coirrectly focussed compared to a consumer HD vid camera) it can often print
at 150 DPI and still look great. Especially if upsampled correctly. So 30 x
20 prints are quite possible with excellent quality.
AKA gray asphalt - 17 Apr 2008 18:39 GMT
>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
>> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> print at 150 DPI and still look great. Especially if upsampled correctly.
> So 30 x 20 prints are quite possible with excellent quality.

You don't trust the photoshop and other
interpolation methods at all?
Burgerman - 18 Apr 2008 09:46 GMT
>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
>>> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> You don't trust the photoshop and other
> interpolation methods at all?

You cant make information only decrease pixel size

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AKA gray asphalt - 18 Apr 2008 19:24 GMT
>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
>>>> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> You cant make information only decrease pixel size

You need to read up on that. The process does a complex
interpolation of the pizels around the newly created pixel.
It is really quite sophisticated.
Burgerman - 18 Apr 2008 19:37 GMT
> You need to read up on that. The process does a complex
> interpolation of the pizels around the newly created pixel.
> It is really quite sophisticated.

No. Interpolation increases the number of pixels. It increases the image
sixe. It CANNOT add in information that wasnt there to start with.

Take a 4 pixel image. Make it into a 1 megapixel image... Err you can! But
it looks like a fuzzy 4 pixel image...
AKA gray asphalt - 18 Apr 2008 23:55 GMT
>> You need to read up on that. The process does a complex
>> interpolation of the pizels around the newly created pixel.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Take a 4 pixel image. Make it into a 1 megapixel image... Err you can! But
> it looks like a fuzzy 4 pixel image...

You just don't know what you are talking about.
If you take a 4 pixel image and double it, it will
look quite different than a Photoshop image which
has been interpolated. Both are 8x8 pixels which
quadruples the pixels but the images look quite
different. There is a lot of difference between
enlarging a 4 pixel image and a regular photo size,
even 640 x 480 pixels. To get a 4x6 print at 300
ppi you'd have to multiply a 4 pixel image by
8548590394589034 %.

I know you're pulling my chain. There isn't anyone
on the internet that doesn't know that Photohop does
a better job of enlarging images than just doubling
pixels. : -)
Burgerman - 19 Apr 2008 00:46 GMT
>>> You need to read up on that. The process does a complex
>>> interpolation of the pizels around the newly created pixel.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> You just don't know what you are talking about.

Very wrong Im afraid...

> If you take a 4 pixel image and double it, it will
> look quite different than a Photoshop image which
> has been interpolated. Both are 8x8 pixels which
> quadruples the pixels but the images look quite
> different.

Yes but BOTH have data introduced that isnt really there...

There is a lot of difference between
> enlarging a 4 pixel image and a regular photo size,
> even 640 x 480 pixels. To get a 4x6 print at 300
> ppi you'd have to multiply a 4 pixel image by
> 8548590394589034 %.

It doesent matter what maths you use you cannot introduce real information
into a low number of pixels and make a "bigger" image. The data is simply
not available.

> I know you're pulling my chain. There isn't anyone
> on the internet that doesn't know that Photohop does
> a better job of enlarging images than just doubling
> pixels. : -)

It just averages the data - smoothes it across the pixels - it makes a
larger print possible without seeing pixelation. It does not and cannot
guess what real information SHOULD be present. So no amount of enlarging
improves the original HD low res image other than to allow bigger but still
crappy images lacking in detail and information..
flaming-o - 17 Apr 2008 00:02 GMT
I pity your clients if you are hiring yourself out as a professional
photographer and do not already know the answer to this.
Manufacturers have in the works HD video cameras that will have 5 or 6
megapixel sensors and will be better optimized for still images as well as
HD video.
However these multi megapixel sensors will be quite small, so that large
range zoom lenses will not have to be massive and massively expensive.
Supposedly the noise levels in these sensors will be able to compete with
mid-range P&S cameras but they will not compare to dSLR quality.
Ken Hart - 17 Apr 2008 00:47 GMT
>I pity your clients if you are hiring yourself out as a professional
>photographer and do not already know the answer to this.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Supposedly the noise levels in these sensors will be able to compete with
> mid-range P&S cameras but they will not compare to dSLR quality.

