Which should I break? Camera or Mirror?

[Valk]

I just dont know what to trust anymore. What I see in the mirror is ten times better then when I take a photo or videotape myself. (both with digital camera)
I can understand why photos can make you look worse. Its only a snapshot.
But videos recorded with the same digital camera, dont look much better either. Could camera image distortion be the reason? Do more expensive cameras capture things more like they really are then cheap cameras?

[Spike]

Cheap camera's probably have wide-angle lenses with lots of barrel distortion - like looking through a peephole in a door.

Mirrors flip your image left-right, so you will look a bit different.

I think most people hate their own image in 99% of photo's - get Artee to take your pic, you'll look like "insert idol here". :D

[Valk]

get Artee to take your pic, you'll look like "insert idol here". :D

So Artee can make me look like Micheal Moore? YIPPIIEEE!!! :D

I just read about something called the True Mirror (http://www.truemirror.com/) which is a non-reversing mirror. Bit pricey though.

So actually both camera and mirror lie? Blah!

[Spike]

Make one yourself with 2 mirrors at 90 deg.

[ArTee63]

So Artee can make me look like Micheal Moore? YIPPIIEEE!!! :D


Only if you eat 20 boxes of Twinkies first.

You want to look like that fat fuck? Why? :?

[Clockers]

Hey that true mirror would be cool though! :cool

[Valk]

Only if you eat 20 boxes of Twinkies first.

You want to look like that fat fuck? Why? :?

It was a joke, I dont want to look like him, hell no!

But since you're the photography expert, shed some light on this situation. :)

[ArTee63]

Spike's answer pretty much covered it. The better quality the camera and lenses are, the better, more accurate, the images will be.

Try shooting your images at a "normal" focal length and move forward or backwards to fill the frame instead of using the zoom. Either extreme of close up or wide angle will distort the image.

[Valk]

The camera I used, in normal operation mode, utilized flash automaticly when it gets a little dark. Only in a extreme bright room, it doesnt use flash.
So the photos had red eyes, and all the disfigurements that come with flash.
On top of that, the 1.33/1 resulotion ratio of my computer screen narrowed the photos with 10%, so I looked thinner then I even was.

All in all, no happy experience.

[ArTee63]

Shoot in a brighter area to avoid using the flash. You are correct, it's not very flattering lighting.

I'm not sure what you mean about the resolution of your monitor. What is 1.33/1?

[Valk]

By the 1.33/1 ratio I mean the screen resolution.
800 x 600, 1024 x 768 are all 1.33/1 (width/length). But in the manual of my LCD screen, the 1280 x 1024 resolution is recommended, which is 1.25/1.
This makes objects appear wider.

[Spike]

The monitor resolution shouldn't affect the photo - pixels are usually square.

Or use Photoshop - you can tell what shape the pixels are.

Get someone else to take the photo's in natural light - out of 100, you'll get 2 or 3 good ones.

[Valk]

Just switch to 1280 x 1024 and you will see what I'm talking about.
Everything gets smaller but wider too.

[Spike]

I use 1280x1024.

Are you using...... a CRT?

[Valk]

Nop, an LCD.

But I dont think that pixels are always square. 1280 x 1024 has relative more pixels lenght wise then 800 x 600, so each pixes ends up being less high.

[Clockers]

Sometimes for good lighting i will just go out'side with the sun shinning at my face/body then take a pic. :cool


Just make sure no one is watching. :shock:

[Spike]

A TFT only runs at it's native resolution - forcing it to do a different one will fuck the aspect ratio up.

[Valk]

So a TFT is a special kind of LCD monitor?

I dont have a TFT and it still fucks the aspect ratio up. Circles look mostly like coneheads.

[Bobo]

CRT monitors can have pixels that aren't squares (sort of), but LCD:s and TFT:s have only one pixel size and shape, and the lower resolutions are achieved by calculating extra pixels in between. In CRT 1280x960 draws a round circle while 1280x1024 distorts it to an ellipse.

[Spike]

TFT's/LCD's = same thing.

Mine run at 1280x1024 and draw perfectly round circles - I've just measured them.

[Valk]

Mine run at 1280x1024 and draw perfectly round circles - I've just measured them.

Well, I had my screen resolution on 1024 x 768 for months, and circles werent perfectly round in that resolution. Ofcourse I didnt bother me, until I took photos and looked liked another anorexic person.

So, now we finally agree. I'm surprised it only took 21 posts. :lol:

[Clockers]

Email me your picture Valk, :D

And i will promise not to post it up here.

Really i won't, :twisted:

Truly i will not post it up here, and thats my final answer!! :cool