edit: you have to paste that link, clicking wont trigger it. this is by design.
Thanks for the idea, but this is not much of a difference to add ?Large instead of /Large. And I also don't like to add too much JS. Especially since I've seen how a visitor of my site tried to open the standard LB with Opera...'loading.....loading....', but nothing showed up.
Sebastian
PS: Why can't I click the link? And why is this so by design?
Thanks for the idea, but this is not much of a difference to add ?Large instead of /Large. And I also don't like to add too much JS. Especially since I've seen how a visitor of my site tried to open the standard LB with Opera...'loading.....loading....', but nothing showed up.
Sebastian
PS: Why can't I click the link? And why is this so by design?
yeah but with /Large you get singleImage view which you said you didnt want. there is also a switch you can set in the hack to make singleImage url's open up in lightbox, it's off by default.
the hack just piggybacks on the existing SM lightbox so i cant fix the opera issues.
the paste vs. click thing is just because i'm lazy. I couldnt figure out a way to not display the lightbox again if someone hit the back button, which IMHO is undesirable. The easiest approach was to make it paste only. I could probably figure out a workaround if i put more effort into it.
I had heard something about the slideshow being great, too, so I went and checked it out.
Not to knock them, or anything, but I was pretty underwhelmed. The browser takes up my entire screen, but the photo is still tiny.
My biased opinion is that our slideshow rocks theirs - our images fill your entire display, not just a small portion of it with an ocean of black around it.
But maybe I'm missing something... Has anyone else had any experience with them? Is there something about the slideshow that's magical that I'm missing?
Don
I never tried zenfolio..
But smugmug slideshow is not great !
Its can't be nice to stretch just to fill up the entire window, that degrade image quality and viewer get a negative impression about image, its better to show in smaller size and keep the image quality.
Thanks,
Things I want from smugmug:
1. Remove smugmug branding from pro's website.
2. Link one picture to different albums (don't like to upload the same picture in different album)
3. Link one album to different categories (not sharegroup)
Does anyone have an account at Zenfolio yet who can post comparison photos? I'd like to verify that our image quality is "poor" (generally, we feel we're the best on the net. But Zenfolio is brand-new, so they may have us beat).
Sure, here goes!
Smugmug:
Zenfolio:
Notice the polka dots on her dress towards her neck. There is more noise on the Smugmug one overall. Thats what I see anyways. Also, look into & around her eyes. Noise is more apparent there too.
The Zenfolio image just looks more pleasing to my eyes.
[I'm viewing these two pics on a 1280 x 1064 CRT and cannot see any difference between the two pics above. The examples I posted on DP Review really had to be pixel peeped using the DP review magnification tool to notice the effect of the extra compression of the Smugmug version.
Notice the polka dots on her dress towards her neck. There is more noise on the Smugmug one overall. Thats what I see anyways. Also, look into & around her eyes. Noise is more apparent there too.
The Zenfolio image just looks more pleasing to my eyes.
i cant comment on the quality until i get home...my lcd's here at work are crap so i cant be sure of what i'm seeing. However the zenfolio image is approx 58KB larger so that needs to be taken into consideration.
Look towards the bottom of both images. There are clearly artifacts in the Smugmug image on my huge 30 inch LCD monitor. They are mostly around the white dots in her dress. I cant see any in the Zenfolio image.
Look towards the bottom of both images. There are clearly artifacts in the Smugmug image on my huge 30 inch LCD monitor. They are mostly around the white dots in her dress. I cant see any in the Zenfolio image.
Yup. Image was taken with a Canon 20D & was originally 2336 x 3504. Cropped it in iPhoto to 1800 x 1031, exported it, then uploaded that to Smugmug & Zenfolio.
Sure, here goes!
The Zenfolio image just looks more pleasing to my eyes.
Ok, I could see a SLIGHT difference when you uploaded 100% crops, but looking at the two smaller images (as I would see them in an online gallery), I see no obvious differences on my 20" monitor. Also, it's worth noting that the Zenfolio image is more than 50% larger than the Smugmug one - they're obviously using less compression which would account for the difference. The issue of speed vs quality has frequently been addressed. I think Smugmug has found a good balance. If anyone wants to do extreme pixel peeping on my images, they're not going to be doing it on the medium or even large gallery versions - I'd save that for viewing of originals (which are not further compressed by either service).
