Archive for November 14th, 2006

Getting started with digital cameras

If you are not sure quite where to start with digital cameras and digital imaging then step inside and learn more. We tour you through the main features of the digital camera, how many mega pixels you need or don’t need, the various options available when uploading images to a PC, storage media options, printing out your pictures and manipulating them on your computer to enhance them.\r\n\r\nDigital Cameras.\r\nDigital cameras open up a whole host of exciting new avenues for both creative photographers and anyone who wants to have fun with a camera. With this type of photography the final print isn\’t the be all and end all. It may even be that you decide to rarely even print your pictures. So rather than just having slides or prints made of your pictures you can:\r\n\r\nLoad the images onto a personal.\r\nView them through your television.\r\nSend them round the world via Email.\r\nPost them on the World wide web.\r\nChange them through widely available image manipulation software packages.\r\nSome cameras even grant you to take Clip Motion images for your mobile phone.\r\nOr simply store them in your own photographic library.\r\n\r\n\r\n

Digital Cameras – a look at what is in store

Digital cameras have a range of features that you will nearly certainly already recognize, such as zoom lenses and automatic flash. The method of storing the image though is entirely different. When you take a picture light is captured by the Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and stored as a matrix of red, blue and green colored squares. These squares are known as pixels.\r\n\r\nEntry Level Digitals – Under 1 Mega pixel.\r\nEntry-level cameras contain a grid of 640�480 pixels. These cameras are fine for looking at pictures on a computer, but the quality of a printed image is poor once the picture is enlarged to a standard 4x6in. It is getting harder to find cameras under a mega pixel as the cost of higher resolution digital cameras continues to fall.\r\n\r\nSmall Prints – 1 Mega pixel.\r\nStep up to a mega pixel camera and you\’ll find a grid containing upwards of 1152�864 pixels. Theses cameras allow you to produce a good quality, 4x6inch print with a pic realistic printer (see below for further details). Prices of digital cameras have dropped in the last year and you can expect to pay around £100 for a 1 mega pixel camera.\r\n\r\nGetting Larger. – 2 Mega pixels.\r\nFurther up the scale are the 2-mega pixels digital cameras. Standard 2 mega pixel cameras will give you good 8�11 pictures. Obviously any 4�6 or 5�7 prints should be more or less pin sharp with two mega pixels.\r\n\r\nGetting Bigger and Enhanced Quality. – 3 Mega pixels.\r\nOnce you reach the 3 mega pixel bracket the quality of print is normally excellent up to 8�11. The cameras often offer a number of features associated with 35mm SLR cameras and manual override of the automatic settings are more common, allowing you greater artistic control as you get to know your camera and want to experiment a tiny.\r\n\r\nLatest Models. – 4, 5 and 6 Mega pixels.\r\nLately we\’ve seen the introduction of 4, 5 and now even 6 mega pixel digital cameras. Image quality is exceptional and prints beyond 8�11 are available. Cameras in this range come equipped with the latest say of the art features. Some of the benefits at this level are: Increased standard storage capacity but be aware that a single high resolution image at this level could consume 16mb of storage. Optical lenses generally around 5 times. Burst mode. This is the capability to shoot more than one image for just one click of the camera. Typically around 3 frames per second for six frames. Greater aperture range. A greater range of ISO settings. Historically digital cameras have performed less than perfectly in darker settings. The greater range of ISO settings gives a huge improvement.\r\n\r\nDigital SLRs.\r\nIf you have a very large wallet or take you digital photography very seriously then there are a small number of Digital SLRs to tempt you. The cost from around $1500 upwards so selection is not to be taken lightly.\r\n\r\n

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Digital Cameras Features – what can you do with your camera

