Note: Had to resize that "test" picture above to fix the margins in this thread, so don't be surprised if it's much smaller than it used to be.
The test was a success though, and I now see that it's possible to post a 400KB+ picture (as long as it's hosted on another site).
Thanks for the kind words, Mara! I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures!
had some pretty incredible pyrotechnics).
The few pictures that I posted were the best of maybe thirty or forty shots I took with the digital camera. Several of them came out over/under exposed or blurry, but a few came out pretty well. I think it's safe to say that if I had been using up film, I would have never kept trying for the good shots. I agree with you that it's awfully nice to have those benefits that come with being able to snap pics without wasting film.
I think the best pictures I took were the result of using the "macro" (close-up) function of the camera in conjunction with the longest
optical zoom possible with the Olympus (3X). The ring was at a distance of probably 10 inches or so, and the zoom was cranked all the way. I tried a combination of flash photos and ambient incandescent lighting, but the flash pictures seemed to come out the best. I'm still planning on taking some more pics using some halogen lights I have available, so more pictures may be coming.
I would caution you that, like my fiancé's Olympus, your camera appears to have a 3X optical, 2X digital zoom (for a combined 6x "digital-enhanced" zoom level), so you'll probably want to stay with the 3x function to ensure the best image quality (this is based on a quick browse of Sony's site to get the zoom specs on the P71). I say this because optical zooms actually "get you closer" to the subject, while digital zooms essentially just narrow the field of view, so the pixels just get bigger and clunkier with no real image enhancement. Since your camera is a 3 megapixel model, there's a good chance you may even be able to get sharper pics than mine without too much effort, assuming your macro function allows you to get nice and close to the ring. Additionally, if you get really creative you may be able to monkey with the shutter speed and get some nice shots without using the flash at all, which may lead to some interesting results.
As far as the Stuller setting goes, in all honesty I sort of just stumbled across it during my diamond search. I was at a local jewelry store and had finished up looking at their on-hand diamonds (no winners there), and was browsing the settings they had in the display case when I saw the Stuller model. I knew that my fiancé wanted a plain/simple yellow gold setting, and I have my own fondness for six-prong Tiffany's, so when I saw the setting in the case I immediately focused on it. The one they had on display was 14K yellow gold with palladium prongs so I didn't get that one, but I took down the model number and asked my normal jeweler to order it in for me in the 18K/platinum. I really like the look of it, and at under $250 for 18K/platinum (including setting the stone), it's hard to knock. Sometimes I think the prongs are a bit on the beefy side, but I think that's a result of me asking to have the diamond set so low in the setting. Besides, having that much platinum holding the diamond securely in place gives me a little extra piece of mind, so I don't mind it too much. She loves it regardless, which is really what's important....
That's all I have. I look forward to seeing some pics of your ring when it's finished! I don't have a whole lot of photography experience, but be sure to let me know if I might be able to give you any tips when you get ready to preserve the ring in pictures.
-Tim
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