What are "megapixels"?

Let’s start with the megapixels, which are the basic way to measure how sharp your pictures can be. A Pixel (a word derived from “PIX" (short for "pictures") and "ELement”) is the smallest area of a picture with a distinctive color, kinda like a “molecule” of a picture. If you look real close at a TV or at your monitor (especially if it’s an LCD display), you’ll see there are many tiny squares of color making up the image. Each one of those is a pixel. A megapixel is a million pixels. Your computer screen can probably display one MP or so – in other words, if you display a 4-MP image on your computer, there is some detail you just won’t see. A TV image has between one quarter and one half of a megapixel – it gets fuzzy quite fast if you look at it from very close.

So you can have a real good idea of what it means to have more or fewer pixels, check out these three pictures. The images below have 330 thousand pixels (a third of a megapixel), 80 thousand, and 20 thousand. You can see what a low pixel count looks like, when a low-pixel image is shown way larger than it should be. (But remember, you'll never see pixels that big. Even the third-of-a-megapixel image looks fine, so you can KNOW that no image made by a multi-megapixel modern digital camera will ever look as bad as the second and third pictures below).

330,000 pixels ( 1/3 of a megapixel)

82,000 pixels

20,000 pixels

A high MegaPixel count comes in handy when you want to crop pictures, and when you want to make enlargements. For uncropped 4x6 prints, 2 megapixels are usually enough, but for 5x7s and 8x6s, you kinda need to go up to 3 if you want a sharp picture. If your picture will be looked at from a small distance, I’d suggest a 4MP minimum for pictures that will be enlarged to 8x10. Then again, if your picture will NOT be inspected closely (say it is on a wall behind a couch, so no one will get closer to it than a meter or so away), then 8x6s of 2MP images, or even 8x10s if your 2MP camera has a really sharp lens, should be all right, and 8x10s of 3MP images are also definitely all right if no one comes to within 3 feet or so of them. I have a ton of 8x6s on my wall behind my bed. Most are 2MP, a couple are 4MP, and one is a really sharp 1MP (as far as 1MP images go).

I insist that, unless you're making posters, you don't need more than 3 megapixels, maybe 4. Two-megapixel images make fine 8x6s, and don't let the folks at the store tell you otherwise. Below are a bunch of pictures, all taken with two-megapixel cameras. Do they not look sharp? When you click on these thumbnails to open each file, it might look just a tad grainy, but that's because you're blowing them up to the size of a monitor, about 12 inches on a side, and then looking at them from very close. Besides, your monitor can't show detail as dense and fine as a print could .This means these pictures would make fine 8x12s if you're not scrutinizing the 8x12 prints from like a foot away, or looking at then on your computer. And the 4x6 prints made from these pictures are very, very sharp indeed. I don't think anyone needs much sharper pictures than this, unless you're making calendars, having stuff printed on magazines, or trying to sell your photographs. (Pictures taken by 4-megapixel SLRs are used professionally, like on calendars and ads, though, so you REALLY don't need more than 4).



I hope these pictures keep you from blowing a fortune on a super-high-resolution camera. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT: Don't buy more megapixels than you need, and don't let the camera companies' marketing departments tell you how much you'll need. Three or four megapixels is all you need, even for 8x12s and for some cropping if you're gonna get 4x6s. Sure, 5MP images might be sharper, but unless you print them out huge, or crop a lot, you never even really get to see all that detail. So if you're thinking about a 5-to-8 MP camera, consider getting a 3 or 4 MP camera instead, one with a sharp lens and a not-too-noisy sensor, or a smaller camera, or one with a bigger screen, etc.

As I mention a few times on this page: How sharp the lens is, and how grainy the sensor is, can affect image quality even more than resolution. So there's much more to it than megapixels. As you can see in the "Don't buy more megapixels than you need" section, a camera with more megapixels can sometimes deliver lower image quality!!! (You can click here to go straight to the comparisons that show this.)





























 

Basics

A digital camera is really not that diferent from a film camera. On a film camera, light is focused by a lens onto a rectangular piece of film. Because different areas of the film are exposed to different colors and brightnesses, different areas undergo different chemical reactions, and so an image is recorded. Once the lens is focused, and the shutter is opened a certain width through a certain amount of time, the shutter is then closed again and the film is moved out of the way to be replaced by a fresh unused one. How much the shutter is open and for how long, along with how much light is outside and how sensitive the film is to it, determines how dark or bright the picture will be.

On a digital camera, light is focused by a lens onto a rectangular CCD sensor. Because different areas of the sensor are exposed to different colors and brightnesses, different areas undergo different ionization processes, and so an image is recorded. Once the lens is focused, and the shutter is opened a certain width through a certain amount of time, the electrical charges induced in the different areas of the sensor by the focused light are "flushed" to a processor that converts them into an image file and then saves that file on a memory card, or in the camera's small internal memory. How much the shutter is open and for how long, along with how much light is outside and how sensitive the sensor is to it, determines how dark or bright the image will be - but you can see how bright the image will be before you take it by looking at the electronic screen on the back of the camera, which is connected to the CCD sensor to show you the "predicted" image in real time. You can also have this screen show you an image file after the picture is taken, so you can see how it looks. And since the CCD can capture images at a high framerate continuosly, most digital cameras can record this data as video, usually along with sound recorded by a small microphone in the camera.

The sensor is smaller than a frame of film, though, so the lens can be scaled down proportionally. Or, if the lens is the same size, it will be gathering more light per area of sensor, so this more intense focusing can allow for the shutter to be open less (which leads to less blur).

How sharp will your image be? That basically depends on two factors: How sharp your lens is (how sharp an image it can project on the sensor), and how harp your sensor is (how much detail it can record if a sharp image is projected onto it). The sensor is made of millions of small photo-sensitive cell clusters, each of which can record the color and brightness of the light falling on it. The more of those clusters you have, the more details you could capture. But, if the clusters are too small and too crammed together, then they start interfering with each other and being thrown off by small signals of light or electricity, which makes the picture look "grainy". So the sharpness of your lens, the number of cell clusters in your sensor, and the grainy-ness of your sensor, are all crucial in determining how sharp the picture is that comes out at the end.

How sharp the lens is has a lot to do with how carefully it is crafted - out of what materials, if any of the elements have aspherical shapes, et cetera. In general, a bigger lens will be much more likely to project an image sharply. So whether a camera's lens is the size of a dime, the size of a quarter, or the size of a small cup, will give you a pretty good idea of how good this lens is at gathering and focusing light. Lenses made by Leica, Carl Zeiss, and other names associated with photography (like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, and Kodak) are usually the sharpest. Panasonic cameras have Leica lenses, and some Sonys use Carl Zeiss glass.

The number of cell clusters in the CCD sensor (the "resolution") is measured in megapixels, so that's a dead-easy one. It usually says on the box.

The grainyness of the sensor, although it is as important as the resolution to determining how much detail is captured, is in part dependent on the size of the sensor, and on the resolution of the camera. Smaller sensors, or sensors with more megapixels - in other words, sensors with more pixels per unit area - tend to be grainier. So small cameras, and cameras with 6-8 megapixels, tend to be real grainy. This becomes painfully evident when you make the sensor more sensitive to light (high ISO speed, like 400) for shooting in low light.

(This is the main reason why pictures made by those huge expensive SLR cameras are a lot sharper - their sensors can have as much as 16 times the area of most digital camera sensors, so grain is not a problem at all, even at high ISOs. That, and lenses are typically a whole lot sharper. So an SLR with 6, 4, or even 3 megapixels can take pictures as sharp as those taken by compact digital cameras with twice the number of megapixels).

The EOS Digital Rebel XTi SLR Camera from Canon

The EOS Digital Rebel XTi SLR Camera from Canon packs an array of impressive features and definitive control in a convenient, easy-to-use design. It incorporates a high-resolution CMOS sensor that delivers fine image accuracy with an effective 10.1 MP resolution. Equipped with a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, the camera captures true to life images. The DIGIC II imaging processor ensures natural colors reproduction, precise white balance in any number of lighting situations and enhanced clarity. With the 9-point Wide-Area AF System, the Digital Rebel XTi allows speedy and accurate focusing, for memorable shots in any situation. The Display Off sensor detects the photographer's face against the back panel of the camera, and turns the screen off to prevent the LCD monitor's brightness from disturbing the photographer's eye while looking through the viewfinder. Additionally, the EOS Integrated Cleaning System features a Self Cleaning Sensor Unit to combat against stray dust that enters the camera and adheres to the image sensor during a lens change. Connect your EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera to your computer with a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection for fast, hassle-free image uploads. With intuitive simplicity and powerful performance, the EOS Digital Rebel XTi SLR Camera offers style and performance to thrill your senses.