Since their inception digital cameras have evolved at an astounding rate. Image quality has improved beyond compare and the feature sets are expanding nearly by the day. A quick feature guide is included below; obviously you need to take into account what is important to you when buying your camera, as no camera will have all of the features.\r\n\r\nSize\r\nThere\’s no doubt about it, digital cameras are shrinking. Cameras are now available that you can slip inside a pocket. In fact some digital cameras are roughly the size of a credit card.\r\n\r\nMovies\r\nYes you can shoot movies with most digital cameras. Some cameras now offer the capability to shoot movies that are only limited in duration by the size of the memory card. Be careful when you\’re buying. If a movie mode is important to then the key areas to look out for are duration, resolution and whether or not they have sound with them as well.\r\n\r\nLCD Screens\r\nJust about every digital camera comes with an LCD screen. This gives you the capability to \”see\” the picture before and just after you take it. Most cameras have an LCD screen of at least 1.5\”. Obviously some of the tiny cameras struggle to fit that size of LCD screen in.\r\n\r\nWeb Cams\r\nSome cameras, such as the are being marketed for their properties as a web cam.\r\n\r\nRotating Lenses and Self-Timers\r\nA novel feature is the rotating lens. This allows you to take photos at angles and can come in handy if you wish to take a self-portrait. Be aware some cameras that offer a rotating lens only cover 90 or 180 degrees.\r\n\r\nHotshoe for Flash\r\nAn important feature for serious photography as the capacity of built in flash is limited.\r\n\r\nDPOF\r\nDigital Print Order Format. This gives the ability to choose images and quantities for printing in-camera. This information can then be used during a print run.\r\n\r\nPanoramic Mode\r\nAs it states, the capability to take panoramic views.\r\n\r\nDate and Time Stamp\r\nLogs when the picture was taken.\r\n\r\nLens Types\r\nSome digital cameras will offer both optical and digital zoom abilities. Optical zoom works the same way as a traditional zoom lens, whereas digital zoom acts more like a picture enlargement. Therefore optical zoom provides superior quality images.\r\n\r\nResolution Modes\r\nYour camera will grant you to take pictures at different resolutions. The higher the resolution selected the better the quality of picture. The trade off is that the lower the resolution the smaller the image. Therefore at low resolution a camera can hold more images before its storage becomes full.\r\n\r\nInfo-Lithium Battery\r\nDigital Cameras are notoriously heavy users of batteries. Look out for cameras that offer the much longer lasting Info-Lithium batteries.\r\n\r\n

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Digital Cameras Storage – memory cards come in many sizes

Rather than using film in the way a traditional camera does a digital camera stores images on memory cards. Images can then be transferred from the memory card to a personal. When buying a digital camera it is important to consider the type of memory card it uses. Images from digital cameras are stored on memory cards and there are a number of different types available. Normally a digital camera will be able to use only one type of memory card, so if you\’re buying additional cards take care to ensure it is the type that your camera uses. If you already own a digital camera and you\’re planning to upgrade to a new one there are obvious advantages in buying one that grants you to use the memory cards you already have.\r\n\r\nMemory cards can have different storage capacities. You\’ll hear of cards with capacities ranging from 8 megabytes up to 2 gigabytes. If you find this jargon confusing then try to look on it in a similar way to being able to purchase traditional film with differing numbers of exposures. The more exposures a film has the more shots you can take before you need to change the film. The greater the number of megabytes a memory card can store the more shots you can take before the card becomes full.\r\n\r\nMemory card capacity is increasing all the time, but it is still advisable to perform some housekeeping of images that you do not wish to keep so that the cards don\’t fill up too rapidly. That\’s one of the beauties of digital cameras. If you take a picture that you do not like the look of it is simple to delete it, freeing up the space on the memory card, and try again. After you have transferred the images from a card to a personal you can clear down the memory card completely.\r\n\r\nThe amount of space a picture will take up depends on the number of pixels your camera has and the resolution that you choose to take the picture with. In a nutshell the greater the number of pixels your camera has and the higher the resolution you use, the more space the picture will take up on the card. Today\’s flagship models of 5 mega pixels can use up 16mb of storage with a single shot if it is taken using the highest resolution.\r\n\r\nRunning through the different types of cards the best known is Compact Flash. You\’ll find that the majority of digital cameras use Compact Flash cards. They\’re very simple to get hold of and the largest available cards now hold up to 2 gigabytes of images. At the lower end of the market you will find cards that will store 16 or 32 megabytes.\r\n\r\nA number of the latest Olympus and Fuji digital cameras now use tiny xD Picture Cards. The latest versions can hold up to 512 megabytes of images.\r\n\r\nXD Picture Cards have taken over in many ways from Smart Media cards. These have been around longer than any other memory card, but limitations with the technology have meant that the maximum capacity of the Smart Media card has been unable to progress beyond 128 megabytes. This has led to Smart Media getting left behind and being replaced by the xd Picture Card.\r\n\r\nAnother addition to the memory card field is the Secure Digital card. These also have a capacity of 512 megabytes.\r\n\r\nAlso available are Memory Sticks, Multi Media Cards and more the IBM Micro Drive. The Micro Drive offers storage capacity of up to 1GB.\r\n\r\nOne question I\’m often asked by serious photographers or people going on a long holiday is what they should do whilst they are away. How should they store images? One of the best solutions I can recommend is that you take with you a portable hard drive. One of the most popular is the Image Tank. You can upload up to 40 gigabytes of data to these, ready to transfer to a computer on your return.\r\n\r\nDo not get too worried about all the different types of memory cards on the market. As far as digital cameras go they all do the same job and nine times out of ten the camera you purchase will dictate the type of card you use. When you buy your digital camera make sure a good sized memory card is included in the deal. Don\’t be afraid to haggle and get the best deal you can.\r\n\r\nIf you are looking for additional memory cards then it pays to shop around. Check out prices here.\r\n\r\n

