Archive for the 'the Uncle' Category

Whew, Christmas!!

December 27, 2007 | Animals, Douglas, Family, Holiday, Products, the Uncle

Well, Christmas has been and gone, and we got lots of photo-related gifts in our family. I got my longed-for Canon Digital Rebel, and Santa brought the family a Flip camcorder. Even my husband got into the game — one of the few things he really wanted was a device that attaches to his telescope and uses the PC as the camera engine to take astronomy photos. And my brother, known here as the Uncle, got some items for his new Nikon D40, including a book on how to get the most out of his camera.

So I expect we’ll have lots of things to write about in the coming year. Starting with a report on last Friday’s Hannah Montana concert, which we were lucky enough to attend courtesy of my client HP, one of the sponsors.

Because HP was a sponsor, photography was allowed at the concert, and it was amazing to see so many people clicking away. Our photos are on Flickr.

In the meantime, let me leave you with a video I took with the Flip of my dogs playing with another one of my brother’s gifts, an alarm clock that runs and hides if you attempt to snooze. It was dead easy to upload the video directly to YouTube using the Flip interface.

Tags: Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus, Flip, Scottish Terrier, HP

SLR nOOb, a continuing saga by the Uncle

December 18, 2007 | Equipment, the Uncle

Continuing my story of learning to use my new Nikon D40…. I am still somewhat boggled by the numerous settings possible. I knew I would be, of course, but in ways it turns out even more confusing for me than I had expected. Even the “auto” settings have adjustments that can be made.

But I am actually starting to pick up a few things.

“Metering” for example. This looks at the available lighting and lets the camera choose just how to adjust for differing conditions. MOST of the time, having this set to “matrix” seems to work best, especially in low-light, outdoor shots.

“Center-weighted” takes into account the whole scene but gives the center of the frame more priority, and sometimes gets better results. I am still trying to figure out exactly WHEN this is the case- right now it is hit or miss for me.

“Spot” only looks at light level on just what is the center of focus. I have yet to get better results with this for any pictures yet, although I am sure there ARE circumstances when it will.

Part of my difficulty lies in the fact that I am so deeply OUT of practice with a good camera. So many settings, so few that I really remember what has what effect.

Spot metering MIGHT get the best results for some of the pictures I have taken if I had other settings adjusted differently. However, with the plethora of combinations available for just the AUTO settings, I am trying to isolate just a few to get the hang of at once so spot metering will have to wait.

Right now my main focus…. (sorry for the pun) has been on exposure and speed, and getting decent light levels in my photos. I am having some decent results with this although lately my subject matter has not really been picture-worthy, which is why I am posting none.

Next time!

n00b with SLR and Linux by the Uncle

November 25, 2007 | Equipment, Products, the Uncle

I had planned to write more for Snapshot Chronicles, but life has been busy in recent months. It still is, but I have an opportunity to share with folks my experiences moving from budget snapshot cameras to more advanced, fancier ones. I now have a digital SLR camera. So I am going to force myself to write regularly, even if my posts are brief.

Single Lens Reflex is complicated to do, but is really simple to explain. The viewfinder looks through the same lens you take pictures through. You will photograph EXACTLY what you see in the viewfinder. This adds expense and complexity, as well as weight and size to a camera, and it is NOT required for great pictures. But it opens up a whole world of capabilities that are simply not available with less complex cameras.

The camera I chose is the Nikon D40 – widely considered one of the best inexpensive digital SLRs. It is not one of the highest pixel count cameras available, but as with many things, the law of diminishing returns applies: 6.1 megapixels produces wonderful images and for most uses (and photographers) will look every bit as good as a higher pixel count camera. Available as a kit for around $500 USD, all that is needed is to charge the battery. I chose this camera based on the recommendation of a friend who is VERY into photography, and actually DOES know what he is talking about.