Make money with your digital camera

Its very rare people talk about people making money with image or photo.If you have a digital camera and have some skill in photography why not you use it to upload in the stock photography which you can make money from selling photo when other people download your photo.

But it is not as easy as that.You need to have a good photo before other people want to buy your photo collection.

So why not start now, me be you have a talent.Most of the stock photography are free to join and upload as much as you can your photo collection:

1. Fotolia
2. Dreamstime
3. 123RF
4. StockXpert

Canon IXUS 900 Ti Review

The Canon IXUS 900 Ti is a ten megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. One of the main selling points that Canon are pushing is the fact that the body of the IXUS 900 Ti is made of titanium. Although this does not have any impact on the picture quality and as far as I am aware has no clear benefit if the camera is dropped it is likely to appeal to anyone who is especially style conscious.

I am sure the fact that the camera offers ten megapixels will also prove attractive to many potential buyers.



Image Quality
There were no surprises with the test photos I took with the IXUS 900 Ti. Focusing was sharp, colours strong and the photos had a vibrant, bright look to them. In terms of picture quality this camera is comfortably above average.

Starting off with the outdoor scenic shots these highlight the colours and also the sharpness the camera is capable of. A good guide to the focusing capabilities of the camera is the clarity of the bricks in the building in the first test shot. On the whole focusing also stays sharp up to the edge of each photo as well. I like the colour of the skies and also the foliage in these photos. This suggests that you should be able to produce your own well balanced landscape shots.

One area I have noticed where the IXUS 900 Ti has struggled is with the reflection of the sun from white areas in the outdoor shots. This is especially noticeable on the beams under the roof of the building in the first test shot and there is also a fair amount of reflection from the boats themselves. A lot of this problem is down to the time of the year the test shots were taken with the sun getting lower in the sky. The majority of cameras I have tested recently have found this problem impossible to overcome.

Good levels of detail are shown up in the darker areas of the photos, although the second outdoor shot is a little darker around the edges than I would like to see. The third outdoor shot again highlights how well the camera is capable of focusing.

The two portrait shots are my favourite pictures from the IXUS 900 Ti. I especially like the colours in the two photos. They have a very natural look and the skin tones are more or less spot on. Lighting conditions for both photos were not perfect so I am very happy with the final results. The indoor portrait is another to underline how well the camera is able to focus even when the lighting is less than perfect. The downside is some red eye showing in the shot.

My other indoor/lowlight shot is of some beer bottles. This photo is taken in more or less complete darkness. Again it is impressive how well the IXUS 900 Ti is able to hold the focus as you move away from the centre of the shot. This is another above average effort. Combined with the indoor portrait it appears that this camera is likely to be one of the best performing consumer level digital cameras in lowlight.

The dedicated test for colour supports the findings throughout all the test shots. Colours are strong without being overbearing. Blues in particular show up well and this should help with skies in landscape type shots.

For close up photography it is hard to find better cameras in this price range than these Canon IXUS models. The 900 Ti produces a very clear shot with plenty of detail.

Shots that do not work quite so well are the higher ISO shots. Although the one taken using ISO 400 is more than acceptable when compared against many rival cameras there are clear levels of deterioration in the ISO 1600 shot and I would suggest only using this setting when there is no other way of getting your picture.

Having just reviewed the Canon IXUS 850 IS I can see virtually no difference between the photos taken with that cameras and the IXUS 900 Ti. There is no real surprise in that outcome. Therefore if you are trying to decide which one of these two cameras to buy it is a case of looking at the features. For example the IXUS 850 offers a wide angle lens and images stabilisation while the IXUS 900 Ti has more megapixels and a titanium body.

Ricoh 500SE GPS-ready

Although the information has been floating around for a while now, Ricoh has officially introduced its first GPS-ready digital camera, the 8 million pixel 500SE, in Europe today. The 500SE's integrated precision GPS module provides an easy- to-use device for geo-coding images and video at the time of capture. It is capable of transferring images via Bluetooth or Wifi and receiving NMEA data streams from external GPS devices via the built-in Bluetooth radio. It features the same 28mm wide zoom, 2.5-inch LCD and waterproof / shock-resistant body as the 500G, announced last year.

Samsung S1030

Samsung announced a few new cameras yesterday, but we have only received this information today। First up is the 10.1-megapixel S1030, sporting a 3x zoom, 2.7-inch LCD, sensitivity to ISO 1600 and 45MB of internal memory.

Need to juice up your landscape photography?

Numerous examples of great landscape photography. Guaranteed to have trudging around in the great outdoors with your gear in no time.

In my limited experience, the following tips always seem to contribute to memorable landscape images:
A tripod. A large depth of field (f11 or better) is usually desired to capture maximum sharpness, which often means long exposures of 1/5 sec or more. Even better would be one with a spirit level, to help keep the horizon level.
Avoiding midday sun. There is a wonderful ability for morning or evening light to evoke a mood or creat a more memorable image than say if you took the very same scene in the middle of the day.
Using filters. It may be a polarising filter to bring out the blues of the sky, a neutral density filter to allow the blurring of grass or water, or even a coloured filter to lend a certain scenic atmosphere. Many will say that all this can be done in post-processing, which is true, but personally, I think it's still more fun to do it at the image-capture stage.
A good quality lens. Avoid the temptation to scrimp on lenses. I think most experienced photographers will accept that a lens upgrade makes a bigger difference to image quality than an equivalent camera upgrade. It doesn't matter if it's an ultra-wide angle, or a telephoto zoom. Your style will dictate which is more important. Getting both would be even better. And make sure you use the hood.
Sturdy bag / pack. Often great landscape shots mean getting that angle that no one else has before, and this usually means some trekking, whether through underbrush, across a muddy field, or up a slope. Having sturdy, comfortable carrying gear means you can worry more about composition and lighting than your sore neck, dust or moisture.

And make sure to have fun. I apply the same philosophy to landscape photography as I do to golf - even if you have an off-day, at least I got to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. Enjoy!

Say cheese with Sony’s latest digital cameras

If you don’t smile, it won’t capture. As simple as that. Sony’s latest Cybershot DSC T200 and DSC T70 employ face detection technology that won’t snap high-definition pictures until a selected subject smiles.

“Using the smile recognition shutter function selected by the touch panel, you can pick which of up to eight people is the key smile,” said Akira Tokuse who works in Sony product development.

Cool or not? I guess it depends who you talked to. You dare to bet that these cameras will not capture any picture of Mr Bean?

Pretty Irish Flowers

Free Report - The Hottest Trends in Digital Technology

You can click on the
link below and be taken directly to this material. When the pdf
document loads into your browser all you have to do is save it
to your computer.
We hope you enjoy this material. Staying on top of the digital
technology is my passion and I am happy to bring this information
to you. I also look forward to keeping you up to date on this
exciting technology in the future।

http://great-digital-cameras.com

10 Things You Can Do With Photoshop CS2 That You Couldn't Do Before Now

Is Photoshop CS2 worth the upgrade? You bet it is! Here are just 10 things you can do with this fantastic new version of Photoshop that were impossible (or difficult) to do with previous versions:

1. Manipulate objects in the Adobe Bridge

This new generation of file browser enables you to look at photographs and artwork in detail before you open the file, process multiple Camera Raw images, flip through pages in PDF documents, size, rate and organise your work in a convenient and highly user-friendly way. Goes way beyond the capabilities of the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7.

2. Get rid of imperfections with the Spot Healing Bush

The Spot Healing brush enables you to get rid of slight imperfections - like dust or scratches at the click of a mouse. Unlike the Healing Brush or Patch tools, you don't have to find a source point first.

3. Remove "red-eye" in an instant.

With older versions of Photoshop, removing red-eye and pet-eye was possible, but it wasn't easy. Now, one click of the Red Eye removal tool can remove pet-eye and red-eye from your photographs, in less time than it takes your subject to say "cheese!".

4. Perform non-destructive scaling with Smart Objects.

You know how it is: You try to make an imported object larger, and it goes all blurry and pixelated. With Smart Objects, that's a thing of the past, because you can scale, warp and rotate vector graphics in a non-destructive way.

5. Do neat things in perspective with the new Vanishing Point feature.

With Vanishing point you can cut and paste in perspective. Now you're able to turn a photograph of a wall into a "virtual art gallery" with all the pictures correctly skewed, or move a window from one side of a building to another and, because the perspective is correct, have it look like it's always been there. You can also draw lines that taper off into the distance - wide nearest the camera, narrow further away - just like in "real life".