Ok, I could see a SLIGHT difference when you uploaded 100% crops, but looking at the two smaller images (as I would see them in an online gallery), I see no obvious differences on my 20" monitor. Also, it's worth noting that the Zenfolio image is more than 50% larger than the Smugmug one - they're obviously using less compression which would account for the difference. The issue of speed vs quality has frequently been addressed. I think Smugmug has found a good balance. If anyone wants to do extreme pixel peeping on my images, they're not going to be doing it on the medium or even large gallery versions - I'd save that for viewing of originals (which are not further compressed by either service).
I see your point. However, if you enable Larges in your galleries & a visitor/customer blows an image up to that size, thats plenty big enough to see the artifacts I pointed out. And the "Large" size is actually quite small compared to what an "Extra Large" size would be or when you link to an image thats in your gallery & use the resize "on the fly" method to input a random larger size. You can see where this could get into problems.
See the image in the gallery here. I can still see the artifacts & thats really not that big at all in terms of size. But I do totally understand that Smugmug has to conserve space & in order for that to happen, there are gonna be compressed oddities like this.
Yup. Image was taken with a Canon 20D & was originally 2336 x 3504. Cropped it in iPhoto to 1800 x 1031, exported it, then uploaded that to Smugmug & Zenfolio.
I never tried zenfolio..
But smugmug slideshow is not great !
Its can't be nice to stretch just to fill up the entire window, that degrade image quality and viewer get a negative impression about image, its better to show in smaller size and keep the image quality.
Thanks,
Hi Beep,
are you showing slideshow from Originals or from -L (Large size?)
No, both images are shown at 1100 x 630. The XL (-5) setting in Zenfolio was used which came out to that size & Smugmug was set to that same size "on the fly" since they dont have that same "XL" size. But, you can change them both to whatever size you want in the address bar when viewing them separately in your browser.
Showing at "Original" would look the same on both since those wouldnt be compressed files.
Password protecting individual photos is interesting. We haven't really heard that request, but we can think about it.
Don
:cry But... but I've asked for it. If you decide to implement this I say one-up them by letting me create login-names in addition to password, and have only photos appropriate for the specific user be visible.
:cry But... but I've asked for it. If you decide to implement this I say one-up them by letting me create login-names in addition to password, and have only photos appropriate for the specific user be visible.
Malte
zenfolio already kinda has this where you can specify access to other registered users. I'm with you malte, this would be a GREAT feature for smugmug.
As for the slideshow, I don't know if "...rocks theirs..." is so appropriate. I've been dicussing with Andy about issues with the slideshow, particularly in full screen mode. And especially when you have large files. The slideshow will display a distored image once in a while and can improperly fade and move to the next image (Andy was experiencing some of the same the other day). It's to the point that I've turned off the slideshow because of too many complaints from clients.
The "smaller" slideshows are great for what they are intended to provide. Personally, I'll ditch the fullscreen and concentrate on a dedicated window size.
I had heard something about the slideshow being great, too, so I went and checked it out.
Not to knock them, or anything, but I was pretty underwhelmed. The browser takes up my entire screen, but the photo is still tiny.
My biased opinion is that our slideshow rocks theirs - our images fill your entire display, not just a small portion of it with an ocean of black around it.
But maybe I'm missing something... Has anyone else had any experience with them? Is there something about the slideshow that's magical that I'm missing?
zenfolio already kinda has this where you can specify access to other registered users. I'm with you malte, this would be a GREAT feature for smugmug.
Wow. I thought I was just about the only one who wanted this, and here I have the legendary BWG in my corner... Thanks man, err or whatever. Maybe we can scare up some traction for this thing?
Wow. I thought I was just about the only one who wanted this, and here I have the legendary BWG in my corner... Thanks man, err or whatever. Maybe we can scare up some traction for this thing?
Malte
i've seen a few other requests for this as well...so we're not the only ones. Since Don replied to the post, i'll assume that it's on whatever list they have going over there...but standard disclaimer applies. I have no more access to feature status than you do so we'll just have to wait and see. Maybe send Andy a few racks of ribs to see if you can get him motivated.
i've seen a few other requests for this as well...so we're not the only ones. Since Don replied to the post, i'll assume that it's on whatever list they have going over there...but standard disclaimer applies. I have no more access to feature status than you do so we'll just have to wait and see. Maybe send Andy a few racks of ribs to see if you can get him motivated.
