Gomu's Digital Photography Page
You may skip introduction and jump directly to:
Choosing Camera and Accessories
Quickstart Tips
Software
Links to Digital Photography Books Online
Gallery
In May 2002 I bought a Canon S200 digital camera. It introduced me into
the world of Digital Photography as a hobby. Today, many of my friends
think I take nice photos. I would say, Canon S200 is a great camera and
I have an eye for good things to shoot.
Choosing
Camera and Accessories
The first time I saw the Canon S200 at Ritz Camera in Hillsdale Mall, I
fell in love with it. However, I did not want to hurry. I did some
searching on the internet for various camera models available, digital
Vs analog camera debates, etc. Here are the factors I considered when I
bought my camera:
- The camera should be digital. I dont want to think twice before
taking a shot. I dont want to worry about the cost of film, developing,
etc. Being a software engineer with plenty of access to computer and
some hands on comfort with computers and software, I felt digital was
the way for me to go. I had seen a Sony Mavica 1 megapixel camera
(which uses 3.5" floppy disks) earlier. The concept of a digital camera
appealed to me..
- The camera should slip into my trouser pocket. The smaller the
camera is, the more it will be carried along. The more it is carried
along, the more it will be used. The more it is used ...
- After some research on the internet on the various camera models,
I found that 2 megapixel was a reasonable resolution (May 2002).
- I had a lot of thinking on whether to buy a digital camera or a
camcorder. One real good thing about camcorders is that even entry
level ones have very high optical zoom (atleast 10x). A midlevel
digital camera typically has 2x to 3x zoom only. But a reasonably
compact MiniDV camcorder costed about $800. It was more than what I was
planning to spend. And, digital cameras support small movie clips. In
most cases, I felt it was sufficient.
- After considering various models from Nikon, Sony, Olympus,
Kodak, etc I found that my first love - Canon S200 - still was the most
attractive one.
When you are reading this article, there might be several better
models. Check out.
When you have bought a digital camera, dont forget to buy enough
memory. Depending on your trip duration, access to a PC to transfer our
pictures, etc, make sure that you have enough memory to last throughout
your trip. I carry 64M and a 128M cards. This will let me take about
300 pictures.
To keep you informed, here is what I miss and am yet to make for:
- If there is one thing I miss in the Canon S200, it is zoom. S200
has 2x zoom (I dont consider digital zoom at all.). It is frustrating
when the bird I am trying to snap flies away because I went too close
to take a good shot. And, sometime there are fences, lakes, etc between
me and the object and I miss zoom.
- I have suffered many a time due to battery running out near the
end of the trip. Now (after a year) I have bought a spare battery.
Hopefully I dont run into the problem again.
- To take good shots in low light, I feel a tripod is essential. I
recently bought a Quantaray QSX MiniPro Plus tripod. Now I am able to
take shots in low light better.
- I am yet to learn to focus closeup shots correctly. Several
times, when I try to take a flower, the focus is on the leaves or
ground behind.
Quickstart Tips
- The most fundamental thing to take care is not to shake the
camera when taking a snap, especially in low light.
- Make sure the lighting is proper. If the background is brighter,
the object will be dark. If the object is too bright, the background
will be dark and sometimes, the object may be too bright that some
features of the object are not clear in the picture. Most cameras allow
you to fix the focus, exposure, etc by pressing the click button halfway
through. Then you can reframe your shot if needed and take the snap.
- When you take a snap, make sure that you catch what you want to.
With people, especially with children, it is possible that the camera
clicks at a wrong moment when the person is winking, looking the other
way, etc. Make good use of the digital camera. Take more than one shot
of important occasions. After the snap, quickly check the picture that
it is ok. Make sure you zoom into the picture sufficiently to catch any
abnormalities. Pay more attention to the eyes.
- When taking sceneries and other long distance shots, remember the
one-third rule. Keeping the main object one third from either of the
four sides gives an aesthetic picture. Closeup shots can be centered.
- First try taking a lot of sceneries, flowers, birds and animals
to learn about your camera. Try various exposures. Try various settings
on the camera for the same scene and study the differences carefully.
The more you know the camera and its various settings, the better shots
you can take.
- Be careful before taking snaps of people whom you dont know
personally. Respect the privacy of people.
Software
Everyone talks of Adobe Photoshop. Being an amateur hobbyist, I cannot
afford its license. I have searched for tools and found some very
useful. Here are a few freeware tools.
- Irfan View: If you want
to use only one tool, this is the one. It is free for non-commercial
use. It is mostly the only tool I ever need. It allows conversion
between file formats, reduce resolution and size, cut, copy, paste,
crop, insert text, rotate, flip, apply various effects, etc, etc. Three
cheers to Irfan for this wonderful tool and making it available as
freeware.
Links to Digital Photography Books and Tips
Online
Links to Free Online Photography Contests
Gallery
Here are some of the shots I am proud to have taken. These have been
converted to 50% quality and 25% size to keep the size of the file
small. Currently, these are the best shots I have taken. Please visit
the galleries pages for more.
Taken on an evening at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
A huge wave splashing at Pebbles Beach, I-1, California.
A dead tree at Rancho San Antanio, California.
Last updated: Gomu, 4th July 2003.