6. Get more accurate printing.

With Photoshop CS2, the people at Adobe have improved the printing workflow. Now it's even easier to configure your inkjet printer to get more accurate colour printing.

7. Customise menus and workspaces.

Photoshop CS2 lets you highlight commonly used menu items, and set up custom menus and workspaces. Now all the power of Photoshop is (literally) at your command, and can be tailored to your requirements.

8. See what each font looks like before you use it.

Finally! Photoshop gets a WYSIWYG font drop-down menu. Now you don't have to keep text highlighted while you cycle through all the fonts until you get to the right one!

9. Manipulate images with Image Warp.

Image Warp allows you to bend, peel, and stretch images the same way as type. Now you can put an image on a mug or soda can with ease.

10. See what video graphics will look like, while you're doing them.

If you're a video professional like me, you'll know how frustrating it can be: You make a graphic that looks fantastic on a flat computer monitor, but when you import the .psd file into your Avid timeline, and look at it on the TV screen, it's not quite what you had in mind. You then have to go back into Photoshop and make your artwork look "wrong", so it will look right on a video monitor. With Photoshop CS2 you can preview your images on a video monitor directly from the software, and see exactly how they're going to look in your video, even if your editing software is on a different computer.

Nikon DSLRs and Canon Compacts Sell Over Black Friday Weekend

by Karen M. Cheung
November 28, 2006 – Notoriously known as the busiest shopping days of the year between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brick-and-mortar and online retailers alike cut prices and eliminated shipping charges sending consumers to the malls and to their computers in droves. Among some of the best sellers this weekend were Nikon DSLRs and Canon point-and-shoots, according to retailers.


With over 140 million shoppers hitting the stores on the Black Friday weekend and another 61 million customers shopping online on Monday, according to the National Retail Federation, consumers spent on average $360.15 this past weekend.


Digital SLRs showed strong sales this holiday shopping weekend, said Ritz Camera Centers Inc. chairman David Ritz to Photo Marketing Association. According to the company website, DSLRs made up three of the top ten best sellers at Ritz, including the Nikon D200, Nikon D40, and Sony A100. The Nikon Coolpix S9 point-and-shoot was also popular. “The biggest things are the new 10-megapixel models, at affordable price points,” said Ritz.

Toshiba Cameras

Toshiba Cameras: From my own experience I have found Toshiba cameras to be of very good quality. One of the aspects that I have found to be the most pleasant is the camera's memory capacity. For those of you who do not want to be burdened with buying extra Flash-Memory-Cards, then this may be the camera for you as many of the models come with extended memory. I would not recommend these cameras for professional work, however for the average consumer who is looking for a good solid camera, then Toshiba could be the choice for you!

Sony Cameras: I have had the most experience using Sony cameras. I have found that these camera are best for mid-tier users. The cameras that I have used have ranges anywhere from 2 to 8 mega-pixels capacity. I think you can do better with a novice camera from Toshiba and Sony's basic models can be a tad difficult to use. This is not to say you can't, its just I believe Toshibas are a bit better in this regard. Probably my favorite from Sony is the Cybershot DSC-T10. It has 7.2 mega-pixel, 3x optical zoom and also comes with a video mode that uses audio as well. Finally it comes with a memory stick storage of 56mb. While not great, I think you'll find it will do the job for mid-tier users.

Samsung Cameras: I believe that Samsung cameras are much more popular in particular due to some of their more advanced features. I am also a fan of Samsung due to the fact that the company has been in the camera business for over 20 years. One of my favorites that I have had the pleasure to operate is the Samsung Digital Camera DIGIMAX S1000. The camera operates in a very simple manner as simple "point and shoot" camera. There is very little focusing that the user needs to do. Furthermore it has 10.1 mega pixels which means the quality of your color photos will be outstanding. Some of the other features I like are "Color Effect" "Highlight" and "Photo Frame." All of these features allow the user to manipulate the camera a bit more should they desire. I would recommend this camera for someone who is skilled in digital photography and would like some more advanced features.

Digital Photo Brag Books

Digital photography is a common element in our lives, now sharing pictures or modifying your photos is just a simple and usual task for any person that loves photography. The digital photo brag book is a nice thing to have not just for a photographer, but for every one of us how cherishes the advances of technology. Pictures can now be removed very simply, or replaced with newer ones. Plus the practical side is that a digital photo brag book can be attached to any ink jet printer to obtain a nice album with pictures that are acid free.

There are pocket digital photo brag books that can hold a large number of photos up to fifty for instance, that you can show your friends, or you can take with you on a long trip alone. You will definitely like to have a look at your beloved ones. Some digital photo brag books are ultra-small with special key-chain feature that you will definitely like. We have to admit that this is a revolution in sharing photos on the go. Forget about print photos quickly growing outdated.

Let’s take a look at the Disney Key-chain digital photo brag book, for example and see what it has to offer. First, it is very small, so it won’t prove uncomfortable to be carried about. Only 1.1” LCD screen, with a storage capacity of fifty photos, it proves the perfect way to share memories. It comes together with a USB cord, so, don’t worry about changing photos. You can update your digital photo brag book any time you want. It only requires two AAA batteries, and off you go.

Many people who turn to digital photo brag books to share their pictures are usually looking for a change that makes them feel connected with the latest trends in technology. For instance the Picture Viewer launched by Kodak is enjoying immense success on the market. This type of digital photo brag book is compatible with Image Link print system or with printers that use PICTBRIDGE technology. One click on the share button and you stay in touch. Pictures stored in digital photo brag books can be easily and quickly turned to print form. Ninety seconds would be all the time you waste within the process. Enjoy technology!

Strategies for Portrait Photography

Photography is one of the most popular hobbies and professions in the world. There is nothing like capturing fragments of reality and preserving it on film. There are many kinds of photography, but one of the most in-demand is portrait photography.

A good portrait is described as a picture with a quality image that captures both the physical features and character of the subject. Taking good portraits is very challenging because a photographer needs a subject with an upbeat personality that also reflects sensitivity and liveliness.

There are lots of factors that photography enthusiasts need to know in capturing the perfect portrait.

1. Revelation of the subject's character
For a portrait to be considered good, it must capture at least one element that shows the features and traits of the subject as well as one that captures his or her individuality. The image must reveal an important part of the subject's character that can be identifiable by those who know them. Therefore, it is quite challenging for a portrait to show the character of his subject if they have only met for the first time.

2. The right moment to take pictures
Definitely, the photo shoot should start when the subject is comfortable and at ease with his or her appearance and surroundings. Never shoot if the subject is tense or uneasy, because it will reflect in the pictures. There is no rule that says a conversation should stop when shooting starts, it can still continue especially if it makes the subject open up more to the photographer.

Remember that the subject does not need to smile to make the portrait look good. Oftentimes, a thoughtful or a serious expression is preferred since it reveals more of the subject's character.

3. Preparedness of the photographer
This is important since it is the photographer who takes control of a photo session. The subject must feel that the person behind the camera knows what he's doing and is experienced enough to tell the subject how to pose. The photographer himself must be prepared and relaxed throughout the session.

4. Right kind of lighting
Probably the best light that can be used for capturing the personality of the subject is natural daylight. The variety of lighting choices brought about by outdoor conditions gives more creative leeway for the photographer. Having the subject sit near the window can also produce great effects. The only disadvantage of natural light is that it's not always consistent. This is the reason all photographers must utilize artificial lighting. All photographers must have studio flashes. Also, the position of the photographer in relation to the subject can also be shifted in order to maximize the light available.

5. Appropriate background
Simply put, a bad background can destroy a picture. Always pay close attention on the scenery behind the subject when framing shots. There are many creative options that be used when shooting outdoors. The subject can be made to pose beside or in front of colorful flowers or leaves, the sea or the sky. To reduce the effect of a distracting background, a photographer can make use of long lenses or an expansive aperture. For indoors, one can use black or grey cloth for the background, then adding colored transparent plastics over the flashes to modify color.

6. Usage of costumes and props
Portraits usually are a rare photograph of a subject, and good costumes can make the portrait more interesting and valuable. You don't always need to use a full costume, sometimes a hint of it will make wonders, such as hats or scarves. Props should be used very carefully, and should not distract from the main subject of the photograph. A prop should establish the natural pose and mood of the one being photographed.

7. Framing
The kind of framing can already create the image desired by the photographer. It is recommended that photos be cropped before shooting. The image should be checked a few seconds before clicking the shutter. Images that are not needed should be excluded from the shot.

