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Several
people receive new cameras over the holidays and as we all know,
use them before reading the book. Well, it's time to go back and
read what all those little buttons stand for and what they do.
For
some of you that means looking in various nooks to locate your owner's
manual. If you fall into that category go to your camera manufacturer's
website and see if a camera manual is available for online viewing
or to download. If you have a Nikon, Olympus, Sony or Canon, check
www.shortcourses.com
Dennis Curtin writes these guides. He doesn't include pictures in
his pocket guides but covers a lot of topics in a small amount of
space. He also covers other topics, such as "Editing Digital
Photos" and "Best Websites for Digital Photography."
Most
cameras today have similar features with few variations. Usually
they are factory pre-set to fully automatic functions, such as file
type and compression, color control and scene mode. In some cameras
these functions are adjustable; in others they are not.
Let
us start with file type and compression. All cameras deliver images
in JPEG format. JPEG format is intended for compressing images that
will be looked at by humans. Other images such as GIF were created
for use on the Internet, and TIFF was created for use in print media.
While you may have the capability within your camera to save pictures
in formats other than JPEG, doing so may require more memory usage
and special software to review these pictures.
Color
control or white-balance refers to the ability to adjust color based
on the amount of light available. Digital cameras use white as a
reference and adjust the color balance to give the truest possible
color. If you have never used these settings on your camera try
taking several pictures in the exact same location at the same time
of day using the different settings to see which one provides you
with the best pictures. Automatic settings include such things as
daylight, fluorescent light, or overcast skies.
Lastly
we will discuss scene mode. Scene modes are those settings on your
camera that have been pre-adjusted by the manufacturer to permit
you to take landscape, portrait and close-up photos with a minimum
amount of adjustment on your part. On your camera you may view them
as picture images such as a flower or a group of people.
Try
these and other settings on your camera at the same location with
the same lighting so that you can compare which settings provide
you with clearer, more defined pictures.
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