Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

A week or so ago I said "There is a bit of a halo under the table on the web image but I put that down to the web conversion by BreezeBrowser and not the fault of PWP"

To which Terry replied :-
Why use Breezbrowser to downsize for web? QU with  DFS (no sharpening halos)  does a much better job.
I find QU is a "one stop shop" for most image tasks.

I tried it today and felt the images were a bit soft. I use BreezeBrowser to build my web pages. For the large image I tell BB to go for 900x900 pixels as this fits most of the screens I see and it adds USM of 1.0 and 1.5. That will be where the halos come from.

I tried Terry's idea. I used the Create Web Size copies in QU and created 900x900 images. I then made a web folder in QU with it set at 900x900 but with no USM. Those are the images I felt were a bit soft.

Am I supposed to add more DFS in QU before I Create Web Size images?

If so how can I preserve the filters I created for the folder as a whole with what I feel are the right DFS settings (varying from one image to another sometimes)?

If you say I should, maybe, use 10 and 400 for my DFS on the Web size images I can see how I should apply it to the whole of the folder. But how do I get back to my earlier DFS settings?

Tony

Hi Tony,
Terry has guests today, so I'll fill in for him.
Terry also mentioned that you can control the downsize sharpening in Qimage.
So make the image the way you had it and the way you liked it.
Then Open EDIT PREFERENCES, PRINTING OPTIONS, (first entry)
The Antialias slider is probably on medium. Set it to LOW... and redo the web size copies. See attached snap!

That should be better. Mine is there all the time.  If you have Printer setups saved, those hold the Antialias settings from before, so you might want to RESAVE with the slider on LOW.

Fred

Thanks Fred.

Snag is I find them too soft.

This is converting to an 85% jpg and letting BB downsize to 900x900 and use USM of 1 and 1.5

http://www.tonygamble.org/normalbb/index.htm

Here I altered that antialias slider to LOW. I let QU downsize to 900x900. I then used BB with USM of 0 and 0

http://www.tonygamble.org/downsizedtoBB/index.htm

My USM figures are Radius and Amount of course.

My DFS is 5 and 100. Should it be a lot more?

Any more thoughts?

Tony

Fred,

I guess my problem is not using enough DFS. With it at 4 and 300 I get this with BB using no USM

http://www.tonygamble.org/downsized%20again/index.htm

I have tended to let BB sharpen my web images and QU deal with any extra needed in its Sharp Sharpening when printing.

Tony

Sorry Tony,
I have no idea what Breeze Browser is doing here.

Please send me the image is full size before downsizing.
Qimage will outperform BB making downsized copies. That's why Mike added the Anti Aliasing to satisfy both ends; the very very sharp, and the folks who like clean images without artifacts.
If I had the image, I could easily see what you are trying to do.


What is this?  Qimage downsized to 900 x 900 and then you used Breeze Browser to do what?

You better wait for Terry. I think he may understand your modus operandus better than I.

Fred

"What is this?  Qimage downsized to 900 x 900 and then you used Breeze Browser to do what?"

This is the Breeze Browser HTML creation box.

(http://www.tonygamble.org/downsized%20again/bb%20html.jpg)

You can see if offers me USM for the Main Image and I have set that to 0 and 0.

I'll send you a RAW to see what I am working with.

T.

Hi Tony,
That looks a little over-sharpened to me as does the one "with it at 4 and 300 I get this with BB using no USM". But that is a matter of taste.
I reckon BB is re-processing the image to make the HTML version regardless of whether the image is the required pixel size in the first place. I think it's re-saving the jpeg too, which will degrade an image.
Is there any way you can upload the QU 900x900 version direct to you web site gallery and avoid BB altogther? In other words, create an empty template on the web site and then upload the images?
Terry

Terry,

If I put in 9999 x 9999 in the BB box it uploads a full size image. I use that for supplying high res images to my Club magazine.

I'll try that with a 900 x 900 one later this morning.

Yes, I guess I could avoid BB altogether but I have become so comfortable with it that I am reluctant to change. I am on the jAlbum email list and look at their offering from time to time. So much of it is fussy and slow and tricksy. My BB stuff may not be elegant but it works quickly and I am not using it as a sales tool but more of a scrapbook or notice board.

I'll try the 9999 trick later using the 900 QU images.

