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EFORE YOU BEGIN Before installing the DiMAGE Viewer software, read the data-transfer section in the camera manual. This section details how to connect the camera to a computer using the supplied USB cable. The examples in this manual assume the camera is connected to the computer with a USB cable as described in the camera manual.
ABLE OF CONTENTS System requirements ...6 DiMAGE Viewer ...6 QuickTime system requirements ...7 Before installing the DiMAGE Image Viewer Utility ...7 Installation ...8 Installing the DiMAGE Viewer – Windows ...8 Installing the DiMAGE Viewer – Macintosh ...10 Starting up the Viewer ...12 Starting up the Viewer –...
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Editing movie files...72 Splicing two movie clips...72 Copying sections from one movie to another ...73 Correcting movie images...74 Advanced setup...76 Customizing the viewer – Preferences ...76 Color matching – Color preferences...78 Using device ICC profiles ...80 Note on color measurement ...82...
YSTEM REQUIREMENTS DiMAGE Viewer IBM PC/AT compatible computers 133MHz Pentium processor or higher Windows 98 / 98* Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows XP. 64MB or more of RAM (128MB or more with Windows XP) 200MB or more of available hard-disk...
Before installing the DiMAGE Viewer RAM-stationed programs such as anti-virus or installation-monitoring software may cause the installer to fail. Remove or disable these programs before installing the DiMAGE Viewer. Reinstall or enable the software when the installation is complete. To install QuickTime, follow the instructions in the installer.
Insert the DiMAGE Software CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. • The DiMAGE Viewer Installer window will open automatically. Click the “Starting up the DiMAGE Viewer installer” button to begin installation. The welcome window will open. Click “Next>” to con- tinue.
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Click “Next>” to begin installation. When the software installation has been completed, a message will be displayed. Click “Finish.” • The DiMAGE Viewer installer window will be displayed. Click “Finish” to close the window.
Software CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. The contents of the CD-ROM appear automatically. If the contents do not appear, double-click the CD-ROM icon to open it. Open the DiMAGE Viewer folder, and then open the appropriate language folder. Double-click on the installer icon to start the Installation program.
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The location for the DiMAGE Viewer files must be specified. Click the reference button. Using the folder-selection dialog box, select the loca- tion where the software should be installed. Click “Choose.” Confirm the installation location on the installer screen. Click “Next >>”...
TARTING UP THE VIEWER Starting up the Viewer – Windows The utility will start up and the thumbnail window will be dis- played. Select the DiMAGE Viewer from the DiMAGE Viewer folder in the program option of the start menu.
Starting up the Viewer – Macintosh Open the DiMAGE Viewer folder. Double-click the DiMAGE Viewer icon to start up the application. The main window of the utility will be displayed.
If any changes are made to the folder tree of thumbnail dis- play, for example, the camera is disconnected from the com- puter, the window can be updated. Select the update option from the view menu to update the DiMAGE Viewer.
Opening audio files Voice memos, audio captions, and audio recordings made with the camera can be played back with the DiMAGE Viewer. To con- firm if your camera can make audio record- ings, refer to the instruction manual. After set-...
MPORTING AND EDITING IMAGES Changing the display format The contents of a folder can be displayed as thumbnail images, icons, or in a list with file data. To change the display format, simply press the appropriate button located on the tool bar. Thumbnail display button Icon display button List display button...
Changing the thumbnail format The thumbnail format can be changed. Four format are available: large, medium, small, and medium with data. To change the format, highlight the Thumbnail Preferences option on the view menu to display the format options. Highlight and click the desired thumbnail format;...
MPORTING AND EDITING IMAGES Sorting image files Image files can be sorted by name, date, or extension in ascending or descending order. This func- tion works with the thumbnail, icon, or list displays (p. 16). To sort the displayed images, use the sort menu or the sort-by drop-down menu on the tool bar.
Renaming multiple files Multiple files can be renamed in the thumbnail, icon, or list displays (p. 16). Click on the thumbnail borders or file icon to select the images to be renamed. • To select multiple images, press and hold the control key (Windows) or command key (Macintosh) and then click on each image to be renamed;...
MPORTING AND EDITING IMAGES Creating folders New folders can be created to store images. Click on the desired location for the new folder. In this example the new folder will be placed in Camera Images. Click on the new-folder button on the tool bar or select new folder from the file menu.The new folder will be created in the specified location.
Moving images to another folder Click on the move-to-folder button on the tool bar or select the move-to-folder option from the edit menu. The move-to-folder window will open. In the move-to-folder window, click on the destination folder. Click the select button to move the specified images to the des- ignated folder.
MPORTING AND EDITING IMAGES Copying images to another folder Click on the copy-to-folder button on the tool bar or select the copy-to-folder option from the edit menu. The copy-to- folder window will open. In the copy-to-folder window, click on the destination folder. Click the select button to copy the specified images to the designated folder.
