Select Filter For Your Digital Camera

effect of neutral density by Gary Turner

If you’re into digital photography and are skilled at using an image editor like Photoshop, you may feel that you no longer need lens filters because you can get similar or better results by digitally editing your images. However, many good reasons exist for considering using a few filters, including a protective filter to prevent damage to your lens in harsh environments. In this technique, you learn about four filters that you’re likely to find useful: the protective filter, neutral density filter, polarizing filter, and infrared filter. Read more

How To Choose A Tripod

 

A tripod has two parts: the legs and the pan head. The camera attaches to the pan head, and the legs support the head.

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Select Memory Cards Regarding The File Formats

Article Highlights:

Basic Definition

File Formats and Memory Speed

Types of Memory Cards

Instead of popping in rolls of film, you use a memory card. The memory card that comes with most cameras is a joke. It probably holds only about six or eight best-quality pictures. It’s nothing more than a cost-saving placeholder, foisted on you by a camera company that knows full well that you have to go buy a bigger one. When you’re shopping for a camera, it’s imperative to factor in the cost of a bigger card.

It’s impossible to overstate how glorious it is to have a huge memory card in your camera (or several smaller ones in your camera bag). Since you’re not constantly worrying about running out of space on your memory card, you can shoot more freely, increasing your chances of getting great pictures. You can go on longer trips without dragging a laptop along, too, because you don’t have to run back to your hotel room every three hours to offload your latest pictures. Your camera’s battery life is more than enough to worry about: The last thing you need is another chronic headache in the form of your memory card. Bite the bullet and buy a bigger one.

UP TO SPEED - The File Format Factor

Just about every digital camera on earth saves photos as JPEG files. JPEG is the world’s most popular photo file format, because even though it’s compressed to occupy a lot less space, the visual quality is still very high.

But JPEGs aren’t the only format you’ll run across, especially once you start editing your photos, which is covered in of this book. While there are a zillion graphical formats known to computer-kind, there are really only two, besides JPEG, that you, the digital photographer, need to know about.

TIFF. Most digital cameras capture photos in the JPEG format. Some cameras, though, offer you the chance to leave your photos uncompressed on the camera, in what’s called TIFF format. These files are huge in fact, you’ll be lucky if you can fit one TIFF file on the memory card that came with the camera.

TIFF’s advantage is that these files retain 100 percent of the picture’s original quality. Note, however, that the instant you edit a TIFF-format photo, most image editing programs convert the file to the lesser quality JPEG format. That’s fine if you plan to order prints or a photo book. But if you took that once-in-a-lifetime, priceless shot as a TIFF file, don’t do any editing don’t even rotate it if you hope to maintain its perfect, pristine quality. Instead, make a copy of the file and use that copy when it’s time to edit. Then hang onto the TIFF so you’ll always have a master version of your original shot.

RAW format. Most digital cameras work like this: When you squeeze the shutter button, the camera studies the data picked up by its sensors. The circuitry then makes decisions pertaining to sharpening level, contrast and saturation settings, color “temperature,” white balance, and so on and then saves the resulting processed image as a compressed JPEG file on your memory card.

For millions of people, the resulting picture quality is just fine, even terrific. But all that in-camera processing drives professional shutterbugs nuts.

They’d much rather preserve every last iota of original picture information, no matter how huge the resulting file on the memory card and then process the file by hand once it’s been safely transferred onto the PC, using a program like Photoshop Elements. That’s the idea behind the RAW file format, which is an option in many pricier digital cameras. (RAW stands for nothing in particular, and it’s usually written in all capital letters like that just to denote how imposing and important serious photographers think it is.)

A RAW image isn’t processed at all; it’s a complete record of all the data passed along by the camera’s sensors. As a result, each RAW photo takes up much more space on your memory card. For example, on a 6-megapixel camera, a JPEG photo is around 2 MB, but over 8 MB when saved as a RAW file. Most cameras take longer to store RAW photos on the card, too.

But for image-manipulation nerds, the beauty of RAW files is that once you open them up in a RAW-friendly image editing program, you can perform astounding acts of editing on them. You can actually change the lighting of the scene retroactively! And you don’t lose a single speck of image quality along the way.

Until recently, most people used a program like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to do this kind of editing. But amazingly enough, humble, free programs like Picasa and EasyShare, offer some RAW format capabilities.

Not every camera offers an option to save your files in RAW format. Why are only some cameras compatible? Because RAW is a concept, not a file format. Each camera company stores its photo data in a different way, so in fact, there are dozens of different file formats in the RAW world. Programs like Elements must be upgraded periodically to accommodate new camera models’ emerging flavors of RAW.

The following table helps you calculate how much memory card storage you’ll need. Find the column that represents the resolution of your camera, in megapixels (MP), and then read down to see how many best-quality photos each size card holds.