Additionally, there is substantially more to professional wedding
photography than just having a camera. You need to know posing, dealing with
crowds of people, putting yourself in charge of a trainwreck, convincing
people who may not like each other to stand beside each other and smile.
Then there is the presentation of your finished work: putting together an
attractive package of portraits into a durable holder of some sort that's
worth the money you are charging.

I've shot hundreds of weddings over the years before I decided that it
wasn't worth my time, the cost of liability insurance, and the aggravation.

I pity the person who thinks he can shoot weddings without knwing exactly
what kind of camera would be best. Further I pity his clients.

(By the way, in my opinion, the best camera was a medium format rangefinder,
such as my Koni Omega Rapid M. Nice big negative for sharp, detailed
pictures, fast to operate, dependable, and not _too_ heavy.)
AKA gray asphalt - 17 Apr 2008 18:44 GMT
>>I pity your clients if you are hiring yourself out as a professional
>>photographer and do not already know the answer to this.
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> rangefinder, such as my Koni Omega Rapid M. Nice big negative for sharp,
> detailed pictures, fast to operate, dependable, and not _too_ heavy.)

Really. I'm surprised people bother to take pictures at all.
It must be a tough tough business. I'm surprised there isn't
a warning on cameras to only be used by professionals.
Ken Hart - 17 Apr 2008 19:32 GMT
snip

> Really. I'm surprised people bother to take pictures at all.
> It must be a tough tough business. I'm surprised there isn't
> a warning on cameras to only be used by professionals.

Many cameras can be used by the most inexperienced persons. But to get
_consistently_ professional results on a regular basis, a certain level of
training and skill is required.

As for why people would even bother to have wedding portraits made, the
bride and groom (or the parents) may have spent a lot of money on the event
to make it memorable for the couple and the guests. It seems only logical to
have quality photographs to remember the day.
AKA gray asphalt - 17 Apr 2008 18:42 GMT
>I pity your clients if you are hiring yourself out as a professional
>photographer and do not already know the answer to this.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Supposedly the noise levels in these sensors will be able to compete with
> mid-range P&S cameras but they will not compare to dSLR quality.

I wonder why anyone would start out a post
by insulting the OP. There are a lot of people
who go without wedding photos at all or with
what their friends can shoot. I guess there might
be room for someone trying to fill the less than
greedy market.
Vance - 17 Apr 2008 19:21 GMT
> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
> the video?
>
> Thanks, I'm thinking about a small wedding
> photo business.

Besides the technical aspects already mentioned, shooting stills is a
very different discipline artistically (using the term loosely).  A
completely different type of visualization is involved because a still
has to carry more implicit information than a video and the
photographer is involved in a different imagining process.  It
happens, but it is rare, that a still from a video has the emotional
or aesthetic impact that a specifically shot still can have.

Videos have their effect on a viewer as a result of being a captured
segment of time and reducing that segment to a singular moment of time
usually results in a snapshot.  Very occassionaly, I have worked with
a very talented and award winning videographer and I wouldn't try and
do what he does any more than he wants to try and do what I do.  Give
me his video equipment and I come up with imaginative home movies.  A
still camera in his hands results in very good, but somewhat sterile
images that just barely get beyond being snapshots.

I also don't see good economics.  A video image can be up res'd and
the image quality vastly improved using some very fancy mathematics
and multiple frames.  The best software for doing this isn't cheap,
either.  The software and the hardware to run it effectively will set
you back somewhere in the range of $3,500 - $5,000 USD.  For my setup,
though I use the software for doing something other than making fair
stills out of crummy video frames, it's $3,000 for Matlab and $700 for
the Matlab package that does the work.

