Digital camera Q&A.........
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Digital camera Q&A.........
Hi all. I have decided to make use of my cam (ixus400) and start printing my own pictures. I have a load of questions regarding this so here goes.
I have an Epsom printer. Must I use epsom paper and ink or can I buy cheap ink from these sites that sell it all really cheaply? If I did, would there be any kind of loss of quality?
I was told years ago that they made the ink/paper to work together for greater results and 'mixing' paper and ink from other sources would lower the quality.
What about paper. Just how good is the photo quality, glossy, dogs bits expensive stuff that you can buy? What is the difference between the different types? All I want to do is print off pictures and send them to family all over the place. How long does this new paper that is about now last? I.E. how long will it take before it 'fades'? I am sure they make it now so that it doesn't, a few years ago when I tried printing the quality wasnt that good, and I believe the paper made now days is pretty good compared to a few years ago when I tried it.
Compact flash cards now. I have the standard Canon 32Mb card in mine that came with the cam. I have seen a 128 for £22 in the back of a mag. How good would this card be? Why the big difference in 'branded' and non-branded cards?. Is there anything to look out for when buying a cheap card like the one I have seen?.
That will do for now, i have a million other questions about all things to do with digital but they will do for another day.
Thanks
Brl.
I have an Epsom printer. Must I use epsom paper and ink or can I buy cheap ink from these sites that sell it all really cheaply? If I did, would there be any kind of loss of quality?
I was told years ago that they made the ink/paper to work together for greater results and 'mixing' paper and ink from other sources would lower the quality.
What about paper. Just how good is the photo quality, glossy, dogs bits expensive stuff that you can buy? What is the difference between the different types? All I want to do is print off pictures and send them to family all over the place. How long does this new paper that is about now last? I.E. how long will it take before it 'fades'? I am sure they make it now so that it doesn't, a few years ago when I tried printing the quality wasnt that good, and I believe the paper made now days is pretty good compared to a few years ago when I tried it.
Compact flash cards now. I have the standard Canon 32Mb card in mine that came with the cam. I have seen a 128 for £22 in the back of a mag. How good would this card be? Why the big difference in 'branded' and non-branded cards?. Is there anything to look out for when buying a cheap card like the one I have seen?.
That will do for now, i have a million other questions about all things to do with digital but they will do for another day.
Thanks
Brl.
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Yes you can use the cheap inks and paper and get good results photo quality paper of some sort is recommended.
The local primary school produce hundreds of photos that way a year without a problem. Occasionaly get a bad cartridge but the company they deal with have always exchanged no problem cost about £8 - £10 a pair, black and colour.
Not too sure about colour loss over time the school are generally only interested for the year, but I havn't seen a problem over 4-5 years.
I have used a cheapy 128M flash card in my camera for some time with no problems.
Rickity
The local primary school produce hundreds of photos that way a year without a problem. Occasionaly get a bad cartridge but the company they deal with have always exchanged no problem cost about £8 - £10 a pair, black and colour.
Not too sure about colour loss over time the school are generally only interested for the year, but I havn't seen a problem over 4-5 years.
I have used a cheapy 128M flash card in my camera for some time with no problems.
Rickity
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BRL,
I seem to be following Rickity around this forum and agreeing with him.
When printing pictures with an inkjet printer, you want to use Photo Paper. You can pick glossy or matted as long as it is photo paper. (Each have their their uses depending on the effect you are trying to achieve with the picture.) I have tried many different brands and I have found the all work about the same.
Ink can be a different story, some cheap ink will work very well, but sometimes you get a cheap one that smudges and runs. It is pot luck when it comes to ink, but with ink from the printer manufacturer you can count on the quality being there.
Flash cards work well no matter the brand. Just make sure it has good access times. (At least on par with the card that came with the camera.) Then you will not have any problems.
Take Care,
Richard
I seem to be following Rickity around this forum and agreeing with him.
When printing pictures with an inkjet printer, you want to use Photo Paper. You can pick glossy or matted as long as it is photo paper. (Each have their their uses depending on the effect you are trying to achieve with the picture.) I have tried many different brands and I have found the all work about the same.
Ink can be a different story, some cheap ink will work very well, but sometimes you get a cheap one that smudges and runs. It is pot luck when it comes to ink, but with ink from the printer manufacturer you can count on the quality being there.
Flash cards work well no matter the brand. Just make sure it has good access times. (At least on par with the card that came with the camera.) Then you will not have any problems.
Take Care,
Richard
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There's been a big fuss around recently that Epson ink cartridges have a chip inside which means they will stop working after a certain date. So even if you refilled them they'd not work after a while. Also 'recycled' cartridges may not work at all, if the chip is past its use by date. (I got caught out by this once!)
