Cableaddict wrote:
... Jim, it's "command - T." (not cntrl) I guess you're using a mac then?
Cableaddict wrote:
-In CS2, this does open the transform function. However, it only seems to squeeze the image, vertically or horizontally. There's no way to change the horizon orientation.
What you're describing is the same in CS3 & 4 if you grab one of the little "squares". But if you move the cursor completely outside of the image area it changes shape (small angle with arrow heads) ... and you can rotate the whole image. I can't screen-capture the cursor but this is what the image transformation looks like in CS4 :http://jimhealey.com/pub/test/transform.jpg
Of course it's been a while since I used CS2 and it may not have been supported back then ... pity.
Again ... I have no trouble inducing degradation into an image while rotating. Here's the PSD file I used: link. Just arbitrarily rotate it back and forth and you should see what I mean.
However I must say the effect isn't that noticeable and I only mentioned it in passing. Certainly shouldn't put anyone off straightening their photo's out
Well you're right it does degrade. This should be common sense as your pixels are aligned in straight rows - but I think the greater disservice to the photograph is in some cases anyway, leaving it crooked. I guess if the degradation of rotating it bugs someone too much they can just rotate their monitor.
+1 on the get it right at time of capture. As far as the angst over Photoshop - I'd say learn your tools. You can use the ruler if you have *anything* you'd like to set at any angle - when you use the angel tool the next time you go to roatte the angle is already there for you. The simplest method for the horizon is to turn on rulers, drag a rule line down to serve as a reference, rotate to taste. In Lightroom when you crop/rotate there are many alignment templates at your disposal. One is a grid. If you have Photoshop CS2 you have the capability to read 5D raw files. Get the latest ACR update from Adobe for CS2 - unless of course we're talking about a bootleg copy.
You're not doing it the right way! Take an image. Rotate it 1 degree CW. Then rotate the result 1 degree CCW. You should get an image equivalent to your original (i.e. not rotated). And there will be a difference.
Looks like you just took one image, made two copies, and rotated each of them individually.
Imagemaster - the last one looks a touch softer than the original (particularly in the words 'original')..
It makes sense, since pixels have to remain squares in a grid, and you aren't rotating the grid, so there is some interpolation in process. It's not a truly invertible process in other words - there is some image degredation. But I don't think it really matters. At least, I've never thought about it until now...
floris wrote:
Imagemaster - the last one looks a touch softer than the original (particularly in the words 'original')..
It makes sense, since pixels have to remain squares in a grid, and you aren't rotating the grid, so there is some interpolation in process. It's not a truly invertible process in other words - there is some image degredation. But I don't think it really matters. At least, I've never thought about it until now...
That may be, but as I said in a previous post: Well, when I have to correct an image due to a non-horizontal horizon, I either rotate CW or CCW, so what do I care if there is distortion when rotated back to the original position, since I would not do that?
Imagemaster wrote:
That may be, but as I said in a previous post:
Oh I agree, I was just answering your question
I think in the example you posted earlier with the boxes and a cross in the middle you didn't really see the distortion because the lines were much thicker than in Jim Healey's example..
I guess the take home lesson from this is that it really is worth taking the time to try to level the camera during capture, saves head aches and ever so slight image degredation.. if you mess up, well of course you're better off straightening..
In Lightroom 2 you just select the crop while in develop mode and there is a level indicator which you use to align the horizon, window ledge or whatever needs straitening
Imagemaster wrote:
so what do I care if there is distortion when rotated back to the original position, since I would not do that
Exactly! What's important is that if you need straighten the horizon, you should do it with only one transform. Using a non-destructive editing software like Lightroom might give you some benefit because if you don't get the horizon right from the first attempt, the second attempt will not make quality any worse (because it only gets actually rendered once during export).
Anyway, personally I rotate-correct my images fairly often and don't think it's so important to shoot straight.
bbrovold wrote:
In Lightroom 2 you just select the crop while in develop mode and there is a level indicator which you use to align the horizon, window ledge or whatever needs straitening
Might be added that LR rotates are nondestructive - so moot point with LR.
Imagemaster wrote:
when I have to correct an image due to a non-horizontal horizon, I either rotate CW or CCW, so what do I care if there is distortion when rotated back to the original position, since I would not do that
-Because with CS2, unless I discover some new hidden trick, you have to make a change, then make another change if you don't nail it the first time. It's frustrating. - the possibility of degradation (if you don't constantly note the numbers, and then un-do) is just an extra reason to want a "continuous bump" adjustment.
