‘‘DDigital igital CCameras’ameras’

& ‘ & ‘DDigitaligital

PPhotographyhotography’’

I’m not sure we are going to I’m not sure we are going to be ablebe able

To get through everything. . . To get through everything. . .

…with

Aims & ObjectivesAims & Objectives

• To show you how to use your camera

• Give you some tips on how to take a better shot

• Pass on my love and enthusiasm for digital photography

• Encourage you to do more with the photos once you’ve taken them

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2 where?

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2 - Aims

““Subject Subject Headings”Headings”

•Where did they come from…?•Using your camera•You’ve seen a camera….•Taking a good picture•What to do with your photos afterwards •Photo shoot •Picasa

Where did they come from and what Where did they come from and what is going on?is going on?

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 4 slides

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 1/4

““...did you know?”...did you know?”

•It all started with NASA•One of the uses of these satellites was to spy on the enemy – 1959-1972 •Beaming photographs back to Earth, using ‘Digital Technology’.•The ‘Charge-Coupled-Device’, (or CCD) was first demonstrated by Bell Laboratories in 1969•The first images created with CCDs were only 100 x 100 pixels – not very clear •The next goal was to create a better picture, which they successfully did in 1978 with a pixel array of 500 x 500•Soon after they’d developed 800 x 800 pixels, with a progression towards the development in 1982 of 1024 x 1024 pixels. The results were always a better picture, at a more affordable price

Pixels

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2/4

“ “How it Works”How it Works” (Charge Coupled Device)

• When a photo is taken, the CCD is struck by light coming through the camera's lens.

• Each pixel (or tiny ‘dot’ on the CCD’s surface) converts this light into electrons.

• The number of electrons, usually described as the pixel's ‘accumulated charge’ is measured, then converted to a digital value.

• This conversion being undertaken by something called an ‘Analog-to-Digital Converter’

Back

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3/4

Here is very simple pictorial representation of a ‘CCD’ in action.

This ‘CCD’ has a resolution of (12 x 12) 144 pixels. Each dot that makes

up the man is 1 ‘Pixel’.Because the ‘resolution’ is so low the

image has very limited detail.

“…“…Pixels” –Pixels” – ‘Mega’ or otherwise

Back

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 4/4 – Using camera

•The image resolution tells us how many of those pixels an image contains•Your camera might have a setting which will allow you to change the final photos physical size•You should also have a setting to change the final photos resolution•To print out a photo to a decent quality or to a large size a high resolution is required. This will make the file size of the image larger•If you start off with a high resolution picture it is easy to remove pixels (ie lessen the resolution)•If you start off with a low resolution picture it is harder (near impossible) to add more pixels and keep the quality high•Related topics: Memory size, how many pictures do you want to take?

““Come the Resolution Comrade!”Come the Resolution Comrade!”

Using Your CameraUsing Your Camera

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3 slides

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 1/3

“…“…Take Control!”Take Control!” Learn those settings

Video. Digital cameras can capture video. Get a large storage card (2 or 4GB’s) to give you enough recording time.

Macro/Close-Up. This mode is used for taking close-up pictures.

Night Time. Sets longer exposures to capture darker scenes. Usually used with flash, and some nice motion effects can be created.

Portrait. To attempt to blur out the background the camera will try to use the fastest available lens setting (aperture).

Landscape. The camera will attempt to capture detail in foreground and background by using high f-stop (aperture) settings.

Sports. To freeze motion the camera will use the highest shutter speed possible.

Stitch. For creating multi-shot panoramas. This mode will help to combine several shots into one wide scene.

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2/3

“… “…Zooooooooom!”Zooooooooom!” Optical V Digital• Optical zoom lenses actually “move” you closer to the subject of the

photograph without sacrificing quality. • The higher the optical zoom rating on a camera, the farther away you can

be to take a photograph and still get a clear, close-up image. • The concept of optical zoom essentially the same as the zoom on a film

camera. • Optical zoom is the number you want to pay close attention to--it’s the zoom

that will give you the quality results you want.