Producing the perfect portrait may seem hard at first but these tips can help novices so that they can shoot better pictures.

How to Capture those Perfect Wedding Moments

A wedding is undoubtedly one of the most precious moments in a person's life. Capturing it on film to be stored forever is even more important. Today, brides and grooms have so any options to choose from when it comes to choosing the kind of photography that they want for the most important day of their lives.

Here is a guide in achieving the wedding photography of a couple's dreams:

1. Choosing the right photographer
In order to select a wedding photographer, a couple must first decide on the picture style that they want.

Portrait photographers are perfectly capable to take both formal and casual pictures, but he will most likely concentrate on the formal ones.

Photojournalists take shots that are candid and not planned. This kind of photographer usually has experience in journalism photography.

Hobbyist photographers are those who are often a friend or a relative of the couple, and would likely offer his services for free or a very low price. It is hard to tell the kind of pictures that they will produce, and there is a risk that the pictures may not be as good as a professional's.

2. Getting the perfect camera
Wedding photographers usually use two basic camera types: the 35mm and the medium format. The 35mm has the tendency to produce pictures that are a little grainy, but the only person who may notice the difference are the photographers themselves.

3. Color or black and white?
Color is usually used in wedding photos, but those who want a more artistic feel may go for the black and white film. Black and white photos lasts longer than color ones, though color films capture the details of the event more appropriately. One option would be to take the pictures in color first, then have copies made in black and white.

4, Personality of the photographer
Most couples want a photographer who can take great pictures but who is also friendly and sociable. Set an interview with the prospective photographer, and make sure to ask effective questions. Also, make sure to ask for references, and take a look at his previous work.

All these tips can help couples in getting those perfect pictures on their special day. Make sure that these pictures can be shown proudly to families and friends, and can be passed down to future generations.

Digital Photography For Beginners

Planning to get your hands on a digital camera but not sure if you can make the transition from your old camera that uses film to one that utilizes a memory card? If you are afraid of things that are complicated, then don't worry. Although digital cameras may be advanced, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are not user friendly. Here are some tips that can help you in taking pictures with a digital camera.

Enhance the color tones of your picture

There are times when you think that your shots have a cold or clammy aura. This is because digital cameras have default settings for white balance at auto. This is ok for most shots but if you want to increase the reds and the yellows of your shots, adjust the auto setting to cloudy. This makes your pictures appear warmer as well as richer.

Macro Mode

Activating the close up mode on your camera, usually called the macro mode, will make your shots have sharper details. This is very easy to use in digital cameras unlike in the conventional ones. To use your camera's macro mode, look for the icon that depicts the macro mode or "close up". Normally, the icon is that of a flower. Go as close to the object as your camera will allow. It is important to remember that you have a rather shallow field depth, thus it is important to focus on the subject's part that you consider to be the most significant.

Invest on file storage

Having a memory card that is capable of storing a large amount of picture files is important. This gives you the freedom to take more pictures. The higher the resolution of your camera which normally ranges from 2 mega pixels to up to 6 or more mega pixels, the higher the memory size of you card should be. With an ample sized memory card, you don't have to pass the opportunity to take a shot. No more worries of having a full memory card whenever that perfect shot appears.

Always use high resolution

Your digital camera has many resolution settings. Always take pictures using the highest possible setting. Although higher resolution means more memory used up, it isn't a problem if you have already acquired a good sized memory card. You will never know when the best shot you'll ever take in your whole life may pop up, why take it in poor resolution?

These tips will help you with your new digital camera. Never hesitate to take as many pictures as you can! Remember you have enough memory, why worry?

Panoramic Digital Photography Workshops

Going to panoramic digital photography workshops can be a great way togain digital photography skills in panorama photography.

When you photograph panoramas, you shoot a series of images which are then stitched together using software to create a single seamless image. As you might imagine, this takes considerable skill, first in taking the shots, and then getting the shots aligned in the software.

Although you can experiment yourself, and the software is not expensive, the best way to learn this skill is at a workshop with an advanced photographer.

If you’re a member of a photography group, suggest that you hire someone to give the group workshops. You can also approach a professional photographer yourself and ask for lessons

Digital Portrait Photography

The latest revolution in photography is digital portrait photography - they’re fast, low-coast, and can be archived on optical media for years and generations to come.

With advances in printing, you can still get the exact same portraits that you’d be able to get in many different areas, and you can find them right on your computer whenever you want them as well.

The prices for digital portrait photography vary depending on the experience of the photographer and the size of the photos.

However, it’s just as easy to take your own and print them out.. With some experimentation, and even the cheapest digital camera - or even a camera phone, you can create great portraits which your family and friends will treasure.

Digital Cameras - save money, save time, have fun

Got a digital camera? Chances are that you’ve got not just one, but two or more. A digital camera isn’t just available as a standalone item either: you’ve got other cameras in your cell phone and your PDA too.
It’s hard to believe that the boom in digital cameras only came a little more than ten years ago, when the costs of the technology and media for these devices fell enough to make them accessible to the average consumer. Previous to this, the only digital cameras were priced at thousands of dollars, putting them out of reach of the average person. However, what is it about digital cameras that make them so popular? Let’s take a look at these gadgets and talk about how they’ve changed the world of home photography.

Taking photographs can be a lot of fun, but the real fun is in viewing the photographs, which isn’t easily done with a film camera; you need to get that film developed. For those of us who are procrastinators, the pictures might get developed weeks or even months after the event the camera was used at, not a great way to preserve memories. Digital cameras, however, save photographs as computer data, and when that data is uploaded to a computer, you can view those pictures on your computer as soon as the night you’ve taken the picture.

Saving the memory as data makes viewing pictures great for after an event, but manufacturers took that one step further and incorporated an LCD viewing screen on digital cameras to allow people to find out how well their pictures came out instantly. Did someone get in the way of that shot at your child’s graduation? With a digital camera, you’ll know right away. This feature allows consumers to learn to take better photos with digital cameras.

Sharing Photographs

The rise of digital cameras came right as the Internet became a familiar fixture in many households, and they’re two technologies that complement each other. Once the pictures are uploaded to your computer, you can easily place them on your personal website, or e-mail them to friends and family. There’s no need to purchase duplicates at the photo development store, no scanners needed to convert the photos to digital images, and so on. Thanks to digital cameras and the Internet, we’ve become a society that better shares visual information.

In some ways, digital cameras can help cut the costs associated with developing pictures. While it’s true that these gadgets cost more than film cameras, they can often take higher-quality pictures and you don’t have the costs associated with buying and developing film. So as a trade for the up-front cost, as long as your digital camera and media holds up while you take pictures, the cost per picture is less. It’s for reasons like this that digital cameras have become such a hit in the world of photography.

Digital Photography Software: for beginners and experts

If you’re looking for more digital photography software than the free software which comes with your camera, you’re spoiled for choice.

There’s digital photography software that helps an amateur edit, manage, share and print great photographs. Other software makes it easy to send pictures around the world.

Digital photography software helps photographers store their pictures in an efficient system. Other software programs help catalog photos and retrieve the images when necessary. There are so many software packages currently on the market to assist in working with your camera and producing quality photographs.

Digital photography software can help make a normal photograph better. Many of these programs have tools to help photographers crop the images stored on their cameras or computers. These tools can help a photographer remove many people from an image if he or she only wanted the picture of one person captured among a group. These tools allow one to remove all the people from a beautiful scene if the photographer just wants the pictures of nature. Digital photography software has tools that will allow a photographer with a tiny image in an original photo to enlarge that image in another photo.

Digital Photography Software Makes Photo Editing Simple

There have been great photographers who have produced wonderful photographs for years. Some of these photographs have been manipulated in a darkroom under red lights with messy chemicals. Digital photography software helps an individual edit their photographs on their computer terminal at home. The great cameras have the means to download the photographs onto the computer hard drive where these images can be fixed or changed. A person who has learned to use the fantastic software can brighten a photo that is too dark.

Digital photography software can make a color photograph into a black and white photograph or enhance the colors to make them brighter. Software programs can help a person change a green dress into a red one. Software programs contain tools that can remove pimples from the face of a teenager or bags under the eyes of an elderly woman. Good digital photography software can sharpen an image for a special effect or soften the same for a different effect. Most of the digital photography software that is used to edit photos is easy to use. The people who designed the program often make sure that it is user friendly. The directions are usually clear and precise so almost anyone can use it.