Hmm, racks of ribs... I think they'd turn on the way from Sweden to NY, might have the opposite effect. :puke1
To not be a hijacker-of-threads, anyone else react to the pricing on ZF? $40 per year for unlimited storage and no ads. I'd like to see their business plan because I doubt that price is going to last.
To not be a hijacker-of-threads, anyone else react to the pricing on ZF? $40 per year for unlimited storage and no ads. I'd like to see their business plan because I doubt that price is going to last.
Malte
Smugmug's standard account (also offering unlimited storage without ads) was at 30$ for many years and only recently got raised to 40$.
In my opinion *they* started the unlimited thingy for photo sharing sites.
To not be a hijacker-of-threads, anyone else react to the pricing on ZF? $40 per year for unlimited storage and no ads. I'd like to see their business plan because I doubt that price is going to last.
I have thought about this too. Because when they get their print service w/ custom pricing up in a couple months + their CNAME domain name switch in a couple weeks, not to mention all the other nice little features they already have now/coming soon (hello, paid digital downloads) & they keep the pricing the same $40, IMHO thats gonna be the deal of the century & it will be hard for SM to compete at the current pricing structure.
Because as it is now, I already think the $40 Zenfolio account is a better deal than Smugmug's Standard ($40) & Power ($60) accounts, especially when they get CNAME in place. Thats just my opinion.
Maybe Zen will make another "pro" level account type that costs more, but im not sure they will. I already know for sure that the CNAME switch is gonna be free for the Unlimited ($40) accounts.
Though I agree with you that SM has very good and responsive support, and they do their best to make us all content, I'm curious how you "doubt" ZenFolio will have the same customer support as Smugmug. What's your basis for that stance?
I prefer Smugmug's simple layout to the Zenfolio approach.
Also, according to the features listing, they don't support printing photos or customization
And I doubt they will have the same customer support as Smugmug. They look interesting, but I am a loyal Smugmug customer, and probably will be for a while.
Signed up for the trial and my very superficial first impressions are: very slick, less geared towards pros and tuners, more user friendly. I'd describe it as Flickr and Smugmug meeting in the middle, if that makes any sense.
Signed up for the trial and my very superficial first impressions are: very slick, less geared towards pros and tuners, more user friendly. I'd describe it as Flickr and Smugmug meeting in the middle, if that makes any sense.
Malte
I also am running a test gallery, my impressions are its very fast, very clean looking interface, pictures look good, and a slide show to do die for. Me like!
Though I agree with you that SM has very good and responsive support, and they do their best to make us all content, I'm curious how you "doubt" ZenFolio will have the same customer support as Smugmug. What's your basis for that stance?
Well, like I said in an earlier post. I have contacted Zenfolio's customer support several times & they always got back to me super quick, were extremely helpful & very nice to boot. I even exchanged about 10 emails of screenshots & stuff one day directly with their in-house programming guy to resolve a problem with certain older versions of IE not displaying thumbnails. It was fixed that same day.
Not saying either service is better than the other, but from my experience, Zenfolio's CS is pretty great & so is Smugmug's.
The people at Zenfolio just released a pretty major update today. Most notably, a new feature called Collections as well as true custom domain names using CNAME. Here is mine! They also got their links in the address bar working now. So, that should help with user confusion, as Don pointed out earlier.
Hmmm, they are looking better & better. I think I might just have to switch permanently & let my Smugmug account go. Im not sure yet, though. I just really REALLY love the way you browse photos with them. Plus, one of the biggest reasons why I got a Pro Smugmug account was so I could use my own custom domain name & thats $150. Its only $40 with Zenfolio. And I dont sell many prints anyways right now. I might later, so they should have their custom print prices feature in place by then anyways.
Comments
Sebastian
PS: Why can't I click the link? And why is this so by design?
SmugMug Support Hero
yeah but with /Large you get singleImage view which you said you didnt want. there is also a switch you can set in the hack to make singleImage url's open up in lightbox, it's off by default.
the hack just piggybacks on the existing SM lightbox so i cant fix the opera issues.
the paste vs. click thing is just because i'm lazy. I couldnt figure out a way to not display the lightbox again if someone hit the back button, which IMHO is undesirable. The easiest approach was to make it paste only. I could probably figure out a workaround if i put more effort into it.