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I gave up using cheap imitation cartridges ages ago. I found that they did not last as long and the colour quality left a great deal to be desired. I use Epson photo quality glossy film to print photos - I'm on my second Epson now and I have absolutely no complaints. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I am mightily impressed. (Present printer Epson 1290).
Beware using other brands of paper - I tried HP and it was a disaster; the ink refused to dry and smudged during the printing.
Colour loss depends on the siting of the photo. In sunlight, it will fade quite rapidly (less than a year), but in shade will last for several. However, with the images on disk, you can print again and again - and it doesn't cost a fortune. I reckon an A4 size photo on glossy film costs less than £1 - a huge saving on similar size even from Boots.
Buy big capacity cards. The greater the resolution, the better the chance of special effects succeeding (especially blowing up). However, the greater the resolution at time of taking, the greater the memory used. For example, on my Canon Sureshot on medium res with a 64M card will allow about 180 shots; at high res, about 70.
Feel free to ask all the questions you like - there is not limit; that's what this forum is all about, to allow the free exchange of info. I am grateful to all those who have answered my (at times dumb!) questions. I am one of the happy band of PPruners who are delighted to help others solve problems when they have difficulty finding answers from elsewhere.
Beware using other brands of paper - I tried HP and it was a disaster; the ink refused to dry and smudged during the printing.
Colour loss depends on the siting of the photo. In sunlight, it will fade quite rapidly (less than a year), but in shade will last for several. However, with the images on disk, you can print again and again - and it doesn't cost a fortune. I reckon an A4 size photo on glossy film costs less than £1 - a huge saving on similar size even from Boots.
Buy big capacity cards. The greater the resolution, the better the chance of special effects succeeding (especially blowing up). However, the greater the resolution at time of taking, the greater the memory used. For example, on my Canon Sureshot on medium res with a 64M card will allow about 180 shots; at high res, about 70.
Feel free to ask all the questions you like - there is not limit; that's what this forum is all about, to allow the free exchange of info. I am grateful to all those who have answered my (at times dumb!) questions. I am one of the happy band of PPruners who are delighted to help others solve problems when they have difficulty finding answers from elsewhere.
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Thank you for the replies. I will stop being a cheapskate and go and buy some Epson cartridges and paper after work tomorrow.
As for the card for my camera, I may be a cheapskate and get a cheap one if there is little or no differnce. As for the camera, its a Canon IXUS 400 , beautiful little metal thing it is and I love using it. I want to print out some of my better shots but not take away the quality hence the questions on here.
Next week, using layers in Photoshop 6.
As for the card for my camera, I may be a cheapskate and get a cheap one if there is little or no differnce. As for the camera, its a Canon IXUS 400 , beautiful little metal thing it is and I love using it. I want to print out some of my better shots but not take away the quality hence the questions on here.
Next week, using layers in Photoshop 6.
I recently bought this low cost 128MB Compact Flash Card, after reading this excellent review.
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That is incredible. That is the lowest I have seen. I read the review and noticed type I and type II cards. What's all that about then?. I don't know if my camera takes type I or II.
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Hi there BRL,
For hurling snaps around the family you're getting plenty of good advice but I'm popping my head up to collective groans to poke my usual finger in the eye of accepted opinion.
Inkjet prints fade - read the small print for the facts. Take Epson's '70 year' claims. Delve into the detail and you will find they clearly state two conditions. Either the print is in a dark, humidity controlled drawer or it has to be behind glass with no significant air gap and out of direct light. This is standard stuff in the literature of all the manufacturers but apparently unknown amongst their users.
Fading in the form of colour shifts will occur within within days. It's very simple to test for yourself. Put a fresh print near a window and place a coin covering part of a flesh tone area.
Is the ink getting better? In many cases yes but the but is a huge one if you want photos that last.
After many years of annual warnings from me users in the UK can check out some comparative testing at last. Unfazed by their advertisers PC Pro magazine has asked all the difficult questions in their most recent issue. The inkjet companies will be very uncomfortable at the results for cost and fading compared to traditional photo processing. Significantly they found colour shifts occuring even in a dark drawer over a span of just days or weeks.
As I said at the outset enjoy producing your own prints - it's great fun but unless printing above standard snap sizes it is more expensive by between 2 and 4 times just in paper and ink. For your down to earth and realistic purpose the only point I'd ask you to consider though is that inkjet prints are just not 'handling friendly yet. You're paying a lot more for snaps that really struggle when passed around - especially if kids are involved.