For any given image, you will have to find it in a stream of images,
this means watching the whole video in at least a scanning fashion.
You'll need more than one image, so you will have to pull out each
one.  In an hours video, how much time do you think you have just
spent?  You've just added several hours on top of the viewing time
itself.  If you are using the type of software that can produce a
higher quality image from several video frames, being conservative,
for 200 images you have just added another six hours to you post
capture processing time (that's with an established workflow).  You've
just added a minimum of 10 hours to your workload, assuming an
optimized workflow, to get to the point a still photographer will
start with as raw input to their workflow.  It actually can get worse
from here because you will have a lot more post processing in
something like photoshop to get even close to the default quality that
a still photographer will start with simply as a matter of knowing how
to get as much right in the capture as they can for any given image.

In terms of quality and ecomomics alone, I just don't see it on the
still side.  Now, you have the job of editing the video and producing
a quality package out of that.  The analysis could continue, but you
would be in the situation of trying to compete with either a pro
covering a wedding in video and who has hired a still photographer, or
the converse.  Either way, they will be able to produce a higher
quality package technically and aesthetically at a similar, or lower
price, than you can and at a better profit margin for them.

You aren't the first to think of this and there are very good reasons
that pros, either from the videography or photography side, haven't
jumped on the idea.

Vance
AKA gray asphalt - 18 Apr 2008 04:14 GMT
On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
> HD video? How big of enlargements can you get from
> the video?
>
> Thanks, I'm thinking about a small wedding
> photo business.

Besides the technical aspects already mentioned, shooting stills is a
very different discipline artistically (using the term loosely).  A
completely different type of visualization is involved because a still
has to carry more implicit information than a video and the
photographer is involved in a different imagining process.  It
happens, but it is rare, that a still from a video has the emotional
or aesthetic impact that a specifically shot still can have.

____________
This is baloney, imo. Poised stills looked just that.
Having a range of frames to choose from is always
better. (I'm being dogmantic, I know). Resolution
being the same it is always better to have more
choices. That's why strobes and higher fps cameras
are used in advertising. Duh
_______________

Videos have their effect on a viewer as a result of being a captured
segment of time and reducing that segment to a singular moment of time
usually results in a snapshot.  Very occassionaly, I have worked with
a very talented and award winning videographer and I wouldn't try and
do what he does any more than he wants to try and do what I do.  Give
me his video equipment and I come up with imaginative home movies.  A
still camera in his hands results in very good, but somewhat sterile
images that just barely get beyond being snapshots.
______________
There are a lot of goofs charging a lot of money
to do the same things that a neighbor can do. And
there's no guarantee that a higher price will get
better quality pics.
_______________________

I also don't see good economics.  A video image can be up res'd and
the image quality vastly improved using some very fancy mathematics
and multiple frames.  The best software for doing this isn't cheap,
either.  The software and the hardware to run it effectively will set
you back somewhere in the range of $3,500 - $5,000 USD.  For my setup,
though I use the software for doing something other than making fair
stills out of crummy video frames, it's $3,000 for Matlab and $700 for
the Matlab package that does the work.
______________________
If Photoshop isn't good enough for fixing pictures then
you're hying someone.
______________________
For any given image, you will have to find it in a stream of images,
this means watching the whole video in at least a scanning fashion.
You'll need more than one image, so you will have to pull out each
one.  In an hours video, how much time do you think you have just
spent?
______________
You don't need to go through a whole hour of video,
fram by frame. Checking out the important parts, like
when the groom kisses the bride and the posed shots
right after the ceremony and when the cake gets
smeared on the couple. : -)
______________
 You've just added several hours on top of the viewing time
itself.  If you are using the type of software that can produce a
higher quality image from several video frames, being conservative,
for 200 images you have just added another six hours to you post
capture processing time (that's with an established workflow).  You've
just added a minimum of 10 hours to your workload, assuming an
optimized workflow, to get to the point a still photographer will
start with as raw input to their workflow.  It actually can get worse
from here because you will have a lot more post processing in
something like photoshop to get even close to the default quality that
a still photographer will start with simply as a matter of knowing how
to get as much right in the capture as they can for any given image.
_______________________
I think someone should get inventive and try
some new ideas instead of trying to discourage
people from taking photographs.
_______________________