Digital Photography Tips: Shoot Great Photos With Your New Digital Camera

Digital photography makes it ultra-simple to take photos, however if you want to take superb images, you need to put thought into how you compose your photographs.

Let’s look at the so-called “rules” of composition. You don’t have to follow these rules, but it helps to know what they are. Even if you totally ignore them, you’ll be amazed at how often your best shots follow these rules.

Composition’s Rule Of Thirds - Divide Your Frame Into Three Areas

The best shot I’ve ever taken followed this rule exactly, and the shot happened completely by accident. I was holding my camera at dusk, when a boy and his dog ran towards me - they formed two thirds of the frame, and a car’s backlights in the left of the frame made the final third.

Try it. Compose your frames according to the rule of thirds, and you’ll be amazed at the interest your photos achieve with little effort.

Fill The Frame, So That The Eye Is Drawn Across The Image

Don’t be afraid to fill the frame of your shot completely. For portraits, this means getting close to your subjects, and if you’re shooting children, getting down on their level, or slightly below, so that you’re looking up at them.

Take Real-Life Images - Take Photos In The Middle Of Daily Life

Staged photos usually aren’t as good as candid images. When you’re photographing people, get them actively engrossed in something that they enjoy, so that they become unaware of you after a few minutes. Although this takes longer to get your photos, it also means that you can capture the personality of your subjects.

Digital photography is a lot of fun, and it’s inexpensive too. Don’t be afraid to take lots of images - you can always delete them - and before you know it, you’ll have some images which are frame-worthy and of which you’re proud.

Posted in Photography Tips

Digital Photography Overtakes Film as Method of Choice, New Survey Reveals

gital photography has taken over film as the method of choice among photographers, a new survey by morefocus, an online research organization, has revealed. The main reason for preferring digital cameras over film cameras is the flexibility digital cameras provide during the picture-taking process, and not necessarily the end result.

Carlsbad, CA (PRWEB) October 4, 2006 -- An overwhelming majority of people, 82 percent, now use digital cameras, and the main reason for preferring digital over film photography is the flexibility that digital cameras provide while taking pictures, according to an independent study conducted by morefocus, an online research organization.

Those surveyed, 75 percent of whom own two or more cameras, revealed some interesting information about why digital cameras are quickly becoming dominant over film. The research showed that digital cameras are not preferred because of an improvement to the end result, but rather improvements to the process of picture-taking itself.
In fact, almost half of those surveyed said the experience of the photographer is the most important factor in producing a great photograph. The quality of the camera tied for being the second most important factor with subject matter.

Additionally, digital cameras did not stand out when respondents were asked which method produces a higher quality print. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said both methods produce the same quality, while the rest of the group were evenly split at 38 percent between digital and film.

"If the flexibility of digital cameras during the picture-taking process is, in fact, leading to better quality prints, most of the people we talked to weren't making the connection," said Dr. Regan Carey, morefocus Research Director. "They're certainly aware of what they like about digital cameras, but they see the end result as pretty equal between digital and film."

Regarding what people like about digital cameras, two main factors were considered most useful by those surveyed. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said the ability to manipulate and correct digital photos is the most useful aspect, while 47 percent said it is the ability to see digital photos instantly.

The survey also revealed some surprising information about how people use pictures from digital cameras.

"The survey showed some slightly contradictory responses," said Carey. "People certainly seem to be taking full advantage of the ability to print their own photographs, yet when asked how important this feature is, they rated it very low."

Only three percent of those surveyed said the ability to print pictures at home was the most useful aspect of the digital camera. Yet a quarter of respondents said they print their own photos and at least store them in boxes, while even more, 43 percent, print their own photos and arrange them in photo albums.

Off with their heads!

Cropping and framing. We have a little joke in my family. When we're paging through rolls and rolls of old photos and come to a group shot, we'll all smile and pass it around. Invariably, if I'm in the photo, that means I didn't take it. And if I didn't take it, then Grandma Gert, did, God rest her soul. Gert was a great woman with a wicked sense of humor, but she was also quite a bit shorter than me. Which could explain why my head was almost always cut off, disappearing out of the frame on top. When it comes to framing that perfect group shot, remember that faces are the most important part - that's what people always look at first. Your friends pay people to cut their hair, so don't do it for them! Give your photos plenty of breathing room on top. One of the great things about digital photography is that you can always crop the empty space out later, if need be, but you can't add the top of Aunt Jane's beehive back in.

The opposite is also true: Don't feel like you've got to get everybody's toes in the frame. In fact, the head-to-toe shot can sometimes come back looking like a mugshot. Unless that's what you're going for, feel free to let your subject's bottom halves fall out of frame while you concentrate on their faces.

And if Uncle Joe is towering over everyone else, remember that you can always just make him sit down in front.


Turn off that flash! Put the sun at your back. When I was a kid and my dad gave me my first camera (I think it was a 126 cartridge), he gave me one piece of advice: "Always put the sun at your back." Actually, he gave me two. He also said I should hold my breath when I hit the shutter, but I think he was just making that one up. For some reason, that hasn't stopped me from doing it to this day. It's the "sun at your back" advice that's relevant here, even more so with digital cameras. Since most digicams come with a built-in flash, red eye is always a problem. Red eye happens when the flash actually reaches the back of the subjects eye, and reflects back. The easy solution to this problem is to move the flash away from the camera lens as far as possible, which is why you see professional photographers with large, complicated flash contraptions on their cameras.

But since most of us are using small digital cameras, that's not exactly an option. Thankfully, there's another easy solution: turn the flash off and use available light. Any digicam that comes with a flash also comes with a way to turn it off. Usually some combination of button-pressing will result in an icon that looks like a lighting bolt with a line through it appearing somewhere. This means the flash is off.

With your flash off, pay attention to where the light is coming from in the room. The "sun at your back" advice works just as well indoors - just look for the brightest light in the room, and make sure it's behind you, shining on your subjects. Shooting a digicam with the flash off will often result in better digital photos. No more blown out ghosts with red eyes! However, you now have a new problem to worry about: blurring. If you're shooting without a flash, locate the brightest place you can or turn on a nearby lamp. If you can put your camera down on a table or some other flat surface and shoot on a time-delay, do it! That way, you won't even be touching the camera when it shoots. Believe it or not, most blurring comes from tiny movement in your hands, not your subjects! You can also try leaning against a wall, or bracing your hand against whatever's handy.



Say cheese! Explaining the digicam delay. Shooting digital photos of a get-together is great because the photos can be online in minutes, with emails going out to all your wired friends to come see. The problem is, when you're shooting people who aren't used to digital photography, they may assume that a quick "Say cheese!" is all it's going to take.

But consumer-level digital cameras are slower than traditional film SLRs, so sometimes it helps to warn the folks in your group shot that there'll be a small delay. Try saying, "When I say cheese, stand real still, okay? Ready? Cheese!" Your subjects may have to do a little work, but they'll get better group shots in their email for it. And the really killer thing abut shooting digital at family functions is all the oohing and ahhing over the camera from the older family members. I love passing my camera around the table after sneaking a shot of Uncle Eddie doing his spoon trick. (Don't ask.)


Up against the wall! Getting into position. Okay, so, you've got your flash off, you've identified the brightest spot in the house, and you've explained that "say cheese" may mean a prolonged smile. Next you need to set up your group shot.

With small groups, the closer you can get people to stand next to each other, the better. If everyone stands shoulder to shoulder, it's going to get that mug shot quality mentioned earlier. Instead, position people at an angle. The professional photographers tend to put people with their outside shoulder angled toward the camera, and their inside shoulder facing away. At an angle, you can get people to stand closer to each other and still be comfortable.

But there's no need to get too formal with a casual group shot. I tend to let people stand where they feel comfortable. Once they've filed into place, just give them a gentle nudge together.

Finally, when it's picture taking time, people have a tendency to go stand in front of a wall. Nine times out of ten, your shots will look better if you get your group to stand away from anything like a wall or a bookcase. The further they move away from what's behind them, the more out of focus that stuff will become. And that's good - you want the photo to be about the people, not what books they have on the shelf behind them.

That's it! Just follow those four tips and this season's group shots will be better than the last - you'll see. The tall guy may even make it into the frame this year.

How can I get great group shots?

It never fails. It happens when you're out with friends, or home for a visit, or at that business dinner with the client. Someone pulls out a camera, someone else says, "Hey, everybody! Say Cheese!" And you grin as best you can, knowing that the resulting awful photo of you mid-blink will be emailed to everyone you know faster than you can say, "redeye."

