Just got my first digital camera, a Fuji MX-600Z along with an Epson Stylus Photo 750 printer.

So far both my wife and I have been dissapointed with image quality, both on screen and especially from printer.

I transfer the images usings Fuji's Picture Shuttle and save them as high-quality JPEG (1280x1024, finest quality). Should I be capturing them into a better application rather than using Fuji's software, which gives less control over JPEG compression?

Depending on the application I print from, I get varying color quality (using Corel PhotoPaint 7 and Polaroid Photo-MAX). I am using the default settings for the software and the printer, yet one application prints totally washed out colors and the other prints odd garish tones (Corel).

I am also dissapointed with the resolution. I am resizing the 1280x1024 to fit on a 4x6 picture and keeping a high DPI (~200)

Any tips, advice? What I am doing wrong? The quality is way worse than a $50 35mm camera.

-- Joseph Koral (joseph@koral.net), July 07, 1999

Answers

The quality should certainly be fairly decent at 4x6. Don't know what the problem might be... As to color, you might try the little PhotoGenetics program for tweaking it. - Check our review at http:// www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PGEN/PGEN.HTM. There's a link there to get a free trial copy.

One thought on resolution - if your application supports it, you might try applying a little "sharpening" in it. A little sharpening in the computer can make a *big* difference in the final prints!

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), July 08, 1999.

I have a Toshiba PDR-M1, the older brother to the newer Fuji's and Toshiba's with optical zooms. I've run into a couple "odd/cutesy" things with it or it's software. I'm going to ask some possibly "dumb" questions, so bear with me.

1. Is the camera itself set to save the images to smartmedia in the FINE mode, and set for 1280x1024 images? Full 1280x1024's, not digitally zoomed ones that end up at 640x480?

2. If you're using the Image Expert/Picture Shuttle program or one like it to download the images make sure YOU set the software to default to the FINE or BEST mode when initially saving the files to disk. The default is a higher compression setting and the pictures suffer for it. The saved files should generally be in the 6-700KB range when the camera is set for FINE. If saved in Best mode, they will range 8-900KB. This setting is found under: Edit:Preferences:File Formats, in Image Expert, and tripped me up the first time I downloaded images. They ended up as much smaller files than I'd have liked. Fortunately, I doped it out before I erased the card.

3. What is the sharpness setting on the camera? I like the softer setting better than the normal setting, but it's a matter of preference. With the "Softer" setting you can do your own sharpening in the image editor.

4. Is the printer driver set for the 1440x720 DPI setting and is the halftoning set to "Diffused." Are you using Photopaper or Hi-res paper made/recommended by Epson? Have you tried printing at about 360 PPI in 1440x720 DPI mode? That would yield a print about 3.56 x 2.84". Or a multiple of it, like about 7x5.5"? (180PPI) Owners of the new Epson 1200 (same/similar ink colors and res. as your 750) have said 360PPI works well for them in other posts to this forum.

5. Have you tried printing the same image as an 8x10"? I know it sounds odd, but I have an older original Epson Stylus Color(720) and print 1280x1024 images as 8x10's. Up close they're not comparable to a print because of the printing method and dot size, but at 24" they look great! (No I'm not blind, about 20-25 very slightly nearsighted- No Glasses!) Be sceptical, but try it.

6. Have you tried printing an UNEDITED image from the Fuji software? I find the camera sometimes does better than my monitor would lead me to believe. I really dislike the results from the "Quick Fix" option in the Images Expert program: P.U. The Photgenetics program Dave recommended does a pretty decent job! The trick is that you still have to print one sometimes, even after you think you have it tweaked just right, to see if it's OK. Well, at least I do...

7. Do any of your programs have a calibrate function that you can use to set your monitor's gamma, hue, contrast, and brightness settings? If so, try it if it's merely a hue or color problem. Some also have a printer calibration curve that may yield better color images. The Corel should have both, as I recall.

Good Luck. Let the rest of us know what "did it" when you manage to work it out.

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@francorp.francomm.com), July 09, 1999.

I don't have an answer for you. I just want to agree with you. I have a fujifilm 2300 and the prints are absolutly lousy!!!!! Ive use photo shop 6 software, kodak software, and several others. Now Im asking what is my problem. What am I doing wrong? Please help.

-- David Spinazzola (spinman@earthlink.net), November 20, 2002.