Question regarding e-mailed images an dtheir quALITY

Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am an
experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my way
through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a nice
pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper right
corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with richer
colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the least
compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images? Is there any way that I can have the images be
of high quality directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto
each JPEG #? Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

Thanks in advance,

Mort Linder

On 2015-07-05 01:19:48 +0000, Mort said:

Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am an
experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my way
through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a nice
pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper
right corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with
richer colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the
least compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Are there specific email options in Picasa?
If so they might be overriding your final JPEG settings if you email
directly from Picasa.

You might get better results by attaching the image file directly into
your email, either using the attachment dialog, or drag and drop the
file into the message.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images?

What email client (program) do you use, and does it have specific
options for file handling?

With my Mac I have the option to send Image files as "Actual Size",
"Small", "Medium", or "Large".

Is there any way that I can have the images be of high quality
directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto each JPEG #?

Just remember that the file size has to be within the limitations set
by your ISP. Otherwise you should be able to attach a good quality JPEG

Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

What email clients do they use?

The other option is to use something such as Dropbox, or even get a
sharing link from Picasa. If my files are larger than email might
accommodate I use Dropbox or Adobe CC. That way they get the image at
the quality and size you intended.
Like so.
https://db.tt/YpI2a0bT

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 5/07/2015 1:19 p.m., Mort wrote:
Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am an
experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my way
through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a nice
pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper right
corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with richer
colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the least
compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images? Is there any way that I can have the images be
of high quality directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto
each JPEG #? Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

Thanks in advance,

Mort Linder

The comment about "richer colours" makes me wonder if your images are
edited and saved in aRGB (or other higher gamut colour space) when you
probably *should be using sRGB for the web (incl emailing photos for
general viewing).
If the images are edited in aRGB, and tagged aRGB, then a "colour aware"
image viewer should display them correctly - most web browsers and email
programs by default ignore the aRGB tag, and display them with the RGB
values as if the image was sRGB - which will lead to desaturation (and
some colour shift). Compression can certainly affect colour too, but my
guess is that something else like this may be going on.

Perhaps also Picasa may strip exif colourspace tag but not convert the
image to sRGB - or something similar may be going on.

* a few years ago there was a move to "wide gamut" displays, but most
high quality consumer displays now can only display sRGB anyway. The
wide gamut (LCD) displays used CCFL backlighting. As I understand it,
"white" LED backlights don't support wide gamut. UHDTV may be the thing
which eventually pushes the consumer market to wide gamut displays. Even
the iMac retina is a standard gamut (sRGB) display.

On 7/4/2015 9:19 PM, Mort wrote:
Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am an
experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my way
through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a nice
pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper right
corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with richer
colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the least
compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images? Is there any way that I can have the images be
of high quality directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto
each JPEG #? Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

Thanks in advance,

Mort Linder

Do you save in the sRGB colorspace?

Could you work around the issue by emailing a link to the image using a
free service like Dropbox?

http://www.dropbox.com

--
PeterN

Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-07-05 01:19:48 +0000, Mort said:

Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am
an experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my
way through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a
nice pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper
right corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with
richer colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the
least compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Are there specific email options in Picasa?
If so they might be overriding your final JPEG settings if you email
directly from Picasa.

You might get better results by attaching the image file directly into
your email, either using the attachment dialog, or drag and drop the
file into the message.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images?

What email client (program) do you use, and does it have specific
options for file handling?

With my Mac I have the option to send Image files as "Actual Size",
"Small", "Medium", or "Large".

Is there any way that I can have the images be of high quality
directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto each JPEG #?

Just remember that the file size has to be within the limitations set by
your ISP. Otherwise you should be able to attach a good quality JPEG

Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

What email clients do they use?

The other option is to use something such as Dropbox, or even get a
sharing link from Picasa. If my files are larger than email might
accommodate I use Dropbox or Adobe CC. That way they get the image at
the quality and size you intended.
Like so.
https://db.tt/YpI2a0bT

Hi,

I'll investigate your good questions later. The point I am try9ng to
make is that the recipient apparently receives 2 different qualities of
image in the same e-mail from me. The initial attachment is of medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks onto the JPEG # in the upper
right corner of the image that he has already received, then a new
image appears with more saturated colors of the same spectrum, and with
increased sharpness. Since both types of image were already sent and
received by the recipient, I cannot puzzle out why this occurs.

My set color spectrum for viewing and printing gives excellent colors.
I'll look up what it is set to, and then reply.My recipients use various
commercial e-mails, e.g. Yahoo, Verizon. I use a small ISP located in
White Plains, NY. When I send a test photo to myself, the same problem
exists, and the same improvement after clicking on the upper right JPEG
#. My original images look fine onscreen and on paper.
Thanks again.

Mort Linder

Me wrote:
On 5/07/2015 1:19 p.m., Mort wrote:
Hi,

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and working with Picasa 3. I am an
experienced amateur photographer of long standing,having worked my way
through a Rolleiflex, Nikon Fs, Olympus OMs, etc. and now using a nice
pocket digital camera in my serene years.