Everybody likes a nice group shot to remember a social gathering. So why do they always wind up looking so bad? We here at ImageStation Magazine thought it was time for a refresher on getting the perfect group shot. So here are four tips for photos that will travel as email attachments for months to come.

Combating the Dreaded Red-Eye

Red-eye is one of the most common problems encountered when taking photos of people. Red-eye happens when someone is looking directly at the camera, and the light from the flash reflects off the blood vessels in the retina.


Removing red-eye is quick and easy. After selecting Fix Red-Eye under Essential Tools, move your mouse over the offending red part of the eye, give it a single click and- voila, the red-eye is gone. If you're not satisfied with the result after one click, a second click will often do the trick.

Going to Print: Cropping Your Photos

When you're ready to get some prints made of your photos, the Crop tool under Essential Tools is invaluable. With it, you can size the photo to standard print sizes, (anywhere from 2 x 3 to 20 x 30), ensuring that your photo fits the exact print dimensions so that there is no white space on the print.




Making Great Gifts with Edges and Templates

Once you've fixed up your photos to your liking, you're ready to share them. Making prints is one way to let people see your photos. Another way to present them is to take advantage of the many offerings at the ImageStation store.

For gifts with a large white background (such as coffee mugs and t-shirts), your photos might benefit from both the Templates and Edges editing tools.

Let's start with Templates, which include a number of borders to suit any photo. Starting with a photo I shot at the zoo which I ran through Auto-Fix, I'm thinking of making a funny coffee mug for my girlfriend to remind her of my photo savvy and to make her laugh every time she takes a sip of coffee.

After choosing the Templates tab, I'm ready to find the perfect template. In looking at all of the choices available, I settle on a fun Valentine's Day theme. Clicking on the design applies it to the image. The photo is a little off-center, so I use the Move arrows to push it a touch to the right.

I choose to Save as Copy in order to preserve the original image, and now the image is ready to adorn the side of a coffee mug.

Another option for dressing up your image is to use the Edges tool.

Adding edges will give a nice textured look to sides of your photo, and look great against the white backdrop of a t-shirt or coffee mug.

Wrapping Up

The top photo editor's are powerful tools, allowing you to work wonders with your photos. With the tips above, you should have little trouble in creating great photos to show to friends and family on your computer screen, as a photographic print, or even on a coffee mug. Good luck!

Oops! Undoing Mistakes

Image editing programs abound and they provide you with great solutions to making your digital photos shine. Let's take a look at some of the simple things you do to improve your images after you take them.


With just a little work, you can do everything from removing red-eye, cropping your photos to standard print sizes, or using the Auto-Fix feature to bring out the best in your pictures.

Your camera may have come with bundled software from the manufacturer which can be useful. However if you want to go to the next level you may want to check out some of the most popular software titles. One of the most useful features of any photo editor is the ability it gives you to undo any changes you've already made to your photo. For instance, if you decide that maybe a sepia tone and black border don't really complement your photo the way you thought it would, just click on the Undo button at the bottom of the screen to go back one step at a time. The Undo feature allows you to undo every single change you've made to the image, from when you first began editing it. Also, if you undo a change, then decide you were right the first time, just click on Redo. In addition to undoing mistakes, you can also restore an image to its original appearance by hitting Reset (instead of having to hit Undo repeatedly).

If you've made all your changes and are ready to save the image, you have two options: by choosing Save as Copy, you'll save an additional copy of the image in its new, modified form. If you choose Save and Replace, you'll overwrite the old image with the new one.

Digital photo terms and tips

Understanding digital photo file formats will help you make the most of your digital camera. Knowing how to take advantage of your camera's features makes it easy to produce great pictures and movies perfect for any situation. Digital cameras allow you to capture fast-moving action with a burst of photos, take pictures just the right size for e-mailing, or even make movies with a few pushes of a button.


JPG

JPG is the standard format used by most digital cameras. What makes JPGs so popular is that they are able to hold a lot of information (i.e. image detail) in a relatively small file. It's important to note that JPGs are recompressed everytime they're saved. Numerous recompressions will degrade the quality of the image, so it's a good idea to make a copy of your picture before making any modifications to it. Generally speaking, JPGs are your best bet for everyday shooting. The format strikes a solid compromise between image quality and file size. Your choice of image size (i.e. image resolution) should depend on the intended output for your photos, though it's usually best to shoot at the highest possible JPG resolution to take advantage of the camera's image sensor.


TIF

TIFs guarantee the highest possible quality image, but at a cost of huge file sizes and long waits as


The only time it would be smart to shoot TIFs is if you planned on making an enormous photographic print where you would want as much detail from the image as possible. Definately not for everyday photos, but great if you are planning to print large.

MPG


Creating a movie with your digital camera is not unlike taking many pictures in succession. MPGs are great to capture fast action, or to show a sweeping panorama that your camera isn't able to capture in a single picture. Keep in mind that the quality isn't as high as a DV camera, but for recording short videos to view on your computer, it's a good choice. Depending on your camera model, movie length is generally limited by the capacity of your memory card or CD. Movies in MPG format can be a good way to capture fast action. In the end, your file format choice is best dictated by what you're photographing. Different scenes lend themselves to different formats, but if you're not sure what to do, shooting JPGs is your best choice.

What does it take to make great digital photography?

Digital photography is exploding all across the world these days. Some would argue this is not a good thing (fans of the old darkroom days) but almost everyone can benefit from having one of these great digital cameras. If you want to pack lightly you can get small compact digital cameras, which will take simple and quick digital photographs as you go. If you want to shoot pictures like the professional photographer then you can get the latest high end cameras that will allow you to do almost

anything with your digital camera.


Just what can you do with digital photographs? Think of it as the "you can almost never make a mistake photography". Since you can check out your images right away on most cameras you have the ability to make sure you got the photo you wanted. If not, then try again. Oh and you can erase those bad shots right away too from the digital memory saving yourself room for the good shots to come.

What do I do with my photos now? Digital images can be manipulated in a wide variety of software packages ranging from the one that came with your camera to high end imaging programs such as Adobe Photoshop, and Macromedia Fireworks. The beauty of digital photography is this ability to fix, enhance, alter, and create images that reflect your taste in imagery. You can get artistic and create images that look like paintings, or you can simply remove the red eye effect from your Aunt Susan's eyes in last years holiday photo. If you like to get outdoors perhaps you would like to do some nature photography, which allows you to take many shots of the beauty you find along the way. Check out this article about using a Pentax digital camera on a nature hike. Then when you get home you are free to open your digital imaging program and create away.

Digital Camera for you? These cameras are loaded these days

Digital cameras provide the user with so many options that the mind boggles. I was a film guy for oh so many years until I sat next to a professional still photographer friend of mine one day out in the field. He had converted early to digital and was by then already well versed in the

field of digital image making.
I started asking him questions about his tools.
How did they work, fast enough, good quality, that sort of thing you know.
Here is what he told me
Paul said...

Run don't walk to get yours today. That is a the plain truth. There is no reason not to join the digital age when it comes to taking pictures anymore. Prices have fallen, quality has risen, and they are super easy to use and enjoy.

The technology behind these devices is so solid that they should last you a good long time or until you just cannot wait to have the latest one on the market. You can count on being able to hand off your old digi camera to someone else when you do upgrade as they are going to last awhile.

Think about buying something in the midrange if you can possibly afford it. These fall into the 2-4 megapixel range and cost from $600-$900. If you are able to enter the market in this range you will be able to choose from some very good digital cameras that have great features, good lenses, and the ability to make very high qaulity prints.

Make sure to figure out what you use your digi cam for the most when making your choices. If you are a travel snapshot person then you should think in terms of weight, battery life, number of shots you can take on each memory card, and last but not least the durability of the device.

If you like to shoot action, such as your kids playing sports or the dog chasing down the neighbors cat for the 100th time then you may want to consider the speed of the camera when taking multi burst shots.

If making larger high quality prints out of your photos is important then you should seriously think about the higher megapixel devices as they will give you the resolution necessary to make the best digital prints.

Digital Camera Pictures Collection

The Selection

Once you have your Category and Criteria, you can now make your Choice. It is pretty much a matter of matching the digital cameras in your category against your criteria. Now, your confidence level is much higher than you first started. A salesperson will not be able to sell you more than you need or less than you need. You should by now have narrowed down your choices to two or three digital cameras you want to personally handle and try out before deciding on the one that is right for you. More often than not, it will come down to how it handles, whether it is too small or too heavy for you, and the all important price. Do not miss this all important step to try it out first, which means a return guarantee from the vendor in case you don't like it during the trial period (it's usually 2 weeks, but get it in writing from the vendor).

