Entering the World of Digital Video Cameras
July 1, 2008
Gone are the days when you would need to employ a professional to take a video for your business projects. Whether you need it to provide training to your employees or students, you can do it yourself with the help of a digital video camera. In fact, with the advent of the Internet, and e-learning becoming so popular nowadays, a digital video camera has become essential equipment for all organizations, especially training or educational institutes.
Digital video cameras are extremely simple to use. They are lightweight and compact. Also, the transfer of video data to your computer for editing is extremely simplified in a digital video camera using todays Firewire cables.
So, now the question arises that how does one go about choosing a camera for himself/herself?
Before you go shopping for a digital video camera, it is essential that you answer a few questions. These will help you to pick up the best camera which is most suitable to your needs.
Since voice clarity is critical in a digital video camera, you need to know whether you will be shooting indoors or outdoors.
Getting the Most From Your Digital Camera Memory Card
June 26, 2008
Imagine taking your new digital camera on a vacation and then realizing that you can barely click 20-30 images at a go. So, what do you do to avoid such a situation? The answer to this question lies in the purchase of an extra memory card or two.
One of the important components of a digital camera is the memory card. Most digital cameras come with quite a low amount of memory and it is always better to include the cost of a memory card while purchasing a camera. There are several types of memory cards so you must check out the memory options available in the camera that you are planning to buy.
Also, remember that if the resolution of your camera is high, then you will also need a high capacity memory card. There is no predetermined number of images that you can store on a particular memory card. It depends on the kind of images, the file type of the images and the compression rate per photograph. Normally, a 128 or 256 megabyte card is adequate for the average photographer using a 3-5 mega pixel camera.
Move Up to the World of the Digital SLR Camera
June 20, 2008
A digital SLR camera or a single lens reflex (SLR) camera is one of the most popular cameras amongst photographers today. These cameras not only provide high quality images but the photographer can also largely control how he wants the final product to look like. Hence, people who are extremely fond of clicking pictures have a great time while using a SLR camera. If you have a creative spark in you then you will want to consider one of these at some point. I am using a Canon Rebel right now but the Nikon F6 is next on my horizon of my purchases. These are moving into the 8 mp and up range now so the quality is quite good.
The SLR is not cheap at all. The price historically started at about $5,000 ? which is very steep. So, only those who are either professionals or wannabes purchased an SLR for themselves. Nowadays however, in order to make the SLR available to a larger number of photographers, companies such as Canon and Nikon have come up with SLRs falling in the price range of around $1000 without extra lenses.
Stock Your Kit with Digital Camera Accessories
June 14, 2008
There are a large number of digital camera accessories available in the market today. Even though you might have invested a few hundred dollars in your digital camera (although they are getting cheaper by the day), you should buy yourself a few accessories as well so that you can enhance the photo quality of your pictures and be able to capture anything that comes along in your daily digital life.
Software that can help you to organize your images properly is one of the essential digital camera accessories that you need. Remember the time when you returned from a vacation with your friends and you had over 100 images to organize? This is when you realize the value of such software.
There are a large number of such software apps available today. These include image-editing programs such as Photoshop Element 3 by Adobe. This program is an improved version of the older Photoshop Album and consists of some great image organizing tools. Then, we also have the Digital Image Suite 10 by Microsoft that has some cool features that allow you to very easily arrange your images in a particular order.
Canon Digital Camera - from Humble Beginnings to World Class Company
June 9, 2008
Started in a single-room by three Japanese men in the year 1933 under the name of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, Canon has come a long way today. It all began with the phantom prototype camera called the ‘Kwanon’. At that time, Germany was considered to be the leader in camera production. German cameras were extremely expensive. So, Goro Yoshida, along with two others tried to produce a 35mm rangefinder camera at a cheaper price and came up with "Kwanon’.
However, at that time, one of the problems faced by the company was that it did not have a lens of its own. So, it decided to tie up with Nippon Kogaku Kogyo (who was to become the founder of Nikon) and acquire lenses from them. With the use of these lenses, Canon came up with its first commercial camera called the "Hansa Canon" in 1936 which became a hit. However, the company still had to go through hardships due to the War.
Buying the Best Digital Camera for Your Needs
June 3, 2008
Choosing a digital camera can be a daunting task with the wide number of choices available in today’s market place. There are lots and lots of things that you need to keep in mind while going to choose a camera for yourself. The best digital camera for your friend might not be the best option for you.