In terms of quality and ecomomics alone, I just don't see it on the
still side.  Now, you have the job of editing the video and producing
a quality package out of that.  The analysis could continue, but you
would be in the situation of trying to compete with either a pro
covering a wedding in video and who has hired a still photographer, or
the converse.  Either way, they will be able to produce a higher
quality package technically and aesthetically at a similar, or lower
price, than you can and at a better profit margin for them.
____________________
I have a degree in grahic design and I know what I'm doing
when it comes to correcting photos. I suggest that you guys
look at the Casio EX-F1 camera and see what you can do
with multiple frames. And try this ... take some point and shoot
cameras and pass them out at the wedding to the guests. Make
them feel part of the process and your competition will become
your pupils and biggest supporters. And if you don't think that
people will pose better and more naturally and allow more
candid shots from friends than some guy in an ill fitting tuxedo
who looks like he'd rather be watching television, then you're
nuts. No offense. I don't want to take anybodies paycheck
but I would be nice to see some innovation and a little less
elitism.
______________________

You aren't the first to think of this and there are very good reasons
that pros, either from the videography or photography side, haven't
jumped on the idea.

Vance
________________________
To be a pro all you have to do is charge money. That's
not my idea of a recommendation. There are so many
untapped areas that really need people to be taking
pictures and doing videos and audio family histories and
giving people in hospices a chance to record best wishes
for the remaining generations ... Take a family and sit them
down and record a few nice phrases and memories and
take a few pics, but them in one of the photo frames and
get it to someone in the last months of terminal cancer.
Now that's worth your time.
Burgerman - 18 Apr 2008 13:33 GMT
> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> ____________
> This is baloney, imo. Poised stills looked just that.

Posed stills are what most wedding customers are wanting and expecting
including all the classic group and cake / signing etc shots.
Although there is absolutely no reason the photographer cannot also get some
good candid shots as well.

> Having a range of frames to choose from is always
> better. (I'm being dogmantic, I know). Resolution
> being the same

Resolution from the BEST HD film cameras (read unaffordable) only approaches
what a 2 megapixel cheap point and shoot camera can do. with less accurate
focus or depth of field control. And more noise... And with slower "shutter"
speed since movement blur in low light is acceptable with movies of moving
objects /people.

it is always better to have more
> choices. That's why strobes and higher fps cameras
> are used in advertising. Duh
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> If Photoshop isn't good enough for fixing pictures then
> you're hying someone.

But photoshop cannot creat data or remove blur or noise (without removing
detail that its already lacking) in an image.

> ______________________
> For any given image, you will have to find it in a stream of images,
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> right after the ceremony and when the cake gets
> smeared on the couple. : -)

For those moments I would use 8 frames per second on my nikon with carefully
controlled focus and depth of field and get good quality noise free
correctly focussed and controlled 12 million pixel images. WAY better than
any HD movie camera can achieve straight from the camera! And a good 20 x 30
inch pin sharp image with every eylash pin sharp with almost zero noise. A
movie camera simply cannot do that for a huge bunch of technical reasons.
People paying for good wedding photography are payiong for just that.

______________
>  You've just added several hours on top of the viewing time
> itself.  If you are using the type of software that can produce a
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> a still photographer will start with simply as a matter of knowing how
> to get as much right in the capture as they can for any given image.

Its simply not possible to even get close to that image quality no matter
what you do. The data simply isnt there to work with.

> _______________________
> I think someone should get inventive and try
> some new ideas instead of trying to discourage
> people from taking photographs.

Anybody can take snaps. Very few people can take technically good
photographs even with the best digital SLR available.

> _______________________
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> look at the Casio EX-F1 camera and see what you can do
> with multiple frames.

It makes noisy over exposed over over processed typical point and shoot
photos. a.s a point and shoot its OK but quality and control is way short of
my D300 or the D3 nikon for eg. For shooting weddings its just a snapshot
camera.