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Today\’s Digital Cameras – Transferring Images to your Computer

The photos themselves are then stored within the camera\’s memory and the next step is to transfer them to a computer. Originally the only way to transfer images to a computer was via a cable link between the camera and the computer\’s serial port.\r\n\r\nCables are normally supplied with cameras together with software that can be loaded onto a personal that grants the transfer to take place. This method has two main drawbacks. First the rate of transfer is very slow and secondly the number of photos that could be stored in the camera at any given time was limited.\r\n\r\nNow there are two standard methods for transferring the images that are far better to the original solution. The simplest and fastest method is by using a cable connect your camera to your personal USB port. Then using software provided with the camera, a few mouse clicks later and the photos are loaded. In fact to make the loading even more straight forward, a series of USB card readers are now available.\r\n\r\nNot all computers have USB functionality and if this is the case then you\’ll need to use a card reader. These are also attached to the personal. Again all you have to do is load the card into the reader and upload the pictures.\r\n\r\nIf you need to purchase a card reader make sure you purchase a reader that is compatible with the storage media that you are using. Although there are some readers that will read more than one type of card you need to ensure, for example, that if you use Smart Media cards then you will need a Smart Media reader.\r\n\r\nIf you\’ve a more basic model camera, then the pictures may be in the camera\’s built-in memory (rather than on a storage card), you can only download them to the personal via serial cable–which as we said at the top can be pretty slow can be pretty slow. Therefore we advocate that you include this as one of the key points in making decision as to what camera to purchase.\r\n\r\nCard readers are available at around $15.\r\n\r\n

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Getting Great Images From Your Digital Cameras – Printing

The way in which we produce prints from digital cameras is changing and there are now more options open to you then there were before. Originally printing was seen as relatively unimportant as digital cameras were sold on the basis that everyone would be happy enough to simply store photos on CDs and to send them to family and friends via email.\r\n\r\nAs the market develops an increasing number of companies are offering printing services and it is now nearly as easy for you to have prints produced from pics taken on a digital camera as it is from a roll of film.\r\n\r\nHome Printing\r\nOne of the many advantages of digital cameras is that it is easy to create your own prints at home. To get the best results you will need a special type of printer, a pic realistic one. These are inkjet printers that are specially set up to optimize the printing of photographs. They have the ability to still be used for normal printing purposes such as printing letters. You can pick up a printer for under £100, but as with most things the more you pay the superior the quality you get.\r\n\r\nTo get the best results you will also need to use special pic paper. The cost of the paper varies so it is difficult to give an accurate figure, but it might be worth budgeting for around 30p per sheet of A4 size paper. A lot depends on the quantity of paper you buy and the brand of paper. One further advantage is that you can control the number of prints that you wish to make at anytime. For example if you wish to make a single print or reprint you can whereas a retailer may well have a minimum print quantity.\r\n\r\nYou can also buy smaller papers such as 6�4\” or 7�5\”. These are not quite so simple to get hold and even though they are cheaper than A4 paper there is not that much difference in price.\r\n\r\nIf you\’re looking to create the perfect print then it is also worth looking at dye sublimation printers. These are more high-priced than inkjets, but produce a superior quality print.\r\n\r\nYou might notice that some digital cameras are described as Pict Bridge compatible. This means that you can connect the camera directly to a printer without using a computer. The printer itself also has to be Pict Bridge compatible. A cable should be supplied with a Pict Bridge compatible digital camera. You then control the photos that you want to be printed through the camera\’s menu system.\r\n\r\nPrinting in the High Street\r\nThis is the largest growth area with regard to digital printing. Nearly all camera shops offer a printing service now. Other shops that have traditionally provided a printing service, such as chemists are also now offering digital printing services.\r\n\r\nMost outlets grant you to take your chosen images in on either a memory card or on a CD. They will do the rest for you. In some cases \”one hour printing\” is available. The norm is around two days.\r\n\r\nWorld wide web Services\r\nThere are a number of web sites that offer printing services. The way that the majority of these services work is that you visit the site and download a piece of software. Once it is loaded on to your PC you\’re able to upload your chosen images to the Internet together with your delivery address. Your prints are then sent back to you through the post.\r\n\r\nUploading a number of large images to be printed can be a time consuming job, especially if you don\’t have a Broadband Internet connection.\r\n\r\nYour photographs are usually returned to you about a week later.\r\n\r\nUseful links include:\r\nBonusprint\r\nAgfa\r\nOfoto (Kodak)\r\n\r\nMail Order\r\nMail Order printing works in a very similar way to Internet Services. The difference being that you choose the images that you want printed and download them to a CD. You then post the CD to the mail order company. Again the prints are returned to you through the post after about seven days.\r\n\r\nCost of Third Celebration Printing\r\nWhichever service you select anticipate to pay between 10p and 15p for a basic print. Obviously more massive prints will cost more with 8�10\” costing over $1.\r\n\r\n