					Camera Resolution	2 MP	3.3 MP	4.1 MP	5 MP	Card Capacity	How many pictures?				32 MB	30	17	14	8
64 MB	61	35	30	17
128 MB	123	71	61	35
256 MB	246	142	122	70
512 MB	492	284	244	140
1 GB	984	568	488	280

 

Memory Card Types

As the years go by, high-tech manufacturers figure out new and better ways to fit more pictures on smaller cards. If you were the first on your block to buy a digital camera, it probably used CompactFlash or SmartMedia cards, which now look gargantuan compared to, say, the xD-Picture Card. CompactFlash cards, on the other hand, have stayed the same size but greatly increased their capacity.

When comparing memory card formats, look at price per megabyte, availability, and what works with your other digital gear. The following list will help you compare the currently available card types.

• CompactFlash cards are rugged, inexpensive, and easy to handle. You can buy them in capacities all the way up to 8 GB (translation: hundreds upon hundreds of pictures). Pro: Readily available; inexpensive; wide selection. Con: They’re physically the largest of any memory card format, which dictates a bigger camera. A name brand 512 MB CompactFlash card costs less than $45.
• Sony’s Memory Stick format is interchangeable among all of its cameras, camcorders, and laptops. Memory Sticks are great if you’re already knee-deep in Sony equipment, but few other companies tolerate them. Pro: Works with most Sony digital gadgets. Cons: Works primarily with Sony gear; maximum size is 256 MB. A 128 MB Memory Stick starts at about $35, depending on the brand (Sony’s own are the most expensive).
• The Memory Stick Pro Sony’s newer memory card, is the same size as the traditional Memory Stick but holds much more. Sony’s recent digital cameras accept both Pro and older Memory Sticksbut the Pro cards don’t work in older cameras. As of this writing, you can buy Pro sticks in capacities like 512 MB ($45), 1 GB (about $65), 2 GB ($115), and 4 GB ($300).
• Secure Digital (SD) cards are no bigger than postage stamps, which is why you also find them in Palm organizers and MP3 players. In fact, you can pull this tiny card from your camera and insert it into many palmtops to view your pictures. Pro: Very small, perfect for subcompact cameras. Con: None, really, unless you’re prone to losing small objects. 1 GB cards are now around $65 and 2 GB models are in the $100 range.

Before Buying A Camera

Either you want to take a photograph for your family trips, make photography your hobby or want to dedicate yourself to be a professional photographer, the first and single most important thing to do is buy yourself a digital camera. Digital camera offer instant preview, take pictures as many as you want to and, people say, fun!

With more than dozen camera makers launch their products nearly every month you will have too many options, sometime this condition will put you in a difficult positions (though actually it is an advantage for us, customers). It can be difficult to buy a digital camera, especially if this is the first time you’ve purchased digital. These little steps will ease you to pick the right camera for your photographic purpose, at the right type and the right price:

Know Your Own Style

Understand your own style and characteristics in photography:

• In which situation you are going to use your camera most often (indoor, outdoor, travel, studio, sports, close-up, portrait )?
• How much money you allocate to buy the camera?
• How immediate is your need for the camera?
• How long will you expect to master the camera (since digital camera could be tricky)?

Pick The Features You Want From A Camera

• Price
• Pixel size (resolution), also you need to know the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom
• Ease of Use ( think about button, handle and interface)
• Manual mode (for you who wants to advance yourself in photography, this is somewhat important)
• Weight
• Size
• Color
• Accessories availability (additional battery, memory card, bag/shack)
• ISO capability
• Service and warranty
• For SLR you may also think about:
  • Lens and flash type, and are they easily available in the market?

Prioritize The Features

Prioritize all those features you have listed in this way:

• Must Have: List the features you think the camera must have
• Should Have: Put the features you consider the camera should have, but least important that the first priority
• Nice to Have: These features are the last thing you want to but it would be nice if the camera posses them

Read Some Reliable Reviews, here are some reliable resources to digg deeper:

• www.dpreview.com
• www.dcviews.com
• www.steves-digicams.com
• reviews.cnet.com
• www.digitalcamerareview.com
• www.fredmiranda.com
• www.dcresource.com

Some important advices:

• Don’t let yourself being too flexible regarding the money you have budgeted before. Those camera makers are really smart, that when you make little addition to your budget you will get richer features, just remind yourself to your priority above.
• Don’t forget to prepare yourself to buy some additional accessories as listed
• If you really want to learn photography, find a camera where manual mode is available (especially when you interested to buy a pocket camera)
• Your style is your style. Do not be a follower, find your own style and find the camera best suited to that.
• When you already in the store, try the camera yourself. Feel the grip and its level of comfort, take some pictures and review the result. You may compare different brand with similar feature and price.
• When you already buy the camera, keep on going! It is much more fun to take picture rather than look back. Photographer is the master of the camera, not in reverse order.