marvey
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posted on April 26, 2001 12:25:29 PM
I've been experimenting with a free photo hosting program & seperate auction posting program and I have a question.......
My auction pic's are too big and too slow to load. They had been taking approx 10 seconds to load when viewing the listing. I always crop my photos, but this is not enough. Do you know of any Easy and/or Free download or site that I can compress my photos before posting them on the auctionworks servers?
I got a huge amount of hits on my auction listings last week, but my normal price realized was very low from former sales, I can only attribute it to people not waiting for the pic to load. I also had a fair number of people email stating that they could not read the description and asked repetive questions that were stated in the auction listing. I feel that either they couldn't or didn't know how to scroll the screen view to read the description. I'm debating right now if this is worth the bother or should I capitulate and pay for the priviledge of having my auctions posted and hosted on one site????
thanks for any help,
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marble
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posted on April 26, 2001 12:36:32 PM
This might help you:
Access http://download.cnet.com
Click on Multimedia & Design, and then on Image Editing. Maybe you can locate some Freeware or Shareware that will help you resize your images.
Good luck!
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greybiscuit
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posted on April 26, 2001 12:45:09 PM
I use LView Pro which is not free but you can download it for free and try it 30 days. Best $40 I ever spent. I tried multiple programs free and paid for and this one is the simplest to crop and size and rename photos by far. Try it first though, I have an older version and they may have made it more complicated by now 
You just drag and drop your photos or use your twain software depending on what kind of camera you use.
Best,
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Capriole
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posted on April 26, 2001 12:50:05 PM
Another vote for Lview.
did your camera come with any software?
sometimes they do.
You need to resize after cropping.
Another nice one is Paint shop pro, it's not cheap, but I can only say good stuff about it!
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BlondeSense
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posted on April 26, 2001 12:55:10 PM
I agree with Capriole. Do you resize also, or just crop?
If you let us know what kind of photoediting software you use, maybe someone could explain how to resize.
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marble
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posted on April 26, 2001 01:08:49 PM
I also recommend Paint Shop Pro. You can download a shareware version at the cnet link I provided above.
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pwsbiz
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posted on April 27, 2001 04:46:31 AM
I use Paint Shop Pro to resize and sharpen my pix's. The I run them all through Ulead Smartsaver Pro (which lowers the amount of memory used in the pictures without taking away resolution)
Their both great programs.
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marvey
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posted on April 27, 2001 04:52:05 AM
I have a kodak DC210 plus digital camera. It came with the kodak picture easy 3.0 software. I have never seen any info in the program for resize (I've had my camera for about 3 years).
I did go to cnet and browse that exact category, but I found it overwhelming, and wasn't sure if would find the application I needed or was I about to download way more program then was called for. So I came here to the experts for some help.
I like the sound of Lview, anyone know where it is located?
Thanks for the good advice, much appreciated.
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sandvet
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posted on April 27, 2001 04:57:47 AM
This is an adobe web based service. You can optimize for faster loading and also resize. Very easy to use too.
http://webservices.adobe.com/save4web/main.html
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iowaantiques
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posted on April 27, 2001 06:32:16 AM
Marvey, 10 seconds to load a pic is FAST. When I list something like a comic I post BIG pics that will take 20-50 seconds to load with a dialup connection. My bidders appreciate getting a good scan that they can study.
I HATE those pics that are bigger than my screen and I HATE poorly composed, dark, out-of- focus pics that add nothing to the written description. I don't mind waiting for a good pic of something I'm interested in. If you're not getting bids it's not because of your "slow loading" pics.
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abacaxi
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posted on April 27, 2001 06:38:34 AM
For free, download GIMP (windows version available).
You need to SCALE the pictures to make them small enough (about 30-350 pixels wide, maximum) AND you need to save as JPG and compress them. GIMP has a preview window so you can see what's happening.
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CleverGirl
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posted on April 27, 2001 05:09:34 PM
I use LView Pro too and like it very much. I wish I knew how to use more of the features, tho (and/or had time to experiment).
I don't have a website, but if you go to google.com and type in LView Pro, I think it's the first link that comes up. Some of the shareware download sites have it as well.
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arttsupplies
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posted on April 27, 2001 05:26:01 PM
I use PhotoShop all day and The GIMP rocks too but there is a learning curve for both.
What you need to do besides "resizing"
is make sure the dpi is at 72. Any shareware or freeware that "optimizes" for the web will usually down sample to 72 dpi also.
Most people scan at a higher resolution for better image quality, 300dpi or so, and then downsample.
If you don't downsample, the 300dpi pic will blow up on the web to approx. 4x the size...
A 300px wide pic @ 300dpi is still going to have a much longer download than a 300px wide pic @ 72dpi.
just make sure you downsample to 72dpi or "optimize" the pic with some app..
At work I use Adobe ImageReady and at home I prefer Macromedia Fireworks. They both cost a bit though.
Arttsupplies
[ edited by arttsupplies on Apr 27, 2001 05:29 PM ]
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gk4495
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posted on April 27, 2001 05:52:57 PM
I use MGI PhotoSuite to resize, crop, etc. and then upload them to my own website. It is easy to use and you can use it directly with your digital camera if you want.
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zypher
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posted on April 27, 2001 06:42:39 PM
If you want a quick & cheap solution try the freeware IrfanView...it's the best picture viewer/editor I've found. (For what it is) Download it at:
http://www.ryansimmons.com/users/irfanview/
Cropping pictures is easy. Just outline what you want and select Edit-->Crop
When saving as a .jpg you can click the Options button and select how much compression you want. (Simple slider bar). You can reduce the file size of a .jpg significantly without degrading the picture too much.
[ edited by zypher on Apr 27, 2001 06:43 PM ]
[ edited by zypher on Apr 27, 2001 06:45 PM ]
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