Thanks guys, I am on a steep learning curve with photoshop etc, and it appears to me that the result is very much affected by post telescope processing. Thanks for the tip Mike, I'll give it a go.
I like it, but it would look even better if you resized it to 900px wide or so - you've uploaded the full 3000px version which would've had to have been horribly compressed to get it under 150k
I like it, but it would look even better if you resized it to 900px wide or so - you've uploaded the full 3000px version which would've had to have been horribly compressed to get it under 150k
OK Mike, so if I have less pixels to start with, the info they contain will be less disrupted by the compression necessary to achieve a given image file size, right?
Boy, this learning curve gets steeper and steeper.
The best way to save an image for presentation to the web, with minimal compression and maximum detail:
1. Always work in full-size TIFF where possible - from the camera, and while processing. Always re-save as TIFF at each intermediate step (where you use multiple applications). Every time you re-save as JPEG, you're losing detail - so avoid saving as jpeg AT ALL until the very last step.
2. Resize for web presentation - usually 800px wide or thereabouts. Anywhere from 600px to 1024px wide is usual.
3. Use Photoshop "Save as web" menu item (under File). Adjust the quality slider until the "file size" preview is under the limits for where you are posting (ie: on IIS, 150k).
That way, you'll end up with less compression and a sharper, cleaner image.
Have uploaded and replaced the second image with the resized version. Probably have taken the gray scales too far in some of the brighter areas, and lost some of the contrast.
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pushy arent ya mike!
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Thanks for your encouragement ving, but I think that the second image is a definite improvment over the first, with Mike's advice.