When I e-mail my images from Picasa, the sent images show up in medium
quality. If the recipient double clicks on the JPEG # in the upper right
corner of each e-mail, then the image becomes sharper and with richer
colors. I work with JPEG at the highest quality setting = the least
compression, and my 8x10" prints are of high quality.

Is this problem related to the quality settings in my PC regarding
sending e-mailed images? Is there any way that I can have the images be
of high quality directly, eliminating the recipient having to click onto
each JPEG #? Many of my recipients are not computer savvy.

Thanks in advance,

Mort Linder

The comment about "richer colours" makes me wonder if your images are
edited and saved in aRGB (or other higher gamut colour space) when you
probably *should be using sRGB for the web (incl emailing photos for
general viewing).
If the images are edited in aRGB, and tagged aRGB, then a "colour aware"
image viewer should display them correctly - most web browsers and email
programs by default ignore the aRGB tag, and display them with the RGB
values as if the image was sRGB - which will lead to desaturation (and
some colour shift). Compression can certainly affect colour too, but my
guess is that something else like this may be going on.

Perhaps also Picasa may strip exif colourspace tag but not convert the
image to sRGB - or something similar may be going on.

* a few years ago there was a move to "wide gamut" displays, but most
high quality consumer displays now can only display sRGB anyway. The
wide gamut (LCD) displays used CCFL backlighting. As I understand it,
"white" LED backlights don't support wide gamut. UHDTV may be the thing
which eventually pushes the consumer market to wide gamut displays. Even
the iMac retina is a standard gamut (sRGB) display.
Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Please also see my reply now to Duck.

The thing is that my e-mails apparently contain 2 images of each
picture. The initially viewed image is under-saturated and not very
sharp. After clicking on the JPEG # in the upper right corner, the image
is sharper and the colors are richer, more saturated, in the same color
spectrum, with no color shift. Thus, each e-mail seems to contain 2
different images of differing quality. I just cannot puzzle out how that
works. My images are fine on screen befre e-mailing, and on paper prints
up to 8x10".

I'll look up the color method to which my PC and printer are set and get
back to you and Duck.

Thanks again,

Mort Linder

Mort wrote:
Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-07-05 01:19:48 +0000, Mort said:

Hi,

Both my H-P printer and my H-P PC laptop are set to sRGB. I cannot find
what the Picasa program is set to.

Mort Linder

In article , Mort
wrote:

Both my H-P printer and my H-P PC laptop are set to sRGB. I cannot find
what the Picasa program is set to.

that's your problem.

what picasa is set to makes no difference. what matters is using the
correct hardware profiles, which are not srgb.

your laptop should ideally be using a custom profile, but absent that,
set to its factory profile. when printing, you should use the printer
profile, which ideally is a custom profile for your printer/paper/ink
combo but absent that, the factory profile should suffice.

if you are going to email photos to others, chances are they do not
have a calibrated system, so it's a crapshoot what they'll see,
especially if you are setting things incorrectly at your end.

On 2015-07-05 20:33:28 +0000, Mort said:

Mort wrote:
Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-07-05 01:19:48 +0000, Mort said:

Hi,

Both my H-P printer and my H-P PC laptop are set to sRGB.

That is probably just fine since you are not working in a color
critical, calibrated environment (I am making an assumption there).
What at minimum you need to be sure of is that you are using sRGB,
which should give the recipient the best opportunity to see things as
you intended.

I cannot find what the Picasa program is set to.

I used Picasa briefly years ago, and no longer do so. What I suspect is
happening is, when you use Picasa to email image files, all it is doing
is sending a representative thumbnail linked to the file stored online.
This saves Google bandwidth.
When the recipient clicks on that thumbnail in the email he/she calls
on the linked file and they get a compressed representation of the JPEG
on the Picasa server. A further Google/Picasa bandwith saver.
That is not a full representation of the image file you intended to send.

I would log in to your account at picasa.com and look at what options
they have for sending image files via email. You might discover exactly
what they do. Check on Picasa forums, support or other.

The other solution is to stop sending image files from within Picasa,
and just send them directly from your desktop.


--
Regards,

Savageduck

I think Savageduck already gave you the answer:
Stop sending from Picasa. Send the actual image
files by attaching them in your email through Explorer.

You can test his theory
easily enough: Save one of the emails you've sent
yourself to your Desktop. Is the file size about 30%
larger than the image you sent? It should be if the
image is actually attached. You can also then open
that email in Notepad. Any attached files will be
base-64 encoded in the text of the email. If you sent
a 2 MB file you should find about 2.6 MB of gobbledygook
in the email. If, as SD sugested, it's really just a link
and a thumbnail then you'll find a small section of
gobbledygook and a link to Picasa.com.

It would make sense for Google to link to files.
First, it allows them to do a bit of spying, which
is really their main business. Second, the method
for sending binary files in email increases the data
by about 1/3. Email is text-only, so the binary file
has to be converted to Base-64, in which each 3
bytes are converted to 4 1-byte text characters.
So Google saves 25% on bandwidth even if every
single recipient views the file. (Which is also a good
reason not to send big files in email. Better to put
them on your website if you have one, or send a
link to a storage site.)