Cannock Chase U3A Science & Technology Group Programme June 12 th PC fundamentals 1: July 17th Camera fundamentals 1 August Tablet PC fundamentals 1 September PC applications 2 (Word, Excel, Music, Photos, Drawing overview)
Camera Type Overview Basically 3 types: SLR gives much more manual control, a viewfinder with through the lens view, a larger image sensor, and interchangeable lenses [Telephoto etc]
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Auto and Manual Settings Auto has limited options of flash or timer usually, but look out for the light metering settings it s made, as in picture (1/80 th sec and F2.8 with ISO800). Much below 1/60 th sec shake will be noticeable. Auto good for 90% of shots, or if you don t have time to meddle. Semi-Manual can usually set ISO, AWB, Focus area, Macro, & aspect ratio. Aperture or Shutter Speed priority useful for difficult or novel conditions: A Speed setting can be useful for freezing a moving subject by pushing up the shutter speed (1/1000ths sec to seconds). An Aperture setting can be useful for depth of field (range probably F2.8 to F8 or higher). Exposure Compensation (+/-) to brighten/darken. Scene setting saves meddling with the manual settings above, but not that useful.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Focus Half shutter button press. Watch out for focus failure indication. Focus uses contrast, so may fail in poor lighting situations (indoors). Having a Focus Assist lamp helps here. Check it s switched on. Speed of focus may be an issue on some cameras for action shots. Can set to Continuous, but battery drain worse. SLR probably wins here for speed. Focus point. Can usually be set for centre spot, multiple areas or face recognition. Focus lock (hold half press), then move camera. Useful for subject not in centre of screen. Focus tracking useful for moving subject, possible on some cameras. Tracks shape set, but can easily lose it.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Poor Light Indoors is a particularly difficult area. Outdoors at night is another. Not enough light for the sensor to give a good image. Shutter speed. Darker conditions will make the camera set the shutter speed very long, causing loss of focus from shake. Watch out for the speed setting on the display as you focus. If you don t want flash on, don t let it go much below 1/60 th sec by changing ISO, or manually make aperture larger, if you can. The ISO setting is an adjustment for sensor sensitivity (the old film speed). Raising ISO manually will allow a shot in darker conditions, and can allow the shutter speed to rise (may reduce aperture too), but excessive values may cause a blotchy or fuzzy shot. Use as low a value as possible for best image. See picture for settings.
Poor Light Aperture. Dark conditions will probably set the lens iris aperture to its largest (probably F2.8) to allow the shutter speed to rise to an acceptable value. Depth of field for focus may be reduced. Zooming in reduces light to the sensor, so don t use zoom indoors. Just get closer. Use of flash. Remember it is only good for about 10 feet (and a black background beyond). Usually fixes shutter to 1/60 th sec. Can usually set on, off, auto or slow sync. Shake stabilizers or tripod can be helpful with long shutter speeds. Turn on stabilizer if camera has one. Focus in poor light can be difficult. Always have the focus assist lamp switched on.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Distance to Subject Close Up Shot. Set the camera to Macro. Button usually one of the four cursor buttons. Watch out for focus failure if very close. Optical Zoom. To bring the subject closer, but gives a smaller field of view. Reduces light to sensor, so reasonable light level required. Avoid use of zoom in low light conditions and indoors. Digital Zoom. Forget it. Depth of Field. Make sure you have everything in focus you require, in case the aperture has been opened to full (F2.8). If you want both near and far subjects to be in focus, you will need a smaller aperture (probably >>F4).
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Speed of Subject Focus Time. Long time of focus can lose the shot if subject is moving. Three possibilities here: An SLR camera will cope better than a compact Continuous focus setting (but beware of battery drain) Focus tracking (lock focus to the shape of subject) Shutter Speed. Needs a fast shutter speed to freeze any action. This means good lighting conditions are required to support the fast shutter. If the aperture has opened up to F2.8, then beware of lack of focus depth of field. Or set a normal to slow shutter speed if you want a deliberate blur of the speed. Burst Fire. Can set camera to take multiple shots to catch the action. Compact cameras are quite poor at this with slow repetition times. SLR s much better.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Direction of Light Source Light source behind camera. Normal and safe situation. Light source in front of camera. This will cause the light metering to reduce, and put the subject in silhouette. In this case, force the flash on to light up the foreground (for less than 10 of fill-in). Shadows. Beware of light from the side which can cause partial shadows over your subject. Watch out for a shadow of the photographer on your subject if the sun is behind you and low in the sky.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Angle of Shot Try different angles to subject. Maybe get a foreground in with subject behind. Try from above with subject (person) looking up. Avoid un-flattering looking up angles at faces.
Getting the Best from a DigiCam Things to Consider Auto/Manual Settings Focus Poor Light Distance to Subject Speed of Subject Direction of light source Angle of shot Tricks
Tricks Continuous Background. Bend a large sheet of white or coloured card behind the object. Take the photo at close range without showing the edges of the card. This will cut out any corners or edges. Use a long shutter speed and small aperture (+ small ISO) to capture a waterfall looking like white water (try slower than 1/10 th ). Use a fast shutter speed to capture water droplets, or fast action freezing (try 1/250 th +). PC software to enhance the images For another time!
A Macro Setting Example
Camera Stops Example Filename: CameraGettingTheBest_1_RevC.ppt