Digital Cameras

Purchase & Operation

Contents

· Purchase Considerations

· Operation

· Managing Your Pictures - Separate Pres.

Purchase Considerations

· Resolution - Measured in pixels (the number of elements in imaging sensor). More pixels mean greater detail. Cameras are described in a single numbers (1, 2, 3, etc. megapixels) rather than displays that measure in Length x Width (1280 x 1024 = 1.3 megapixels)

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Resolution (cont.) - Higher resolution allows larger prints. 1.3 mp - 4 x 6 in., 2.1 mp - 6 x 8 in., and 3.3 mp - 8 x 10 in.

· Price follows resolution 1.3 mp - $100 to $200, 2.1 mp - $200 to $300, and 3.3 mp - $300 to 500

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Zoom - The ability to get closer to subject optically and digitally. When buying, one should consider optical only.

· Digital zoom crops the image in the camera. Cropping can be done by any good software after downloading to PC

· More Zoom = More Price

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Aperture - The f-factor - smaller f factor means larger lenses capturing more light, but larger lenses mean higher prices.

· The smaller f factor results in a small depth of field with only the main subject in focus. Larger f factor allows more of foreground and background in focus

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Composition - All cameras have an optical viewfinder, and some have an LCD.

· The LCD doubles as a viewfinder and a pictorial view of the pictures taken.

· Remember, if you don’t like the picture, just delete it and make the storage available for another picture.

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Composition - Some cameras allow you to compose the picture through the main lens (SLR), but these are expensive >$1K

· There are some w/digital SLR (less $’s)

· Optical Viewfinders are least expensive

· Focus - Some cameras have a macro feature for photographing close subjects (i.e. flowers, portrait, etc.)

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Shutter Speed - The fastest shutter speeds offered on most digital cameras are between 1/500th & 1/1000th of a sec.

· If you want a picture of stars at night you need at least 4 sec. Exposure. So, choose your model accordingly.

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Storage - Called digital film. All but the cheapest cameras come with a removable memory card.

· This feature is the main advantage over film cameras, but unless you have a place to store pictures (laptop) better get additional memory cards.

Purchase Considerations (cont.)

· Power - All cameras are battery operated with either AA or lithium ion. Though both can be recharged, AAs take up to 12 hours, but lithium ions 90 min. Also lithium ions have longer battery life.

· Flash - Most cameras come with built-in flash. Some require an additional attachment

1) Flash 2) Zoom factor 3)Optical Viewfinder
4) Lens (depth of field)

Purchase Considerations Review

· Resolution – megapixels

· Zoom - 2x, 4x, 6x

· Aperture - Lens size

· Shutter Speed

· Focus - Macro?

· Storage - Addl. card

· Power - AA, LI

· Flash - Incl.?

· Composition - LCD, SLR, Digital VF, Optical

Operation

· Most cameras are point-and-shoot with no setting required

· Some cameras allow manual settings for more flexibility or special effects

Operation

· Digital cameras with higher resolutions (i.e. 2.1 mp, 3.3 mp) require selection of pixels

· Most cameras will show you the storage remaining. Carry addl. card

· Carry power cord or extra battery

Managing your pictures

· Another Presentation - Requires more time