Photography Course

There comes a time when reality forces even the most die hard of us to recognize that times have changed. Most cameras sold these days are all Digital.

Many old-timers have been a strong opponent of digital cameras for their failure to provide features serious photographers need. Lens interchangeability, flash mount, SLR design, ease of use, ease of transition from film cameras, true manual control, a decent “motor drive” and, OF PRIMARY CONCERN, no delay between the time you press the shutter button and the camera actually makes the exposure, all at a price under $1,000.

These days there are many great Digital Cameras that fit the bill. That offer the features professional photographers require. With Digital Cameras from Canon, Nikon, etc.

Back in the day, the Nikon D70, was probably one of the first digital cameras introduced that filled most of the requirements needed by digital photographers.

For more on this amazing Nikon digital SLR click the photo

For a quick rundown on dSLR digital cameras, read on, In the meantime you will need a few basic facts about digital cameras. For instance, what size memory card will you need for your digital camera? Here is an outdated chart published by Dane-Elec which can give you an idea about memory cards. Bigger is better, get the right card for your camera.

Now onto a discussion on the various types of digital cameras. From the camera on your cell phone, a Point and shoot camera to a dSLR camera. You can pay anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars.

Any camera these days will create images that are great for emails, photos, or prints.

(Pixels are simply the total number of dots of color in a photo. The more dots, the more detailed and sharp a photo will be) They all use memory cards and have zoom lenses. And they all have optical viewfinders (saves battery life) as well as a LCD display on the back to view photos. What is important - NO MATTER WHICH CAMERA YOU BUY - is having an AC Adapter because these cameras eat up batteries fast, and a serial cable or a USB cable, to easily transfer images to your camera. All use AA batteries so you can switch to rechargeables and save tons of money.

Point and shoot cameras are small and comfortable to hold. Look for a true optical zoom lens (digital zooms are not good enough) that is easily controlled. One with controls that are well laid out and easy to understand. The ability to change the Film Speed and switch to Manual Exposure control may be important to you if you want to refine your skills as a photographer.

If you are in doubt about how many “pixels” per picture you need (determines the size print you can get) here are the basic guidelines:

For good quality prints up to 5X7 inches: 1024 x 768 pixels will do.

For nice 8X10 prints: 1280 x 960 works just fine.

And for those big 11X14 prints: 1600 x 1200 will do it.

So basically any digital camera these days will create great pictures for you.

As for image transfer. All cameras are sold with software that transfers the images from the camera to your computer and helps you edit them. These programs are quite easy to use. However, these programs will NOT give you the image editing capabilities needed for serious photographic work.

Given all that, buying a better camera may not be what you need since most bad photos are cause by one of these problems

1. Punching the shutter button instead of SQUEEEEEEZING it
2. Poor composition
3. Not getting close enough to the subject so the flash can light it up