I posted previously about the importance of exposure and metering in photography.  Metering is the algorithm that is used to decide how to expose the picture.  The camera then chooses the camera settings to achieve the optimal result based on what the meter tells it to do.  When adjusting exposure, there are three key elements that can be modified.  In another post, I will go into more details on these.

Read more »

I recently received a tripod for my camera as a gift.  Digital photography is a hobby of mine and I only recently recognized that a tripod might be useful.  Now that I have one, I can tell you that it is a very valuable addition to the photographer's kit.  Let me explain why.

When using a camera you are limited by the minimum shutterspeed you can choose to avoid camera shake.  If camera shake occurs, the result will be a blurry photo.  Image stabilization can help solve this problem somewhat, but still is only a partial solution.  A tripod solves this problem; with it you can set any shutterspeed offered by the camera.

Access to slower shutterspeeds may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  It allows you to do all kinds of interesting things that were not possible hand holding.  It also allows for you to take two of the same shots that differ only by exposure.  This is a requirement for high dynamic range photography.

I highly recommend the addition of a tripod to any serious photographers kit.

I just posted about a comparison between a Point and Shoot and Medium format camera.  After thinking about it, I realized that I have never defined what a point and shoot camera is and contrasted that with digital SLR.  In the sections below, I will discuss these two types of cameras and the differences between them.  I will provide some key considerations when choosing between them.

Read more »

I am a big fan of Digital SLR cameras.  These devices offer outstanding image quality and virtually instant autofocus and metering.  The difference between these and point and shoot cameras is like night and day. The downside is that dSLRs tend to be large and bulky particularly if you have multiple lenses.  Even an dSLR with one lense is typically bigger than a point and shoot.  IMO, point and shoot cameras are valuable because they offer improved portability vs dSLRs.  Historically, the downside has been image quality.

I recently ran across this article where the author compares the image quality between a $40,000 medium format camera and a $500 Canon Powershot G10.  The results from the two cameras were surprising similar.  A large group of photography professionals could not consistently differentiate between images taken from the two cameras!  Yes, he essentially says that a $500 a picture that is difficult to differentiate from a $40k camera.

The differentiation between the above two cameras will vary by specific lighting and situation.  In the case above, the performance was equivalent while there will be of other cases where there is no comparison.  (It better be that way when spending 50x more!)  That said, the fact the two cameras provide similar image quality in even one circumstance is amazing.

From my perspective, the Powershot G10 is the point and shoot camera to get if you are going to purchase one.  It retails for $500 although you can use the Microsoft Live/eBay discount to save 30%.

I recently was purchasing a high capacity memory card and card reader for a digital camera that uses SD/SDHC.  I was a bit confused about the above two card technologies and was not sure if anyone else had the same problem.

In short, SD is limited in maximum capacity and performance due to some kind of limitation.  (I think that it is something technical, but am not exactly sure why.)  To resolve this. they released SDHC.  An SDHC device will read SD cards and SDHC cards while an SD compatible device will only read SD.  This same point applies to card readers and cameras.

The general recommendation is that you should stick with SDHC since it offers higher capacities and performance.  The issue relates to compatibilty.  When making the leap to SDHC, you need to make sure that both your camera AND your card reader support the technology.