Digital photos on a mac: iPhoto or Preview?
in [Mac Applications]
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From: Newbie on 18 Sep 2006 08:16 I just started with a digital camera. My computer is a Mac. So far, I have viewed the JPEG photos with Preview. It seems to work fine, but each time I download pictures, my computer wants to open iPhoto; I just say no, but being unfamiliar with iPhoto I also don't know what I am missing. So, is it worth learning iPhoto or is Preview good enough for viewing digital pictures?
From: brian.b.mcguinness on 18 Sep 2006 08:24 Newbie wrote: > I just started with a digital camera. My computer is a Mac. So far, I > have viewed the JPEG photos with Preview. It seems to work fine, but > each time I download pictures, my computer wants to open iPhoto; I just > say no, but being unfamiliar with iPhoto I also don't know what I am > missing. > > So, is it worth learning iPhoto or is Preview good enough for viewing > digital pictures? I use iPhoto to import my pictures from my camera and view them. I see a set of thumbnails of the pictures I have imported so far, and can expand any of them to view them in more detail. I can also export pictures to email from iPhoto, adjusting the size in the process. You might give it a try; if you don't like it then you can stop using it. --- Brian
From: Jon on 18 Sep 2006 08:31 Newbie <newbie(a)no.spam> wrote: > I just started with a digital camera. My computer is a Mac. So far, I > have viewed the JPEG photos with Preview. It seems to work fine, but > each time I download pictures, my computer wants to open iPhoto; I just > say no, but being unfamiliar with iPhoto I also don't know what I am > missing. > > So, is it worth learning iPhoto or is Preview good enough for viewing > digital pictures? For simply viewing images directly from the camera or in a separate folder, Preview is OK. If you get a lot of pictures, iPhoto will store them for you in a way that lets you navigate them easily. And the learning threshold is very low - have no fear. The only thing you should not do, is to use iPhoto and then not let it "do its thing", i.e., try to overrule it re the way it stores things. Let it do its job, and you can do yours - take the pics, view them and use them. :-) BTW: If you really do not want to use iPhoto and want it to stop opening (or want Preview to start instead), what you need to do is find the little utility app called Image Capture, open it, go to Preferences and change the default image viewer app. BTW 2: Imavge Capture is good to use if you want to import images manually from a camera or memory card, as it lets you select which images to import and then skip the rest. iPhoto will always take the lot and then you have to delete the superfluous ones later. -- /Jon For contact info, run the following in Terminal: Mail: echo 36199371860304980107073482417748002696458P|dc Skype: echo 139576319600233690471689738P|dc
From: John McWilliams on 18 Sep 2006 10:34 Jon wrote: > Newbie <newbie(a)no.spam> wrote: > >> I just started with a digital camera. My computer is a Mac. So far, I >> have viewed the JPEG photos with Preview. It seems to work fine, but >> each time I download pictures, my computer wants to open iPhoto; I just >> say no, but being unfamiliar with iPhoto I also don't know what I am >> missing. >> >> So, is it worth learning iPhoto or is Preview good enough for viewing >> digital pictures? > > For simply viewing images directly from the camera or in a separate > folder, Preview is OK. If you get a lot of pictures, iPhoto will store > them for you in a way that lets you navigate them easily. And the > learning threshold is very low - have no fear. The only thing you should > not do, is to use iPhoto and then not let it "do its thing", i.e., try > to overrule it re the way it stores things. Let it do its job, and you > can do yours - take the pics, view them and use them. :-) > > BTW: If you really do not want to use iPhoto and want it to stop opening > (or want Preview to start instead), what you need to do is find the > little utility app called Image Capture, open it, go to Preferences and > change the default image viewer app. > > BTW 2: Imavge Capture is good to use if you want to import images > manually from a camera or memory card, as it lets you select which > images to import and then skip the rest. iPhoto will always take the lot > and then you have to delete the superfluous ones later. Yes to all the above. But if you think you're into photography for the long haul, you might be wise to buy a copy of Photoshop Elements, use Image Capture to download into folders, and then view and modify them in Elements. If you get seriously into it down the road, you'll want to upgrade to the full Photoshop. Both Elements and the full version are available for trials of 30 days. -- John McWilliams
From: Newbie on 18 Sep 2006 12:40
Jon: > > For simply viewing images directly from the camera or in a separate > > folder, Preview is OK. If you get a lot of pictures, iPhoto will store > > them for you in a way that lets you navigate them easily. And the > > learning threshold is very low - have no fear. The only thing you should > > not do, is to use iPhoto and then not let it "do its thing", i.e., try > > to overrule it re the way it stores things. Let it do its job, and you > > can do yours - take the pics, view them and use them. :-) > > > > BTW: If you really do not want to use iPhoto and want it to stop opening > > (or want Preview to start instead), what you need to do is find the > > little utility app called Image Capture, open it, go to Preferences and > > change the default image viewer app. > > > > BTW 2: Imavge Capture is good to use if you want to import images > > manually from a camera or memory card, as it lets you select which > > images to import and then skip the rest. iPhoto will always take the lot > > and then you have to delete the superfluous ones later. John McWilliams: > Yes to all the above. But if you think you're into photography for the > long haul, you might be wise to buy a copy of Photoshop Elements, use > Image Capture to download into folders, and then view and modify them in > Elements. If you get seriously into it down the road, you'll want to > upgrade to the full Photoshop. Both Elements and the full version are > available for trials of 30 days. I am so new at this that at present I am not sure if I would want to get serious enough to buy Photoshop etc. It is nt exaclt cheap, so let that evolve naturally. What I want as a beginner right now is to get into good habits. What I have been doing is, connect the camera to the computer, a folder appears and I copy its contents. I select them all, double-click, and they appear in Preview. I can choose a slide show if wish. (I do have to organize the folders myself, but so far it is not a big burden, and I like to rename/regroup them thematically anyway.) What I am curious about is, would it be a better habit to start using either iPhoto or Image Capture as suggested above? (I checked IC and it offers to crop or fit every picture to a certain size; is that a good idea?) One last question: My photos are slightly under 1MB. Would it be a good idea to reduc etheir size somewhat before emailing? If so, by how much, and which (free) app does one use? |