Digital Focus: Digital Darkroom Essentials

Everything digital photographers need to know to outfit a PC.

Dave Johnson

Feature: Digital Darkroom Essentials

In the old days, owning a 35mm camera didn't imply that you had a darkroom in the basement. Quite the contrary; it took a peculiar breed of photographer to weather the toxic chemicals, noxious smells, and complicated procedures needed to develop and edit one's own photos. These days, though, most digital photographers do their own editing and printing--it's easy and fun, two words that never applied to chemical darkrooms. But what tools do you need to really make a go of digital photo editing and printing? That's what we're here to find out.

It's All in the Storage

Obviously, you'll need a computer to edit your photos. (Many cameras, however, when teamed up with the right printer, let you print directly without a PC.)

Don't worry too much about how well-equipped your computer is for digital imaging duty; it doesn't take a lot of processing horsepower to manipulate digital pictures. Even a three-year-old PC has more than enough muscle. And a system using any operating system from Windows 98 Second Edition forward should be adequate. If you have an older system, you'll want to make sure it at least has USB ports and an operating system that supports that protocol, such as Windows 95 OSR2 or later. Most digital cameras (and many other peripherals) today use a USB connection to transfer photo files.

Apart from the aforementioned basics, the real key is memory and hard disk space. Your PC should have no less than 128MB of RAM, and 256MB or more is ideal. In most cases, there's no need to increase your memory beyond 512MB.

Generally, you can boost your PC's performance significantly with an inexpensive RAM injection, and your applications will run much more smoothly. Memory is a main ingredient in performance, especially when you open several 3-megapixel images at once or run an image editor and another memory-hungry program like Microsoft Publisher at the same time.

A large hard drive is also critical. A few JPEG images don't take up much space, but store a thousand pictures and you're talking several gigabytes. Most current PCs come with hard drives that clock in at 60GB or larger, and that's fine. If you have an old PC with a 10GB or 20GB hard disk, though, consider adding a second drive to dramatically expand your storage space.

For hard drive reviews and shopping information check out our Product Guide for hard drives.

Back Up, Back Up

Suppose you have a few years' worth of digital pictures stored on your PC--what happens if its drive fails? Your digital darkroom should have a reliable backup system in place. The least expensive solution is to periodically copy your digital photos to a CD-R using the CD-RW drive that I hope you have in your computer. (If you don't have a CD-RW drive, consider adding one.) Or you could use software to automatically back up your data to another hard disk, a CD-RW, or a removable drive regularly, such as every Friday night.

For more on backing up to CD, read "How to Burn Without Getting Singed."

If you want to add a hard disk (for additional storage space or for backup duty), consider an external drive: They're fairly cheap and effortless to install. You can find many beefy external drives in your local computer store that plug into any available USB or FireWire port, so there's no need to pop open the computer or ever handle a screwdriver. If you want the best possible performance, avoid drives that use the older USB 1.1 interface. USB 2.0 provides quick transfers that are comparable to the snappy speeds you'll get using FireWire; USB 1.1 is glacial by comparison. Only the most recent computers use USB 2.0, also called USB Hi-Speed. If you're buying an external USB 2.0 hard drive, be aware that it will operate at the slower USB 1.1 transfer rate unless you install a PCI USB 2.0 adapter.

How important is backing up your data? Very. Hard drives are ever more reliable, but failures do happen. But drive failures are far from the most common cause of data loss. Actually, operator error (oops!) tops the list. And even data corruption from a bungled install or some other glitch is more common than a hardware failure. All factors taken together, when it comes to data loss, it's a matter of when, not if. With the right precautions, however, your digital photo collection can last forever.

Expansion Ports

The last element of the digital darkroom is expansion capability. USB and FireWire ports have made adding peripherals like cameras, printers, hard drives, and scanners as easy as just plugging in a cable. You don't even have to reboot the computer to get your PC to recognize a device. While virtually every computer made today comes with USB, you need to make sure that any new PC you buy comes equipped with USB 2.0 ports. USB 2.0 works just fine with all the old USB 1.1 gadgets out there, but it can transfer data much faster when attached to a new USB 2.0 device.

Another tip: When you're buying your next PC, try to get one with its USB ports right up front, so you don't have to fiddle around in back of your computer case just to plug in your digital camera.

FireWire has its uses as well. You won't find many digital cameras with FireWire connections, but all digital camcorders connect to PCs via FireWire. As mentioned previously, FireWire is also a popular option for attaching external hard drives. So while a FireWire port isn't really essential for digital photography, it can certainly come in handy.