And try this ... take some point and shoot
> cameras and pass them out at the wedding to the guests. Make
> them feel part of the process and your competition will become
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> but I would be nice to see some innovation and a little less
> elitism.

You would get exactly what you get from guests taking their own pics art a
wedding now.
Thousands of low quality blurry over processed amature badly exposed noisy
point and shoot shots...
Useless for printing at anything other than 6x4 sixe and this already
happens at almost every wedding!

> ______________________
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> get it to someone in the last months of terminal cancer.
> Now that's worth your time.

There is absolutely nothing stopping them doing that now.  And thats not
what this thread is about.

The thing is that a few low quality frames taken from a HD Movie camera
doesent come close to a decent photographers wedding photos taken with a
modern SLR camera. Or even close to what the same guy could do with a 6 year
old 2 million pixel point and shoot!
AKA gray asphalt - 18 Apr 2008 23:49 GMT
>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 172 lines]
> There is absolutely nothing stopping them doing that now.  And thats not
> what this thread is about.

People don't usually do a good job of sharing pictures. A photographer
should be able to correlate, correct and create a presentation with the
photos which were shot with the same type of cameras with the same
settings.

> The thing is that a few low quality frames taken from a HD Movie camera
> doesent come close to a decent photographers wedding photos taken with a
> modern SLR camera. Or even close to what the same guy could do with a 6
> year old 2 million pixel point and shoot!

Did you look at the EX-F1? They are in stock now at some of the
online stores. It's not a video camera. It has 7FPS with flash. Really,
according to their hype.
Burgerman - 19 Apr 2008 00:51 GMT
>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 181 lines]
> photos which were shot with the same type of cameras with the same
> settings.

You mean try to rescue bad lighting, noise, bad exposure, blurred fuzzy
images from a amature photographer with a noisy camera that cant focus
accurately?

Not possible other than for 6x4 pictures for people that dont expect much.

>> The thing is that a few low quality frames taken from a HD Movie camera
>> doesent come close to a decent photographers wedding photos taken with a
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> online stores. It's not a video camera. It has 7FPS with flash. Really,
> according to their hype.

Yes. Its a point and shoot! Noisy, low image quality, does not compare to a
real Digital SLR. Great for snaps. Unusable for printing high quality 20x30
prints unless you are very easily pleased!
AKA gray asphalt - 19 Apr 2008 21:54 GMT
>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 207 lines]
> a real Digital SLR. Great for snaps. Unusable for printing high quality
> 20x30 prints unless you are very easily pleased!

That's not what the reviews say. You obviously
haven't used one. They haven't even been
available until last week in the US. So I know you
are bsing. Who wants 20x30 prints for wedding
photos?
Burgerman - 19 Apr 2008 22:24 GMT
>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 218 lines]
> are bsing. Who wants 20x30 prints for wedding
> photos?

Usually the bride and groom...
Even if they dont the biggest photo you are going to get out of your HD
Video camera is 6x4 inches at the accepted 300dpi printing resolution. You
COULD upsample and interpolate but that just makes a bigger image not a
better one. You cannot add data in afterwards!

And it will be noisey and badly exposed and focused compared to even a cheap
DSLR camera.

The point is that there is a reason that wedding photographers prefer
cannons with FULL FRAME sensors. Or even Nikons like the D200 or D300 With
DX sensors. The Nikon D3 is the best of the lot here but still pretty new.
The reason is that they get the sort of quality and low noise, combined with
real control over the photographic process. Sensor size is DIRECTLY related
to noise. Thats why point and shoot cameras all make noisey photos. If you
are happy with that then thats fine but most people especially photographers
are not. Especially so at higher ISO settings needed in dark winter days, in
churches etc. Sorry but NO point and shoot has anything aproaching a full
frame or even a DX sized sensor. There a bit more to it than pixels...
Unless they found a way around this inconvinient bit of physics then it can
never be any other way. Thats why DSLR cameras have such huge and expensive
lenses. To "cover" a LARGER sensor. Its also why point and shoots are cheap!
Tiny sensor = tiny lens to cover its area. Lenses cost. result noisey
camera. Plus point and shoots and most budget dslr cameras over process
images so it looks "good" (sometimes) straight out of the camera. Pro
cameras dont. They require finishing (levels, etc and sharpening last) to
produce a good finished image. Once the point and shoot has done this badly
and oveexposed and blown highlights etc you cant do much exept delete it or
accept what you got!
AKA gray asphalt - 20 Apr 2008 02:58 GMT
>>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 262 lines]
> blown highlights etc you cant do much exept delete it or accept what you
> got!