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Digital Cameras – Image Manipulation – making them look great

So you\’ve taken the picture and loaded it on to your Personal computer. You would be happy with it but…… Whereas with traditional photography once you received the prints back from the developers there was nothing that you could do to put things right, with some image manipulation software almost nothing is beyond you. You can let your creative talents run wild.\r\n\r\nIf you have an image that appears washed out or too light or dark in certain areas than a good image manipulation software kit will soon be putting it right for you. Try out commands to correct the colour balance, or enhance the shadows and highlights of the picture. On top of that there are a whole series of special effects to try and packages also optimise your photos for posting on the web. These software packages follow traditional photo studio techniques for correcting blemishes and wrong exposures. Irritating problems, like red eye, can also be corrected. With a tiny bit of trial and error and perhaps the aid of a training manual you can soon become a master craftsman in the studio.\r\n\r\nIt is very easy to get an image taken on a digital camera into the image manipulation software ready to be worked on. With some packages you can connect your digital camera to the personal and open images from there.\r\n\r\nOnce the image is loaded there are lots of different things you can do with it. When you are first starting out you might wish to crop the photograph, rotate it or resize it. These are all straightforward tasks. If the colour doesn\’t look quite how you would care about it to there are normally automatic colour correction features. Once you build your confidence a little you might wish to move onto reducing red eye, retouching certain areas of the image and cloning different areas of the photograph. As you progress there are a whole host of manipulation tools at your disposal. Colour and exposure correction tools can really improve the overall quality of the image. Many of the tools also grant you to work closely on selected areas of the picture.\r\n\r\nOther features grant you to superimpose text on the photograph, send it directly via email and to optimize images for displaying on the Internet.\r\n\r\nThe market leader in image manipulation software is Adobe. Adobe flagship package is Adobe Photoshop. This is an extremely versatile package that grants you to do just about anything you want to do to an image. In fact if you are just starting out then you might find this package a little overwhelming with all it\’s features. If this is the case then Adobe also offer a more slim line package Adobe Photoshop Elements (around £70). Another package that certainly merits consideration is Paint Shop Pro 7 (around £95).\r\n\r\nBefore you dash out and buy some image editing software, most digital cameras arrive with some bundled software. Check this out before deciding if you need to buy a dedicated software package.\r\n\r\n

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Our Suggested Digital Cameras and where to find your ideal price.

