www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

My new little pocket camera, Panasonic SZ1, is turning out to be impressive but it has no facility to add a filter. So Paul's idea of using the tripod socket and jerry-rigged filter holder might be worth considering.

Now I have found that the distance of the graduated filter in front of the lens is quite crucial. Too close and the delineation between dark and light becomes almost absent. Too far away and the auto focus might attempt to focus on the filter itself (could of course use manual focus if available); or it might make the delineation very abrupt. But with a conventional screw-on filter, at least the distance in front of the lens doesn't really change as the lens moves in an out (wide/telephoto). Now with a jerry-rigged system as suggested by Paul, the position of the filter is not fixed with respect to the main lens but fixed with respect to the camera body. I fear there would be issues with this.

Jack

I've just tried the Neat Image software Mike mentioned. Even just the demo version is excellent at cleaning up noise - I had no idea.

Here is, first, a picture of N. sappho I took in 1994 (with my SLR), scanned in 1996 and which has been on my website since then as my only underside of this species. Next is the cleaned up version after sticking it (the small, compressed picture) through the free version of Neat Image:





Quite a difference! Thanks for that, Mike.

Guy

oh no that's all we need, guy able to make his pictures even better

Noiseware is a pretty good alternative.

Jack

ChrisC wrote:oh no that's all we need, guy able to make his pictures even better

I'm sure we can all take that on the chin!

Must say, the image has been transformed. I'll have to look into this myself.

I've been busy, I've downloaded "Neat Image" "Gimp" and "Photo Scope" so I'm going to be busy messing about for the next few weeks Goldie

That is seriously brilliant, Guy. Shame you can't do a nice thick oil copy on a cornflake packet - Christie's might be fooled too .

Tony M.