• Digital zoom on the other hand is not bringing you closer to the item.• The camera crops the entire image, and then digitally enlarges to the size

of the viewfinder the portion you want to zoom in on. • This results in a loss of quality, and is no different than cropping and

enlarging an image with editing software. • When you use digital zoom on the camera, the image quality is irreversibly

lost.

The Internal MenuThe Internal Menu

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3/3 - Coffee

The cameras internal menu

gives you access to

many important

adjustments…

…Image size & resolution, WB, ISO, and creative settings

Coffee?Coffee?12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 11:30 ish - You’ve seen…

You’ve seen a camera, but what about You’ve seen a camera, but what about those extras!those extras!

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 4 slides

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 1/4

Which Camera would I Which Camera would I buy?buy? ……what to what to consider consider

•Its cost!•The number of ‘Mega-Pixels’•Its lens•Optical Zoom figure•The features•View finder or not•Have you picked it up?•Is it easy to use?

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 20092/4

2 on Memory cards

Storage media?Storage media?

Memory cards.Your camera probably came with a memory card. What’s a memory card? When you take a photo with a digital camera, most cameras store the images on a memory card.

N.B. The 32MB card they supply with the camera when you first buy it isn’t going to let you store very many pictures at all!

…throw it into your camera bag and forget it!!

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3/4

Modern memory cards come in different formats, ‘SD’ and ‘CF’ cards being the most popular in sizes of up to 64GB!

“…“…don’t forget extra memory!”don’t forget extra memory!”

1 gigabyte = 1,000,000,000

bytes (or one billion

bits of information)

Consider:Speed as well

as size!

“…Batteries, so?”

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 4/4 - Taking a good picture

• Batteries?• How many?• Which type?• What sort of charger?• How many to take with me?• How much life have you left in

your current batteries?

Taking a good pictureTaking a good picture

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2 slides

12 Apr 2023Cosmic 2009

1/2

•Luck! •Being in the right place at the right time•A good camera, with a good lens helps•A good eye for a photo in the first place helps!•But most of all…

KNOW YOUR CAMERA!

““...to take a good photo”

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2/2 – What to do

““TIP-TOP TOP-TIPS!”TIP-TOP TOP-TIPS!” …Know your camera? Experiment with it - have a play! ‘A’ for Auto The ‘Auto’ function is designed to calculate the average everything.Learn all about your own camera! Be adventurous! Use your Manual setting or creative settings Set your camera up for the day before you go out!Try not to use a flash, use natural lightDon’t forget to order a new, larger storage cardLearn how to review/delete your imageAlways have your camera take the largest images possibleBe wary of buying low cost digital cameras Think before you zoom! Frame your image - think about leading the eyeAvoid printing out your pictures on plain paper!

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3 slides

What to do What to do with yourwith your

photos photos afterwardsafterwards

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 1/3

“…“…Printing?”Printing?”• Why!• Image resolution • Photo printer • Photographic paper • As for which printer to buy,

consider:– Cost?– Cartridges?– Combined? – Consult!

Don’t forget the cartridge costs!

“…“…Other options”Other options”

• Your local chemist

• Digital photo frames

• Online photo printing

• Slideshows on the computer

• Online galleries

• Emailing as attachments

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 2/3

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 3/3Lunch!

After Lunch…After Lunch…

• Photo shoot• Download images• Introduce ‘Picasa’• Q+A• Play-time!

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 26

Lunch?Lunch?

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 4/6

“… “…Picasa”Picasa” - not Picasso! Find, organise and share your

photos.

Picasa is a free software download from Google that helps you:

Locate and organise all the photos on your computer.

Edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks.

Share your photos with others through email, prints and on the

web: it’s fast, easy and free!

12 Apr 2023Cosmic 2009

5/6

www.picasa.com

“…“…Where to get ‘Picasa’ Where to get ‘Picasa’ from?”from?”

(Click Logo to link to site)

12 Apr 2023 Cosmic 2009 6/6 Lunch 13:15 ish

Main display screen

What is Picasa?What is Picasa?

Files