Doug’s Digital Photography Blog

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Digital and film photography are far more alike than they are different, but digital image recording opens up many new, valuable, and perhaps unanticipated opportunities.

• For starters, assume that everything you already know about getting good pictures still applies.
• You won’t find it in the box, but every digital camera comes with a license to experiment, test, tweak and screw up to your heart’s content. With the cost of another shot at nothing, why hold back? The pros typically take dozens of shots to land a few keepers. Now you can do the same—and there’s no better or faster way to learn. Instant feedback is one of digital photography’s most powerful advantages.
• Sit down with your camera’s manual as soon as you can. Some cameras come with a basic printed manual to get started and a complete manual that will come on CD. You should read both.

Digital cameras are sophisticated devices with capabilities you might not anticipate from your film experience. You might be able to fake some of the features some of the time, but you won’t be able to take full advantage of your investment without a read through the full version of the manual. You won’t regret it.

• Think outside the box. Digital cameras have more uses than you might have imagined. You don’t have to memorize everything about your camera right away, but using it should become second nature if you want to be good at it. So practice every chance you get. Take pictures of your feet, hold the camera a few feet away from your face and take an interesting self-portrait. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

You may never get to some of your new camera’s settings, but a few critical settings demand immediate attention, and they won’t necessarily be familiar from your film experience.

• If you haven’t yet thought through the many trade-offs surrounding resolution (the number of pixels recorded) and JPEG compression level, often referred to as “quality”, play it safe: Set your camera for the highest available resolution and the lowest JPEG compression setting for now and work out the details later.
• When in doubt, don’t hesitate to take advantage of auto-exposure and auto-focus. Avoid auto-ISO for anything other than low-light action shots. Try the lowest ISO setting your camera offers before venturing higher. Higher ISO settings bring more image noise.
• Many digital cameras behave like color slide film—the best images are often slightly underexposed, particularly when bright scene elements are involved. Use exposure compensation to feel out your own camera’s exposure sweet spots, but count on some variation with photographic conditions. When in doubt, bracket your exposures.
• Sooner or later, you’ll have to deal with other purely digital recording mode issues like white balance and in-camera sharpening, but it’s usually safe to accept camera defaults on those fronts for starters.
• If you use your camera’s macro focus setting for a close-up, be sure to turn it off right away. Many a non-close-up’s been fatally blurred by a camera carelessly left in macro mode.
• If your shots come out badly exposed, even in auto mode, make sure that exposure compensation hasn’t been left at an untoward setting. One of the most difficult parts of digital photography that new users have trouble getting used to is the inevitable time delay that occurs between pushing the button on the camera and capturing the picture.

Digital cameras have more to do in preparing to take a photo than do film cameras. Like film cameras, they have to focus the lens. However, they also have to take a pre-exposure to get proper color balance.

The good news is that they are able to achieve better exposed, better color-balanced, and in many cases better focused images than film cameras. The bad news is that this takes a fraction of a second and could cause you to miss a great picture.

What can you do about it? There are a couple of approaches that are very effective.

The simplest is to just push the shutter button down half way as you are waiting for the action to develop. Keep it there until you are ready for the photo, and then press the rest of the way.

Pressing half way signals the camera to immediately choose focus, color balance, and exposure. The subsequent delay when you take your shot is now quite small, comparable to film cameras. When I am shooting basketball games, I keep the shutter button half depressed, and I get great action shots.

A second approach is to switch to manual exposure and focus. If lighting is stable, as it is indoors, this works rather well. Most digital cameras have tremendous depth-of-field, so focus is not critical. Set your focus for a typical distance, and you will probably be happy with the results. If this is an indoor sporting event, you will want the shutter speed as high as possible, so choose maximum aperture and adjust shutter speed for proper exposure.

Getting the right printer all depends on how you want to use it. If you are printing for your personal pleasure, there’s no need to spend tons of money on a super high-end piece of equipment. If you’re going to do semi-pro or pro pictures, you will want to buy a printer that will produce high quality pictures.

The good news is that technology has come a very long way and there are many good quality printers available that won’t break the bank. You’ll want to have an inkjet printer and they can often be found for as little as $40 if you look around. Another good choice is a color laser printer, which have dropped substantially in price in the last year or so.

Most of these printers offer good quality output for printing standard size photos, but pay attention to the detail because not all inkjet printers provide good quality output for larger photos. Although most inkjet printers produce a similar quality - the majority providing the maximum dpi (dots per inch) of 1,200 X 4,800 – spending more on an inkjet printer will most likely provide you with more features or a faster printing speed.

