Resizing images

[acropolite]

Everyone seems to have a pet method of resizing JPG's for posting. Some members seem to be confused as to what tools to use and where to get them. Here's a really simple tool if you have Windows XP. Download :computer: this windows powertoy (only 520Kb) and install. Then simply browse using explorer, right click on the image you want resized and follow your nose. The resized image appears in the same directory as the original but with (small) appended to the filename. If you're making the image bigger the appended filename will contain (large). Simple.... it doesn't get any easier. If you've got a Mac then this method's probably too hard for you anyway..... :rofl:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/ImageResizerPowertoySetup.exe
:2thumbs:

[iceman]

You can also use irfanview (google it). It's small, free, and will let you resize the image and save as a lower quality jpeg to get it under 60k.

Thanks Phil!

[seeker372011]

irfanview..that's the one I was trying to hunt down..thanks

[acropolite]

Mike,
The windows powertoy is integrated into the explorer shell, can do multiple files, has zero learning curve and compresses, all with a couple of mouse clicks. It's also a great tool for web design allowing rapid creation of thumbnails. For example this 3Mb DSLR file came down to 19K.... No settings to specify if you accept 640x480 and, for a newbie, no learning curve. If a custom size is required it's one more click and enter in the size. See sample. Try it it's simple...

[johnno]

Hi Phil,
I like the no learning curve for newbies,should suit me just fine.
Thanks,for the info I have just downloaded it.
Regards.John

[Rohan]

might give this a go tonight, usually i open them in photoshop hut it does get annoying when you've got hundreds to resize.

[acropolite]

It's worth the effort; the ultimate in simplicity and very agressive compression. How about a posting your first impressions on your new LX 90 Rohan?? :D

[Striker]

I use Paint shop pro if I have heaps to compress.....

If you have the program just go to file/ Batch/ Process and you can do all of them at the same time.....very quick.....

Hundreds in a matter of seconds....

[janoskiss]

In the UNIX world (which means basically everything not Windows, including Mac OS X) it goes something like:

for img in *.jpg; do convert -quality 70 -resize 640x480 $img small/$img; done

which performs the same operation on all jpegs in current directory: fit inside a 640x480 frame, set compression quality to 70%, and put resulting image into subdirectory small. You can also do most other image processing tasks in the same command (blur, sharpen, despeckle etc).

ImageMagick (http://www.imagemagick.org/) rocks! Being able to use it without needing the GUI is a big advantage when it comes to repeated tasks. Highly recommended for Mac users! :thumbsup: (It's supposed to run on Windows too, but I don't how well.)

[RAJAH235]

I find Faststone Photo Resizer works easily and well, & it's free.
(www.faststoneserver.com) :D L.

[rumples riot]

Moving this thread to Tips and Techniques

[Striker]

Everything is free...you just need to know where to look.....I'm not saying anymore.

[iceman]

Shoosh you! :poke: :D

[Rohan]

photographic or general? in regards to photographic havn't had much chance. Only got the tele vue adaptor today and need to get some larger screws for it so i can use it with 1.25 eyepieces.

Has yours arrived yet?

[janoskiss]

My experience is that if something is not free and you don't want to pay for it, then there's always free alternatives. It might mean just a little more effort on the user's part, but there really is a huge array of good free software out there (probably more than non-free).

[mojo]

Amen brother.

[acropolite]

Only a masochist would rather 60 odd keystrokes to 3 mouse clicks. :poke: :whistle:

[Thiink]

I use Irfanview for (batch) resizing images on Windows personally, but there are other good free apps out there. I downloaded the powertoy to play with, and it seems great for beginners (I've already put it on a few machines here at work for that reason), but lacks more advanced capabilities (which isn't altogether a bad thing).

I also use The Gimp instead of PhotoShop because its "free" (and I can use it on Linux and Windows :)).

Maybe a tutorial thread would be a good idea, and people can put tutorials up for various programs they like to use? An example I threw together is below.

ps. I had a quick look at this (http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/astrophotography/)website on beginner astrophotography and it seems to be pretty informative (especially the exposure guide for the moon which I wish I had read earlier).

[Thiink]

Resizing/resampling images using Irfanview

NB: my camera is set to 3:2 (for digital prints) not 4:3, hence the unusual resize values. Also please disregard my medicore afocal moon shot used in the example. Screenshots taken from Irfanview 3.92 using default values.

1. Download Irfanview from http://www.irfanview.com/main_download_engl.htm and install it.

2. From the 'File' menu, select 'Open'. Locate your file and click 'Open'.
http://users.on.net/sjeriksson/img/iceinspace/resize/open.jpg

3. From the 'Image' menu, select 'Resize/Resample'.
http://users.on.net/sjeriksson/img/iceinspace/resize/resizeresample.jpg

4. Using the 'Set new size:' option, enter the width or height that you want the image to be. If you leave the 'Preserve aspect ratio' option selected it will automatically maintain the height/width ratio of your image, so you should only need to enter either the width or the height. Leave the other default options alone.
http://users.on.net/sjeriksson/img/iceinspace/resize/picksize.jpg
* Tip: Generally most Internet forums prefer images to be no larger than 800x600, with 640x480 generally suggested and used (for 4:3 images).

5. Once you have picked a new size for your image click 'OK'. Your image is now resampled/resized and ready to be saved.
http://users.on.net/sjeriksson/img/iceinspace/resize/resampled.jpg

6. From the 'File' menu choose 'Save as'. From the 'Save Picture As' screen, locate the folder where you wish to save your newly resampled/resized image. To avoid saving over your original image, either save the image to a new folder, or with a new name. From the 'Save as type' option choose 'JPG - JPEG Files'. You will notice that there is now an extra window to the right titled 'JPG/GIF save options'. The only option you need to play with is the 'Save quality' slide bar (leave the other default values if you are unsure). The default of 80 should be fine for most images, however this can be adjusted to suit.
http://users.on.net/sjeriksson/img/iceinspace/resize/saveas.jpg

Using this method I was able to get my average moon shot down from 270KB (2304x1536) to a more favorable and forum friendly 30KB (640x426).

[janoskiss]

Different strokes ... (keystrokes) that is. But 3 mouse clicks to custom size and recompress multiple images?? Fibber! :P

My idea of masochism is putting up with hierarchies of menus & dialogue boxes for doing something trivial that can be with a simple command. GUIs are great for more intricate "airbrushing" type work, but for most common tasks I feel that they just get it the way. But I do realise that to a lot of people are scared of interacting with their computer through the keyboard and go to extraordinary lengths to avoid having to use it. (Like my sister would put it when I boot the laptop into linux and show her how to do something: What? You have to type s@#t?? :lol: )

[acropolite]

Hmmff, fibber am I not!! :lol2: 3 strokes it is for one image, if you select the default size of 640x480. If you need a custom size one more click on advanced and put in the size. For multiple images simply ctrl click and/or shift click. I must admit I neglected the extra couple of strokes to open explorer and select the working directory. I do agree however, that there's something satisfying in knowing your way around the command prompt. :D