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On this page we take a look at the best/most cost-effective ways to put photos on the Web. We’re exploring Kodak Photo CD, Seattle Film Works, color and gray-scale scanners, digital cameras, video capture boards, and other techniques (like commercial clip art images on disk). We’ll explore publishing movies and interactive video on the Web, and we’ll put up appropriate links to other resources for this information.
Please note that the photos on this page are 256-color pictures. If they look blotchy or pale, you are probably running with a 16-color driver. Go to Windows SETUP and select a 256-color driver. If you're a Landmark client and don't know how to make the change, send us E-mail at Landmark@Landmark.org and we will provide instructions.
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4x enlargement.
8x enlargement.
Seattle Film Works is a conventional mail-order film processor. For a few dollars extra, SFW will scan your pictures and put them on a floppy. The files are in a proprietary “album” format, but the pictures can be easily converted to any of the standard photo formats (GIF, TIF, BMP, WPG, etc.) with the PhotoWorks software which Seattle provides at no cost. It’s a nice service, and unique as far as we know.
We’re a little disappointed with the results because of the low resolution of Seattle’s scan. "Our digitized images are done at 640x480 with 256 colors right now. We will be upgrading this in the future." (Chris, SFW Customer Service, May 17, 1995 via E-mail.) That’s really not very much detail: about 128 dots per inch, compared to 200-1200 dpi for a standard scanner. It’s all right for casual use, but consider that one of the strengths of an electronic image is the ease with which you can crop and enlarge. Enlarging a Seattle photo mostly shows up its weaknesses.
Another limitation of SFW's service is that "We need a positive image in order to make Pictures on Disk. We cannot do the process from a negative image. If you have any further questions, or comments, please feel free to call us at (800)445-3348." (Brad, SFW Customer Service, May 25, 1995 via E-mail.)
Scanning from the print rather than the negative means the digital image is one step removed from the film processing. If you have a bad print, you'll get a bad scan. We thought the colors were a little light, though we were able to selectively boost the red, blue, and green channels using other image processing software.
We're not panning Seattle Film Works. It's a nice service for casual use, and the PhotoWorks software's is a fine tool for building on-line photo albums. But serious users of digital photography may find the resolution too low and the colors too weak for their taste.
As Gertrude Stein would have said, “There’s no there there.”
Konica Corp. offers Konica PC PictureShow [tm], a service comparable to that of Seattle Photo Works. In the Washington DC area it's available as an optional upgrade to conventional photo processing. For $3.99 at CVS/Pharmacy stores you can get up to 27 frames on a floppy disk at the time you get your film rolls developed. It's a good service and we've used it, but have not had a chance to compare its quality to that of Seattle Film Works.
Our first Kodak Photo CD is delayed. We're appalled at the cost, though not one sales clerk has yet figured out how to quote a final price. It seems beyond the reach of the casual consumer to spend $50-100 for a hundred snapshots on a disk. We've already shot the film and we'll eventually get them on a CD. At that time we’ll post sample photos--including one high-resolution composite--and let you compare and contrast quality with other digitizing methods. We’ll do a cost comparison, too, between Seattle’s floppy photos and Kodak’s Photo CD.
Hand-scanned at 300
dpi.
A color hand scanner is a good tool for casual use if you start with some decent source material. So far, however, we’re not satisfied with the results. The photos we scanned were of pretty poor quality. Heads smaller than a thumbnail cannot be expected to come up on a 14” screen without a LOT of degradation, even at 400 dots per inch. We’ll try again soon with some good photos..
Flatbed scanners are a personal favorite because they are so precise. As soon as the next one passes through here we’ll scan some samples and post them.
Ray Miller, our Boise, Idaho connection, is using a Logitech Fotoman Plus that plugs right into his PC. You're looking at Chez Ray and the (then-)current weather. Here's what he has to say about his camera:
Get a Logitech Fotoman Plus camera, snap a photo when you think of it, and transfer it to your home page. Takes only 10 minutes or so and will easily take the place of video equipment that is prohibitively expensive. I have one and am in the process of developing a routine (to cut time) so that I can show whatever image I want to show based upon my attitude at the moment. HA! What a kick, when I am pissed off, everyone will know it if they access my home page. What a hoot! (For more about Ray's camera, go to E-Mail Echo.)
Here’s a quick-and-dirty video sample captured with our Cardinal SnapPlus frame grabber. Resolution is poor (even at 300 dpi!) because we’re dealing with an NTSC signal, but frames are easy to grab and there’s lots to see on TV! This is a 24-bit image under (mostly) fluorescent light, reduced to 256 colors and utterly unenhanced.
Want to see some more captured images? Here's a link to a not-yet-ready- for-prime-time page with a dozen-and-a-half 30K pictures. Some images are grouped: day/night, wide angle/telephoto, left/right etc. We're playing. Wait until you see the full View from Landmark mosaic--coming when we get the Photo CD images we've prepared.
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url: http://www.landmark.org/photoweb.html
Last update: 4-1-96.