Alright, my test bitmap uploads are done.... One converted with MS Paint, the other with Paint.NET:
I think I can see that the quality of the Paint.NET version is a little sharper in some areas of the capture, but I still would like the opinions of better trained and more experienced eyes.... For all I know I could still be doing something wrong. I have a very bad tendency for perfectionism, and sometimes I figuratively pull my hair out trying to make everything just right. Hopefully, that will be toned down as I gain experience in such things.
I will also keep DaMage's post in mind as well about exporting in Jpeg as a finished image. While I was hoping to make the quality of the shots I uploaded on this site better, it may be a lot more work to get them the way I would like them now that they are already converted. I had used MS Paint at the time, and I was not satisfied with the results that were made. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the original bitmaps for those images, as well as the collection that they were with, for the time being. I am sure I will find them soon, but for now I will focus on converting the ones I have on file. Regardless. from now on I will try and make the Jpeg exports the best quality I can make them before I upload, so thank you for the tip.
I also wanted to thank you all for recommending GIMP, Paint.NET, Ifranview, and Faststone Image Viewer at this time, as having such tools will be a great boon to me in the future. The fact that they are free and have active communities is also a nice bit of information to know. My knowledge of such things is limited, and I am very grateful for the recommendations.
Sealwarrior