Importance of picture quality

minorc said:
I'm saying that both my camera options produce grainy, low definition photos that make it difficult to capture the beauty of a freshly detailed car.
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Grainy photos could simply be due to your settings on the camera.

Check the ISO setting... the higher the number, the more grain you will have introduced into the photos. This is all explained in that article I posted previously.

If your ISO is low (typically 100), and you are still seeing grainy images, it may be due to an inferior camera.

What type of camera(s) are you using?

*Also, don't get caught up on the megapixel rating... ALL newer cameras will be way more than you need for posting pictures online, and/or making smaller prints (5x7 and usually even 8x10) at full resolution.
 
I use my iPhone5 for a series of drop off shots and any questionable areas that might not be correctable. I shoot both inside and out. Upon completion I repeat the series and save the shots automatically via PhotoStream to my server. I don't do this for artistic or publishing value but as insurance that the customer won't come back and say something was not done right or that I caused any damage. This is like my take on Mike's Vehicle Inspection Form.

For quality shots for advertising and such, I use a better camera with a better lens and higher resolution.

FWIW, I find the camera in the smartphone is more than adequate for this purpose given good lighting conditions and it is so convenient. I also take a final shot of the client standing by his/her vehicle upon delivery and I always ask him/her to smile ;).
 
zmcgovern45 said:
Grainy photos could simply be due to your settings on the camera.

Check the ISO setting... the higher the number, the more grain you will have introduced into the photos. This is all explained in that article I posted previously.

If your ISO is low (typically 100), and you are still seeing grainy images, it may be due to an inferior camera.

What type of camera(s) are you using?

*Also, don't get caught up on the megapixel rating... ALL newer cameras will be way more than you need for posting pictures online, and/or making smaller prints (5x7 and usually even 8x10) at full resolution.
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Minorc: Do you know what zmcgovern means by ISO setting and how you check what the setting for a given photo was? If not, and if you have the original photos on a windows computer, right click on the jpeg and select properties, details (may vary with different windows versions), and it will show the EXIF data for the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and various other basic settings, for each photo.

If you have a non-windows computer, some one else will have to offer a method.

Alternatively you can download any of various free EXIF viewers to see more detailed information (for example the Opanda EXIF viewer) or if you want even more EXIF info, including proprietary values for settings on certain cameras at the expense of a bit more cumbersome user interface, Google Phil Harvey EXIFtool and download/install it.

PS, if you no longer have the original images, the remaining jpegs may have been stripped of the EXIF data after they were resized or post processed. Best to keep the originals. Also I'm assuming you're not shooting RAW format.
 
Lots of great info here.

Can't add much, except what I have heard some "pro" photographers say. Like:

Back in the old days when digital photography was first getting started, the photos on the covers of magazines and in National Geographic were being shot with 4 and 6 megapixel cameras. Megapixels aren't everything.

When you buy a dslr, you are actually buying into a lens system. Your real concern when you buy a particular brand of dslr should be the specs and the other qualities you want in your lenses; and are they available in any particular brand.

The "quality" and specs of a current top super-zoom approaches the "quality" and specs of a dslr of just a few years ago. Sometimes, maybe you should also be looking at a super-zoom.

Just some things I've heard.

Good luck.
 
zmcgovern45 said:
Grainy photos could simply be due to your settings on the camera.

Check the ISO setting... the higher the number, the more grain you will have introduced into the photos. This is all explained in that article I posted previously.

If your ISO is low (typically 100), and you are still seeing grainy images, it may be due to an inferior camera.

What type of camera(s) are you using?

*Also, don't get caught up on the megapixel rating... ALL newer cameras will be way more than you need for posting pictures online, and/or making smaller prints (5x7 and usually even 8x10) at full resolution.
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I'll look into that tonight with the point and shoot, thanks very much for the info! I use my Iphone 5 and the girlfriend's canon elph110 (I believe, it is a cheaper model)
 
Both have extremely small sensors, making thier low light performance suffer. You will notice higher amount of grain in lower lighting.

Note "lower lighting" to your eye and to your camera are 2 different things. For many cameras, simply being indoors is pushing their capabilities in terms of low light performance - even if your eyes think it is "bright enough". Just FYI.
 
Some people have recommended the Canon S110, do you have any experience with this unit?
 
minorc said:
Some people have recommended the Canon S110, do you have any experience with this unit?
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Nope, I am pretty oblivious when it comes to any point and shoot. They all look the same to me, and I'm sure are all very similar in terms of quality and capability (when priced similarly).
 
I use a Nikon DSLR and as it is an expensive camera, I find that all the features help out when the sun happens to not be in my favor and when I need good macro shots to show impurities and imperfections.
 
great info!!

ever since i read the thread from ZMC, ive been messing with the manual settings :D
 
A decent camera will make a difference and being able to manually manipulate the settings adds to the effects you can create via aperture and shutter speed, not effects created digitally......and don't kid yourselves, proper lighting techniques probably account for 90% of images that viewers go oooh and ahhh over, be it natural or artificial.

Be well.........elliot
 
FullAttn2Detail said:
I use a Nikon DSLR and as it is an expensive camera, I find that all the features help out when the sun happens to not be in my favor and when I need good macro shots to show impurities and imperfections.
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^For what it's worth... true macro shots are only possible with a macro lens, and have nothing to do with the camera body.

thebamboo23 said:
great info!!

ever since i read the thread from ZMC, ive been messing with the manual settings :D
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^Good to hear!

michelliot said:
A decent camera will make a difference and being able to manually manipulate the settings adds to the effects you can create via aperture and shutter speed, not effects created digitally......and don't kid yourselves, proper lighting techniques probably account for 90% of images that viewers go oooh and ahhh over, be it natural or artificial.

Be well.........elliot
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Very true... proper lighting makes all the difference! But improper exposure can ruin a photo no matter how perfect the lighting.
 
For what it is worth, I was using an IPhone 5 and wasn't too happy with the pics. I made a thread about it a while ago and ended up buying a Sony DSC WX150 from Costco, it was the last one and even they were selling it as a close out. It was going for about $350 on Sony's site and I think I paid under $150. It's one of Sony's better entry level point and shoots. I've noticed the picture quality is dramatically better with that camera compared to an IPhone 5. The zoom also comes in handy sometimes.

The best part about it is you don't have to spend a ton of cash. If you just want something "better than your phone" there are a lot of cameras you can pick up under $200 (on sale / close out / online) that give better pics.
 
Just pulled the trigger on a used canon s110. Excited, will post some pictures once I get it.
 
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