Keep in mind that many photo printers use color ink cartridges to produce black and white, or grayscale images, which can lead to photos printed with a colored tint, so try to stick to inkjet printers that use black or gray inks if you want to print many black and white photos.

What separates professional photo printers from consumer models is that the professional variety can produce quality images at much larger sizes.

Depending on your needs, printers accepting paper sizes from 24-inches all the way up to 60-inches wide are available, but because they are targeted towards professionals, many convenient features such as printing from your digital camera will not be available on professional printers.

If you want to create large quality prints of your photos, maybe even posters, then a professional photo printer may be the choice for you, if you can afford it. Professional printers can range in price from around $500 to anywhere in the thousands. Most people will use their printers for more than just printing out their photos. Keep in mind, though, that your chances of getting professional quality pictures from printers like these aren’t usually very good. They’re fine for personal use, however.

These days, there are some printers that are used only for photo printing. They have a “docking station” where you can attach your camera and download photos directly to the printer without even needing a computer!

These printers are often much more compact and offer faster printing speeds. Print size is often limited to 4×6-inches but the quality remains high, and larger models do exist if you are prepared to pay a higher price.

Although the dpi (dots per inch) tends to be low on these types of printers, the output quality is high due to the use of thermal-dye technology that utilizes primary printing colors in several hundreds of shades, meaning no need for dithering like inkjet printers do. Another great thing about these printers is that their reduced size makes them very portable - some can even be battery-powered.

When you are printing photos using your inkjet or laser printer, you’ll want to make sure that the resolution is set to ‘high’ so that the dpi is high as well. That way, you’ll have a better quality photo. Remember, however, that setting the printer this way will use a lot of ink.

In fact, one of the factors that people often overlook when choosing a printer is the type of paper and ink they will be using to print their photos and how the price of these supplies adds up in the long-term. It’s not just the price to take into consideration either - choosing the right paper and ink cartridges will also make sure that the photos you print are of the best possible quality.

While ink cartridges made by a company other than the printer manufacturer may cost less, they will more than likely produce lower quality prints and can also cause photos to fade faster.

Most printer manufacturers also create paper for their specific printers, and although it may not seem as important as ink, testing a sample of paper that isn’t made by the printer manufacturer is advisable before making a large purchase.

If you want your digital photos to last more than just a few years without showing signs of age, you should consider purchasing more expensive, acid-free paper for your prints (in the inkjet world, this long-lasting paper is called “archival paper”). Depending on the manufacturer, paper quality, and storage conditions, prints done on high-quality paper might last 50-100 years or more, which is something you cannot expect with standard paper.

Selecting the right printer can make all the difference when it comes to your pictures.

There are also many places that will do the printing for you – all online! All you need to do is send them your images and they will print them and send them to you in the mail. This is a very useful service when you want good quality prints but don’t want to waste your ink getting them. They are reasonably priced, too. Some of the major discount stores, such as Wal-Mart and Target, offer this service, but there are other online services as well.

There are grey market cameras out there that you need to be aware of. What is a grey market camera?

Almost all of the “amazing deals” found on the internet are grey market products. These are products that are made by a popular, reputable manufacturer, and intended for and shipped to a foreign market.

They are purchased by a dealer that accepts grey market products, and then resold in the US, usually at a discount. While it may seem like a bargain to buy the “same” name brand at a lower cost, the risks and headaches that come with it usually far outweigh the few dollars saved, and you could end up with a camera you can’t even use.

If the price of the digital camera you’re about to buy sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Before buying, find out if it is a grey market model and, if so, be cautious. You need to get complete information about the warranty, included accessories, and if they are valid or usable in your country BEFORE you buy.

Aside from manuals and menus that may not be in a language you even recognize, and cords that won’t plug in to American systems without some adapter, these purchases maintain one overriding risk. They do not come with a US warranty from the manufacturer.

This means that if something, anything, goes wrong with that camera, you may be completely out of luck. In fact, some manufacturers will not service grey market cameras in the US at all, even if you are willing to pay for it yourself. So if you want to get that camera fixed, it may require shipping it to a foreign country and hoping for the best.

However, not all grey market digital cameras are disapproved by the manufacturer or ineligible for repair. The camera may simply be direct imported with a valid warranty that is backed by the merchant instead of the manufacturer. Get it in writing, though to be sure you will have some type of warranty.

If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t worry about a warranty, then a grey market camera is for you. You’ll save a lot of money, but be aware that the camera probably won’t work as well as its name brand counterpart, and if it breaks, you’re usually out of luck.

How can you spot a grey market camera?

