Understanding Digital Cameras

Capturing beautiful moments and making them accessible quickly is no longer a rich man's forte. Most of us have access to our memorable moments in just a click away. Digital cameras save you a lot of time. Once the photo has been taken, you can just download those images in a computer and make them accessible on the net in various ways. Digital cameras record and store photographic images in digital format. Capturing pictures is usually accomplished by use of a photo sensor, using a charged couple device (CCD.) After transferring the pictures to your computer, you can edit and save them in a compact disc or hard drive.With digital cameras you can instantly seize the picture you would love to keep forever. Delete unwanted pictures easily. No hassle of buying films. You don't have to print every picture; you have complete control of the final print after editing on computer. No worries of negatives getting spoiled or lost. You can store many images without having to change or buy films. There are many brands of digital cameras available in the market today. These include: Sony, Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Kodak, Minolta and Fuji. These are a few famous brands worldwide. Even basic digital camera models have plenty of features, levels and menus. This makes it difficult for beginners to select the right camera meeting their needs. Digital cameras are available in all price ranges depending on the amount of features they have. Before you start comparing the features you should decide for what purpose you would like to use your digital camera. The best way to start your search is to log on to the net and visit all the sites that offer feature and price comparisons for different types and brands of digital cameras.Almost all digital cameras today have live-preview functionality, where a screen is provided in the camera to see the preview of the image that you just clicked. The most commonly compared feature in digital cameras is the “mega pixel.” This means the amount of pixels in millions. Therefore, a four mega pixel camera would have four million pixels. The other important features to compare include optical and digital zoom capacity; connectivity with other devices such as computer, printer, etc.; the internal storage space as well as compatibility with external storage devices; memory cards; batteries; and image file formats. Many digital cameras offer connectivity through USB port, FireWire port, USB PTP mode, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. These days, many cameras are offering PictBridge mode that allows direct printing from the digital camera without the mediation of a computer. Though all cameras have some amount of internal memory, external memory cards are required to save more pictures. These include Micro Drives or Compact Flash memory cards that are generally used for high-end professional cameras. Memory Stick by Sony is a proprietary flash memory card. SD/MMC, Mini SD and Micro SD cards are the ones used mostly for commercial digital cameras. If you are an amateur photographer, then you should select a camera with automatic settings and features. This will help you in getting the right pictures based on the amount of light and scenes without too much effort. But if you are looking for a professional camera then you should pick the one that allows you to select all shooting modes manually. There are many shooting modes available in the latest models of digital cameras including landscape, portrait, panorama, action settings, night mode, beach mode, snow mode, and sunset/sunrise modes.

Avoiding Digital Camera Shakes

If ever you have seen a picture that is blurred, it is most probably because the camera was shaken while the picture was taken. With traditional photographic film cameras, it was evident only after the negatives and positives were made. However, with digital camera, the captured image can be seen immediately on the LCD screen, and if the image has shaken, then it can be discarded for a new shot.Digital camera shakes are common with new users. This is primarily because, new users have not fully understood that the shutter-release button must not be pressed twice, but pressed two steps down. The first step locks the focus and exposure while the second step takes the photo. This pressing of the button has to be smooth, otherwise the digital camera shakes and a blurred picture is the result.The shutter speed also plays an important role in blurring the picture. The shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter remains open to allow light to reach the digital camera sensor. It is measured in seconds or fractions of a second. An image is exposed by the combination of the lens aperture and the shutter speed. A slow shutter speed needs a small aperture (large F-stop number) to avoid over exposure. With a slow shutter speed below 1/60th of a second, over exposure is adequately controlled, but the digital camera is likely to vibrate more, giving a shaky picture.A tripod is extremely useful to eliminate digital camera shakes. It is generally used by sports photographers who use long telephoto lens, as it helps in close-ups, landscape and panning shots, for timed exposures, for shooting at slow shutter speeds, and for taking photographs in low or dim light conditions. Shooting a fast moving subject, like athletes, or wildlife, tests the photographer`s skill and the equipment. In such cases, camera shakes are most likely to happen, and thus a monopod or a tripod is always used. Digital cameras mounted on tripods always tend to eliminate camera shakes and give sharp results.A great feature in most high-end digital cameras available nowadays is image stabilization (IS). IS is an anti-shake and vibration reduction technology and is common in digital cameras with long telephoto zooms of 10X and 12X. With IS, sharp images can be obtained even if the camera shakes a little, a slow shutter speed is used, shooting is done in low light conditions, or a tripod is not used. IS was originally developed for video cameras. It is now available in interchangeable lens, consumer and professional digital cameras, which use optical image stabilization. Sports and wildlife photographers use a tripod and IS technology together to get the maximum sharpness of their photographs; however, many other photographers turn the IS feature off while using a tripod.Digital camera shakes can be eliminated or minimized by the utilization of the above techniques. However, the fundamentals of taking a good shot prove to be most effective in avoiding camera shakes, in the absence of tripods, or IS technology. The basics of good photography should be followed. You should hold the digital camera with both your hands. You should keep the legs apart with the knees slightly bent forward. Your elbows should be braced with your body and your body braced with some support, if possible. You should generally frame and compose the picture with the viewfinder and not the LCD screen. You should not jab but lightly press the shutter release button two steps down, and during that time, it would be beneficial to hold your breath to prevent any movement of the chest and hands. With this basic technique of good photography, you can be sure that your digital camera will not shake and no picture will be blurred.

