Digital Camera Guide

1
Digital Camera Guide

• February 26 Workshop

2
Choosing a Camera

• There are several considerations besides cost to
  consider when purchasing a digital camera.
• Cameras range from 50 to upwards of 2500 or
  more.

3
Does size matter?

• Bigger isnt necessarily better, nor is smaller.
  
• Ask yourself
• Who will be using the camera?
• How will it be used?
• What are your needs?
• Smaller cameras may have less features, but can
  match larger cameras in resolution.

4
Resolution

• More is less, less is more.
• Higher resolution will mean less pictures, but
  better quality when it comes to printing.
• Lower resolution allows for more pictures stored
  on your media card.

Resolution Print Size
1 MP 3 X 4
2 MP 4 X 6
3 MP 5 X 7
4 MP 8 X 10
5 MP 8 X 10
6 MP 11 X 14
8 MP 16 X 20
5
Pixels

• Photos taken at low resolutions and enlarged will
  pixelate.
• Describes an image in which individual pixels are
  apparent to the naked eye.
• To prevent pixelating, make sure your camera
  setting is correct for the size of pictures you
  want to use.

6
Special Features

• Many cameras come with extra features such as
• Zoom
• Flash
• Focus
• Exposure
• Shot delay
• Video Capability

7
Camera Zoom

• There is a difference between optical zoom and
  digital zoom.
• Optical uses the optics (lens) of the camera to
  bring the subject closer.
• Digital simulates optical zoom by cropping a
  portion of the image and enlarging it.
• You lose picture quality in digital zoom
• You can achieve the same effects in photo editing
  software.

8
Flash

• Automatic - flash triggers automatically as
  needed.
• Red-eye reduction - fires the flash several times
  just just prior to exposing a photo.
• Reduces the reflection in a subject's eyes which
  produces red eyes. The rapid flashes cause a
  subject's pupils to contract and helps minimize
  the red-eye effect.
• Forced flash Keeps it on when you normally
  wouldnt use it.
• Used when additional illumination is needed such
  as when the main source of light is in the back
  of a subject or shadows prevent details from
  showing.
• Suppressed Flash Turns the flash off
• Slow sync (also called Night Scene) use to
  capture a dimly lit background at night.
• The flash fires briefly to light the foreground
  subject.

9
Focus

• Single (or one) area focus - camera focuses on a
  subject in the central area of the screen. Focus
  adjusts according to the distance of the subject.
  This is the most common focus mode.
• Continuous autofocus - focuses continually on a
  subject useful when shooting slow moving
  subjects. However, if your photos are often
  poorly focused switch to single area focus.
  Continuous autofocus consumes more battery power.
• Spot focus - camera focuses on a very precise
  center area of the screen.
• Manual Focus Area- focus on a portion of a scene
  when not centered in the frame. Good for macro
  (up close) shots.

10
Exposure Modes

• Automatic Modes - When using a fully automatic
  mode, you simply depress the shutter-release
  button and the camera selects all settings
  depending on the type of lighting and brightness
  of a scene. The camera focuses automatically and,
  when light is low or insufficient, automatically
  fires the flash.
• Semi-Automatic Modes - You select the aperture
  (lens opening) and the camera automatically sets
  the shutter speed. Or select the shutter speed
  and the camera automatically sets the aperture.
• Manual Mode - You have complete control by
  selecting both the shutter speed and the
  aperture.
• Aperture - The aperture controls the amount of
  light that reaches a digital cameras sensor. An
  aperture acts much like the pupil of an eye that
  opens wider as light decreases to let in more
  available light. The pupil gets smaller when
  light increases to reduce the amount of light
  entering the eye.
• Shutter speed - Shutter speed is the amount of
  time the shutter remains open to allow light to
  reach a digital camera sensor. Shutter speed is
  measured in seconds, or fractions of seconds.
• Scene Modes - Scene modes let you choose from a
  variety of preprogrammed modes suitable to
  photograph a given subject such as a portrait,
  landscape or fireworks. The camera settings
  change when moving a dial to select the mode that
  matches the scene you plan to photograph.

11
Other features

• Shot delay The amount of time you have between
  shots.
• White balance The ability to adjust light
  settings in mixed light for better color quality.
• Panoramic images The ability to take panoramic
  photos usually involves stitching software.
• Movie mode - Practically all digital cameras
  offer a movie mode that can take short video
  clips. Not all cameras offer audio recording
  capability, however. The length and quality of
  movies vary by camera- a glance at a camera's
  reviews will reveal which receive high marks for
  their video capability.

12
Storage Method

• Most cameras today use Memory Cards to store
  images.
• Some cameras have internal memory, but usually it
  is a small amount (16 MB).
• Memory Cards come in different formats
• SD (Secure Digital) is becoming the most
  common format.
• Memory Sticks Sonys proprietary storage
  method.
• Compact Flash
• Smart Media
• xD Picture - flash memory memory card format
  developed and introduced to the market in July
  2002 by Olympus and Fujifilm

13
How much will a card store?
Camera Type Flash Card Memory Capacity (estimates) Flash Card Memory Capacity (estimates) Flash Card Memory Capacity (estimates) Flash Card Memory Capacity (estimates) Flash Card Memory Capacity (estimates)
256MB 512MB 1GB 2GB 4GB
3MP 219 438 876 1752 3504
4MP 134 269 538 1077 2154
5MP 100 201 403 807 1614
6MP 84 168 336 673 1346
7MP 76 151 303 605 1210
8MP 71 142 286 571 1142
14
Batteries

• Non-rechargeable
• Alkaline batteries only use if youre in a
  pinch. They will drain after an hour of
  shooting.
• Lithium batteries 7 times more power, weigh
  less, long shelf life, works in extreme temps.
• Nickel Oxy Hydroxide will take twice as many
  photos as alkaline batteries for about the same
  price.
• Rechargeable
• Standard -
• Proprietary
• Lithium Ion made by manufacture or 3rd party
  and can be more expensive.
• NiMH Has more capacity than NiCDs dont
  suffer memory effect. They can lose charge, so
  make sure if you havent used your camera in a
  while, you recharge them.
• NiCD has memory effect, which makes this kind
  of battery to lose its charge faster when it is
  old than when it was brand new.

15
Conditioning Your Batteries

• For Rechargeable batteries it is a good idea to
  condition them from time to time especially if
  you do not use your camera often.
• Keeps the capacity from diminishing
• Condition after every 10 or so charges
• Drain batteries completely in your camera. Once
  they are fully drained, recharge them.
• Rechargeable batteries are good for about
  500-1000 charges.

16
Resources

• Digital Camera Resource www.dcresource.com
• Best guide for deciding what camera to buy
• Digital Photography Review www.dpreview.com
• Digital Camera Help
• www.digicamhelp.com

17
Buying Your Camera

• Make sure you buy from a reputable seller.
• You may pay a little more at a local camera
  store, but can get hands on service.
• Be wary of gray market cameras.
• Generally come from other countries and
  specifications may not work.
• Usually not covered by warranty