Initial impressions: I opened the package and was amazed at both how small and light the D40 is, even with the included 18-55mm lens. Well, the lens is a bit big, but it is still very light. I opened the manual and set the battery to charging up while I began reading about the camera and how to use it…

Began reading the manual

I am still reading the manual, and trying to understand what it says. It has been a long time since I used anything but simple point-and-shoot cameras. Fortunately, an intimate understanding of every technical option and setting is NOT required to begin taking pictures! The D40 has a fully automatic setting that works pretty well, and a number of preset settings for specific environments: indoors, outside, cloudy, etc. I am mostly using the presets right now. It is going to take me a while to really LEARN how to use the camera to best effect and start doing anything “artsy.”

A caveat about the Nikon D40

One of the advantages of an SLR is the ability to change lenses- tele-photo, wide-angle and more, and this can be done with the D40, BUT….Most similar cameras have the focus drive motor built into the camera, and this one does not. Only lenses with the drive motor built into the lens will do auto-focus, although the others will usually work fine manually. The lack of a drive motor in the camera body is one of the reasons the D40 is relatively inexpensive for the quality of the camera, but additional lenses will be more costly than those without a motor.

For many people (such as myself) this will not be an issue, but if you already have a 35mm camera and assorted lenses, getting a digital SLR that can use the same lenses is likely to be worth any additional cost for the camera body itself.

Other than the lenses, the D40 seems to pretty much match up with any other camera as far as flash attachments, mounting to a tripod, etc.

I have included three pictures for comparison: one with my cellphone, one with a Canon point-and-shoot and one with the Nikon.

LG VX9800 Cell Phone

Canon SD450 (snapshot camera)

Nikon D40 SLR (Auto setting)

Note that while the phone-cam looks pretty bad, both of the other two look quite good. Nothing wrong with simple cameras at all, eh? As I learn how to use the D40, I expect to see better results and be more capable of “artsy” photographs, but nevertheless the far simpler camera does a very nice job and is far more convenient.

About the images: All three pictures were taken one after another for minimal variation. All were saved as jpeg images. No re-touching. The images were re-sized using the GIMP, an Open Source image editing application similar to Photoshop.

Too Many Cameras, Part Two

July 9, 2007 | Equipment, the Uncle

On to a few of my “hot points”- the questions I consider most important in choosing a digital camera.

• Is Simplicity Number One?
• Action Shots?
• Do I Think I’m a Pro?
• Form or Function?
• Batteries? These things need BATTERIES?
• Digital Film?

 Let’s take a look at these points one at a time:

1) Simplicity
 Being able to grab the camera and snap a shot FAST can be a good thing when you are on vacation, have kids or at lots of other times but be aware that the cheaper simple cameras may take some time to save a picture and may not “cycle” (take pics one after another) very quickly.

2) Action
Pictures of fast moving objects (race cars, athletic events or children) need a fast camera or else your pictures will be blurry. Photo editing software can only do so much, after all… As a rule, more money will generally get you a camera that is better at photographing action shots even on the low end of cameras.

3) Do I think I’m a Professional?
Getting a camera that has all the capability in the world, with features and buttons and menus may be great, but if you aren’t REALLY motivated to learn how to use it will most likely end up frustrating you and being a waste of time and money. There is nothing WRONG with getting all the bells and whistles, but they may not be what you really want or need.

4) Form or Function?
There are some fancy, stylish cameras out there and they may be what is best suited for you but they have negative points: most are of the small, easy to carry type BUT they may not use standard batteries and often can only charge or connect to a computer with a docking station. Quality also tends to suffer when compared to similar priced but less style-oriented cameras.

5) Battery Life
There are a lot of things that affect battery life in a camera: type and size of battery and size of the LCD view/preview screen are two of the biggies. Having a small, fast, easy to use camera is great- but if it has an internal battery that can only charge in your computer and runs out after 20 pictures, it may be less than useful.

