Travel Photography - Photo tips for newbie w/old stuff

Some of us have um, older cameras and don't have ANY software. So based on that...

I took some mini clips on my camera turning it sideways, now I can only view them on a computer sideways. Tired of the crink in my neck can someone tell me how to rotate it, preferably without special software.

Also, when trying to a picture of moving thing (my elusive blue morphos), how can I can a still photo from my video clip.

Although I now have a underwater housing unit (which is why I like my old camera), how could I have lifted off the tint of blue that covers underwater photos.

I know I can get a new camera and that I could buy software, but barring the obvious...I would appreciate any tips.

Some of us have um, older cameras and don't have ANY software. So based on that...

I took some mini clips on my camera turning it sideways, now I can only view them on a computer sideways. Tired of the crink in my neck can someone tell me how to rotate it, preferably without special software.

Also, when trying to a picture of moving thing (my elusive blue morphos), how can I can a still photo from my video clip.

Although I now have a underwater housing unit (which is why I like my old camera), how could I have lifted off the tint of blue that covers underwater photos.

I know I can get a new camera and that I could buy software, but barring the obvious...I would appreciate any tips.

Just to clarify, you are taking videos with your p&s camera, right?

I am assuming you are on Windows, have you tried Windows Movie Maker? It comes pre-installed with XP systems, I'm not sure about Vista or Win7, but you should be able to download it from Microsoft if not. I think it has the ability to rotate a video 90 degrees, but I'm not sure about grabbing a still from a video. Unless the video you are taking is high-def, any picture directly from a video will be very low quality.

You might also check out http://www.osalt.com/movie-maker

Many of the programs there may not have the friendliest interfaces, but they are usually quite powerful. Best of all, they're free.

For photo editing, I'd recommend Picasa. You can edit the tint of the picture which will allow you to tone down the blue tint.

I use GIMP for photo editing and correction (such as adjusting color). You may want to give it a try because:
a -- its free
b -- many would argue that its as good as photoshop
c -- it has a huge user community willing to help you with tutorials and advice

You can get it here (http://www.gimp.org/).

Thanks so much. Playing around with free software I can do. I love my canon A75 for a couple of reasons. I find it easy to use, it has a setting for underwater and I paid quite a bit for my underwater housing unit.

Everytime I get a "better" back up camera for on land use, I seem to have trouble getting the right setting.

I have only recently began taking mini clips with both cameras, only to find I couldn't figure out how to rotate the clips. I can use the windows program to rotate photos, but not clips.

Thanks again, I'll try the features on free software.

Natalie

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I have only recently began taking mini clips with both cameras, only to find I couldn't figure out how to rotate the clips. I can use the windows program to rotate photos, but not clips.

Thanks again, I'll try the features on free software.

Natalie

I should point out that while GIMP is great for photo editing, it won't do video (I don't think). For that, you'll need something like VLMC (http://trac.videolan.org/vlmc/). I haven't used it personally, but I think it will do what you need.

I would recommend Cinelerra (http://cinelerra.org/), but it only runs on Linux (AFAIK) and most people don't want to go to the trouble of learning a new (but better) operating system. If you're interested, I'd be happy to help you figure it out.

Thanks so much. Playing around with free software I can do. I love my canon A75 for a couple of reasons. I find it easy to use, it has a setting for underwater and I paid quite a bit for my underwater housing unit.

Everytime I get a "better" back up camera for on land use, I seem to have trouble getting the right setting.

I have only recently began taking mini clips with both cameras, only to find I couldn't figure out how to rotate the clips. I can use the windows program to rotate photos, but not clips.

Thanks again, I'll try the features on free software.

Natalie

Are you sure about Movie Maker? At one point you could...

Source: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/606308-rotating-a-video-90-degrees/

Taken from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...e/0075.mspx#EPD

How do I rotate video that I have recorded with my digital camera in the Player?

You can rotate video clips in Windows Movie Maker by doing the following:

1.


Import the video clip into Windows Movie Maker.

2.


Drag the imported video clip and drop it onto the timeline.

3.


On the Tools menu, click Video Effects.

4.


To rotate the video clip to the right, drag the Rotate 90 video effect and drop it onto the movie on the timeline.

-or-

To rotate the video clip to the left, drag the Rotate 270 video effect and drop it onto the movie on the timeline.

5.


On the File menu, click Save Movie File and follow the instructions in the Save Movie Wizard.

For detailed instructions, see Windows Movie Maker Help.

FastStone is great for browsing through your photos. It's fast, effective and free. If that wasn't enough, the developer included most of the image-tweeking tools we use to improve our photos. For example, you can quickly adjust the colors to warm up your underwater images. I recommend experimenting with "levels" and with "curves" to really make your photos pop.

See it here: http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Ifranview is an excellent program for small bits of resizing, rotation, etc.