Cut, copy, paste, and delete – Windows The tool bar and edit menu can be used to cut, copy, paste, and delete folders and single or multiple images. These func- tions affect any audio or thumbnail files attached to an image. The delete key on the keyboard will also delete folders and images.
When using software other than the DiMAGE Viewer, always rename the image file to protect the exif tag data. Image information can be saved as a special text file. Simply select single or multiple thumbnails and then select the save- image-information option from the file menu;...
Image information setup The Exif information displayed in the image information window can be edited. Select the image-information-setup option from the file menu to open the setup window. Click on the item to be added to or removed from the image information display and click a move button.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING Image-correction window The image-correction window displays the utility’s image-processing tools. Adjustments to color, con- trast, brightness, and saturation can be made. This section contains details on the basic image-pro- cessing tools. For descriptions of the advanced tools, see pages 44 though 69. Tool bars Snapshot display area (p.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING Displaying images in the image-correction window The color-correction window will display the image number and the total number of images loaded. Clicking on the arrows on each side of the display will load the previous or next image. In the index display, an image can automatically be loaded into the image-correction window.
Flip and rotate images The orientation of the displayed image can be changed with the flip and rotate buttons on the tool bar or with the tool menu. Any changes to image orientation will be applied to the thumbnail image in the index display.
Clicking the button again displays the image at its original size. The grab and zoom tool cannot be used with the fit-to-window function. Resizing the viewer window The utility window can be resized by clicking and dragging the bottom right corner. If the fit-to-window...
Grab tool When an image is larger than the display area, the grab tool can be used to scroll the image. Click the grab button on the tool bar or select Grab Tool from the cursor option on the view menu. Click and drag on the image to scroll.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING Variation palette The variation palette allows an image to be corrected by comparing it to other slightly corrected images surrounding it. This is an easy method to correct images for individuals who are inexperi- enced in image processing or photofinishing. Click the variation button or select Variation from the image-correction option on the correction menu to display the palette.
Color-balance variation Six images with a slight color correction are displayed around a thumbnail of the original image. For more about color, see page 38. Drag the variation-step slide bar, or enter the correc- tion level into the text box to set the degree of correc- tion.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING Brightness & contrast variation Eight images with a slight correction to brightness and contrast are displayed around a thumbnail of the original image. Brightness controls how light or dark the image is. Contrast controls the difference between the tones of the image; as the contrast is increased the dark tones will become darker and the light tones will become brighter.
Saturation variation Two images with a slight saturation correction are displayed on each side of a thumbnail of the origi- nal image. Saturation affects the vividness of the colors Drag the variation-step slide bar, or enter the correc- tion level into the text box to set the degree of correc- tion.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING Brightness, contrast, and color-balance Click the brightness, contrast, color-bal- ance button or select Brightness, Contrast, Color Balance from the image-correction option on the correction menu to display the palette. palette Drag the brightness, contrast, or color sliders, or enter specific values in the corresponding text box to make corrections.
Comparing pre- and post correction images Clicking the comparison display button divides the image display area in two. The original image is on the left and the corrected image is on the right. To display the corrected image only, click the comparison display button again. Original image Changes made with the magnifying tool, grab tool, or scroll bars on one image will be applies to the other.
ASIC IMAGE PROCESSING An introduction to color In photography, red, green, and blue are the primary colors. The secondary colors, cyan, magenta, and yellow, are made from combining the primary colors: cyan = blue + green, magenta = blue + red, and yellow = red + green.
and redoing Undoing Click the undo button to cancel the last image correction applied to the image. Image cor- rections can continue to be undone as far as the computer memory capacity allows. Click the redo button to reapply the last image correction canceled with the undo button. Click the reset-all button to cancel all image corrections applied to the image.
AVING IMAGES Resizing an image to be saved To resize the displayed image, click the image-size but- ton. The image size window will open. Enter the new width or height value in the text boxes. • Only one value needs to be entered, the other value will adjust automatically to keep the image proportions unchanged.
Saving an image Click the save button on the tool bar or select the save option on the file menu. The image will be saved in its original location overwriting the current file. If a JPEG image is saved, the save-as dialog box will open; the location and compression rate must be specified.
RINTING Printing images With the image to be printed displayed in the correction window, click the print button or select the print option from the file menu to open the print setup window.
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Position The image can be positioned within the printing area. Simply click on the appropriate radial buttons. Changes are immediately displayed in the preview area. Size Clicking the top radial button allows manual adjustments based on printing resolution or dimensions. Enter the print resolution or one of the dimensions in the text box and click the apply button;...
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING This section covers the advanced image-processing tools in the image viewer utility. Adjustments to color, contrast, brightness, hue, and saturation can be made. Functions to view and save image cor- rections are also available. The basic image-processing section on pages 16 through 25 should be read before continuing.