Tony

Hi Tony,
I use PBase, quite cheap and simple I am on the jAlbum email list and look at their offering from time to time. So much of it is fussy and slow and tricksy.  (http://I am on the jAlbum email list and look at their offering from time to time. So much of it is fussy and slow and tricksy.)
I usually upload 800 pixel images which is "Original" on my galleries. The other sizes, medium etc., are downsized by PBase; at one time "medium" was 800 pixels but they seem to have changed that to 400 pixels.
I can well understand that  ;)
Terry

Hi Tony
Thanks for sending the images
OK got them...
I ran them through Q as I see them.
WB corrected in the REFINE screen. (Big correction)
One tick down on Fill

.

Into Editor
DFS  7/125
(Any more and the girl's faces are noticeably mottled)

Saturation increased to 25%

Any increase in contrast  loses the detail in the dark areas, jackets, etc.
Also blows out more white areas, bottle labels already blown.

The JPG is 900 x 675. I'll make a 900 x 900

The one with the lower ISO is a tad less noisy.
Fred

Tony,
Help me out here!
I am looking at the posted images. On my screen, they are about 9.5 inches x 7.0. How is that 900 x 900?

900 x 900 I can make, but there will be cropping.

Let me know.

Fred

Fred,

This is my downsize box in QU set to supply 900 x 900

(http://www.tonygamble.org/again2/qu%20downsize.jpg)

This is the resultant file with BB showing the resultant image

(http://www.tonygamble.org/again2/bb%20of%20900x900.jpg)

The image is not cropped. I have just let QU convert it and rather than making it 900x900 it has made it 900x676

I'll now let BB work on those two files with it set as 9999 x 9999 as per my earlier post and see if that does what Terry wanted which is not to manipulate the jpg

Tony

And this is setting my BB to 9999 x 9999.

I cannot see any real difference.

http://www.tonygamble.org/downsize%20html3/index.htm

When I get a chance I'll try Terry's web creator.

Tony

PS. Thanks for those jpgs, Fred. I'll look at them in a moment. I just wanted to explain this 900x900 thingie and the fact that it coverts the whole frame without a crop in QU

It doesn't work like that!
It means that makes either side 900 x whatever the aspect ratio. That's why you get 900 x 675
You must crop square to get 900 x900
I had to reduce the quality to make it fit the forum limits, but this is only to show size.
This is 900 x 900

Fred

No Fred,

I don't want a 900 by 900 image.

I want 900 to be my maximum side as it suits the browser better.

And that seems to be what I am getting.

Tony

OK Tony,
I give up.
I'll bet I can count 10 times you said this:




I guess you speak a different brand of English from mine.

Terry, please take over.

Fred

Terry,

You said "I use PBase, quite cheap and simple I am on the jAlbum email list and look at their offering from time to time. So much of it is fussy and slow and tricksy. "

I have just taken a look at PBase. It's not for me. My own web site is now around 17gb with around 70,000 images. I can also use it to host full sized files (as I explained yesterday) for downloading my clients which often is easier than emailing them. With my own site I can create folders and sub folders  and also password protect them if needed. Probably that is possible in PBase - but the thought of moving the whole 'bang shute' is scarey!

Setting BreezeBrowser at 900 by 900 enables me to load a variety of images of different shapes and the vertical is never more than 900 pixels. That was the point I was trying to get across yesterday. I do that as quite a lot of people looking at my web site are not computerate. They still think that scroll bars are old world coffee bars where people met to read scrolls!

I'll upload the next folder with the shots fully sharpened in QU and with no more sharpening from BB. I am not sure that I can stop it remaking the jpg. The trick of making the image setting 9999 by 9999 in BB is something I learnt several years ago and I cannot get Google to revive the source of the suggestion. I'll see if Chris Breeze can help.

Tony

Hi Tony,
PBase is good for anyone without their own web site.
Yes, that would be a serious problem. You have your own domain & web site so not much point in changing as it's all working for you.
I think I can see why you are using Breeze Browser; it makes the web page template too? I know little of HTML stuff except it useful to have software to do that with standard templates. Writing the HTML code could be a nightmare  :o
Terry

Indeed. Chucked in almost as a freebie it is jolly useful.

There are one or two developers who have written add-ons including one that operates PayPal and an order system. That signature on my 'large' photos that I am now using comes from BB. I used to have a right click protection that worked from a BB template but I found it was blocking the Previous and Next icons with IE so I stopped using it.

There are about twenty templates that come with BB - and quite a lot more that are downloadable from other users.

Tony

Terry,

BreezeBrowser will use the QU image unaltered. This from Chris Breeze yesterday.

"It will copy the original image file to the HTML folder if "Reuse existing images" is set and the width and height are the same size as or larger than the original and the file is not aleady in the HTML folder. "

Tony

Good news, it was worth checking   ;)
Terry