March 04, 2004
Pitfalls of buying a digital camera
Pitfalls of buying a digital camera is a buyer's guide to digital cameras which gives a quick outline of the important features to look for when buying a digital camera and explains some of the terminology of digital cameras. It examines:
- Camera Categories
- Megapixels
- Optical vs Digital Zooms
- LCD Screen, Optical Viewfinders
- Start-Up Time
- Shot-to-Shot Time
- Continuous Shooting
- Battery Life
- Memory Cards, Cradles
It is a good and simple outline of some of the issues anyone buying a digital camera will need to consider.
February 25, 2004
Digital Photography Tips - Glen Allison
L.A. photographer Allison shares digital secrets is an interesting article about Photographer Glen Allison's transition to Digital Photography and how he approaches the medium.
'"Now that I have switched to digital," says Los Angeles-based Glen Allison, "there is no way I'm going back to film, no way in the world. My feeling is that if I can't shoot using digital, I don't want to shoot."....
But shifting to digital involves more than just using a new camera body. Allison is also required to be on the cutting edge of digital image processing using programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS and a host of helper applications and filters. This kind of work is essential for Allison to take his images to the level expected by the most critical clients....
"I work on every image from four to eight hours," Allison says. Fitting shooting and image processing into his travel schedule can be challenging. "I've started doing a lot of my digital work on the road, taking my 23-inch Apple high definition LCD monitor with me, along with my 17-inch PowerBook."'Read More
Digital Photography Tips - Ken Milburn
Ken Milburn has just released Part 3 (the final part) in his series The Ideal Digital Photographer's Workflow. Its been one of the better series of articles/tutorials written on the topic of digital photography. Hopefully Ken will release some more digital photography tips shortly. Here are short introductory excerpts to each part in this latest series of tips.
Part 1 - 'Keeping images organized with the help of a systematic workflow is the key to your sanity. I've written this article in the hopes that it will help you to avoid wasting a lot of time recreating your digital masterpieces, or sifting through piles of digital file clutter in search of original files. What follows is a multi-level list of workflow steps that you can copy and paste on the wall of your digital lab and/or tuck into your camera bag. These steps can be gradually adapted to fit your own personal style and personality. Along the way, you may make discoveries of your own. If you don't mind sharing them, please do so via the Talkbacks section at the end of this article, so we can share them with the rest of our community.'
Part 2 - 'This article follows up on suggestions I made in Part 1 about creating a minimally destructive workflow for the work you do inside image-editing software, whether you're using Adobe Photoshop, PaintShop Pro, ULead PhotoImpact, Microsoft PictureIt!, or another editing program. Today we'll first look at five nondestructive editing steps you should take once you've downloaded your images. Then we'll examine some second-stage editing techniques designed to enhance the impact your images will have on your clients, or your friends and family.'
Part 3 - Steps for Working Optimally with the RAW Format - 'f you're the proud owner of one of the many new digital cameras just introduced at PMA 2004 that carry a "pro" designation, you'll quickly discover that you have vastly greater control over the quality of the images produced by your new camera if you shoot them in RAW format. It's a double blessing if you also happen to have Photoshop CS, with its updated and much-enhanced new RAW file converter.
The downside is that, marvelous as the new RAW image converter in Photoshop CS is, it can still take an inordinate amount of time to convert RAW images into something that your image-editing program can use. The process gets especially tedious when you need to RAW-process dozens or perhaps hundreds of images from the shoot you just completed in order to decide which images you want to keep, print, or deliver. In this article I will show you several steps you can take to save hours of work after every shoot.'
February 10, 2004
Making Money with your Digital Camera
Making Money with your Digital Camera is an interesting that talks about how to pay off your digital camera purchase by earning money with it.
'I know that many digital camera users are interested in ways they can turn their interest in digital imaging into cash. There are many kinds of event photography that only require the delivery of small color prints. It may be a company golf tournament, awards presentation at an annual meeting, or couples photographed at the company party.'
February 09, 2004
Sharpen your Photos
Do you want to learn how to sharpen your digital images?
'Most of us upload our pictures or print them the way they were captured by our digital cameras. We read and hear of a post-processing technique called "Sharpening" using "USM" (or "UnSharp Mask") and decide it is just too difficult for us. If you are comfortable using a computer and can load an image into an image editing software, such as Photoshop Elements, then be prepared for a pleasant surprise!'
Read the rest of the Tutorial on sharpening your digital photos.
Buying Digital Cameras - More Advice
Here is yet another article with Advice about Buying Digital Cameras. I've take the headings and given you a summary of what they write (with a couple of my own digital camera buying tips). At the end check out some other great articles on the topic.
Fun and sharing - Make sure you buy a digital camera that is easy to hook up to a computer and get photos out of. Consider the storage media on each and even buying a memory card reader.
