VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4
Thread
  1. Okay everyone, I need some help here. This is my workflow so far:

    1. Back-up photos to external hard drive; these are unedited and my camera will read them without a problem if I dump them back onto it. I generally store these in a folder with a name like "negatives." I don't rename the files either, so the images all remain DCF compliant with names like DSCNNNNN.JPG

    2. Copy photos I'm going to be editing to a different folder, for example "raws" or "unedited;" these photos retain the DSCNNNNN.JPG standard. I access these in the next step; I don't delete them or alter them though.

    3. Copy the DSCNNNNN.JPG files into a single *.psd Photoshop file. (I'm using Photoshop CS.)

    4. Edit each layer in the *.psd file until I'm satisfied with it; each layer is an individual photo.

    5. Copy the photos in the "raws" or "unedited" folder to a folder named "edits" or something similar. I retain the DSCNNNNN.JPG file names.

    6. Copy the respective layer from the PSD file into the JPG file in the "edits" folder. This creates a "layered" JPG. I immediately flatten the image.

    7. Save the JPG file. I use the Baseline ("Standard") option, set the quality to "12," and keep the 56k option, then hit save.

    8. I now have two copies of my original photos, my *.psd file, and my edited jpegs; I want to put my edited JPEGs onto my Nikon digital camera.

    All right, here's where things get tricky. I have no problem mounting my CF card and/or copying photos onto it. The problem I have is that once the photos are loaded onto the CF card, I cannot get my camera's LCD to display them. I just get a message that says "NO IMAGE DATA AVAILABLE" in all CAPS and bright red. From what I understand, this is because Photoshop saves JFIF-compliant JPEG files.

    So here are my questions: First, what do I have to do to make my photos "DSC-compliant," or in simple terms, compatible with my camera again? I want the photo to show up on the LCD, and I don't want to alter its resolution. Second, are there any freeware tools to accomplish this task with, and if not, can it be accomplished with tools I already have, such as Photoshop CS or GraphicConverter?

    Finally, why doesn't Photoshop have an "export to camera/save for digital cameras" option? I mean, newer versions of Photoshop have a "Save for web & devices" option. Every video editing program from Windows Movie Maker to Final Cut Pro has some version of an "export to camera" option as well. I mean, a "save for digital cameras" option in Photoshop just seems like a no-brainer to me. Is there a plug-in or something that I'm missing that could help me accomplish this task? I really don't think it should be this difficult to alter/clean-up a digital photo and copy it back to my camera in a format that it understands.

    System specs: (For Photoshop)
    PowerBook G4
    Mac OS X 10.5.8
    1GB RAM
    DCF-compliant Nikon Digital Camera
    Adobe Photoshop CS (not CS2, CS3, or CS4, just CS.)

    System specs: (For Graphic Converter)
    Mac Mini
    Mac OS X 10.5.8
    2GB RAM
    DCF-compliant Nikon Digital Camera
    Graphic Converter

    NOTE: I have another machine with Photoshop CS3 if need be, but it's running Snow Leopard, and is a bit difficult to access at the moment. (I'm planning to upgrade my machine with CS3 to CS5 once it's actually released. I can take advantage of the 64-bit functionality, and Adobe's lack of support for CS3 under Snow Leopard is essentially forcing me to upgrade around the bugs that they refuse to patch.)

    Thank you all in advance for your time; I really appreciate any and all help that anyone can offer.
    Specs: Mac Mini (Early 2006): 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, 320GB HDD, 2GB DDR2 RAM, Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics card, Matshita UJ-846 Superdrive, Mac OS X 10.5.7 and various peripherals. System runs Final Cut Express 3.5 for editing.
    Quote Quote  
  2. VH Wanderer Ai Haibara's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Somewhere on VideoHelp...
    Search Comp PM
    Photoshop doesn't include such a feature, because not all cameras save images with the exact same specifications (or even as JPEG), as far as I know. The best you could do would be to compare the encoding information of one of the pictures that does work on the camera, with one of your edited files, and see what the differences are.

    Unfortunately, I don't remember offhand what you might use to finetune those settings on OS X.
    If cameras add ten pounds, why would people want to eat them?
    Quote Quote  
  3. Photoshop doesn't include such a feature, because not all cameras save images with the exact same specifications (or even as JPEG), as far as I know.
    Hmm... this is true to an extent. All "real" digital still cameras (i.e. not cell-phones/webcams) are DCF compliant though, and it shouldn't be too hard for Adobe to create an algorithm that allows Photoshop to save a DCF-compliant JPEG. The DCF structure always includes a DCIM folder with a NNNXXXXX folder, which in turn contains XXXNNNNN.JPG files, where X = alphanumeric characters and N = numerals. It should be relatively simple to rename these folders properly in order to make them compliant with a specific camera.

    The variants of the file names themselves are also very similar, and could likely be handled with a drop-down menu. DSC is the most common first three characters, followed by PIC, and IMG. The next character is either a letter, underscore, or numeral, followed by four numerals. I've yet to see a camera manufacturer change its naming convention, so it should be possible to make files DCF compliant by brand. For example, all Nikon cameras use DSCN1234 or DSC01234 depending on how many photos a camera has taken. I believe Canon uses IMG_1234 or IMG01234 depending on how many photos a camera has taken. Again, this shouldn't be too difficult to implement in some form.

    All "real" digital still cameras do offer the option to shoot JPEG, if nothing else. Every DSLR that I've seen, as well as every point-an-shoot either uses JPEG as its standard, or as an option. Professional (DSLR) cameras will also offer RAW and TIFF options as well. Some really nice DSLR cameras will allow a user to save both RAW and JPEG information. I don't consider cell-phones, webcams, etc. "real" digital still cameras, but rather, devices with a digital still camera feature integrated into them.

    Anyway, back on topic. The biggest difference that I can see is filesize; my edited files are slightly larger than my original files. The second noticeable difference is that the icon in OS X on the original photo has a "border" around it that the edited photo is lacking. I should note that I loaded an edited photo onto a friend's Windows PC and then back onto my desktop and the "border" returned, but that didn't make the photo function with my camera. Thank you for your help though, Ai Haibara, I appreciate it. If anyone else has any other suggestions, please share them with me; thank you.

    Finally, I should note that awhile back Panasonic had a program for Windows that would save DCF-compliant JPEGs. The program was designed for use with one of their projectors, and had a maximum resolution of 800x600. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to that particular program, and I don't want my images to be resized to 800x600. (I also don't have access to a modern Windows computer or a Windows disk that I could use with Boot Camp on my Mac Mini.)
    Specs: Mac Mini (Early 2006): 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, 320GB HDD, 2GB DDR2 RAM, Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics card, Matshita UJ-846 Superdrive, Mac OS X 10.5.7 and various peripherals. System runs Final Cut Express 3.5 for editing.
    Quote Quote  
  4. Explorer Case's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Middle Earth
    Search Comp PM
    Nice analysis, but you didn't mention/explore one file characteristic that may be crucial: Exif metadata inside JPEG files.
    I have no idea what the camera is looking for when deciding the file is valid or not, but my guess is that it involves some Exif field too, besides the expected filename convention. It may even be brand specific or model specific.
    Photoshop's regular Save as… JPEG will include some Exif fields, if originally present, but Photoshop writes this not necessarily in the same place in the file as the camera does. And Photoshop's File Info doesn't allow to change/add Camera Data.
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!