roaddog2

Mr. B.,
I'm kinda new to this digital stuff. I've got a bootleg copy of PS6, which I don't use yet. 'Learning curve's too steep.
I'm using ACDSeePro2, which I just love, w/one exception, the clone/heal tool. When I try to use that it leaves ugly smudges on the image. PS6 does much better at that, but I still have one helluva time getting clean skies from scanned slides. I'm using an old HP Scanjet 5370c and scanning at 4000dpi. No matter how I try, there's almost always some "crud" t' be cloned out and everything I've tried leaves the skies mottled.
Any suggestions?
RD
Montross, Va.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Sounds like the problem is not the resolution, but the scanner's color ability.

I would suggest getting a mid-range digital camera.

Even the cheap ones will give better color results than a bad scanner

marwen1

My Feedback: (6)

Go to your PS6

1) Curves is mainly to adjust contrast

Clone & Heal do two different functions.

Cloning does just that -- it COPIES!

The Heal tool copies TEXTURE

To start with, try really small areas instead of a whole sky

That can be done other ways.

When you "copy" an area, -- before you actualy do the "paste" make the coy then try to FEATHER the edges with a small value and increase thast value. The high the working dpi, the higher the value must be.

This will help to smooth out the edges.

Lets start with that then we can go on

marwen1

roaddog2

Hey, Minnie! I drive a Nikon D-80 w/2 Zooms. 'That midrange enough?...'Jus' funnin' w/ you. I had a website a a while back w/ roughly 200 of what I considered my best from a variety of 35mm's, rangin' from a Petri7s to a Nikon HP, w/stops (if you'll pardon th' expression) along the way w/ manuf'ers like Canon, Exacta, Rollei, Olympus... A smattering of each was on the site...as bitmaps. Now there was a waste o' time, if I ever saw one. But I still own the slides, an' bless me, the scanner I used last time, my HP5370c. So, here we are...

Marwen,
I'm gonna print this page out. What you just gave me, may well "save" a few more slides.
There're thousands more where those came from, jus' screaming to be sorted an' scanned. Can we all say,Car-eer!", Boys an' Girls? I thought so! 'First one o' those I EVER had!
Regards, all!
RD

marwen1

My Feedback: (6)

Normally, I'll scan a PRINT image in at about 300dpi and I always save as a TIF

Slides (transparencies) or negatives are a breed of another colour.

Oh so small. I now scan these little 35mm images in at about 1200dpi. AGAIN, save as a TIF

More on that later if you need to know why.

marwen1

roaddog2

Marwen,
I ALWAYS save as a TIFF. 'Hate the idea of degradation in an image. I don't shoot 'em t' lose 'em.
I'm represented professionaly by PhotographersDirect and they require A min. of 4000 in order to assure the client of a quality final product. So w/the idea of using them commercially, I go along w/the 4KDPI. And from what I've seen so far, w/the "enhancements"
possible w/a computer, I'll end up likin' MY final product better. Once I get all this current "techno-nonsense" outta the way.
But, like I said, I'm printin' this out and will give your methods a try. 'Can't lose, might learn, win-win!

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I'm not sure I'm following you, is the mottled sky from the scanner or from the clone tool?

BTW, I use a ICG 330i Vertical Drum Scanner, and even with a high-end scanner like that you'll pick up a lot of dust specks - in fact, the better the scanner, the more crap it will pick up!

But once you get the hang of Photoshop's Clone Tool, you'll be able to clean it right up.

Another possibility, is to select the area and go to Filters > Noise > Dust and Scratches

roaddog2

The "mottled" is from ACDSee's clone tool. Sometimes "Heal" will do the trick, other times not. "Clone" definitely gets rid of the crud but leaves a grey-ish look to the spot in question. It looks like there isn't a 1 for one swap of the info. 'Drives me bananas! It's da.. tough gettin' a slide "perfectly clean" an' if I can get this clone stuff down... like I said there are thousands t' weed thru an' possibly post to the site. Then there's all th' digital work I've done over th' last yr. 'Gonna be a whopper of a site!
Thanks t' you both f'r all the help. I'll no doubt be back w/more ?'s as I try t' figure this stuff out.
Tnx, again,
RD

robbio4422

didnt spend to much time reading but i wanted to let everyone know about www.paint.net... well its free and my teacher at itt-tech told me about it.

enjoy

roaddog2

'Got it! Tnx for remindin' me. I'll have t' try its clone feature an' see how it does.
BTW, all, t'wards th' end of next week, check out www.timepiecephoto.com .
Regards,
RD

ChiefK

Mike,

I'm pretty engaged in photo restoration, retouching, and most recently I've begun doing multimedia productions. Like you, I've been using Photoshop since the early days... currently using CS3. I'd like to help you help others with their issues where my experience fits the question. I'd also like to continue learning as we all do from all you airplane loving photographers. If anyone is interested in my photo restoration website, I'd be happy to provide the URL. Just drop me a private message.

