On October 19th, HIDACC members were fortunate to have been invited by the AVMUG and the LPA groups of Lancaster to a workshop given by Lee Otsubo, "The Digital Photo Guy". The workshop given was called called "Digital Camera Tips, Hints and Tricks".
Permission has been given to HIDACC by Digital Photo Guys. Inc to use the following AVMUG Summary of the "Digital Camera Tips, Hints and Tricks" workshop on our pages.
Digital Cameras Hints, Tips & Tricks Workshop
( Copyright © 2003-2005 - The information presented here is for educational purposes or for use by non-profit organizations.. All other uses of this information requires express written permission from Digital Photo Guy, Inc )
Different Type of Cameras for Different Types of Camera Users
Low-midrange to mid-range, 1-3 megapixel, minimal controls, $100-$200
Mid-range to high-midrange, 3-4 megapixel, good set of controls, short zoom
High-midrange to Prosumer, 6+ megapixel, all the bells & whistles for controls, large integrated
or interchangeable lensCamera Consumers ó 3 Types of Buyers
Point & Shoot ó Low-midrange level camera buyers
Real Life ó mid-high midrange level camera buyers
Enthusiast ó high mid-range to Prosumer level camera buyersHow Many Megapixels?
A megapixel is a measure of the cameraís ability to capture detail, also known as resolution. In
general, the more megapixels, the more detail can be captured in an image. However, most
consumers will never need more than 3-5 megapixels to capture good quality images for printing
4X6 prints, the most common printed photo size in the U.S.Digital Cameras are really Single Purpose Computers that can be broken down into their six
component parts: Input, Output, Central Processing Unit (CPU), Storage & Memory, Interface,
& Power System.CPU: Most consumer digital cameras today use a Charge Couple Device (CCD), which
ìkinda, sorta acts like a CPU.î Todayís CCDs have limitations that induce delays when
taking shots, which can cause users to miss ìKodak moments.î Camera manufacturers
have introduced modes of operation, e.g., movie mode, and other features to compensate
for the delays. Camera owners need to know the modes and features available in their
cameras to get the most out of them.Memory & Storage: Digital cameras use flash memory storage devices as the ìfilmî for
recording images. Sooner or later camera owners will experience corrupted date on a
memory card. Owners should not rely on one huge memory card, but buy 2-3 moderate
size memory devices, and invest in an image recovery program such as PhotoRescue.Input: Input for digital cameras is specified as ìXî optical or digital zoom. Optical zoom
is ìreal zoom,î the optical glass moves up and down the barrel. Digital zoom is an
electronic trick. If your camera allows, disable digital zoom in the setup menu and never
use it. Digital zoom does nothing to enhance the detail of the image; it degrades it. If
you really want to use digital zoom, use it inside your computer--itís called ìcropping.îLCD, the human interface: The LCD is fun; it provides immediate feedback; itís good in
macro or close-up mode, but power consumption increases when itís used. Owners will
quickly wear out batteries by using the LCD too much.Power System: Digital cameras use two different types of batteries: proprietary Lithium-
Ion or standard Nickel Metal-Hydride. Both battery types are long lasting and
rechargeable. Neither suffers from ìmemory effect.î Use whichever battery type fits your
particular camera. Rechargeable Nickel Metal-Hydrides come in the standard AA form,
so in a ìpinch,î owners can use non-rechargeable AA batteries to power their camera,
however, it is an expensive way to run the camera. One warning: Digital camera
batteries should never be carried loose in pockets or a purse. If accidentally shorted, the
batteries can cause a spontaneous fire.Sharing & Displaying Photos
Printing: Creating good quality prints requires three components:
1- A $200 or less six-color printer, from a top brand such as Canon, Epson or H-P;
2- Printer compatible paper, i.e., buy Canon paper to use with a Canon printer;
3- Good software, for example, shareware such as PixPrint.
Note: Good software is key in making the most of your digital images. Good software will
provide a selection of good algorithms (formulas) that provide quality settings allowing you
to choose if you want ìgood and slowî or ìfast and not-so-goodî printing results. Good
software will also have an easy-to-use control interface.Copying to CD: Copying high resolution images to CD allows you to free up hard disk space
and ensures that a back-up copy or ìnegativeî of the image has been created somewhere
other than the hard drive. Owners should also invest in a good commercial or shareware
archive program, e.g., PhotoShop Album, Jasc PhotoAlbum, or FlipAlbum to catalog and
track their images.E-mail & Internet Images: Digital images sent by e-mail need to be resized to be viewed on
most monitors. If you are e-mailing images, compress them so that they can be efficiently
sent or received on a 56KB dial-up line. Resize images to 800X600 and compressed to
approx. 50,000 bytes. Windows has resizing and compression tools for individually
processing images. Third party resizing & compression software tools such as DCE
AutoEnhance allow for speedier batch processing of multiple images.Displaying on TV: Digital images can be displayed directly from the camera on a TV screen
by using the camera-TV cable supplied with your camera. Software exists that allows
images to be copied to a CD in VCD format for display on a DVD player.Bottom line: Itís all 1ís and 0ís written on a hard drive. You can do whatever you want,
whenever you want. Good software is the key to getting the most from your digital camera.
Reference sites for software, on-line learning and music for slideshows: (Products listed below are only compatible with Windows PCs.)
PhotoRescue www.datarescue.com , ZA Digital Image Recovery www.z-a-recovery.com, PC
Inspector www.pcinspector.de, DCE AutoEnhance www.mediachance.com,
PixPrint www.gosunshine.com
On-line Photoshop Elements 3 classes: Eclectic Academy www.eclecticacademy.com
Free music for slideshows: www.freeplaymusic.com
( Copyright © 2003-2005 - The information presented here is for educational purposes or for use by non-profit organization.. All other uses of this information requires express written permission from Digital Photo Guy, Inc )
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The Digital Photo Guy (TDPG) presents digital camera and photography workshops to over
10,000 enthusiasts each year. Participants range from timeshare resort guests thru senior center
members. TDPG has taught everyone from 92-year old grandparents to 13-year olds. He is able
to connect with total novices all the way thru to award-winning photojournalists. If your group,
club or organization needs a dynamic, knowledgeable and entertaining speaker on one of the
hottest ìmust-haveî gadgets today, contact Digital Photo Guy, Inc at
www.thedigitalphotoguy.com. The Digital Photo Guy is sponsored by Smart Computing, the
first choice of every digital camera and PC enthusiast for fast, clear, concise answers to the most
perplexing digital camera and PC questions. www.smartcomputing.com