Digital camera technology is advancing at an accelerated pace (perhaps even faster than the PC did) and you should not view your first purchase as your last. So don't worry too much if you make a "mistake." This also means that you cannot really afford to sit back and wait for the "perfect" model. Only you can decide what you can afford and when you can afford it. Though digital cameras in the serious and advanced categories are still high compared to their 35mm film counterparts, entry-level (point-and-shoot and beginner categories) digital camera prices have come down drastically and are now very affordable.

What's (Really) Important To Me?

Digital cameras in each category tend to offer pretty much the same feature set at the same price point than their competitors. So, how do you decide among them? Having decided on the Category, you now have to figure out what Criteria are important to you. Do you want something you can easily slip into your jeans pocket and take anywhere? Do you need a wide-angle? Panorama capability? Movie capability? At first, you may decide you want all of these, and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. Then you look at the price and you realize you cannot afford it. So, you have to decide which criteria really matter to you. As an example, if you're into macro photography, then you need a digital camera that can focus in real close; if you want to be able to carry it in your jeans pocket, then you need an ultra-compact model.

To help you in this quest, we have decided not to feature all the available digital cameras on the market। Only a subset make it in our list. They are the ones our editors believe are the best in their respective categories. That does not mean there are not as good or even better ones out there. There are a couple of reasons why we may not include some digital cameras in our list:

• The most important reason is that we do not know enough about them, either because the manufacturers do not provide enough information, and/or there are not enough users out there who have a positive comment about them.
  

• We try to avoid private labels। What private label means is simply that a company takes the digital camera made by another company (which usually makes a "cheap" generic model) and puts its own brand on it. (Note: This is not the same as two companies which combine their respective R&D and strengths to put out the same camera under their respective brands.)
  
• We already cover one of the "similar" model in case 2।
• The manufacturer has a lot of models which approximate one another on features; so, we select one or two from the group.

3 Cs to Choosing Your First Digital Camera

Where Do You Fit?

Once you understand these categories, mosey over to our Buyer's Guide and take a look at the digital cameras we have sloted into each category. This should help narrow down your choices. Check out the QuickFact™ Sheets to get a better idea of why a camera falls into a particular category. If we have reviewed the camera, see if you fit its User Profile.

3 Cs to Choosing Your First Digital Camera

The Four Categories

It helps to understand how camera manufacturers divide up the digital camera market. Basically, the consumer digital camera space is divided up into four categories: Point-and-Shoot, Beginner, Serious, and Advanced. [Notice, we did not mention a fifth category which is the "Pro" category and which targets both the amateur "pros" as well as the professional "pros."] You have to decide the Category you fit into.

Point-and-Shoot: This crowd is the bread and butter of the camera manufacturers. They want a digital camera that is easy to use, takes good pictures, and does not require them to even break open the User Guide. Interestingly, most digital cameras from the other categories can also be used in a point-and-shoot mode, and this crowd has been known to spend $$$ to get "the best" -- yet use only a fraction of the features they are paying for. But then again, there are not too many strictly point-and-shoot digital cameras today; the technology has advanced to the point that a digital camera targeted to the point-and-shoot crowd will usually also have more features than they need. I wouldn't recommend you buy from the Advanced category because these higher-end models might require you to fiddle with more settings than you'd be comfortable with to get good pictures.

Beginner: Here is the budding photographer who wants a digital camera to start off with. A strictly point-and-shoot camera might do the trick, but may not permit too much experimentation. A digital camera in this category should not cost too much but must provide the ability to experiment so the beginner can learn the basics of photography. This is also the time to head off to your neighbourhood library and loan out a couple of photography books on composition and exposure control.

Serious: The beginner has exhausted the capabilities of his or her digital camera and is ready to try out more advanced features, including manual modes, white balance selection, and exposure bracketing. The serious amateur photographer has also a better understanding of the type of photography she or he prefers: landscape, portraits, macro, sports, street, etc. and may seek out a digital camera that is good at that particular type of photography.

Advanced: Once you reach this level, I don't see you asking, "Which digital camera should I buy?" You know what you want, what you don't really care for, and what you are willing to live with. You know there is no such beast as the perfect digital camera, and you don't waste your time and energy debating "my digital camera is better than yours." You simply have no desire to debate any of these things because you are out there busy making pictures (yeah, that's not a typo: making, not just simply taking). You probably demand the best in image quality, rapid performance, reliability, and flexibility; but then you may also purchase the digital camera that "the majority" denigrate but which you consider is right for you. In fact, you can take excellent pictures with a digital camera from any of the four categories.

Panorama (Stitch Assist) vs. Wide-Angle

An interesting development with digital cameras is the "panorama" or "Stitch Assist" feature which allows you to take a number of regular shots and digitally "stitch" them together in an image editing software to produce a panoramic picture. This is a great development and panoramic pictures can be breathtaking to view. It is very impressive when used to take a large group of people, say a club's members or a large family with grandparents and grandchildren, all lined up. Panoramic landscapes are my favorites.

[Editor's note: Do not be confused with the 'Panorama' feature on film APS cameras. This is nothing but an after-the-fact in-the-photo-lab cropping and enlargement. In fact, no matter which picture mode you select, the film APS camera always capture the picture in the 'H' picture mode. In the photolab, the printer reads which mode you selected, then just crops and enlages it to 'simulate' the desired effect. Bottom line, it ain't panoramic and shouldn't really be called panoramic. It can give a nice effect sometimes, though, when used imaginatively.]

Some people have confused the ability of a digital camera to take panoramic pictures with the ability of a lens to provide a good wide-angle coverage. It is an understandable confusion, but really, it is not the same thing and we do not get the same results when either displaying on a PC monitor or in prints.

A lens with a good wide-angle coverage (say, 24 mm) will allow you to include more of the picture in the same one frame. To contrast, a panoramic picture needs many frames to cover the same angle. In other words, I can capture all the glory of a breathtaking view with a wide-angle lens and display it on my PC monitor. With panoramic pictures, the same coverage will be bigger than your PC monitor and you'll have to scroll left and right to view the image. Ditto, on an 11x14 in. print. Different beasts for different purposes.

I hope this clarifies the difference a bit. We are all awaiting camera manufacturers to bring out digital cameras with better wide-angle coverage. I'd rather have a lens with 28-112mm coverage (4x optical zoom) than one with 35-140mm coverage (also 4x optical zoom). With the first one, I get a good wide-angle at 28mm, normal coverage at 50mm, and a good portrait coverage at 112 mm (all using 35mm camera equivalent). With the second, I get normal coverage at 35mm, a good portarit coverage at 112-135mm, and so-so telephoto coverage at 140mm.

Light Metering

To properly expose a picture, your camera has to measure how much light is available. Suppose you are shooting a picture where your main subject is in the shade but it is otherwise a very bright sunny day. If the camera takes a Centre Weighted-Average light measure, it gives extra weight to the centre of the frame, then averages it with the rest of the frame. If the surrounding light is bright enough, the meter might be "fooled" by the bright light all around your main subject, and the main subject might come out underexposed. In this case, it might be better to switch to Spot Metering so your camera takes its light measurement only on your main subject. The result is that the main subject is now properly exposed, though the surroundings might be somewhat overexposed, which might be OK in this particular situation. Matrix Metering takes light measurement from various areas of the framed shot and then sets the exposure accordingly. Different cameras have different light metering schemes, but they are mostly variants of the three basic ones we have just discussed. You would want to favor digital cameras that give you spot metering, plus one or both of the other two light metering options.

Exposure Control / Shooting Modes

Most consumer digital cameras today feature Scene Modes. Scene modes are simply preset exposure/shutter speed combinations (together with white balance and exposure compensation) to account for most of the common picture-taking situations, such as portraits, indoor fluorescent lighting, landscape, and night scene. Scene modes save you from having to fidget around with the aperture, shutter speed, white balance and exposure compensation to obtain proper exposure.

A note of caution is in order when talking about scene modes. The fact that a digital camera offers a particular scene mode does not necessarily mean that you will be able to capture good images with that scene mode. Let me elaborate in more detail, with the following examples, what I mean:

Let's say a digital camera offers a Sports or Action scene mode. You might think that this means you will be able to capture great action shots with this digital camera, right? Maybe. It all depends on what the digital camera offers technically.

To understand this completely, let's review what are the necessary technical requirements for being able to successfully freeze a fast action shot: 1) a fast shutter speed (say, 1/1,000 sec.); 2) a wide aperture (say, F1.8); 3) a powerful flash; 4) ISO of 400 and above; 5) white balance for fluorescent and tungsten lighting; 6) a small shutter lag (you'll never catch the action if the shutter clicks 2 sec. after you press the shutter release).

