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My QC nightmare continues. 

 

With the 27 inch Mac do you view images at 200% or 100% ( I don't think that 100% is truly 100% from previous discussions here...or something like that). 

 

With getting over 70,000 pics online I thought I was a reasonably competent judge of what QC expect but obviously not. 

 

I have a very large number of dark churches, low light, high ISO accepted but now wonder if that was fortunate.  All of those were assessed on 27 in at 100% not 200%.

 

Being aware of this will allow me to half the size of any that might have any hint of softness.

 

 

Edited by geogphotos
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Thanks for the replies. I have submitted tens of thousands of images viewed at !00% including many that I have resized to 3800 pixels because they were borderline. So how did they pass??

 

I have a small number of images yet to submit and then I am going to take stock 😁. Too much messing around and can't get answers.

 

 

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I view at 100% but occasionally go further if I feel the noise is borderline. As we've discussed before, any chroma noise needs to go, even if you sacrifice sharpness somewhat to get there (at which point I either downsize or give up).

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3 minutes ago, Cal said:

I view at 100% but occasionally go further if I feel the noise is borderline. As we've discussed before, any chroma noise needs to go, even if you sacrifice sharpness somewhat to get there (at which point I either downsize or give up).

 

Thanks Cal. I have been submitting since 2002 so thought that I had a good enough idea. 

 

 

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On my 27" iMac with Retina display I check at 200% in PS. (NB. that's with the display set to its default resolution in System Preferences>Displays>Display Resolution).

 

It's quite complex with PS on an iMac retina display. The default resolution on my Retina display is 2,560 x 1,440. But the physical display resolution is double this (5,120 x 2,880). Most apps respect the default setting and display text etc. at a readable size by emulating a 2,560 x 1,440 display. But Adobe (and most image processing apps) only emulate the default resolution setting for their menus. But they display images at 100% with each image pixel being displayed using 1 physical display pixel.

 

It gets even more complex if a scaled resolution (other than 2,560 x 1,440) is selected in System display preferences. Additional resolution adjustments are then applied "downstream" by the operating system and 1 image pixel is no longer displayed using 1 pixel on the display in PS.

 

It's a real "dog's dinner".

 

IMO, if using a 27" iMac Retina display, at its default resolution (in system settings), then images need to be inspected at 200% in PS, to avoid risk of QC failure. (Unless of course one has exceptional eyesight or sits *really* close to the screen).

 

Mark

 

 

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12 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

 

 

It's a real "dog's dinner".

 

IMO, if using a 27" iMac Retina display, at its default resolution (in system settings), then images need to be inspected at 200% in PS, to avoid risk of QC failure. (Unless of course one has exceptional eyesight or sits *really* close to the screen).

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

My problem is that I have got used to assessing images at 100% - have done tens of thousands at this size - so feel like I have lost confidence now in my ability to judge if I need to switch.  

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Here's a simple test. Download this image (Right-click - Save as).

Bars-and-Steps.png

Open in PS and display at 100%

NB. YOU HAVE TO DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE AND THEN VIEW IN PS (OR IMAGE EDITOR OF YOUR CHOICE). Viewing the image in a web-browser is not a reliable test, especially on a Retina display where the browser is likely to apply pixel doubling.

If you see a uniform grey patch (with no vertical bars) on the left and a smooth ramp (with no steps) on the right, then you're not seeing every pixel (as required to 100% inspect an image). Try zooming to 200% in PS, or changing the system scaling settings.

 

Mark

Edited by M.Chapman
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27 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

My problem is that I have got used to assessing images at 100% - have done tens of thousands at this size - so feel like I have lost confidence now in my ability to judge if I need to switch.  

200% view on a 5,120x2,880 display Retina display looks pretty similar like 100% on a 2,560 x 1,440 non-retina display. No need to change your judgement. But you will need to get used to clicking Cntrl+ one more time.

 

Mark

Edited by M.Chapman
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1 minute ago, geogphotos said:

I see the bars on the left and can just about distinguish steps if I look more closely.

Must admit I struggle at 100%. What System display settings are you using?

If you've still got your old monitor, try the same test on there for a comparison. I expect you'll see the lines and steps far more easily.

 

Mark

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1 minute ago, M.Chapman said:

200% view on a 5,120x2,880 display Retina display looks pretty similar like 100% on a 2,560 x 1,440 display. No need to change your judgement. But you will need to get used to clicking Cntrl+ one more time.

 

Mark

 

 

I have been using this same Retina display for years. I haven't just switched to it. Maybe since 2017. Now when I open up images at 200% that are QC passes I am left unsure. That's what I mean about losing confidence. I can do it in a technical sense it is just one more click but the basis of my assessment of images has changed. 

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Just now, M.Chapman said:

It would be useful to know what sort of displays Alamy QC are now using.... 27" iMac Retinas?

Maybe Elisabeth or James can let us know?

 

Mark

 

 

And when they say to 'make sure to view images at 100%' maybe they should add a bit to that if you are using the display under discussion?

 

Many of my images on Alamy submitted over the last 17/18 years would be borderline for QC including some good sellers. 

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3 hours ago, geogphotos said:

Many of my images on Alamy submitted over the last 17/18 years would be borderline for QC including some good sellers. 

 

Why? They should look pretty similar at 200% on your iMac Retina display today to what they did at 100% on a normal display in the past. The colour maybe richer and the contrast better, but the sharpness should be similar...

Or have I misunderstood?

 

Mark

Edited by M.Chapman
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1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

 

Why? They should look pretty similar at 200% on your iMac Retina diplay today to what they did at 100% on a normal display in the past. The colour maybe richer and the contrast better, but the sharpness should be similar...

Or have I misunderstood?

 

Mark

 

I suppose I feel that because I have lost confidence in my ability to assess the quality required and consequently doubt past decisions made about images.

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My resubmission, excluding the failed image and two similars, has passed.

 

My attempt at creating a tree silhouette against stormy sky ( thinking along the lines of a book cover) was adjudged to be 'soft and lacking definition' which isn't actually out-of-focus is it? More a nicer way of saying 'WTF is this supposed to be'? 😄

 

The lesson for me - don't try and be creative, stick to what you know.  Anyway, will not doing any more stock for the foreseeable future.  

 

Time to delve into the Archive. 

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13 hours ago, geogphotos said:

 

I suppose I feel that because I have lost confidence in my ability to assess the quality required and consequently doubt past decisions made about images.

Glad you have it sorted, don't doubt your confidence, you have a port that some of us can only dream of😉

 

Carol

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