The tone curve / histogram palette Click the tone-curve/histogram button to display the palette. Channel list box Color-histogram button Smooth curve button Freehand curve button Tone curve White, gray, and black- point buttons Apply button Histogram Input shadow, gamma, and highlight text boxes Input shadow, gamma, and highlight sliders Output shadow and high-...
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Using the tone curve Click the arrow next to the channel box to select the channel from the drop-down menu. • To make adjustments to the color balance of the image, select the appropriate color channel. To adjust the contrast or brightness of the image without affecting the color, select the RGB channel.
Drawing tone curves by freehand Click the freehand-curve button (1). • The mouse pointer changes to the pencil tool when placed in the tone-curve box. Click and drag the pointer to draw a new curve. • Extreme image manipulations are possible with the freehand curve tool.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING A short guide to tone-curve corrections The tone curve is a graphic representation of the brightness and color levels of the image. The bottom axis is the 256 levels of the original Highlights image (input data) from black to white. The vertical axis is the corrected image (output data) with the same scale from top to bottom.
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The contrast of an image can be changed. The light blue 45° line on the tone-curve graph represents the original contrast of the image. Making the angle of the tone curve greater than 45° will increase the contrast of the image. Making the angle less than 45°...
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING White, black, and gray-point corrections Advanced image corrections can be made by specifying a white, black, and gray point within the image. Locating an appropriate neutral area within the image is critical to correctly calibrate the soft- ware.
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Click the gray-point button. • The gray point controls the color of the image. Click a neutral area of the image to be defined as the gray point. • The area used to calibrate the gray point must be neutral. The brightness level of the area is not important, but if the area has a definite color, the image will not be color balanced correctly.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Setting the white and black-point values The white and black-point values are set to 255 and 0 for each RGB level. Changing these values allow the calibration of an image with no true white or black. This is an advanced image-processing tool.
Tone curve / histogram auto setting Click the auto-setting button. • The change is immediately reflected in the displayed image. • The auto-setting function automatically adjusts the tone curve and histogram to optimise image data. The darkest pixels in the image are set to a black level of 0, the brightest pixels are set to a white level of 255, and the rest of the pixels are distributed between them equally.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Histogram corrections The histogram indicates the distribution of pixels with specific brightness and color values of the dis- played image. Using the histogram can maximise the output of the image data. Changes made with the histogram are also displayed on the tone curve. Input shadow slider Input highlight slider Input gamma slider...
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The highlight level, shadow level, and gamma can be set manually. The histogram can be used to maximise the distribution of the pixels in the image. All the levels on the histogram are displayed numerically to the right of the sliders. These numbers can be changed with the keyboard. The gamma slider defines the mid-tones of the image.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Hue, saturation, and lightness palette This palette adjusts the image in reference to the HSB color model. These controls can be used to manipulate the color image rather than producing a realistic representation. The HSB color model defines color based upon human perception rather than photographic process- es.
Hue corrections Original color space New color space Two color spaces are displayed at the bot- tom of the palette. The top bar indicates the color space of the original image. The bot- tom bar displays the relative shift to the color space.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Sharpness The apparent sharpness of the image can be increased. Sharpness is very subtle, but can have a powerful effect on overall image quality. Click the sharpness button or select Sharpness from the image-correction option in the correction menu to open the palette. Reduce and enlarge buttons The preview image can be scrolled using the mouse.
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Frequency slider – affects the sharpness of image details. The high frequency setting maximizes resolution, and the low-frequency setting maximizes acutance. The optimal frequency setting will vary from image to image. It is recommended to view the image at various magnifications to judge the results.
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Saving a portion of an image – Area marquee An area of an image can be selected and saved as a separate image file. Click on the area-marquee button on the tool bar or select the area marquee from the cursor option of the view menu.
Tracking image corrections – snapshot button Image corrections can be stored temporarily as a thumbnail next to the displayed image. Simply click the snapshot button on the tool bar or select the snapshot option from the cor- rection menu to create a thumbnail with the current image corrections. To return to a previous image correction, click on the corresponding thumb-...
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Saving image corrections All corrections applied to an image can be saved as an image-correction Job. The Job can be loaded into the utility at any time and applied to different images. This is a time-saving function when a large number of images need too be processed with the same correction settings.
Loading image-correction Jobs Display the image to be corrected in the image- correction window. Click the load image-correction Job but- ton or select the load-image-correction- Job option from the correction menu to load a saved image-correction setting. Click on an image-correction Job thumbnail to select it.
Certain digital cameras, such as the DiMAGE 7i, DiMAGE 7, or DiMAGE 5, use a special file format called Minolta-RAW. This file can only be read and processed by the DiMAGE Viewer software. To open a RAW file, simply double click on it in the thumbnail display The open dialog box is used to define the parameters for the image.