Let's assume your digital camera offers a shutter speed of 1/1,000 sec. -- fast enough to stop action. It has a maximum aperture of F2.8 -- OK for outdoors action shots in bright sunlight, OK for indoors action shots using a powerful enough flash, but not quite wide enough for indoors action shots where flash is not permitted. In the latter case, you've got no recourse but to increase the film equivalent sensitivity to ISO 400 or above. Now, there are not too many digital cameras, except for the very expensive digital Single Lens Reflexes (dSLRs), that deal well with the increase in noise level at the higher ISOs. And if your digital camera only offers a film equivalent of ISO 100, you're stuck! The Sports or Action scene mode on your digital camera is, for all practical purposes, useless to you if indoors action shots without flash is what you're after.

Similarly, Night Scene mode is really useful if a digital camera provides a shutter speed of 1 sec. and slower, and perhaps even bulb (where the shutter remains open as long as you depress the shutter release). But if the slowest shutter speed is 1/30 sec., ummm... not much is possible as far as night pictures are concerned even though the camera offers a Night Scene mode.

[Not exactly a scene mode, but also consider the case of a digital camera that offers ISO sensitivity of 100, 200, 400 and 800. But, if the noise level at ISO 200 and higher is unacceptable, then, for all practical purposes, the higher ISOs are useless (unless a 'noisy' picture is the 'image effect' you're after). So, when comparing digital cameras, do not trust 100% the features on paper -- it pays to read actual users' opinions to ensure whether a particular feature is usable in practice.]

Ensure that the camera can technically fulfill whatever requirements are necessary to capture the shots you're after. Review our tutorial for further details about the technical requirements for scene modes.

White Balance

The image sensor in a digital camera does not "see" light the same way that film does. The sensor just receives light, generates an analog charge that must then be interpreted by software to digital pixels. This gives digital cameras the ability to adjust color in camera. What white balance allows a digital camera to do is to calibrate all the colors based on the color White. In finding a reference white, all other colors are adjusted accordingly. The better digital cameras allow you to calibrate the white balance using a white (or gray) card. Ensure that your digital camera allows you to select different white balance setting for different situations, such as outdoors, cloudy, fluorescent, and tungsten.

A Note on Shutter Speed/Aperture/ISO

To properly expose a picture, your camera needs to let in enough light to reach the film or image sensor (in the case of a digital camera). So, let's assume we set a fixed aperture (the opening of the iris in the lens that allows light in).

In a sunny situation, there's a lot of light, so a camera set on Auto mode will usually select a fast shutter speed (say, 1/125 sec. or 1/500 sec.) so the image sensor is exposed for only a short time to the light.

In a cloudy or dark situation, the camera on Auto mode will usually select a slow shutter speed (say, 1/30 sec. or 1/15 sec.) so as to allow the image sensor to be exposed for a longer time.

Basically that's how shutter speed works for a selected aperture. Usually, however, the camera on Auto mode will select different combinations of shutter speed and aperture to obtain proper exposure.

In general, the following applies: a small aperture means less light reaches the image sensor, so the camera needs to open the shutter for a long time; a large aperture lets in more light, so the shutter speed opens for a short time.

You can also set the image sensor sensitivity (ISO) to affect exposure. A high ISO needs less light, a low ISO needs more light for proper exposure. Common problem with current consumer digital cameras is that high ISOs introduce quite a bit of noise as to be mostly unusable, so don't get fooled by 'features on paper.'

Shutter Speed

Your camera relies on the combination of aperture and shutter speed to determine proper exposure. If you have a wide range of shutter speeds, you have more latitude in deciding what aperture to use and what kind of pictures you can take. If you have a limited range of shutter speeds, or worse only three or four shutter speeds, you might find that most of your shots are underexposed, or the camera applies software techniques to "boost" the available light by manipulating the image captured, which usually results in loss of image quality. So, even though you might buy a high resolution digital camera, your limited shutter speed range may effectively diminish the image quality you obtain in capturing a properly exposed picture (e.g. the camera might have to use a higher ISO setting and introduce noise in your picture). Bottom line: ensure that your digital camera provides a full range of shutter speeds ranging all the way from fast (e.g. 1/1,000 sec.) to slow (1 sec. or more).

Maximum Aperture

Why should you care what the maximum aperture is? Simple, the maximum aperture decides how much light your camera lets in to record the picture. The larger it is, the more light gets in, thus allowing you to shoot in a bigger range of lighting situations. With a large enough aperture, you could shoot on a cloudy day without the use of flash; you could shoot action pictures using a fast shutter speed; you could shoot portraits and throw the background out of focus.

If the maximum aperture is small to start out with, you can only shoot in a limited range of lighting situations, and would be overly relying on the flash to provide enough light to properly expose your shots. And more often than not, the camera flash is pretty weak and useful mainly as fill-in flash. You would be using slow shutter speeds which means that action shots without flash would be impossible. Slow shutter speeds also mean that any movement on your part (i.e. camera shake) results in blurred pictures.

Some digital cameras have a limited aperture range. Instead of an iris that opens (larger aperture, more light gets in and less depth of field) and closes (smaller aperture, less light gets in and more depth of field) in increments, they might have only 2 preset aperture settings. In fact, some might not have an iris at all, which means that you cannot really control depth of field. The aperture might be "electronically controlled" by moving a filter into the light path to cut off the amount of light reaching the image sensor; this, in effect, simulates a smaller aperture setting but depth of field is not affected. Is this good or bad? Well, the jury is still out on this one. Technically, 2 preset apertures with no ability to control depth of field is a limiting factor for those who want to explore digital photography, but if such a camera takes superb pictures, and you're just interested in point-and-shoot, then who is to complain? Keep an open mind, and don't judge a digital camera only by its features -- it's the picture quality that counts in the final analysis.

Storage Media

How much storage media is enough? Some beginners wonder why people get so hung up with large storage media when we previously could at most capture 36 exposures on film? They're wrong, of course, because we were never satisfied with 36 exposures and carrying all those rolls of film in our pockets were a real bother. Pros attach a film back to their SLR, giving them hundreds of exposures. Wonder why they would do such a thing? :)

Anyway, a good rule of thumb is the following: at least 128MB for a 3 megapixel digital camera and at least 256MB for a 4 megapixel digital camera. The reason that 'bigger is better' is because it's a real bother to change film or memory card (it usually happens when things just start to get interesting around you) and you risk missing a good picture. After all we are talking digital here, so forget the past. There's just no good reason to change memory cards. Having said that, it is always a good idea to have a spare memory card with you in the odd and rarest of unlucky chance that the first one should stop working for any reason (when this kind of rarest of event happens to you, it is a good time to go out and purchase a lottery ticket ).

You also want to shoot at the highest resolution at all times, which means that you need all the storage space you can get. Shooting at the highest resolution allows you to print a nice sized 8x10 in. photograph to hang on your wall or to crop a smaller part of the picture and blow it up without loss of quality.

Megapixels Resolution

How many megapixels resolution should your digital camera be able to capture? The more pixels you have, the larger the prints you can print. Consider the following table, and the answer becomes obvious:Megapixels Print Size
2 4x6 in.
3 8x10 in.
4 11x14 in.
5 20x30 in.


It is not just a matter of print size, for you may not want to ever print your pictures. The print size gives you an indication -- serves as a proxy for -- the quality of the image you can capture. Here at Photoxels, we recommend that you consider only digital cameras with 3+ Megapixels resolution. This way, you will never regret capturing that superb shot -- but due to the low resolution of your digital camera, it does not display or print like the way you saw it in the viewfinder or on the LCD.

The higher megapixels also allows you to crop and enlarge ('digital zoom') your original image in an image editing software without noticeably losing too much quality.

[Editor's note: A note of caution is necessary here. The megapixels resolution of a digital camera is the number of pixels it uses to capture an image. In general, the more megapixels, the more detailed the image that is captured. However, the captured image is then saved, usually as a jpeg file which is compressed. Most digital cameras allow you to specify the amount of compression to use: the less the compression, the bigger the file and the more detailed the image saved; the more the compression, the smaller the file and the less detailed the image saved. However, many beginner cameras do not give you that option and save the image with a lot of compression. So, even if a digital camera is advertised as 5MP and theoretically you should be able to obtain a 20x30 in. print from it, the truth of the matter is that it may save its final image with too much compression to provide the amount of detail necessary to print such a large print.]