The only thing is that when you look at the pictures
you will find that I am right. Who does your film processing
because it appears that home printer now have a wider
color gamut than labs.
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 08:54 GMT
>>>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 279 lines]
> because it appears that home printer now have a wider
> color gamut than labs.

Even if thats true and I doubt it, who needs a "wider" gaut picture with
less resolution more noise, etc etc???
And its relevant to different cameras how exactly?
AKA gray asphalt - 20 Apr 2008 10:43 GMT
>>>>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 293 lines]
> less resolution more noise, etc etc???
> And its relevant to different cameras how exactly?

You can print any digital pic you want. If you prefer
to print the ones you insist are better ...
AKA gray asphalt - 20 Apr 2008 10:48 GMT
>>>>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 293 lines]
> less resolution more noise, etc etc???
> And its relevant to different cameras how exactly?

Are you saying that a point and shoot that allows for
using raw format doesn't exist?

If you can't produce something out of nothing, as someone
kept saying about photoshop interpolation, then how do you
account for morphing?
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 10:52 GMT
>>>>>>>>> On Apr 15, 3:14 pm, "AKA gray asphalt" <benvh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Is there a difference between quick still cameras and
[quoted text clipped - 308 lines]
> kept saying about photoshop interpolation, then how do you
> account for morphing?

Of course raw images exist in point and shoots. But its a badly focussed raw
image from a small sized noisy sensor through a small nasty lense!

Morphing isnt real data and relates to wedding images how?
Ken Hart - 20 Apr 2008 00:17 GMT
snip

>> Yes. Its a point and shoot! Noisy, low image quality, does not compare to
>> a real Digital SLR. Great for snaps. Unusable for printing high quality
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> are bsing. Who wants 20x30 prints for wedding
> photos?

Not many of my past wedding customers wanted 2030 wall prints, except for
the really upscale ones, but a 16x20, matted and framed of the bride and
groom was purchased about 90% of the time. In many cases, three were
purchased (I gave a discount for that), one for the couple and one for each
parent. I suspect tht I would have solf far fewer of them if I hadn't been
shooting 6x7 negatives.
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 00:40 GMT
> snip
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> each parent. I suspect tht I would have solf far fewer of them if I hadn't
> been shooting 6x7 negatives.

And how many would want it from a HD video cam at about 2 million pixels?
Or a noisy soft lensed over processed point and shoot?
You really dont need to answer...

Some dont get it because they havent seen or understood the difference or
seen the difference in a large print.
However the difference is rather obvious when you do.

You cant upscale a 2 million pixel movie camera shot to even 16 x 20 however
you try, even if that shot was somehow not overprocessed, and was correctly
exposed and focussed. Which is very unlikely! The reason good DSLR lenses
are expensive is bacause they can do this. The reason the sensors are bigger
is the same. The "control" allowed is also important to allow the
photographer the chance to "get" these shots. And often at high ISO. That
requires some real artistic skill thats beyond me though!
AKA gray asphalt - 20 Apr 2008 03:10 GMT
>> snip
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
> allow the photographer the chance to "get" these shots. And often at high
> ISO. That requires some real artistic skill thats beyond me though!

I'm not into HD video. Mostly because of the lack of
flash. And that's why I posted, to find out other's
experience. However the BS that passes for information
about the limitations of digital photos is discouraging.
Thanks goodness that people can look at photos and see
for themselves.
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 08:59 GMT
>>> snip
>>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
> Thanks goodness that people can look at photos and see
> for themselves.

