Going digital


Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset



If you'd like to submit photos for criticism,
click here.
Digital cameras have now largely taken over from film cameras, except with some professional users and advanced amateurs who still prefer 35mm. Digital cameras don't use film but record images on usually removable memory cards. These can be PC-Cards or even floppy disks, or, more likely, the smaller XD (that replaced SmartMedia), CompactFlash, the smaller Secure Digital, or MultiMedia cards, or a Memory Stick. This cuts out the need for processing, but images must subsequently be transferred to either a photo quality colour printer or the web (possibly via a computer). You are also likely to need some good photo editing software to produce the very best results (see below).

Significant advantages of using digital are that you can afford to take as many pictures as you like as there is no expenditure on film stock, and you get immediate playback. I find it extremely helpful to take a number of different views of a subject, and then be able to check that I am satisfied with at least one of them, before moving on. As the camera automatically adjusts to the type of lighting in use, you don't have to worry about using the correct film for daylight or artificial light. And even in poor light, you can often take photos without flash as long as you can find somewhere to lean the camera against (see below).

The main disadvantage of some digital cameras is that they take time to set the aperture and focus, so you may not be able to snatch shots quickly (unless you're able to pre-focus). If this is important to you, select a model with a shorter delay (and set-up) time. Also their batteries can run down quickly, so be careful to choose a model with long battery life.
Butterfly
One often unexpected delight of digital cameras: they come with macro features that makes it surprisingly simple to take extreme close-ups like this.
Room
This is a digital photo, taken using just the light from the window. When it is reduced to this size, it needs sharpening up as shown below.
Room sharpned
A photo editing programme makes it possible not just to sharpen the picture, as here, but to improve it in many other ways.
Boy with blurred background
For one thing, it can provide simple ways of throwing a background out of focus, as here - very useful when taking portraits like this.
See my Computer Enhancement page for other things it can do.

Recommended photo editing programs, for use with a computer, are the (very expensive) Photoshop or its excellent cutdown version: Photoshop Elements.
Another view: St Ives
Screen quality can be excellent with all digital cameras, but choose one with more megapixels if you want to make enlargements.For photo quality 8x10in prints, go for at least 4 megapixels.For 16x20in enlargements, go for 8 megapixels
Using fence for camera support
It is always a good idea to find some convenient support for a camera. Fences and tops of chairs can be particularly useful. But the need for this can be lessened by choosing a camera with image stabilization, especially useful when using the far end of a zoom.


If you're looking for a digital camera, see Steve's excellent DigiCam site that provides detailed reviews of the whole range available. There are also links from there to two other sites providing a similar useful service.


Nowadays, mobile phones often come with digital cameras built-in. The very best of them can produce surprisingly good results, although they were really first intended as a way of swapping snapshots between mobile phones, and the quality of cheaper versions still leaves a lot to be desired, so they are not to be recommended for more serious use - but this is a fast developing area.

For user's comments on specific cameras (including yours?) go on to MY CAMERA




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