The sample images I've uploaded demonstrate masking for the question I saw asking about isolating an airplane from its background. CS3 has a function called "extraction" in the filter window that makes this a lot less difficult.

Greg

roaddog2

Hey, Guys!
My Sweetie (Read: Wife) jus' bought me a li'l slide scanner. 'Not real sure of the quality, but it came w/PS Elements4.0! So now I've got that, plus PS6.0, ACDSeePro2, which I dearly love, Paint.Net, Picasa2, and a trial version of Nikon's CaptureNX. There's also, lurkin' in my program files a copy of RawShooterEssentials. 'Think I'm "software-ed up"?
Like I said, I dearly love ACDSeePro2, but when somethin' needs cloning, I go to the PS stuff. That seemed to solve my problem. 'Remains t' be seen what the Capture is like; so far it's not very user friendly, but I'll give it a fair shake b'fore I dump/buy it.
I really appreciate th' input and help I found here. Thanks again t' all involved.
RD
www.timepiecephoto.com

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Welcome aboard ChiefK! Nice work!

I'd be happy to have some help answering questions. I've been using CS2 for a while now but wasn't aware of the "Extraction" feature - I wonder if CS2 has it.

I've still been doing it the old fashioned way. Of course, sometimes doing it the old fashioned way is still easier than using some of the "Cool Photoshop Tools"

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

OK, I give up. What programs are CS2 and CS3?

And, does anyone know if Paint Shop Pro has a similar 'extraction' feature?

Thanks,

Bob

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

CS2 & 3 are the newest versions of Photoshop

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

OK, that explains it... I use PSP

Does anyone know if Paint Shop Pro has a similar 'extraction' feature like you talk about in Photoshop?

Bob

BobReeves

Wow just ran across this thread, how greatfull can one be.. I need to turn this into something that looks crashed and broken without loosing the original concept of the logo. I have spent two days playing with PhotoShop and can't seem to get an effect that pleases me. Anyone want to help?

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Something like this?

BobReeves

Thats perfect, now mind telling me how you did it so fast. Wow thanks a million.. I am using CS2 if that makes any difference..

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I'm using CS2 also. (But this can be done in anything 2.5 and above)

Make your background color the same as the image background by clicking on the background square at the bottom of the tool box, then (after the color box opens) click on the image background.

Now, with the lasso tool, select areas of the plane. Make the selections jagged where they cross over the plane itself. Then cut and paste it back on as a layer.

Now use Edit>Transform>Rotate (Or Skew or Distort) and change it

Do that several times and flatten the image. If you're not familiar with working with layers, remember to switch back to the background each time you do a new section, or flatten the image each time.

BobReeves

Can't say thank you enough.. I've had Photo Shop for some time but have just reciently started exploring it to make a few overlay images for a project I'm working on. Any chance we can take this discussion off-line I would like to let you in on what I am cooking up and see what you think? Oops looks like it's quit raining so need to get back after it..

xjqkz

I need help deciding on a camera maybe you can guide me about a better deal.

I've had Canon powershot a95. I really love the feature that you can flip and twist the screen and take shots at weird angles. The drawback is that it can only make movies up to 3 minutes. So I've been looking for one and Canon pwr shot A650 IS (it can shoot movies for upto 1GB among other features) seems to be a good one. My question to you is that is that the best bang for the buck? If not what would you recommend in that price tag range? ($400)

ChiefK

Don't know about the Canon model you mentioned, but you might consider "Flip Video". It's a very small video camera that will let you shoot up to 60 minutes of digital video. Extremely small, easy to use, extremely easy to transfer video to your PC or connect directly to your TV (USB connection). Very good quality images.... and very inexpensive.... (under $150.00 - street). I bought one for my daughter for her b-day and she won't go anywhere without it now. It's really an amazing product. Bought the one for my daughter at Amazon.com, but I understand it's also sold by Wal-Mart and Target.

ChiefK

richg99

re the movie camera question....While I rarely use the movie features...for about the same dollars... Canon also has the S5. Those who use it for movies love it. It has the very powerful added attraction of a 12x zoom...(36mm to 432mm) without changing any lenses.

I have the S3 (predecessor model) and I think it is the best bang for the buck in P&S cameras. I've used it for a few short movies and the quality is excellent for my purposes. One, great, all-around p&s camera, in my eye. regards, Rich

richg99

Also, re the S5 Canon..it has the articulating LCD that you liked, too. It is small, but does the job. Rich