Next week we'll wrap up our look at essential digital photography tools with a peek at software and printers. What do you need to tweak and print your photos? Find out next time.

Dave's Favorites: Protect Your Camera With RAPS

Traveling with a digital camera isn't just a hassle--it can be downright hazardous. Digital cameras are easily damaged if placed loosely in luggage, and accidents like leaking toiletries can wreak havoc. I often wrap my digital camera in clothing, but that's far from elegant--especially if an airport security inspector decides to start digging through my bags. RoadWired has a better solution: RAPS, which are versatile, inexpensive padded cases that hold your fragile electronic items when you travel.

RoadWired claims that RAPS provide three kinds of protection: weather resistance, shock absorption, and even high-tech protection against environmental pollutants and corrosion. That last one takes some explaining. RAPS are made of a proprietary polymer developed by Bell Labs that attracts gases and other environmental elements before they reach metal parts stored within. According to RoadWired, the metals found in most consumer electronic devices--like circuit components, switches, housings, and magnetic media--are protected from corrosion when stored in RAPS. In simulated long-life laboratory evaluations, components inside an unprotected portable device reportedly showed significant signs of corrosion, while a similar device stored inside a RAPS showed virtually no change over time.

That sounds promising, but it's hard to tell if it has any real-world implications for your digital camera. This much I can say: They are a classy but inexpensive way to pad your digital camera and other electronics when you travel. I love and heartily recommend them.

RAPS come in three sizes--designed to accommodate devices ranging in size from PDAs to digital cameras to laptops to removable memory cards--and are priced from $19.95 to $39.95.

Q&A: Confused About File Formats and Image Resolution

I've learned just enough to be confused. What difference is there between taking a picture in TIFF format, as opposed to taking the same picture as a JPEG, if you can simply take either one and save it as the other afterwards? Doesn't how it was originally taken matter?

I guess my next question along those same lines is: Does it matter whether those TIFFs or JPEGs are taken at 2048 by 1536 as opposed to 640 by 480 if you can change them once again in the software later? If all I want to do is print 4-by-6-inch prints, is there any reason to shoot at more than 640 by 480? Thank you for your enlightenment!

--Celia Maycrink, Tulsa, Oklahoma

You are welcome, Celia.

Let's tackle the file format first. If you take a picture with the camera set to record an uncompressed TIFF file, you're capturing all of the data that the camera's image sensors collect. There's no loss, no artifacts, no mess. The downside? TIFF files are huge: You can fit only a handful on your memory card. That's really inconvenient.

The JPEG format is compressed in direct relation to the camera's quality setting. The lower the quality, the more highly compressed the file. As a result, information is discarded--and you get those notorious JPEG "artifacts" (funky colors and jagged edges) in your pictures. The larger you print the image or the more you zoom in on the computer screen, the worse the effects become.

Saving a JPEG image as a TIFF can't restore lost information; it's gone and the picture is already damaged. But saving a JPEG as a TIFF file can halt further erosion; every time you edit and resave (recompress) a JPEG in an image editing program, it loses a little more quality due to further compression. So if you plan to edit a picture, save it as a TIFF before you start editing.

The answer about resolution is related. You can't convert a 640-by-480-pixel image to a higher resolution photo, because the computer can't invent data to fill in all the new pixels. All you're doing is blowing up a poor-quality image, and that will print terribly. I suggest that you start with the highest resolution your camera has to offer, especially if you want to print images at 5 by 7 or 8 by 10 inches.

Hot Pics

Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.

Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.

This week's Hot Pic: "Lone Tree," by Carol Anne Kumer, West Palm Beach, Florida Based on Carol's description, perhaps she should get lost more often: "My boyfriend and I were hiking at DuPuis Wildlife and Environmental Area in the northern tip of the Everglades in Florida. We got lost and were in the woods much later than we had planned. Getting lost, however, didn't stop me from continuing to snap pictures. I got some that I thought were awesome, and this is one of my favorites. I took this picture with my Minolta Dimage 7."

Hot Pic of the Month: Each month we choose one of our weekly winners to be the Hot Pic of the Month. For February, we chose Frank Ligori's melancholy perspective shot of a long row of benches after a rainstorm. Congratulations to Frank and to everyone that won the Hot Pic of the Week this month. Keep those entries coming!

We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.

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