6) What’s this about Film?
While its true that digital cameras don’t use film, per se, they DO need to store your pictures. And you need to get those pictures off of the camera, eventually. There are two basic types as far as storing and transferring pictures:
1. Internal memory (requires computer to do anything)
2. External memory (can be upgraded or swapped for more storage without a computer)
Only the cheapest cameras nowadays will have just internal storage and unless you are buying a camera for a kid, you are not likely to want one of these.

Storage media comes in various formats and may be something you never need to think about after buying your camera. On the other hand…. having a spare memory card lets you take more pictures without needing to connect to a computer and usually makes transferring images to the computer much faster using a card reader.

I know this may not yet seem to have made choosing a digital camera any easier yet, but take these points one at a time, think about them. Decide what REALLY suits your desires best.  For many folks an inexpensive $100 camera is really all they need or want and will do exactly what they want. For others, anything less than a $750 digital SLR is a waste of money. Most of us will be somewhere in the middle, and figuring out just where we fit in before we even look at any cameras  will make the whole process of buying and living with a digital camera MUCH easier.

 Next time: Software that does stuff with pictures.

Too Many Cameras, Part One

July 6, 2007 | Equipment, the Uncle

I am not a professional photographer nor a photo guru- I am a computer hobbyist. What this means is that most of the people I know (often including family members) ask me questions any time they need help with anything even remotely connected with computers, including tech items that can connect with computers. This includes digital photography, of course.

I have the feeling that a large percentage of Snapshot Chronicles readers will already have a camera, but in the hope of helping someone who is still in the process of choosing one, I am going to write a few entries with some of the suggestions I give to people when they ask my opinion about cameras. Normally it does NOT take me long to narrow things down to a range of cameras, but that is “conversation” compared to writing. I’ll try to hit all of my bullet points here.

My first posts are going to address the plethora of available digital cameras and how in the WORLD to pick one.

The first step in choosing a digital camera has nothing to do with the camera itself; it is about how you plan to USE your camera. What you want to do with it, what you want it to be able to do and exactly where your priorities lie. To get the results you want, you first have to well and truly understand what your digital photography goal IS.

The most common photography is the easiest- snapshots. Quick and easy pictures that can be taken with little or no effort and without having to read a 200 page manual. Turn it on, press a button and voila: picture! Digital cameras of this type range widely in price and features but will be easy to use and, with the cameras available now, generally provide good quality at a fairly low price. Digital snapshot cameras range in price from under $100 (USD) to around $300 (USD). Snapshot cameras are similar to traditional film cameras in that they are not so good at action pictures, and will have a “sweet spot” in picture taking range: too close or too far away and the quality will suffer somewhat. Since most snapshots are taken between maybe 5 to 20 feet this will not usually be an issue, BUT- If you plan to do extreme close-ups or a lot of panoramic landscapes you may be better served by a camera with more features.

The cheapest cameras that would be considered “snapshot” cameras usually DO have a setting for either close or distant (usually signified by a portrait or landscape image) but results vary widely. These cameras are the cheapest and fit at the bottom of the category generally called “consumer” cameras.

The upper range of digital cameras are the Professional cameras- the kind photography pros use to earn a living. Pro-level digital cameras are amazing, but have the same caveats that professional film cameras have: high cost and the college course required to operate them…

Kidding, of course but the Pro-level cameras are complex and to really get your money’s worth is likely to take some time and effort. But at least you won’t have to waste a lot of money getting pictures that turn out to be garbage developed while you learn how to use one.

The middle of the range digital camera is sometimes called “Prosumer” level. Pretty much anything between point-and-shoot and the Pro cameras. Most digital cameras fit somewhere in this category, with style and features varying widely. Choosing which prosumer camera to get is still complex, but if you have a good understanding of how you REALLY want to use your camera it will be a lot easier.

Next post: my “hot points”- the questions I consider most important in choosing a digital camera.

Welcome new author

Family, the Uncle

As promised in an earlier post, my brother will be joining us from time to time. To make things really confusing, his name is also Douglas, so I’ve given him the user name that he’s been using to comment here, the Uncle

 Watch for his first post shortly.