I have split the suggested digital cameras section into three areas. First of all there are simple to use digital cameras. These are most likely to appeal to people who would use or consider buying a traditional 35mm compact or point and shoot camera. These cameras do just about everything for you. They make all the key decisions as to the lighting and exposure of the picture. All you\’ve to do is turn the camera on and start taking pictures. If all you want from a camera is to be able to take pictures of weddings, holiday snaps, family get togethers etc. then these will nearly certainly be right for you. It doesn\’t mean that you cannot purchase one with more features, but it is apt to cost a fair bit more.\r\n\r\nThe next section covers digital cameras that are suitable for people who are looking for a level of creative control over their photography. Although all the cameras here can be operated fully automatically they also allow you a degree of control over the exposure settings.\r\n\r\nFinally there are models that are aimed at either professional photographers or very serious amateurs. These cameras offer interchangeable lenses and a whole host of controls that you would expect to find on advanced SLR 35mm film cameras.\r\n\r\nTo get full details for any of the cameras listed below just click on the camera name.\r\n\r\nEasy to use Digital Cameras.\r\nThe four cameras that I recommend in this section are the Canon Powershot A70, the Sony DSC P-72, the Fuji Finepix s3000 and the Fuji Finepix A205. They\’re all very easy to use. Switch them on and they are ready to shoot. All are well made and offer very good value for money. They all also produce high quality photos. At the end of the day it doesn\’t matter how simple it is to operate the camera if it cannot take a decent photograph then it is not any use to anyone.\r\n\r\nOf the four the Fuji Finepix A205 is aimed at people who are looking for a no fuss, straightforward digital camera. It has larger than standard buttons and has been designed especially for anyone who is a little unsure about going digital. The Fuji Finepix S3000 only just scrapes into the easy to use section. It\’s true that you can just switch it on and begin taking pictures, but it also offers some good manual controls for anyone who would at least like to try experimenting a little bit.\r\n\r\nMid Range Digital Cameras.\r\nThe four candidates here are the Minolta S414, the Canon EOS 300D, the Nikon Coolpix 5700 and the Olympus C-5060. Again they all take excellent photos and their feature sets give the level of control to keep just about everyone happy. The Canon EOS 300D is one of the most exciting digital cameras so far. It is the first Digital SLR to be launched at a price that\’ll appeal to enthusiasts rather than just professional photographers.\r\n\r\nProfessional Digital Cameras.\r\nThe cameras in this selection all accept a range of interchangeable lenses. These are the top of the range cameras and produce the highest quality images. Not surprisingly the number of pixels and therefore the quality of prints that are available from these cameras surpass everything else. The four camera that should be considered are the Canon EOS 10D, the Canon EOS 1DS, the Fuji S2 Pro and the Nikon D2H.\r\n\r\nWhen you\’re buying a digital camera there are one or two additional factors that you should take into account. Firstly it is unlikely that the amount of memory that the camera comes with will be anywhere near enough for you. Therefore it is a good idea to shop around for a deal that will give you extra memory at a reasonable price. Secondly digital cameras still quickly consume batteries despite a number of technological advances. It is worthwhile including in your budget the cost of rechargeable batteries and a recharger. Some digital cameras already come with these. If your doesn\’t again it is well worth find a deal where this is throw in at a good price.\r\n\r\n

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Digital Cameras – Summary

So, if you have made it through to this point, then thank you for staying with us. Obviously the most important features are a matter of personal choice, but we\’ve listed below what we think about to be the most critical items that you need to take into account when making your final decision as to what to purchase. We\’ve also laid out three possible purchasing scenarios so that you can see a ballpark figure of what it is going to cost you.\r\n\r\n1. The number of pixels that you need to take the photos and produce the prints that you want.\r\n\r\n2. Zoom lens and quality of lens. We would always advocate a zoom lens to get you closer to the action and lens quality is also an important consideration when making your final choice.\r\n\r\n3. Image quality. Does the camera that you are considering have a reputation for producing clear, correctly coloured images.\r\n\r\n4. Size. They say size doesn\’t matter but with a digital camera it does. Some are small enough to slip into your pocket. Other more weighty models will hang fairly heavily around your neck.\r\n\r\n5. Camera features. Not so much a case of does it take 20 second movies, but if you really start to get into digital photography does the camera offer you enough manual features to give you the creative control that you\’re looking for.\r\n\r\n6. Storage Media. How much capacity does the camera come with and what type is it. If you have a 4 or 5 megapixel digital camera and only 16mb of compact flash storage then you\’ll soon be running short and probably missing those important shots.\r\n\r\n7. Power Source. Battery type. Batteries run down quickly and carrying a number of spares around adds to the weight. If you propose to use the camera heavily then thought needs to be given to a model that uses Lithium-Ion.\r\n\r\n8. Computer connections. Do you have a USB port. If not then you will also need a card reader.\r\n\r\n9. Size and clarity of LCD screen. LCD screens are a great idea, allowing you to preview and review your photos. Pick a camera with a big and clear one.\r\n\r\n10. Price. Shop around for price and think about buying one of last year\’s top models. You pay for the fact that you\’ve purchased a cutting edge camera and maybe there was already one out there with all the features that you need.\r\n\r\n

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