Taking Pictures with a Digital Camera

The development in science and technology in recent years has not just been about developing of devices that make life easier, it has also been a lot about making life more luxurious. One such great development has been the concept of digital camera. Digital cameras are nothing but cameras that allow you to take pictures digitally instead of having to use cameras that take and store pictures on photographic films. They are easy to use, and are generally multifunctional, providing various facilities. Digital cameras are known for taking good images, which are as good as the pictures taken by the conventional cameras, if not better. In fact, digital cameras allow one not only to click great pictures; they also allow one to view the pictures as and when taken. Therefore, if you take a picture, and are not satisfied with the way it looks, and if you still have the opportunity of capturing that special moment, you can go on clicking your camera, till you get exactly what you desire. Digital cameras also allow the option of using a flash light as and when required, to obtain a much clear image. In many digital cameras, there is also an option for taking automatic pictures. This is especially meant for those special moments, when everybody wishes to get included in the picture, without being left out, staying behind the lens.Digital cameras also allow the user to shoot as well as save videos. Generally the sound and the picture quality is good, though it mostly varies from camera to camera. The flash light can be used while video shooting too and the fact that these are so portable and handy, they allow you to carry them anywhere for any length of time with great ease. Options can be set for automatic video shooting to, in case nobody is willing to stand behind the lens. There are digital cameras that also allow you to change the style and color of the pictures you may be taking. For instance, you may set an option to take only black and white pictures, or pictures with a bluish or reddish hue. Some digital cameras also come with special lens that can focus and take pictures of a much wider area. Sometime you also might be able to take your own pictures as well as videos, staying behind the lens by adjusting them, if your digital camera gives you that option.However, one of the greatest benefits of using a digital camera is probably the fact that it allows you to click a large number of pictures without having to worry too much about the memory space. The pictures may be saved in CDs, which means that no matter how long your vacation maybe and how many pictures you end up taking, you do not run out of space trying to save those sweet memories. This not only makes digital cameras more convenient to use, but it also makes it very cheap as compared to the traditional cameras.However, the special features provided by the digital cameras vary from one camera to another, depending on the producing company, and of course on the price range of the camera. With the rapid development in digital cameras taking pace every now and then, and the prices coming down heavily, with each new discovery, digital cameras are fast becoming one of the most popular electronic goods of the modern world. Suddenly possessing a digital camera has become a necessity in this fast changing world. Whether one loves photography or not, possessing a personal digital camera is surely one luxury many of us crave for!

Tahoe photos

#4 Lake Tahoe on a stormy day
#5 sun setting on the lake
#6 Sun on lake Tahoe

Some of my photographs

# 3 Blue Jay Posing

#1 Kiva Beach,S Lake Tahoe Ca
#2 Kiva Beach S Lake Tahoe Ca

Please feel free to comment on any of these pics.If you would like to own any of them for yourself I can frame any of them in an 8 x 10 size for $39.95 plus $5.95 shipping.

Please comment back with your request and email address I can take either personal check or Google Checkout

I will be posting more as time allows,thanks for your interest

Crafting in Tahoe- a family affair

If you are looking for a unigue handmade craft you may also want to try my grandparents.They have been doing craft shows here in Tahoe for over 20 yrs nows.
They make antique milkcan decorations you can check out thier website at http://www.can-tiques.com/ tell them thier grand daughter Cathy sent you.They ship anywhere within the US .Makes a great gift check them out.

Welcome to my blog

Hello to everyone that has taken the time to read my blog.A great big thank you for your time.
This blog will be dedicated to my 2 of my biggest loves,woodworking and photography.
Tahoe is in my opinion the best place in the US for both.
I never get tired of photographing the Lake,which has been called the jewel of the Sierras,it constently changes with the seasons.
Woodworking is a great hobby that one day I hope to make into a paying hobby,LOL
In the meantime it will remain a hobby.I will post pictures of my creations from time to time.I will always welcome comments or opinions on my creations.
I do alot of woodburning and carving I use a combination of hand carving tools and the Dremal,wonderful little tool!