So, the first question that you need to answer is that for what purpose you are planning to buy a digital camera. Is it to take photos of your family while on vacation or are you planning to become a photographer? This will help you to narrow down your choices to a limited few. So lets take a look at the options that we have :
A camera for emailing photos, taking family photos etc. : Most people use a digital camera for taking personal photos and then emailing them to family and friends. For this purpose, a simple and relatively cheap camera costing $100 to $200 and having a 2 mega pixel range is sufficient.
The Primer on Digital Camera Printers
May 29, 2008
Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then the next step is to turn these ‘virtual’ images into real photos. One way is to send the memory card to a digital photo laboratory and get the images developed there. But if you click digital photos on a regular basis, then it is better that you buy yourself a digital camera printer, or more commonly known as a digital photo printer.
There are lots and lots of choices available in the market today. The top three companies are HP, Canon and Epson. So, before you go and spend your money, here are some tips on what you must keep in mind while deciding on a digital photo printer.
Firstly, digital photo printers are available in two basic types. There are 4-color printers and 6-color printers. Nowadays, there are even 8-color printers available. So, the higher the number of colors the better will be the photo quality once you have hit the print file button. Using good quality photo paper and one of the 8 color printers will give you results that rival your photo lab.
Memories That Get Lost
May 24, 2008
How many people have pictures in a shoe box? In a drawer? Inside a book? Sitting in the garage?
Imagine 40 years from now. Someone will get those pictures and they will say: Who are these people? What are they doing in this boat?
They won’t have a clue about the stories that those pictures tell and they will probably throw part of your story away. - How sad is that?!!
There are several ways to preserve your memories. You can make a scrapbook, which is great. But as time goes by it will get faded, get wet or any other kind of accident and your memories may then be lost. Also it is not an easy or inexpensive way to share with friends and family who don’t live close by. Some of the pictures will need to be restored and this may be a costly option - You can also have your pictures in a slide show, but that can be really boring and after some years, people still won’t know a lot about those pictures.
A fairly new home-based company in Salt Lake City offers a solution for that. - It’s a storybook CD / DVD that tells the stories behind the pictures.
How to Buy a Digital Camera
May 18, 2008
Are you buying your first digital camera? Well, you must be confused by the bewildering range of models out there. How do you know which model will suit your needs? To make things worse, digital cameras do not come cheap. Choosing a bad camera will easily cost you a few hundred dollars.
In fact, buying a digital camera need not be a difficult task. I’ll highlight the key considerations you need to think through before making that purchase decision. Always, always remember to consider these factors when buying a digital camera:
- Battery Life
- Number of Megapixels
- Zoom Lens
- Exposure Control
- User Controls
Battery Life This has got to be one of the most overlooked features in digital cameras. I know many people who go for the latest and greatest digital cameras which are short in the battery life department. If you want to take good photos, your camera needs to powered for extended periods of time. I’ve found that cost and battery life don’t go together - many cheap cameras have good battery life, while some high-end models drain your battery really fast. Make sure you choose a camera that has good battery life.
Elephants in the Sky and Four Poems
May 14, 2008
Elephants in the Sky
[1980s, Lee Evens in Mali, Timbuktu/Africa]
Advance: Lee was discharged from the Army in 1980, whereupon, he traveled the world, one of those locations was in Mali, by the legendary city of Timbuktu; whereupon he found himself in the middle of a plague, a plague of locust.
[Diary-review]
There were swarms of locust over the top of my car, in front of me, swarms, a dark shadow covering the sky, descending, descending onto the road-in front of me, behind me, it was locusts, locusts, locusts-locusts everywhere: so thick, thick as layers that my car was slipping and sliding as if on ice. My radiator was being blocked, plugged by these finger-sized carcasses. I had to pull over to the side of the road. It was but a moment thereafter when I saw some adolescents down the road a bit, not too far, just a little ways, three of them trying to beat them off with their belts, pants belts. Then one resorted to a stick, a stick I say, would you use a stick? To be honest, I’d run I think; anyhow, he took a stick to beating them off, while the other used their hats, hands; they were dropping down like hail onto them from all sides; down and sideways: bombarding them like creatures from outer space, like in the bible, where it mentions such things happening back in the days Moses: the plagues God bequeath upon the pharaoh. This was like that; they were in their hair, noses, ears, climbing up their pants legs, flying straight for their mouths.