Megapixels - 4 to 6 Megapixels is getting to professional level. Unless you're going to be blowing up pictures very big 3 or 4 megapixels will do you nicely. If I had the choice between a 5 megapixel camera with average lens and other features or a well features 3 megapixel camera with a top quality zoom, I'd probably go for less megapixels.
Shutter lag - The better digital cameras coming out these days have less and less shutter lag (time between when you depress the shutter and when the camera takes the picture.) Shutter lag is continually coming down in time and is becoming an important selling feature on mid range cameras as well as professional ones.
Zoom range - The higher the range the closer you'll get to your subject. But make sure you look at the OPTICAL zoom specs and not take so much notice of the DIGITAL zoom specs. Digital zooming is something you can do after you take the picture and using it decreases the quality of your image.
Exposure compensation - many cameras these days give you the option of tweaking exposure controls either by changing the ISO or using exposure compensation.
White balance - Most digital cameras let you change the white balance control which basically lets you control how the camera deals with colors. It makes the white looks white and all the rest of the colors more accurately reproduced.
Shooting modes - All digital cameras let you shoot on fully automatic mode, but most also give you some different models to let you take control. The standard modes include 'landscape', 'portrait', 'sports', 'macro' but newer cameras are coming out with modes like 'pet', 'party' and 'food'.
Color modes - These modes let you change the color of your picture on the camera itself. Standard modes include 'sepia', 'black and white', 'saturated' etc. I would recommend that you shoot in full color and do such editing afterwards on your computer. To shoot in sepia or black and white cuts down your options later.
Your budget - Budget for accessories also. Include enough for memory cards, batteries, printer peripheries etc.
Other Articles for Beginners about buying Digital Cameras
A Beginner's Guide to Digital Cameras
Its Time to Upgrade your Digital Camera
How to Choose a Digicam
Best Digital Cameras: Review on What to Look For in a Digital Camera
Choosing a Camera
Top 10 Digital Photography Mistakes
Buying a Digital Camera for under $200
Buying the Right Digital Camera
Buying Digital Cameras
February 07, 2004
Choosing a Digital Camera - Short Course
This Short Course in Choosing a Digital Camera is a great online course which covers a range of topics including:
1. What is a Digital Photograph?
2. Why Go Digital?
3. How a Digital Camera Works
4. Types of Digital Cameras
5. Image Sensors
6. Image Storage
7. Downloading Images
8. Image Compression & File Formats
9. Preview Screens & Viewfinders
10. Lenses
11. Creative Controls
12. Automatic Flash
13. Batteries
14. Other Features
15. Is it Time to Buy?
16. The Rules of the Shopping Game
17. Digital Camera Feature Checklist
18. Digital Photography Web Sites
19. Glossary
February 02, 2004
Digital Photography Tips Series
Working Digital is a great series of digital photography tips for anyone exploring the digital photography medium.
- Part 1: Buying Digital
- Part 2: Dust and Emergencies
- Part 3: Digital Negatives - In the Raw
- Part 4: TIFFs and JPEGs
- Part 5: Storage in Camera
There are more in this series of Digital Photography Tips to come.
Nikon School
Check out Nikon School!
They offer four main schools of study:
1. The Nikon School of Photography
2. Digital 101
3. Digital 201
4. The Nikon School of Underwater Photography
January 30, 2004
Ensuring Color Accuracy For Your Digital Photos
Photography Blog has a great article giving a great digital photography tip on color accuracy for digital photographs.
'If you think color integrity doesnt matter much, you might think you can stop reading now . . . but think twice about that. The reality is that anyone sharing photos, charts, graphs, or other images electronically can run into situations where what looks like the perfect shade of teal on your screen comes across as eyeball-bursting blue to your colleagues, friends and relatives.'
January 28, 2004
Buying a Camera Phone - Tips
Choosing a camera phone is a short article with tips on how to buy a camera phone. Here are their top tips.
Shop around for a phone that's easy to use: You should be able to shoot, add text or a voice message and send.
Carrier network coverage: The phone is only as good as the network it's on. Ask if you can send and receive picture messages while roaming.
Price-per-picture:How much does it cost to send and receive picture messages? Some carriers offer unlimited picture messages for a monthly price, or pay as you go.
Additional charges: Ask if you will be charged for airtime in addition to your per-message charge when sending or receiving picture messages. Find out if you can send the same message to multiple people without being charged each time.
Return policy: Can you return the phone if you're not satisfied, for a full refund? How much time do you have to do it?
January 27, 2004
Buying Digital Cameras for Under $200US
Buying a Digital Camera for under $200 (US) should be a helpful article for those looking for such cameras.