The product doesn’t come with a manufacturer’s US warranty. In fact, this is the first tip-off that a camera is a knock-off. If there is a warranty, make sure it states BOTH manufacturer’s and US. If it doesn’t, it’s grey market.

If the site is not an authorized dealer for that brand, you don’t know what you are getting. Authorized dealers usually stay away from grey market products, as this tends to hurt the manufacturer, jeopardize the camera retailer’s dealership, and most importantly, hurts the consumer.

Read the fine print carefully! Many websites will attempt to cover themselves by burying details about the nature of their products in the fine print descriptions. Any site that mentions “May be missing original packaging, cables, manuals etc.” should be avoided, unless you want to risk buying an incomplete camera.

Not many people know about grey market products. If you come across a deal that seems too good to be true, pick up the phone and call the retailer and ask if their product is grey market. Most will be up front with you about it if they’re asked. And it’s better to be safe than sorry!

There are many sites where you can post your photos for resale to corporations, advertisers, and other publishers of magazines, newsletters, and web content. One photographer, Douglas Menuez, has made a small fortune with a few shots he took in 1998 and listed on Getty Images. He took some posed pictures of a young woman, Jennifer Chandra, in front of an American college, Reed College in Portland, Orgeon.

There is nothing spectacular about his images, they are just an average looking student, wearing a wool cap, in front of the old college building.

But those images have been picked up and published dozens of times by major corporations, and many other businesses, worldwide, for use in advertisements, brochures, and web sites.

The Everywhere Girl Phenomenon was basically created by a technical newsletter, called The Inquirer, which is published daily and provides short notes about happenings in the computer and telecommunications area. One editor noticed that a photo of the same female student was used by two computer manufacturers at the same time. He wrote about it in a newsletter article, calling her “The Everywhere Girl”, and soon people started sending in screen captures of advertisements worldwide showing the same smiling face.

The Everywhere Girl is listed in the Urban Dictionary, and was listed in Wikipedia, until some techno-geeks objected and marked the article as self-serving and a candidate for deletion.

From a photographer’s point of view, there is not a lot to distinguish this photo from the thousands of others. She has a wholesome, smiling face, almost plain, and is wearing a winter wool cap and a cowrie shell necklace. She is posed in front of an old college building and the entire photo is tilted, which many people might find annoying. The background is out of focus, as the photographer intentionally shortened the depth of field to emphasize her face, which is sharp and detailed.

The photographer says there were several other students in his shoot that day, but none has had the popularity of The Everywhere Girl. This particular photo has been an outstanding success.

What it does prove is that submitting photos to stock image sites works, and sometimes works exceedingly well. And you, as a photographer, probably are not the best judge as to what will sell and what won’t. The best advice is to pick your best shots, submit to as many stock photo sites as time permits, and do it often.

There is no doubt that photographing young children poses special challenges, as they have much more energy than the photographer and rarely sit still.

Taking pictures indoors in a formal setting, like a photo studio, will only work if the child has something to occupy him, such as a toy or a doll. Modern digital cameras have large memories and a sports mode, whereby you can take many pictures in sequence; this is a great advantage when the child is moving around or refuses to sit still long enough for a formal pose.

Children photograph best when the camera is at their level; get down on your knees for the child’s perspective. Follow the child in his activity shooting many shots rapidly. Zoom back and get some shots of the scene, as well, keeping the child as the focal point. Zoom in close and get pictures of his facial expressions.

If a very young child is sitting peacefully, he cannot be directed to look in a certain direction. But if you hold up a toy, such as a teddy bear, his eyes will follow the toy. If you have placed your camera on a tripod, and generally composed the shot in advance, you can then move the toy around and the child will look in that direction. Use the sports mode and make many shots.

Taking pictures of active children outdoors has different challenges. It works best if you can confine the activity to a small area, such as a flower garden, a clump of bushes, a large tree, or the edge of a duck pond. Left alone in a large area, children will roam all over, leaving you gasping on the ground trying to breathe. Again, use the sports mode, take many pictures as they play. Zoom in and out frequently, but beware of the background intruding: you don’t want branches seemingly growing out of a child’s head.

In summary, taking pictures of young children works best if you are somewhat prepared.

1. Insert a large memory card in your camera. Memory is cheap these days; buy a couple of large capacity cards and practice until you can switch cards quickly. Mark the cards (#1, #2, etc., or some other code), so you can quickly identify and distinguish them.

2. Make sure your memory cards are erased; you will be taking a lot of pictures.

3. Bring a tripod; know how to mount the camera and remove it quickly. Practice several times before the shoot, because you don’t want to be fiddling around when you should be shooting pictures.