Regards
Curmudeonly Rob
For hurling snaps around the family you're getting plenty of good advice but I'm popping my head up to collective groans to poke my usual finger in the eye of accepted opinion.
Inkjet prints fade - read the small print for the facts. Take Epson's '70 year' claims. Delve into the detail and you will find they clearly state two conditions. Either the print is in a dark, humidity controlled drawer or it has to be behind glass with no significant air gap and out of direct light. This is standard stuff in the literature of all the manufacturers but apparently unknown amongst their users.
Fading in the form of colour shifts will occur within within days. It's very simple to test for yourself. Put a fresh print near a window and place a coin covering part of a flesh tone area.
Is the ink getting better? In many cases yes but the but is a huge one if you want photos that last.
After many years of annual warnings from me users in the UK can check out some comparative testing at last. Unfazed by their advertisers PC Pro magazine has asked all the difficult questions in their most recent issue. The inkjet companies will be very uncomfortable at the results for cost and fading compared to traditional photo processing. Significantly they found colour shifts occuring even in a dark drawer over a span of just days or weeks.
As I said at the outset enjoy producing your own prints - it's great fun but unless printing above standard snap sizes it is more expensive by between 2 and 4 times just in paper and ink. For your down to earth and realistic purpose the only point I'd ask you to consider though is that inkjet prints are just not 'handling friendly yet. You're paying a lot more for snaps that really struggle when passed around - especially if kids are involved.
Regards
Curmudeonly Rob
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I recently bought a Canon EOS 300D camera, and for producing regular sized prints I also got one of the Canon CP-200 printers.
This is a small printer designed for producing regular size (6x4) glossy prints. It works on the Dye Sublimation method. A film cartridge the width of the paper goes in the side. The film has Cyan, Magenta and Yellow sections, and the paper which you put in a tray and clip to the front of the printer is rolled out the back of the printer and back out to the front four times. The first three times it lays down the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow sections, and on the fourth and final pass it lays down a clear glossy layer as a protective coating.
You then just take the print out, snap off the tabs at the end which held it in the printer at the extremes of travel, and you've got a 6x4 glossy print which looks exactly like a print you'd get from Boots or somewhere. The quality is absolutely stunning and knocks the socks of anything you'd get with an ink-jet. Dye-sub prints are supposed to be much more hard-wearing.
The paper and film cartridges are sold together, and with the printer you get enough to do two sets of 36 exposures, as well as a test pack that will do five prints just so you can check it out right off...
It can connect directly to your camera and can print directly from there, and will also attach to a PC or Mac to print from your computer.
The CP-300 is a bit more expensive, but the only differences are that it comes with extra trays to take smaller paper for credit-card sized prints and stickers, and has a battery pack so can be used anywhre.
Ok. For big pictures to hang on your wall this is no good, but for regular sized prints you can stick in the album, or take down the pub and show your friends, or send off to your family, this is a great option, in my opinion.
This is a small printer designed for producing regular size (6x4) glossy prints. It works on the Dye Sublimation method. A film cartridge the width of the paper goes in the side. The film has Cyan, Magenta and Yellow sections, and the paper which you put in a tray and clip to the front of the printer is rolled out the back of the printer and back out to the front four times. The first three times it lays down the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow sections, and on the fourth and final pass it lays down a clear glossy layer as a protective coating.
You then just take the print out, snap off the tabs at the end which held it in the printer at the extremes of travel, and you've got a 6x4 glossy print which looks exactly like a print you'd get from Boots or somewhere. The quality is absolutely stunning and knocks the socks of anything you'd get with an ink-jet. Dye-sub prints are supposed to be much more hard-wearing.
The paper and film cartridges are sold together, and with the printer you get enough to do two sets of 36 exposures, as well as a test pack that will do five prints just so you can check it out right off...
It can connect directly to your camera and can print directly from there, and will also attach to a PC or Mac to print from your computer.
The CP-300 is a bit more expensive, but the only differences are that it comes with extra trays to take smaller paper for credit-card sized prints and stickers, and has a battery pack so can be used anywhre.
Ok. For big pictures to hang on your wall this is no good, but for regular sized prints you can stick in the album, or take down the pub and show your friends, or send off to your family, this is a great option, in my opinion.
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Thanks for the replies chaps. Seems like the usual "nothing is ever straight forward" scenario when it comes to things like this.
If I went into Jessops/Boots and paid for a load of prints from the machine, then how would they compare to 'home-made' prints? What I might end up doing is saving the best ones on disk and going into said shops, printing a load out and sending them off if they are better than from my old steam-driven printer.!!
Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated.
If I went into Jessops/Boots and paid for a load of prints from the machine, then how would they compare to 'home-made' prints? What I might end up doing is saving the best ones on disk and going into said shops, printing a load out and sending them off if they are better than from my old steam-driven printer.!!
Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated.
BRL,
Looking at the 'Specifications' page of the Canon IXUS 400 link that you posted, it says 'Recording Media': CompactFlash card (Type I).
CF type II is similar, but much greater storage capacity, and expensive.
Looking at the 'Specifications' page of the Canon IXUS 400 link that you posted, it says 'Recording Media': CompactFlash card (Type I).
CF type II is similar, but much greater storage capacity, and expensive.
Delay? What delay?
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Developing
BRL, I also have the Canon Ixus 400, and I think its one of the best gadgets around. As far as developing goes I've been using this lot www.colormailer.com for about 2 years and they really are excellent. Cheaper than the chemist (in Switzerland, I couldnt say about elsewhere), and they nearly always come within 2 days, and have regular promotions that make the prints even cheaper.
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Thanks for pointing that out Speke... Must be in the manual for it here. Bet its been staring me right in the face too..!!!
As for the colourmailer rhingy, I will have a look at that one as someone e-mailed me a list of sites like that yesterday. Many thanks.
This afternoon when I got home form work, I called one of the ads in the back of a digital mag that I got recently. I managed to buy a cf card, 256 for £38. Not bad I think.
On the subject of magazines, I had a quick browse whilst in the shop today and they are all geared up for, it seems, Photoshop 7 or Paint Shop 8. Most of the adverts are aimed, it seems at pros who can afford cameras/lenses that are thousands of pounds. All they do also, is tell you how to manipulate images taken on your camera. It doesn't give you(me) any inspiration to rush out and do something different like the 'old' mags such as Practical Photography or Amatuer Photographer. I used to get loads of ideas, inspiration from them but looking through this one it seems changing colour, making montages is the only thing to do. If you want a filter, all you have to do now is download one. I used to attach one to the front of my lens for effect and use my skill/imagination to get brilliant pictures.
Well, I don't know about you but I think they(new mags) are money for old rope. All they are telling/showing you what to do, is what I/we have been doing with our scanned prints on our old scanners and doing silly things with them for years. I used to use MGI Photosuite for that.
The only thing that has changed, is that you can take the picture and either delete it straight away or download it to your pc to play with. Again, we used to simply scan our old prints in a while ago didn't we. Anyway, I do moan about it but it is photography at the end of the day which I love.
Must be in the manual for it here. Bet its been staring me right in the face too..!!!As for the colourmailer rhingy, I will have a look at that one as someone e-mailed me a list of sites like that yesterday. Many thanks.
This afternoon when I got home form work, I called one of the ads in the back of a digital mag that I got recently. I managed to buy a cf card, 256 for £38. Not bad I think.
On the subject of magazines, I had a quick browse whilst in the shop today and they are all geared up for, it seems, Photoshop 7 or Paint Shop 8. Most of the adverts are aimed, it seems at pros who can afford cameras/lenses that are thousands of pounds. All they do also, is tell you how to manipulate images taken on your camera. It doesn't give you(me) any inspiration to rush out and do something different like the 'old' mags such as Practical Photography or Amatuer Photographer. I used to get loads of ideas, inspiration from them but looking through this one it seems changing colour, making montages is the only thing to do. If you want a filter, all you have to do now is download one. I used to attach one to the front of my lens for effect and use my skill/imagination to get brilliant pictures.
Well, I don't know about you but I think they(new mags) are money for old rope. All they are telling/showing you what to do, is what I/we have been doing with our scanned prints on our old scanners and doing silly things with them for years. I used to use MGI Photosuite for that.
The only thing that has changed, is that you can take the picture and either delete it straight away or download it to your pc to play with. Again, we used to simply scan our old prints in a while ago didn't we. Anyway, I do moan about it but it is photography at the end of the day which I love.
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Printing at home is v. expensive and as already mentioned longevity of prints is questionable. My solution - I'm happy to keep most of my pics saved on pc and backed up to cd or dvd, but for those you definately want a hard copy of, save to 'for printing' folder and keep an eye out for special offers. during the summer boots had a special - 50 prints for a fiver! Got 350 pics printed for £35. Won't suit everyone but works for me.
BRL - Good buy, also just bought a 256mb card for about 30 quid (ebuyer.co.uk, they have some real bargains)
BRL - Good buy, also just bought a 256mb card for about 30 quid (ebuyer.co.uk, they have some real bargains)