Topics covered include:
- The Lens
- The Zoom
- The Flash
- Resolution
- Ease of Use
- Memory
January 18, 2004
Top 10 Digital Photography Tips
Top 10 Digital Photography Tips is a great article that shares a number of tips that you may not have considered before including:
'Sunglasses Polarizing Filter
What's that you say? Your digital camera can't accommodate filters. Don't despair. I've been using this trick for years with my point-and-shoot cameras. If you have a pair of quality sunglasses, then simply take them off and use them as your polarizing filter. Place the glasses as close to the camera lens as possible, then check their position in the LCD viewfinder to make sure you don't have the rims in the shot.'
January 14, 2004
Backing up your Photo Files
Photo Junkie talks about the importance of backing up your files in the first part of a series on the topic. Looking forward to the next one which will get into 'how to' do it.
January 12, 2004
Digial Camera Resolution - How much is enough?
Digital Camera Image Resolution is a great tutorial explaining how much resolution you'll need on your digital camera for different sized prints.
There is no point in buying a 5 megapixel camera if all you're going to be doing is sending pictures via email or printing small prints.
The tutorial includes a great little chart to help you discern your needs.
Learning To Use Your Digital Camera - Part 1
Learning To Use Your Digital Camera - Part 1 is a great introduction to digital cameras. It gives advice ranging from lenses, to LDCs, to flash and hotshoe, to memory cards and batteries.
January 09, 2004
Digital Photography Tutorials
There are hundreds of online digital photography and camera tutorials and courses. Here a selection of some of the more helpful ones.
Tutorials - Buying Digital Camera Equipment
- What to Look For in a Digital Camera
- Choosing a Digital Camera
- Top 10 Digital Photography Mistakes
- Choosing a Tripod
- Digital Camera Equipment
Tutorials - Digital Photography Technique
- Sharpness and How to get it
- Digital Panoramic Photography
- Photoshop Tutorials
- Getting Started
- Picking the best Viewpoint
- Digital Noise and ISO Control
- Editing Photos
- Taking Holiday Pictures
- Compression
- Photo Composition
- Correct Composition
Tutorials - General
- Digital Photography Glossary
- How digital cameras work
- All about White Balance
- Kodak's Photography Tips
- Seeing your LCD in Sunlight
-FAKE! Special Effects or Practical Realities?
- Digital Photography - Fundamentals and Trends
- 10 Digital Photography Myths
- Digital Camera FAQs
Short Online Courses
- Agfanet - Digital Photography Course
- Choosing a Digital Camera
- Using your Digital Camera
- Using Digital Photographic Equipment
- Displaying and Sharing Digital Photographs
- Pixels - Displaying, Printing and Scanning Digital Images
- Editing Digital Photographs
Books
- Complete Guide to Digital Photography
- 40 Digital Photography Tips for Beginners
- Digital Photography for Dummies
- Complete Digital Photography
- Digital Photography: 99 Easy Tips To Make You Look Like A Pro
- Backgrounds
Feel free to add links that you've found helpful below in comments.
January 05, 2004
Digital Camera Starting Points
Got a Digital Camera for Christmas and you're not sure how to make the most of it? Pixels to pictures gives some tips on some starting points including integrating your camera with your computer and printing digital photographs.
Photographers offer advice on digital cameras is another helpful article in a similar vain that gives a basic introduction to digital Photography.
December 29, 2003
December 16, 2003
How to Choose a Digital Camera
Choosing a digital camera is getting more and more of a challenge as the variety of cameras being released increased. It seems that every week a new camera enters the market. So how should you make the decision?
How to Choose a DigiCam answers that question by giving a framework to make your decisions.
Topics examined include:
- Big or small
- Megapixel - what's it mean
- RAW or not
- Lenses - zoom range
- Storage media
- Batteries
- Other features
December 11, 2003
It's Time To Upgrade Your Digital Camera
It's Time To Upgrade Your Digital Camera.
This article is about buying Digital Cameras, whether for the first time or to update an older one. Its easy to understand and makes some good recommendations including some of the following excerpts:
- The 2-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 2100 is a good starter choice.
- The $279 Pentax Optio 230 is another 2-megapixel model. Unlike some other 2-megapixel cameras, this model has the ability to take TIFF images.
- The 2-megapixel or the 3.2-megapixel Canon PowerShot A70 -- each of which sell for around $279 -- are two other choices for the casual digital photographer.
- If you are ready for a 4- or 5-megapixel camera, consider the 4-megapixel $749 Leica Digilux 1 or the $799 Sony Cyber Shot DSC F717.
- With the exception of the compact and fast 6.2-megapixel Fujifilm FinePix F700 (which uses a special sensor and sells for around $500), 5-megapixels is the practical upper-limit for most affordable digital cameras.
