This section describes the different functions of digiKam. We go through basic configuration, image transfer from your camera to your computer, image editing, and creating web albums.
To start using digiKam,
plug your camera in a free USB slot, turn it on into
“play” mode [6], and choose + → from the main menu to launch
digiKam. The 1 st
time you do this operation, you must provide a folder to store pictures
into: you can accept the default. If your camera is not listed in the
menu, then choose and click on . If
detection fails, click on and look for your
camera in the list, or fill the parameters corresponding to your camera,
and accept your settings.
Check GPhoto2's supported cameras list for more information on camera support. If your camera uses the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP), it may be supported even if it's not in the Gphoto2 list. You can also consult the very complete Digital Camera Support for UNIX, Linux and BSD web page.
If your digital camera
is not recognized, you can still try to use a USB
“card reader” which lets you plug in the camera's memory.
They usually appear mounted under the /media
folder,
so you can access them as you would any other storage device. Many card
readers support multiple memory card types: Compact Flash, Secure Digital,
etc.
If you have a laptop computer with a PCMCIA slot, you can use the ATA photo memory PCMCIA card adapters. They are mounted just like any other ATA device (CD-ROM, hard disk, etc.) in order to access your pictures. This is the fastest method to access photo cards. It also means the camera's batteries could last longer.
Select the photos you want to transfer in the digiKam camera import window. New in-camera images are then marked in the upper-right border.
Choose the album to store photos into and click . Click on and enter an album name to create a new album.
Selected pictures are transferred to that album [7].
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Tip |
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If the camera saves rotation information in the picture, then the picture is automatically rotated while transferring it. If the picture is not rotated automatically, you can still rotate it by hand, see Section 2.4.1, “Rotation”. |
Select a picture and click on this button to open
the image edit window. Bear in mind that on-screen rendering is quite
different from printing your digital pictures on photographic paper. So if
you intend to both print and publish your pictures for online viewing, it
might be wise to treat both copies differently from the beginning.
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Tip |
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Press Ctrl+Z to undo the last transformation operation. However, once you have saved the image, changes cannot be undone. |
Choose + → from the menu and use the sliders to adjust the
brightness, contrast and gamma of the picture using the picture copy as
a guide.
Choose → from the menu, drag the rectangle to the part of the
image to be used as a guide, and use the slider to sharpen the
picture.
Select the pupil of the eye to fix, choose
→ from the menu, and then select the aggressive (only part
of the eye selected) or mild (more than the eye selected) option to
reduce the red-eye flash effect. Repeat for the other eye, if
needed.
Multi-megapixel images are excellent for
photographic paper print-ups, but are far from adequate for e-mailing or
publishing on the Web. Choose → from the menu, then select the desired size, either in
pixels or in percentage, and whether or not to keep (recommended) the
aspect ratio.
You can also crop an image to a desired size
while keeping aspect ratio. Choose → from the menu, drag the rectangle to frame the part of
the image you are interested on, and select the aspect ratio,
orientation, width and height (one follows the other according to the
aspect ratio selected).
You can use the tabs located at the right of digiKam's window to view EXIF information, add comments and tags, etc.
Most digital cameras produce
EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) files.
EXIF provides extra tags containing information about
the image such as the date, camera model, exposure time,
ISO speed setting, aperture, etc. Select the picture,
open the Metadata tab, and select the
EXIF tab.
To add a comment to a picture, open the
Comments/Tags tab, then enter your
Comments(see Figure 5.8, “Adding a Comment
and a Tag to a Picture”). Using the same tab you can also add
tags to your pictures, for example, to organize them. Click on
once you are satisfied with your
settings.
If you want to share your pictures with your family and friends, you can easily create a “Web Album” of your pictures. Choose + → from the menu, select the album options (theme, picture and thumbnails size and format, etc.), finally provide a Destination folder to store the album and click to create it: the album is then opened inside the browser for you to preview it (see Figure 5.9, “Previewing a Web Album”). You are ready to upload the album to the Web.