Understanding Digital Cameras

Getting the Best Image from Capture to Output

Jon Tarrant

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781136105098
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Médias et arts de la scène
• Categoría: Médias numériques

Understanding Digital Cameras will help you to: * Choose the right camera, lens and output option to capture the perfect image
* Develop great technique, whatever your style or subject matter
* Be inspired! Showcasing a wide range of images, plus the work and insights of guest photographers
This key resource for all photographers will help you get the very best from today's sophisticated digital cameras. Discover which type of camera, lens, lighting and printer is right for you with clear explanations and close-ups of camera settings and menus. A key tool to improve your photography is to see comparison images side by side. Tarrant shoots the same scene with different equipment or a different approach, to show exactly what a camera and technique can or can't do. He also shows you images that haven't worked - and explains precisely why. In this book you will learn essential photographic techniques, before moving on to specific genres: people, nature, action shots and working in the studio. Detailed captions throughout explain which camera and lens was used for each shot and highlight key factors in getting the right exposure, lighting and composition. There is an essential troubleshooting guide to printing errors such as smudges, lines and colour casts. Discover how to produce fine art prints and optimize images for the Web. Plus key technical information on digital and optical quality and colour management. Packed with tips, clear explanations, with all photography terms defined, box outs with key information, and showcasing a wide range of image styles and subjects, this book (and a camera!), is all you need to start creating great images! Jon Tarrant has spent many years as an award-winning professional photographer and much-published photographic writer. He is former editor of the British Journal of Photography, to which he still contributes, and of Professional Photographer and HotShoe International magazines.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Ten years ago there was a prediction that within 15 months we would have digital cameras that would compete with film on the basis of image quality. Writing in a small-circulation and short-lived publication called PQ Magazine I scoffed at the timing of that prediction and turned the claim on its head by observing that only when digital cameras can do everything that film can, to equal quality and at equal cost, will it be fair to talk about digital cameras being true competitors to silver halide photography. Well it took much longer than 15 months but that time has definitely now arrived. Digital SLRs have fallen from the same price as a small car through the 1990s to the cost of a decent television set today. Similarly, whereas the price of a digital compact camera was once on a par with a week’s holiday abroad, costs are now so low that digital compacts have become common Christmas presents. Not only that but image quality has also improved, maybe not so that it equals film in every respect but certainly enough to better it in most areas. In short, digital photography has truly come of age.

Photography has always been about making pictures that can be viewed independently of the subject portrayed. Such pictures may be holiday snaps or images recording world events; they may be portraits of film stars or family relatives; they may record exotic animals in the wild or flowers and birds in your own back garden. These pictures might be intended for viewing by a public audience, on the pages of a magazine or in an exhibition, or just as personal memories. All this could also be said of the visual arts in general and in the days before photography other artists did indeed fulfil many of these roles. But the camera changed all of that. More recently, digital cameras have moved the goalposts once more, not least because of the electronic medium that has blossomed alongside their development. No longer are pictures confined to printed media as the Internet now carries sounds and images to homes across the world. Whereas once it was the norm to gather in a darkened room to watch a family slide show or huddle together to view a handful of prints, today it is a trivial matter to send an electronic image to relatives on the other side of the globe at the press of a button.

This picture was originally a simple holiday snap but has acquired greater poignancy following the events of September 11th 2001. It was taken on film, using a Mamiya 7, and was scanned so as to be incorporated into a library of digital images. The balance of quality between digital and film images is discussed later in this book.

In time to come people may not even talk about photography in the same way that they did in the past: inevitably there will be an element of de-skilling, as there always is when technology steps in to make our lives easier. Few people would be happy to double-declutch when driving a car today yet this was a routine technique 50 years ago. Likewise it seems probable that the Zone System and myriad effects that were applicable to film-based imaging will slip from photographic parlance. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it does mean that I have decided to write this book using slightly different language to that which I would have used five years ago. Indeed, this book can be considered to be an updated, expanded and reworked version of my earlier book Digital Camera Techniques (Focal Press, 2003). A few of the explanations and pictures have been reused here but the emphasis has been changed considerably to reflect the greater familiarity and normality that digital imaging enjoys today.

Whereas the previous book tried to treat digital photography in the same way that books of old presented film photography, it is now obvious that the two media are different and should be treated as such. This does not mean that there will be no mention of film photography in this book because the fact is that my own experience is rooted in film work and it would be a lost opportunity not to include retrospective comments when they are appropriate. Equally, digital photography is not always a bed of roses and in those areas where digital capture still lags behind film this point is clearly made. But there is no escaping the fact that digital camera sales have overtaken those for film cameras in terms of both value and volume. The great thing about this is that digital photography brings with it new ways of enjoying the medium through image manipulation and printing.

In the previous book I stressed how much better it is to be a skilled camera user than to be forced to correct camera mistakes using image manipulation programs. That stance too has shifted slightly and this book now discusses some of the opportunities and techniques that exist for improving images using various types of software. Personally, I still believe that skilled camera work is more valuable than the ability to correct failings later on, but I accept that this is becoming an out-moded view.

New additions to this version of the book include a chapter devoted to lenses and optical quality as these things apply to digital cameras, a chapter on high-quality (fine-art) printing techniques and an expanded series of chapters looking at techniques that are appropriate for specific areas of digital photography. This book’s coverage of digital imaging software has also been increased, to the extent that there is now one chapter on image manipulation techniques and another that looks at other types of software, including programs for enlarging, cataloguing and watermarking images.

