Guide To Digital Photography

A tough decision war happens to all who want to buy a digital camera, whether to buy a compact digital camera or an SLR digital camera. SLR is Digital Single-lens reflex camera, which is a standard tool for professional photographers. It provides the advantage of large, bright and accurate optical finder with large controls and fast operations.Among the digital cameras, the SLR camera is the best for you provided if you are a family oriented person having a serious appetite for photography. For capturing pictures during family vacations, birthdays and holidays, the SLR camera will be the best companion. Though the point shoot cameras have increased to higher mega pixels, the choice of serious photography hobbyists and photographers is SLR. The clear reason for the choice is that SLR has the capacity for producing artistic photographs. The main advantage and biggest difference that exit in the SLR is that there are more manual operations than the point-and-shoot cameras have. To get a perfect shot, your camera should be always in ready mode. SLR cameras offer instant start up and also minimum shutter lag. The point-and -shoot cameras have shutter lag of 2 or 3 seconds, which means you can miss a shot. The SLR camera’s shutter lag is less than a second and so you can get all the shots without miss. Another advantage is that the SLR cameras can accept interchangeable lenses. This helps you in getting best shots of sports and nature where you cannot go close for taking pictures. You can zoom the lens of SLR digital cameras and take close-ups. The other advantages are long battery life, high-speed continuous shooting, great image sensor and the ability to save RAW images.The disadvantage is its larger size and you cannot fit it in your bag or purse. Not only larger in size, but also heavier and not suitable for vacations. It’s also very expensive when compared with compact and subcompact digital cameras. The SLR prices can range between $1,000 and $10,000. The best portrayal of SLR is its speed, clarity and optical system. It can be easily mistaken for a point-shoot camera but it is entirely different in the way it is used and the delivered picture quality. In real meaning, this camera enables you to look at the picture precisely without any alteration of digital features within the camera.The digital SLR is built in such a manner that it enables to deliver high quality images. In a compact digital camera, the image that you see in the eyepiece or through LCD screen is generated digitally; but in SLR the image is sent by the lens and mirrors to viewfinder that reflects the images from one mirror to another. The digital SLR is versatile and that is why the image seen in an SLR is exact without any alteration. The interchangeable lenses allow you to utilize custom lens for a meticulous shot like Portrait, Landscape and Macro or Micro shots. Some lenses are even available for taking motion shots.The image sensors in SLR provide good picture quality and quick shoot and click capability with no time lag. Detachable lenses give more attraction for photographers in choosing SLR as their choice. If you are not comfortable with manual operations SLR cameras have automatic settings and this provides transitional steps in learning to use an SLR.

With your trusty digital video camera by your side you can capture all those special moments, such your child’s first steps, your birthday or wedding, or your vacation with family and friends etc.

With so many manufacturers and models available in the digital video market, you may find it confusing trying to choose the perfect one for you. Your choice will, however, depend on the features that you want and how much you are willing to spend.

The most important thing to consider is the format in which your videos will be stored, as the video format determines the video quality. Digital 8 otherwise called D8, Mini-DV, DVD and HDD are the main types of video format that digital cameras offer. Both D8 and Mini-DV are tape-based formats, with the Mini-DV currently offering the highest quality video format to consumers. The DVD format allows direct video recording onto a digital disk, while the HDD type uses internal hard drives where the video is recorded. As the tape format is slowly being phased out by major manufacturers, it is a good idea to invest in disk or hard drive based digital video cameras.

Digital video cameras also come with charged coupled device or CCD imaging sensor. Digital video cameras come with 1-CCD or 3-CCD features. Cameras with 1-CCD suffer from poor video quality, whereas 3-CCD cameras produce much better quality videos. Most professional camcorders use the 3-CCD technology, thus making them more expensive than the other models.

The optical zoom feature of the camcorder lens generally ranges from 10X to 20X. The choice of zoom depends on how close you want to get to the action. Some digital video cameras also allow still photography at various resolutions, and some camcorders offer both video and still photography features. Some digital video camcorders have in-built flash for low-light photography, while some video cameras come with a ‘Night Shot’ feature. Other popular options include external flashlights, external microphones and external storage devices that can be attached onto the camcorder.

Camcorders with longer battery strength is also recommended. Digital video cameras have battery life ranging from 4 to 8 hours of continuous shooting. However, using the zoom or any external devices reduce the battery strength.

All cameras nowadays come bundled with a digital video editing software. But if you are not satisfied with the one provided, you can always buy a better and more expensive editing software from Adobe or any other reputable brand.

Video camera prices today vary from $500 to $4000, with Sony, JVC and Canon being the more popular brands.

Photography is an interesting hobby. It eases your mind and soul and brings out the creative instinct in you. But this art gets more and more interesting when done with the use of a digital camera. It also introduces one into the world of digital photography. Here age, sex or skill does not matter. There was a time when people hesitated to get into the hobby of digital photography, the basic problem being the investment, but now, the time has changed and people have seriously started Digital Photography as their hobby. Do you like to be one such person?

All that matters is your passion for the art of digital photography.

Process of Digital Photography

The process of Digital Photography is a chain that starts from the shooting of images and ends with the display of the photographs. In the digital world, it is the image that forms the key element. And the picture quality of the image is determined by its resolution. The resolution in turn is the number of horizontal and vertical pixels on an image. Therefore resolution is the key factor that decides how big you can print your image or how much of it can be cropped.

Steps involved in Digital Photography

In order to understand how the digital camera suitably fits into the system of Digital Photography it is necessary to understand the steps involved in making digital photographs.

First Step: Input of Images

The input device in a computer is probably the keyboard. However, in Digital Photography the input devices are those that capture the images.

Digital Still Camera – It shoots images in a digital format.
Digital Video camera – It can capture images like a digital still camera.
Video cameras – It captures images onto a video format.

Second Step: Processing the Digital Photograph

Digital photographs can be stored onto your PC after they are taken. They can be then edited using in whatever way you want using the photo-editing program, Adobe Photoshop. Here the options are endless.
Few ways by which you can process your images

1.Crop parts of the image that you feel unnecessary and highlight the main frame.
2.If you wish to post the photos on the Web then trim down the number of pixels in the image so as to make it smaller.
3.Use filters to give the images the look of an oil painting, watercolor or the look of your desire.
4.You can stitch-up multiple frames in a single frame to create a landscape effect.
5.For a 3D stereo effect or an animated image merge two images and you can display this on the Web.
6.To improve the images make slight alterations in brightness and contrast.
7.Mish mash the images to create a photo medley.

Third Step: The final output, the Photograph

In Digital Photography there are many ways through which you can display and share the photographs you have taken.

Some of the well-known ways are as follows

1.Just e-mail the digital photographs to your friends or to family members.
2.Post the digital photos to the Web Service that will allow printing the digital photographs on T-shirts, mouse pads, posters and even on cakes.
3.Add the digital photographs to a word processing program or to the desktop of your PC so as to publish it as a document.
4.Mail the digital photographs on a Website or onto a Photo network.