With a digital camera, you can also take as many pictures as you want without worrying about wasting film. You can look at pictures right away and decide whether to keep them or delete them. And, you can print only the images you want -- you don't have to process whole rolls of film and then figure out where to store all the pictures.But digital cameras also have a few disadvantages. A film camera can take a picture almost immediately when you press the button. Digital cameras, on the other hand, can take a few seconds, especially if they're making adjustments automatically. They also require more light than traditional cameras do. Sometimes, the abundant space on a memory card encourages people to take so many pictures that they're not sure what to do with them later.
By keeping a few tips in mind, it's easy to overcome the disadvantages and get a lot out of your digital camera. See the next page to get started.
1. Control the light
It is good to remember that a digital camera is a lot like a film camera, but it uses a sensor and a memory card in place of film. When you take a picture, a digital shutter opens and exposes the sensor to light. The sensor reacts to the light, and the memory card stores the resulting picture.
The light that hits the sensor determines virtually everything about the picture. Your camera may be able make some adjustments, but it has to work with the amount and type of light that it receives. You can control how the light hits the sensor with three settings:
The focus adjusts the lens in relation to the sensor, making sure that the light converges on the sensor's surface. Most digital cameras have an automatic focus feature, but a few focus manually and have interchangeable lenses.
The aperture, measured in f-stops, determines how wide the shutter opens. A wide opening lets in more light, and a narrow opening lets in less. Higher f-stops mean that the opening is smaller, and lower f-stops mean that it is larger. The aperture determines the picture's depth of field, or how much of the picture is in focus. At low f-stops, the foreground of the picture will be in focus while the background is out of focus. At high f-stops, objects in both the foreground and background are in focus.
The shutter speed determines how long the shutter is open. The longer it's open, the more light will hit the sensor. If you or your subject is moving while the shutter is open, the image will be blurred.
2. Choose the best exposure
On most cameras, you can manually adjust the aperture and shutter speed. This can reduce the amount of time between when you press the button and when the shutter opens. Most cameras also have a fully automatic mode that adjusts the settings, including the focus, for you. You can take lots of good, clear pictures with this mode. Many cameras also have several presets for capturing portraits, fast action or outdoor scenes.
But automatic exposure might not be best for every situation, so understanding f-stop, shutter speed and presets can make a huge difference in how well your camera works for you. Being able to set the exposure on your own will also let you cut down the amount of time between when you press the button and when the shutter opens. In other words, you can take the picture you want before the moment passes. You can learn more about setting exposure by taking several pictures of the same scene using different settings and seeing how the finished product changes.
3. Hold the camera steady and lock the focus
Since digital cameras require more light than film cameras, the shutter is often open longer. This can cause your pictures to blur. Using a tripod or monopod can help you keep your camera still.
4. Use optical -- not digital -- zoom
An optical zoom physically changes how far the lens is from the sensor. Digital zoom, on the other hand, simply forces the camera to create the picture from one portion of the sensor rather than the whole thing. You can do the work of a digital zoom yourself using image editing software, and you can often do it better than your camera can
5 Preserve the battery
It's tempting to use the LCD screen as a viewfinder. Sometimes, it's the only good way to see what you're taking a picture of. But the LCD screen uses lots of battery power. If possible, set your camera to preview pictures on the screen after you take them but to keep it turned off the rest of the time.
6. Delete unwanted pictures right away
7. Maximize your storage space
8. Transfer your pictures
9. Know your print options
10. Share your photos online
If you're going to share your photos via e-mail, it's a good idea to re-size them before you send them. Digital cameras can create very large image files, and these files can take a long time to download. To reduce the size of your pictures, open them in your photo editing software. Make the files smaller in one of two ways:
Reduce the resolution, measured in dots per inch (DPI). The minimum resolution for good-quality onscreen viewing is 72 DPI.
Reduce the image size, measured in inches, centimeters or pixels. A 3 by 5 inch (7.6 by 12.7 centimeter) picture will travel well by e-mail but will still be big enough to see.
Save the result as a new file, and keep your original high-resolution image.
If you'd rather share your photos in an online gallery than via e-mail, you can start an account on an image-sharing site like Flickr, Fotki or Snapfish. Your camera's software may also include automatic uploading options. Many of these services are free, but some limit how many pictures you can upload per month or how much disc space you can use. CNET has a good comparison of online sharing and printing sites
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