I have tried to keep references to items of equipment as generic as possible while at the same time providing pointers to useful types of equipment and suggested suppliers when this is appropriate. That said, specific references are sometimes useful to help put markers in the sand (and it definitely is sand, not stone) to indicate the developing state of digital camera technology. To that end I have concluded this book with a brief and largely personal view of some of the landmarks that exist in what is still the very short history of digital cameras. I have also included discussion of some topics that may or may not remain important in the future but which are certainly of concern right now. One of these is the move to have a universal raw format for digital camera files instead of different formats from each camera manufacturer: another is the still-persistent debate about the relative quality of images captured on film then scanned versus those captured digitally at the outset.

Recognizing the fact that one book cannot possibly cover a field as vast as digital photography, with all of its technical, artistic and scientific nuances, I have also included some suggestions for further reading (both in print and on the Internet) at various points within the text. If any of the URLs go out of date then I apologise for this inevitable characteristic of the electronic medium and can only suggest that a search engine enquiry might establish a current alternative. In fact if you have time to kill it can be illuminating to enter various photography-specific terms into search engines in order to discover what is new.

Most photographs are pictures of people in one way or another, whether they portray famous personalities (in this case the golfer Tiger Woods, left) or friends and family. Although the former pictures are more likely to have commercial value the latter have even greater sentimental value and need to be stored safely for future reference. Some of the software and hardware considerations that are at the heart of image filing and retrieval are discussed at various points in the following pages.

There can be no doubt that digital imaging is a fascinating and challenging field and I for one always look forward to learning new things about the medium. I hope that you do too and that this book will help to fulfil that need.

Pictures such as this should be within the capabilities of most digital cameras, including well-specified compacts. The most likely reasons for any unsatisfactory result will be poor focusing (because the composition contains so many different planes) or burned-out highlights.

CHAPTER 2

Basic Features

This initial chapter reviews the most important features of modern digital cameras. Its purpose is both to explain some of the options that are probably offered by your own digital camera and to highlight the sorts of features that you should think about when the time comes to upgrade to a new model. For the benefit of new buyers there is very brief advice regarding how to go about making that tricky first purchase and also a table, at the end of the chapter, summarizing the features and typical capabilities of different types of digital cameras. Current owners can probably skim the first section very quickly and more experienced photographers may want to skip this chapter completely, but please resist the temptation to leap ahead without at least a cursory glance as some of the information it contains is assumed in the later chapters.

Types of cameras

Digital cameras can be divided into four major categories according to the users at whom they are primarily aimed – professional, enthusiast, amateur and novelty (including camera-phones). There is also an alternative grouping that collates much the same cameras by the features that they offer:

• cameras with through-the-lens viewing, interchangeable lenses and sophisticated flash capabilities (professional cameras, also known as digital SLRs)
• cameras with through-the-lens viewing, a non-interchangeable zoom lens and modest flash capabilities (enthusiast cameras, often also known as hybrid cameras)
• cameras with separate viewing and picture-taking lenses, or screen-based viewing, a modest zoom lens and basic flash capabilities (amateur cameras, often in traditional ‘compact’ form)
• cameras or camera-enabled devices with a fixed-focus lens, sometimes without any flash support (novelty cameras and cameras in cellphones and laptop computers).

These three cameras are typical examples of the physical appearances of compact, hybrid and digital SLR designs.

This compact-camera picture has relatively low resolution but creates a strong impact thanks to direct eye-contact and the girl’s attention-grabbing red coat. Photograph © Tracey Burridge.

Inevitably there are some exceptions to this grouping, such as Epson’s and Leica’s rangefinder cameras that have separate viewing and picture-taking lenses but are far from amateur products, but on the whole this is a fair categorization. The meaning and importance of the various terms mentioned will be explained shortly but it is quite possible that you will realise that your requirements will be best suited to two different types of cameras, in which case the relatively low prices of some models may make ownership of two (or more) cameras a real possibility. This suggestion mirrors the reality of film photography where, not so many years ago, people would buy a well-specified but somewhat bulky camera for major picture-taking events but also had a pocket-sized compact camera for low-fuss use on other occasions.

Although there is a lot of technical information that ought to be taken into account, choosing a digital camera is ultimately a very personal thing. Some people will be swayed by looks with scant regard for specifications whereas others will want to know all the facts and figures of any given camera before deciding whether it is right for them. Then there is the matter of individual physical characteristics, such as the size of your hands and whether you prefer to look through a camera viewfinder using your right eye or your left. In this context, brand-X could be the best-specified camera in the world but if it does not feel right then probably you will not want to buy it. The same will be true if, for example, you object specifically to excessive (or insufficient) weight in a camera. Despite potentially exhaustive analysis buying decisions always come down to personal preferences. The only thing to remember is that a digital camera is a tool, not an item of jewellery: it is meant to be used, not admired for its aesthetics. By all means buy what you like, but do not ignore the technical specifications entirely as these will limit what you can do with your chosen camera.

These two pictures of the former swimming pool at Fort Regent in Jersey were taken immediately before it was drained and decommissioned. They were taken using a Sigma SD10 digital SLR with interchangeable lenses: the same quality of images could almost certainly not have been obtained using a simpler camera.

There are three rules that should always be kept in mind when choosing any digital camera:

1. You are far more likely to enjoy carrying a small, lightweight camera than you are a more potent but bulkier and heavier model. Therefore, when buying a camera do not ask which features you need but rather consider which ones you could live without in the interest of buying a more portable model.

2. The best camera for one person is not the best camera for another person. This means that although it is good market research to ask opinions from other digital camera owners, you may have different priorities and need to be clear about what these are before people start swaying you with praise for their own particular choices.

3. A better camera is always just around the corner and when it arrives an even better one will be waiting in the wings. In other words, you have to commit yourself to making a decision at some time and must accept the fact that if you wait for the elusive next-best-thing you will never make a decision at all.

With all of that in mind, it is time to look more closely at the most important features of modern digital cameras.

Camera features

Viewfinders

The viewfinder is one of the most important parts...