Some dont "see" though... Nothing I posted is bulshit.

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AKA gray asphalt - 20 Apr 2008 03:04 GMT
> snip
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> each parent. I suspect tht I would have solf far fewer of them if I hadn't
> been shooting 6x7 negatives.

I imagine that there are quite a few 16 x 20s requested but
that is a little more than half the size of the 20 x 30. You may
be right about the large format negs but there is a huge market,
at least in my city for people who might not even have photos
at the price that most 'wedding photo pros' charge. It's the
memory and not the high resolution, perfectly posed and
somewhat typical and unremarkable prints that I see, that is
important.
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 09:21 GMT
>> snip
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> somewhat typical and unremarkable prints that I see, that is
> important.

Only to you. If they are only interested in low quality images for memories
then they can do what you propose for themselves with cheap film or digital
cameras as and when they wish already. And they already do. A pro wedding
photographer is used precicely BECAUSE they want better quality images to
keep print and show later rather than the technically inferior shots the
guests took. Of course a GOOD wedding photographer is much more than a guy
with a fancy camera because its easy to take bad shots and boring photos
with all cameras..
Burgerman - 20 Apr 2008 12:37 GMT
>> snip
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> somewhat typical and unremarkable prints that I see, that is
> important.

16x20 may be half the size but its still much bigger than you would want to
print from a noisy point and shoot with its tiny sensor and lens and
massively too big for a single frame from an HD camera.  Garbage in garbage
out applies to photographs as much as computers and hi-fi.

The Hi-Fi one is a good example. Spend all your money on the source in the
past like a good turntable and cartridge and less on amp and speakers always
resulted in a better sound than a cheap turntable with some hugely expensive
amplifier and speakers.  Amplifying the bad scource doesent help.
AKA gray asphalt - 18 Apr 2008 23:55 GMT
> If Photoshop isn't good enough for fixing pictures then
> you're hying someone.

Should have been 'hyping' someone. Sorry.
gpsman - 25 Apr 2008 04:33 GMT
> Besides the technical aspects already mentioned, shooting stills is a
> very different discipline artistically (using the term loosely).  A
> completely different type of visualization is involved because a still
> has to carry more implicit information than a video and the
> photographer is involved in a different imagining process.

"Completely different" seems excessive for things which are so
similar.

> It
> happens, but it is rare, that a still from a video has the emotional
> or aesthetic impact that a specifically shot still can have.

Well, image quality wise, of course.  But "art" doesn't have nearly as
much to do with the tool or process as does the artist or "beholder".

Two mediums, both with their strengths and weaknesses, but you can
shoot still video (as opposed to a video still), but still photographs
are somewhat limited in capturing motion.

> Videos have their effect on a viewer as a result of being a captured
> segment of time and reducing that segment to a singular moment of time
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> still camera in his hands results in very good, but somewhat sterile
> images that just barely get beyond being snapshots.

Beholder, etc.

> You aren't the first to think of this and there are very good reasons
> that pros, either from the videography or photography side, haven't
> jumped on the idea.

Tough to argue with that.  And the OP is obviously exploring the idea
from a rather raw state of ignorance.

Just "going into" the "wedding memory" business without basic
knowledge of the technologies is fraught with perils.  Most often, I
think, the photographer/videographer comes first, then they venture
into trying to make money from their craft, slash art, slash hobby.

And they can be great, but a lack of business acumen can leave them
broke.
-----

- gpsman
AKA gray asphalt - 27 Apr 2008 18:10 GMT
>> Besides the technical aspects already mentioned, shooting stills is a
>> very different discipline artistically (using the term loosely).  A
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
>
> - gpsman

As far as I can see, the photography business is just that ...
a business with a bunch of ratinalizations for charging a
bunch of money for illusory benefits that the customer and
probably 101% of other people can't see. Maybe there are
some really dedicated wedding photographers out there but
the ones I've seen and interacted with at a limited number
of weddings are pretty poor and provided nothing special.
Video is different, imo opinion because they have to deal
with sound which is complicated and very important. But
to talk about the art of having two people smile in their
wedding gear is about as much art the mass produced oil
paintings on sale on weekends at the flea market.