4. Consider the setting. If indoors, have a toy or two to occupy the child. If outdoors, try to choose a location that will occupy the child’s (or children’s) interest and is a relatively small area.

5. Get plenty of sleep beforehand, you will need to be rested before tackling children who seem to have more energy than a racehorse.

Pictures of children playing can be sold; there are several photo banks that accept pictures of children in various activities. But most insist on a signed model release if there is a single child or if the children can be identified in some way.

Go here:

http://www.1-click.jp/

It takes a minute or two to load. Then move your mouse cursor over the screen.

Try moving the mouse quickly, and then pausing.

Try clicking, too.

Because you’re going to be investing some money into your new camera, you will, of course, want to get the best deal you can. That means the type of camera you need and/or want for the least amount of money possible. How do you find that?

You may be best off looking for expert help when purchasing a digital camera, particularly if you’re a first time buyer. You may want to buy from a local camera shop. You can’t beat the personalized service and help from someone who knows cameras like the back of his or her own hand. Digital cameras may cost a bit more at a local camera shop but it is often worth it for the service you get in return. A merchant may even lower the price if you ask! There’s no waiting for your purchase to arrive as you would have to if you bought off the Internet. You pay your money and get your camera right away.

Buying online can be a risky venture especially when it comes to the credibility of the person you are buying from. With a local shop, it’s easier to check the reputation of the merchant along with the reliability of his or her service.

You can hold the camera in your hand before you buy it and ask questions on the spot from the personnel there are the shop. They are even often willing to continue answering your questions after you buy from them. In addition, many local camera shops handle warranty and repair work, so you have some place you can turn to if something goes wrong with the camera.

You will probably have better luck returning the camera or exchanging it for another one if the one you pick doesn’t work out. Some online companies charge a restocking fee for returns. Local shops will most likely not do this.

There are some disadvantages to buying locally, however. The price for a camera and accessories can be higher than online store or mega-mart type places and there may not be much variety to what is available right there in the shop. Brands and camera selection may be limited. It takes more time and effort to comparison shop as opposed to finding the camera online. Finally, you have to pay local sales tax.

Of course, we do live in the electronic age where everything and anything is available to almost anyone anywhere via the Internet. Comparison shopping is only a mouse click away which makes it possible for consumers to get a great deal on everything from designer clothing to automobiles.

If you turn to the Internet to buy your digital camera, you will get a lower price, there’s no doubt about that. But before you plunk down your hard-earned cash, be sure to do your homework about the merchant’s reputation and reliability and weigh the good with the bad.

Advantages:

• You can make purchases 24 hours a day – great for those with busy schedules!
• Significantly lower prices exist on the Internet.
• You have the ability to compare cameras by category, price, resolution, features, etc.
• They provide direct delivery to an address of your choice.
• There is sometimes no sales tax for online purchases, depending on where you live.
• Some online merchants don’t charge for delivery.
• You can find a wide selection of cameras and accessories.
• Toll-free numbers for ordering and other inquiries are usually provided.

Disadvantages:

• You won’t be able to hold the camera prior to purchase to see if it’s what you want.
• You must wait for delivery of the item.
• The camera may be gray market (see more on this in the next section).
• The product may not be in stock, requiring back ordering.
• There may be some high shipping and insurance charges.
• The company’s customer service may be poor.
• It might be a hassle to return the camera.
• It can be difficult to verify the reliability of a merchant.
• There’s a greater risk of being cheated if you are not dealing with a well-established merchant.

It’s up to you how you decide to buy your camera, of course! Just be safe when doing so. You don’t want to make a huge investment in a digital camera only to be taken for a ride in the long run.

There are gray market cameras out there that you need to be aware of. What is a gray market camera?

One of the issues with digital cameras is power: digital cameras require a lot of battery power, especially when using the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

When you buy a digital camera, rechargeable batteries are a must. Some cameras come standard with rechargeable batteries, while others do not. Either way, you will want to make sure you have at least two sets of rechargeable batteries.

There are several different rechargeable batteries on the market. Lithium (Li) will perform the best but are expensive, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) are cheaper, and Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) are the cheapest but also the worst performers. All allow you to recharge the batteries at any time while still holding their capacity.

Lithium ion and NiMH batteries hold their charge fairly well. NiCad batteries are more temperamental, creating a “memory effect” if not charged properly. NiCad batteries will lose their capacity over time, so if given the choice, choose NiMH or lithium ion batteries.