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Click on the gray-point button to calibrate the white balance to a point within the image; the cursor will change to the gray-point dropper tool. When the dropper is placed in the image area, the RGB values of that point are displayed at the top of the window (1). Click on a neutral point within the image to make the calibration (2).
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Saving RAW images Click the save button on the tool bar or select the save option from the file menu to save the dis- played image. In the save-as window, specify the location to save the file (1). Enter the file name without an extension (2).
Saving RAW Jobs RAW processing settings can be saved and applied to other images. After all setting have been made on the open- Minolta-RAW-file dialog box, click the save-RAW-Job button. Enter the name of the Job in the save-RAW- Job window and click save. Loading RAW Jobs To apply a RAW Job to another image, click on the load-RAW-Job button in the open-Minolta-RAW-file...
DVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING Batch processing Multiple images can be processed and saved at one time. Highlight the images to be processed on the thumbnail display and then select the batch- processing option from the tools menu. The batch- processing dialog box will open. Except for RAW processing, the settings in the dialog box are applied equally to all images.
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Images can be resized between 10% and 200%. If the result of the resizing exceeds the maximum pixel size of 5120 X 3840, an alert message will be displayed. Reenter a new magnification. When resizing images, select either bilinear or bicubic interpolation. Click the OK button to begin processing.
7. To open a movie file in this application, simply double click on the thumbnail in the DiMAGE Viewer thumbnail display. To play the movie clip back, use the controls at the bottom of the screen. Only MOV or AVI format images can be opened.
Flicker correction The Movie Enhancer can minimize flicker in 640 X 480 (VGA) or smaller movie files. General flicker effects the overall image area evenly. Localized flicker is isolated to only a portion of the image area; a scene with natural light and fluorescent lighting may only show flicker in the area illuminated by the fluorescent lights.
OVIE ENHANCER Editing movie files The Movie Enhancer can join movie clips together, cut sections from a clip, or copy sections from one clip to another with the edit menu. Open the necessary movie file in the main window with the file menu.
Copying sections from one movie to another In the first movie file, use the jog slider to locate the beginning of the section to be pasted. While pressing the shift key, drag the jog slider to mark the frames in the section (1) •...
OVIE ENHANCER Correcting movie images The image quality of a 640 X 480 (VGA) or smaller movie clip can be adjusted. If both flicker correction and image correction is applied to the same movie clip, the flicker correction processing should be done first. With the movie displayed in the movie enhancer, select the image-correction option from the correction menu to open the palette.
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Color corrects the overall color cast of an image. The higher the level, the greater the color balance is shifted toward neutral. Contrast controls the relative brightness levels. The higher the level, the brighter the highlights and the darker the shadows. Saturation controls the vividness of colors. Sharpness controls the sharpness of image details.
To open the dialog box, select the preferences option from the file menu. The default application setup specifies the software used to open certain files. When a thumbnail is double clicked in the DiMAGE Viewer, it will be opened in the specified application.
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The create-application-link function links another image-processing application to the DiMAGE Viewer. When the link is made, the application icon is displayed in the thumbnail window. To create the link, click the view button; the open dialog box will be displayed. Select the new application and click the open button.
ICC profile attached to the image file. If those files are opened in an application with a color-matching function, the embedded color profile is transferred to the application. This does not happen when this color space is selected. Although there is no conversion, the DiMAGE Viewer, monitor, and printer interprets the color as sRGB for reproduction purposes.
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PAL/SECAM – the current television broadcasting standard used in Europe. ColorMatch RGB – this standard has a wide color space and is ideal for use with Radius Press View monitors, which are commonly used in prepress production. Adobe RGB – this color space is wider than ColorMatch RGB. The extensive color range makes it ideal for prepress use.
DVANCED SETUP Using device ICC profiles Specific monitor and printer ICC profiles can be used with the DiMAGE Viewer. • ICC profiles can be found in the following locations: Windows 98/98SE/Me: [Windows] folder > [System] folder > [Color] folder. Windows 2000/XP: [WINNT] folder > [System32] folder > [spool] folder > [drivers] folder > [color] folder Macintosh: [System folder] >...
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ICC profile. Generic monitor and printer profiles are supplied with the DiMAGE Viewer. In Windows, the profiles folder is located in the DiMAGE Viewer application folder. The profiles are in the following location in a Macintosh: [System]>[Preferences]>[7300]>[Profiles].
DVANCED SETUP Notes on color measurement When opening a Minolta-RAW image (p. 64), color information recorded on location with a Minolta color meter can be used to set the white balance of the image. If the image is captured under a continuous source like the sun or tungsten lighting, the corresponding measurement can be very effective in balancing the color of the image.
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