A test to see if it makes a difference............

[mcwdainow]

Ok heres a file already uploaded I've made it slightly smaller to see if it sharpens.......
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c34be683a234600.jpg

[mcwdainow]

ok.........it didnt really but it did make them smaller which is quite good.......do you agree or do you like it this size?
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c34becf3c8ea093.jpg

[BOFRE]

I would think the latter one is ok

[mcwdainow]

Oh ok but I might resize them a bit.............ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET THE PICS SHARPER?????????????????????????

[kylebsc]

Personally, I wouldn't go any larger than the second one. By the time you have an image at 1024x768, plus jpg compression, the clouds and blue sky can make the whole image look slightly
'game-ish' - my personal opinion of course!

As to sharpening, you might need to run it thru a filter of sorts, as image re-sizing by default will make the image slightly softer.

My personal fav, image size @700 wide. Big enough to see detail, not too big to crowd the screen for people running 800x600 and 1024x768. Not everyone is running 5mx3m rear screen projector monitors!
:-)

Citivolus periculosus
(swift flying is hazardous)

[mcwdainow]

where do I go/what do I do to put it through filters?

[IR655]

Did you download Irfanview? I like the 800x600 but 640x480 or something is good too!

Regards,
Arman

Worlds worst kind of addiction? Flying...
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c2ebd3216d48c5c.jpg

[jwckmiller]

A dark picture will almost never be 'sharp' as their is no contrasting pixels to 'sharpen'. Sharp usually refers to the distinct contrast between two grains in real film. Re-sizing will not sharpen the picture, just reduce the time it takes to load the image on someones pc that uses a modem to get here.

In this game I would recomend using PhotoShop. The full version may set you back the cost of two GeForce 3 cards but it is the hands down "best". The "light" versions that are available may have some use also, but I am not sure of that. Just add some "unsharp-mask" which may help some, or a notch or two of added contrast, but again there is not much there as far as contrast to start with. Or try setting your anti-ailising to at least 2x or if you can 4x. To get the light you desire to increase contrast, dawn or dusk usually provides enough light to begin with. Hope that helps.
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c34f9966cbb0fbf.jpg
This picture was edited with un-sharp mask, and two clicks added contrast in PhotoShop. It is about as dark as I would ever try to capture, yet still had enough light to increase the contrast (sharpness as you call it).Hope that helps.

http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c34f77f6106cf40.jpg

[kylebsc]

Filters to use ?

I prefer unsharpen mask, and sometimes a touch of increased contrast.

I've found that dark/night images very rarely come out sharp, esp when there is little to show ...sharp ! Although FS2002 does a nice job of texturing/sunsets/etc, a lot of true detail is lost under a screenshot, considering the file restrictions for uploads - 2.8MB bmp files of screenshots wouldn't go down too well, even for those like myself with dsl !

My signature file isn't resharpened or anthing, just a lens flare for the sun (which of course is forbidden under most screenshot competitions) :-)

http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c34e805147779cd.jpg

Citivolus periculosus
(swift flying is hazardous)

[mcwdainow]

Thanks for the help...........well they are gonna have to say slightly smuded then.I like your pic of the Falcon 50 very good.
I did download Irfranview, I found it quite easy to use thats how I resized it, I'll make my pics about the size of the first one as I think it looks neater and takes less time to load. There is this one feature which is featured in Paint and Irfranview which is 'Sharpen' would that help. The thing with the Graphics card I've had probs with because after I recently discovered I could anti-alias the actual I was very happy. I put it onto 4x, GREAT it worked the first time. But the next I loaded up the sim and on every bit of text in the actual sim had faint lines and dots all over it which made it extremely difficult to read, any help on why it is doing this or how to fix it would be GREAT.

Oh and where do I go for help on making a Signature please?
:-wave :-wave :-wave :-wave :-wave

Heres that pic but 'Sharpened'
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c3573b019eb190c.jpg

[mcwdainow]

Does that look better or worse???????

How come when you upload it loses alot of its quality?

[jwckmiller]

In response, The quality is lost when using the .jpg compression. If you have too big an image and compress it too much you get shots like the one above. REDUCE the image size and if needed resolution first, then try adding the jpeg compression. ALWAYS save the original reduction, so if the compression does not bring the file under 100k then you can reduce the size again and compress it one more time. If you compress a compressed .jpg you are asking for trouble.

Jeff

http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c35b9f848e2bbb0.jpg

[bjornhall]

Ok, I'll just try to add a little to Jeff's and kylebsc's great advice...

First of all, when you resize in IrfanView, make sure you use "resample" rather than "resize". It makes a world of difference! It also acts like some kind of extra antialias, but making the image a tiny bit softer (more "blurry" if you like, but "bluriness" is certainly not the effect that comes to mind, IMHO...)

Second, if you do feel the need to sharpen the pic (I never do it anymore, but hey, that's just the way I like it... :-shy), do it in tiny steps... Maybe a setting of 3 or 4 in the effects setup... certainly not the default value of 20! In addition, nothing brings out image defects like the "sharpen" effect, particularly when it comes to jpeg artifacts! Which brings us to:

Thirdly, as Jeff said, do the jpeg compression [/i] last [/i]! When you try to edit a jpeg, all the artifacts from the compression will pop up like real eye-sores... Like the banding and box-like speckles in your post no. 9 in this thread. Keep them in bmp until you are ready to post them, then compress! Or, if like me you have hundreds of full-size shots taking space, store them as jpeg2000 (.jp2) files, with "lossless compression" selected under options. That format is fantastic, but you won't be able to post them without turning them to jpegs first, unfortunately...

And last... You do compress your images an awful lot! ;-) You have 100 kb, use them! Try moving the quality slider for each pic you want to upload, until they are just below 100kb; 96-98 % quality on the slider is usually allright.

Hope you find this useful, and good luck! :-)

Best,
/Björn

[mcwdainow]

How do I compress the image???????? and how do I save as jpeg2000???? thanks for the help

[bjornhall]

Ok, we are still in IrfanView, right?

It is all done in the "save as" dialogue. You have a whole range of formats to choose from there, and most of them compress the images.

If you want to set the compression of a jpeg image, choose "jpg - jpeg files" in the "Save as" dialogue, and hit Options. You will be presented with a JPEG Save Quality slider. Set it to, say, 98, hit OK, and Save. Then check the size of the newly saved image; if it is far below 100KB, repeat the process with the slider at 99; if it is above 100KB, try setting it at 97. When you have the highest slider setting that results in a picture size less than 100KB, you're done. Then repeat with the next pic, and the next...

To save as a jpeg2000, choose "JP2 - JPEG2000" in the "save as" dialogue, hit Options, and choose "lossless compression". But you won't be able to upload them in that format, at least not yet, and I guess most people won't be able to open it if you send it to them. It is only to reduce the storage size on your own computer.

Hope that made it a bit clearer, and if not, feel free to ask again! ;-)

Best,
/Björn

[mcwdainow]

thanks I'll try that ...........

[mcwdainow]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-04-02 AT 11:39AM (EDT)[p]heres that 737 pic but JPEG image quality on full!!! the file is 81.6kb big.....I'll see if its any better.
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3c35da8573273a45.jpg

[mcwdainow]

ok........not much difference!!