If your camera came with a proprietary lithium ion rechargeable battery, read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully, order an extra battery and a 12V car charger if you can afford it, and skip the rest of this section. If it came with AAs or AA-equivalents like CR-V3 lithium disposables, read on.

AA batteries turn out to be a lot more complicated than anyone would have wished, but they’re easily managed with a little knowledge and the proper tools. When in doubt, buy and carry additional spare battery sets. Along with ample memory, ample spares and a smart, fast charger with a 12V car adapter are the keys to carefree digital photography.

If your camera takes AAs, don’t even think of regularly using alkaline batteries — even if you found alkalines in the camera box. That includes those pricey super-duper ultra titanium jobs! Your best bet for affordable battery power is going to be the NiMH.

In second place would be disposable lithium batteries. Lots of chain retailers carry disposable lithium AAs and NiMH AAs at reasonable prices nowadays.

Since NiMH batteries have no appreciable voltage depression or “memory” effect, feel free to charge them at your convenience. Be aware, however, that brand new NiMH AAs will need to complete 3-4 charge-discharge cycles to hit full stride. Only rarely will they need conditioning after that.

Speaking of conditioning, never discharge an NiMH AA below 1 volt. Actually, your camera will probably die and stop drawing your AAs down long before that happens, but in the event you want to recharge before the batteries are fully spent, you should wait until you reach that 1 volt minimum.

If your camera came with disposable lithium CR-V3 batteries, and your NiMH AAs aren’t yet ready for prime time, resist the urge to shoot up the CR-V3s as they make ideal emergency and cold weather back-ups for your camera bag.

A camera that takes AA or AAA size batteries has one advantage over a camera that takes a special Lithium battery and that is that there are times when you can’t recharge your batteries for one reason or another, but you can always find alkaline AA or AAA batteries virtually anywhere.

One big part of the digital camera will be the number of megapixels it has and whether or not it will be enough for the type of photos you want to print.

Basically, megapixels are a unit of measurement in an image. If you think of your picture as a series of dots – which it is - the more densely the dots are put together, the better your picture will look.

The number of megapixels will determine the quality of your final photo. If you choose too few, your pictures won’t be what you want them to be. If you choose too many, you’re probably going to spending more money than you need to.

The higher the number of pixels, the better the resolution. The higher the resolution, the larger and higher quality prints you can make. Higher quality photos take up more space on your media card, but they will give you the best prints.

For many people, this is the most difficult part of buying a digital camera. How much is enough and how much is too much? Here are a few pointers to help you along the way.

2 megapixels or less

• This is typically found on smaller, inexpensive cameras or cameras in combination with other devices (such as cell phones or PDAs).

• It will be hard to make a high-quality print of any size, but these are just fine for e-mailing photos or posting photos for a personal web site.

• Cameras with this range are not recommended for family portraits or if you really need a nice-looking print.

• You can make some nice 4 x 6 prints and as large as 5 x 7 with good quality. Anything larger than that will appear blurry or distorted.

• Expect to pay $100 to $150 for the camera alone, more for a combo unit.

3 megapixels

• This is actually a good compromise between picture quality and low price for most casual photographers.

• You can print lovely 4×6 images, decent 5×7s and, depending on the camera, might even knock out a good 6×9 or 8×10.

• You will pay around $150 to $250.

4 megapixels

• You’re getting nicer. These images make practically photo-lab quality 4×6s, and great 5×7s and 6×9s.

• You can print a nice 8×10 and even an 11 x 14.

• You’ll typically pay about $250 to $350.

5 megapixels

• This will produce beautiful 8×10s, and even a nice 11×14. You may even be able to get even larger to a 16 x 20.

• With this camera, you are getting closer to professional photographer levels, and the quality shows it.

• And you’ll pay the price, around $350 to $450.

6 megapixels and up

• Wonderful image quality, but higher price tags. You can print large photos, even 11×14 or perhaps more, with satisfying results.

• There are some high-megapixel cameras coming out now, for example from Nikon and Canon, with interchangeable lenses and high quality construction.

Unless megapixels are the only thing you care about (it shouldn’t be), don’t get a camera that sounds outrageously inexpensive for its megapixel range.

Yes, I know it would be really cool to get that hot new 10 megapixel camera. If you have unlimited funds, that’s great. If you’re like the rest of us working stiffs, you don’t want to waste money on extras you don’t need. And I can tell you right now, if you’re just e-mailing pictures to your buddies, you don’t need it.

There are a couple of other things to keep in mind. People get nuts about megapixels, but more isn’t always better. Higher megapixels means larger image sizes, which in turn means more expensive memory cards and more space devoured on your computer’s hard drive.