Getting the Most from your Digital Cameras

This is the second in a series of articles. This month we are focusing on getting to know digital cameras! Digital “everything” seems to be growing in popularity! VCRs are being replaced by DVDs, video cameras are being replaced by digital video cameras, cars, appliances, televisions and more are all converting to digital. It’s no wonder that digital cameras are so common these days.

As with other classes of cameras, digital cameras range in both price and features. A point-and-shoot digital with few features is the basic starting point. As you increase in price, more options and advanced features are added. At the high-end of digital cameras are SLR’s and professional format cameras. In this article I will focus only on the personal models.

Many camera basics were covered in Getting the Most from your Point-Shoot-Camera in the December 2004 article. Please refer back to it for information on lens type, flash modes and how to hold a small camera. These also apply to the digital cameras discussed here.

On the topic of holding a small camera, I’d like to make a special point as it relates to digital cameras. Many (dare I say most) digital cameras have a LED viewing screen on the back of the camera. For some reason, the basics of holding a camera are often forgotten when someone shoots photos with a camera like this. I frequently see people holding their camera at arm’s length, as I am in this example photo, viewing the screen on the back to compose their picture. Camera shake is still an issue!

Flash and a fast shutter speed certainly compensate for some shake, but why take that chance? Do yourself a favor and turn off the viewing screen in the back and look through the view-finder. Of course, there are times when the LED screen is invaluable. If your camera is mounted on a tripod, you will be more comfortable standing and viewing the screen than you would be bent over peering through a small hole. Be advised too, that the LED screen will wear your batteries down at an accelerated pace.

So, how does a digital camera work? I will outline the basics. When you capture an image, most digital cameras save millions of “pieces” which make up a “whole” photo into a file. Those pieces are called pixels. The more pixels, the better the resolution, or clearness, of a picture. Resolution is measured in megapixels (MP) or literally, “millions of pixels”. Three to four MP should be adequate for the average photographer. That’s more than sufficient for a print up to 8x10. If you do a great deal of cropping, you’ll want more than 4MP.

Digital cameras have a lot of advantages!

• Immediate feedback on your image if you have an LED screen
• No waiting time for developing. Your pictures are ready instantly
• You save files on your computer and/or CD
• Pictures are easy to share on the web or in email
• It’s easy to edit and crop your photos
• You can print your photos at home and only print what you want
• Wonderful depth of field!

Digital cameras have disadvantages too!

• Batteries are quickly consumed
• Storage media (picture cards) are expensive
• High contrast scenes are not processed well
• There is a lag-time from when you press the shutter and the picture is taken
• “Noise” is a problem in many photos
• “Purple fringing” is common
• Photos printed at home on a desk-jet printer have a shorter life-expectancy
• Shallow depth of field is very difficult to achieve

I think the major draw towards digital cameras is the ease of which people are now able to share via the internet. The computer is such a wonderful tool and many digital photographers have taken advantage of photo editing software. With only a few clicks of the mouse, you can lighten, darken, crop, or convert color to black-and-white. In this example, I’ve created a black-and-white image with selective color!

Of course, digital scrapbooking is also another benefit of having your images in digital format. Scanning your photos is another option, but you will loose quality in the scanning process.

(con't. . )

One of my frustrations with my digital camera was that I was not able to get an acceptable shallow Depth of Field (DOF). An example of a shallow DOF is where the subject is in focus and everything behind that subject is blurred. This is especially desirable if you want the subject of your photo to stand out from a busy background. This photo of my daughter at the lake shows this to some degree. I took this with my digital camera and I’m actually surprised at it’s outcome. The physical distance of the lake behind her allowed for a partially blurry background. With an SLR camera, I could have achieved an even better shallow DOF. I read a long and mathematically complex article explaining this phenomenon.

If you’re interested in portrait-type photography please note that it’s just not possible to achieve a wonderfully blurred background with a standard digital camera. (Digital SLR’s and other professional models excluded.) On the other hand, this is also GOOD news. Those same mathematical calculations proved that a standard digital camera has a much greater DOF than a standard 35mm camera. In fact only large-format, professional film cameras can get such depth. So, for many outdoor shots, especially with a person in the foreground and landscapes in the distance, you can expect amazingly in-focus results - better than your film camera.

One of the major complaints regarding digital photographs is the noise produced at extreme zooms or higher ISO levels and something called purple fringing. (Note that the ISO is a simulated number). The best way for me to describe “noise” is for you to think of a television with a poor reception. The TV screen would have speckles all over it. Those speckles are similar to the noise in a photo. There is typically more noise in photos taken in low-light situations than well-lit areas. The photo close-up of my son’s face tries to illustrate this. Notice the small dots in his skin tone. (Lower ISO settings will result in less “noise”.)

“Purple fringing” is exactly that! Around the fringe, or edge of a subject, there is a purple ring. I’ve zoomed in on this photo here for you to see the purple hazing around the edge. Many camera manufactures are working diligently to correct this, but it’s still a problem in many cameras. I am actually quite pleased with my camera. It took me a considerable amount of time to find good examples of both purple fringing and noise! For now, many photographers remove the purple fringe with photo editing software, but that is time-consuming and tedious. Fringing and noise are most visible when you zoom in on a photo or enlarge an area.

Before closing, I’d like to put out a word of caution. If purchasing a digital camera, please make sure you hold the camera in your hand and try it out before buying it. My daughter received a very inexpensive digital camera (around $30) for Christmas. She is only six years old but a budding photographer. The giver of this new camera did not want to spend much, considering her age and he was not able to test this camera because it was sealed in the plastic packaging. I cannot believe how poor the images from this camera are. This cheap digital camera could not even match the quality of inexpensive one-time-use film cameras (which are actually quite adequate). I’ve seen single-use digital cameras advertised but I have not tried those. Do your research before buying and please find a way to take a test drive with it. Most stores have display models for you to handle.

As a photographer of both digital and film, I have the best of both worlds. My digital camera is of so much value! For most situations, this is my camera of choice. The digital camera has so many desirable features that I would not want to be without it. If you already have one, dig out your user’s manual to learn how to use each feature. If you’re in the market to purchase one, spend time researching and narrow down your list of selections. Then, go try each of the cameras on your list before making your purchasing decision. I’ve included a listing of websites below that may help you in your decision-making and learning process.

Happy digital photographing!

For information on digital cameras, visit:

• Dc Resource - This is my personal favorite - his reviews are easy reading!
• Short Courses - Lots to learn here!
• DPreview
• How Stuff Works
• PC Magazine
• Steve's Digi Cams
  

Coming soon: Getting the most out of your SLR

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Karen Thaemert

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