I never tried zenfolio..
But smugmug slideshow is not great !
Its can't be nice to stretch just to fill up the entire window, that degrade image quality and viewer get a negative impression about image, its better to show in smaller size and keep the image quality.
Thanks,
1. Remove smugmug branding from pro's website.
2. Link one picture to different albums (don't like to upload the same picture in different album)
3. Link one album to different categories (not sharegroup)
http://photography.beeplove.com
Smugmug:
Zenfolio:
Notice the polka dots on her dress towards her neck. There is more noise on the Smugmug one overall. Thats what I see anyways. Also, look into & around her eyes. Noise is more apparent there too.
The Zenfolio image just looks more pleasing to my eyes.
www.razorsharp.smugmug.com
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
Smugmug:
Zenfolio:
Look towards the bottom of both images. There are clearly artifacts in the Smugmug image on my huge 30 inch LCD monitor. They are mostly around the white dots in her dress. I cant see any in the Zenfolio image.
Ok, I could see a SLIGHT difference when you uploaded 100% crops, but looking at the two smaller images (as I would see them in an online gallery), I see no obvious differences on my 20" monitor. Also, it's worth noting that the Zenfolio image is more than 50% larger than the Smugmug one - they're obviously using less compression which would account for the difference. The issue of speed vs quality has frequently been addressed. I think Smugmug has found a good balance. If anyone wants to do extreme pixel peeping on my images, they're not going to be doing it on the medium or even large gallery versions - I'd save that for viewing of originals (which are not further compressed by either service).
See the image in the gallery here. I can still see the artifacts & thats really not that big at all in terms of size. But I do totally understand that Smugmug has to conserve space & in order for that to happen, there are gonna be compressed oddities like this.
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
are you showing slideshow from Originals or from -L (Large size?)
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Showing at "Original" would look the same on both since those wouldnt be compressed files.
:cry But... but I've asked for it. If you decide to implement this I say one-up them by letting me create login-names in addition to password, and have only photos appropriate for the specific user be visible.
Malte
As for the slideshow, I don't know if "...rocks theirs..." is so appropriate. I've been dicussing with Andy about issues with the slideshow, particularly in full screen mode. And especially when you have large files. The slideshow will display a distored image once in a while and can improperly fade and move to the next image (Andy was experiencing some of the same the other day). It's to the point that I've turned off the slideshow because of too many complaints from clients.
The "smaller" slideshows are great for what they are intended to provide. Personally, I'll ditch the fullscreen and concentrate on a dedicated window size.
-Dave-
http://www.visionlinkimages.com
Wow. I thought I was just about the only one who wanted this, and here I have the legendary BWG in my corner...
Malte
This could *never* hurt the cause
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Hmm, racks of ribs... I think they'd turn on the way from Sweden to NY, might have the opposite effect. :puke1
Malte
Malte
What's your favourite deli that delivers?
Malte
In my opinion *they* started the unlimited thingy for photo sharing sites.
Sebastian
SmugMug Support Hero
Because as it is now, I already think the $40 Zenfolio account is a better deal than Smugmug's Standard ($40) & Power ($60) accounts, especially when they get CNAME in place. Thats just my opinion.
Maybe Zen will make another "pro" level account type that costs more, but im not sure they will. I already know for sure that the CNAME switch is gonna be free for the Unlimited ($40) accounts.
Though I agree with you that SM has very good and responsive support, and they do their best to make us all content, I'm curious how you "doubt" ZenFolio will have the same customer support as Smugmug. What's your basis for that stance?
Thanks.
-Dave-
http://www.visionlinkimages.com
Malte
I also am running a test gallery, my impressions are its very fast, very clean looking interface, pictures look good, and a slide show to do die for. Me like!
www.razorsharp.smugmug.com
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
Not saying either service is better than the other, but from my experience, Zenfolio's CS is pretty great & so is Smugmug's.
Hmmm, they are looking better & better. I think I might just have to switch permanently & let my Smugmug account go. Im not sure yet, though. I just really REALLY love the way you browse photos with them. Plus, one of the biggest reasons why I got a Pro Smugmug account was so I could use my own custom domain name & thats $150. Its only $40 with Zenfolio. And I dont sell many prints anyways right now. I might later, so they should have their custom print prices feature in place by then anyways.