Now lighting is an art and I'm sure there are a bunch of
subtleties and I don't know if I ever will know as much as
you guys may and a friend of mine who is a real photographer
can take better and more flattering photos than I ever will
be able to but most of the so called wedding and portrait
photographers are a sham.
gpsman - 27 Apr 2008 20:08 GMT
> As far as I can see, the photography business is just that ...
> a business with a bunch of ratinalizations for charging a
> bunch of money for illusory benefits that the customer and
> probably 101% of other people can't see.

"Beholder", etc.

> Maybe there are
> some really dedicated wedding photographers out there but
> the ones I've seen and interacted with at a limited number
> of weddings are pretty poor and provided nothing special.

Ditto.

> Video is different, imo opinion because they have to deal
> with sound which is complicated and very important.

Generally, according to my limited experience and observations,
wedding audio production suffers.  Sometimes due to incompetence,
others due to apathy and/or the sheer practical impossibility of
getting a good source because of environmental conditions.

> But
> to talk about the art of having two people smile in their
> wedding gear is about as much art the mass produced oil
> paintings on sale on weekends at the flea market.

It takes people skills, and an eye for flattering angles.  People who
are photographed a lot know they have "good" and "bad" sides.  A
skilled and experienced 'ographer can often detect these at a glance
and can see which poses will be most flattering or the face and body.

Professional models go to school to learn the basics of posing, if you
examine "good" (or at least expensive) professional fashion
photography you might notice many poses are similar, i.e., hips are
rarely shown full frontal, fingers are usually extended and joined.

> Now lighting is an art and I'm sure there are a bunch of
> subtleties and I don't know if I ever will know as much as
> you guys may and a friend of mine who is a real photographer
> can take better and more flattering photos than I ever will
> be able to but most of the so called wedding and portrait
> photographers are a sham.

There's a market for wedding 'ography at almost every price point, and
good and bad practitioners of every discipline, and I'm sure a lot of
wedding 'ography is less than optimal, but I think you are painting
with too wide a brush.

Lighting surely is an art, some people make livings doing little else,
and the casual 'ographer who intends to make a living needs to have
had some practice on shoots of no consequence.

Generally, I think, many people, maybe most, can look at a photograph
and see that it's good, or bad, without knowing why.  When you can
detect the why, you may have the skills to go pro.

Describing the difficulties of event 'ography is beyond my writing
skills, but IME it is one of those things where Murphy's Law applies
as often as not, sometimes to every damn aspect of the shoot.

If you think you can do better than those you see, give it a shot.
But I would recommend doing a shitload of reading, and practice, and
mastering the Zone System until it is second nature, then looking at
your work with as jaundiced an eye as you can muster before you take
on a shoot.

The acquisition of at least one pair of iron underpants is also a good
idea to prevent having your a.s chewed off by those with no monetary
interest in your final production but you still can't tell to f.ck
off.
-----

- gpsman
AKA gray asphalt - 28 Apr 2008 18:29 GMT
>> As far as I can see, the photography business is just that ...
>> a business with a bunch of ratinalizations for charging a
[quoted text clipped - 70 lines]
>
> - gpsman

I want to say two things, well three. First, thanks for your patience
and generosity in sharing your ideas. (this goes for most of the
people here, thanks). Second, I still believe that not enough pictures
are taken and that people should not be discouraged because they
don't know enough to take really artful photos. You can never go
back and take a picture in the past no matter how talented you are.
(real revelation - not). The other thing is that you have convinced me
to buy a light meter and read about 'the zone system'. Also, I don't
want to become a professional or profit from photography. I'm into
family history type stuff and having more pictures is better. And that
really is just a hobby. But I would go to a wedding if they didn't have
a photographer and weren't going to have photos at all, especially
with this new Casio camera that seems to be really cool. Anyway,
thanks again.
 
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