Towards A Healthy Economy + Marketing World

Some compact cameras are small enough to fit in your handbag or pocket, but I still recommend purchasing a camera case. It will save your camera from unnecessary wear and tear.

What do you put in your camera bag? I place my camera, spare batteries and memory cards, a cleaning kit and any extra lenses or filters I want to take on the day into my camera bag.

Don’t pack everything in your camera bag every time you go out to take photos. Travel as light as possible. Maybe purchase two camera bags - a large camera case and a smaller camera bag for those ‘pack light’ times.

Clean your camera bag occasionally. Dust can accumulate and could cause problems with your camera and equipment by accumulating on your lens.

Keep your camera away from luggage handlers! Most airlines allow one carry-on PLUS a personal item. A camera bag usually qualifies as your personal item.

What kinds of camera bags are there?

A weatherproof top loading shoulder camera bag is the best and most versatile option, because you can place the camera case on the ground and open the lid to retrieve your equipment.

The size of camera bag you purchase will depend on the size of your digital camera. If you have a larger camera with lots of accessories, consider purchasing a larger camera bag that has wheels. The wheels allow you to take your bag with you easily rather than lugging it around over your shoulder. Some bags with wheels can double as backpacks for when you’re hiking.

If your digital camera is a small pocket model, a fanny pack for just your camera will work really well. Keep the pack over your stomach (rather than your lower back) if you’re concerned about theft.

Purchasing a camera bag

When purchasing a new camera case, it’s important to note the following:

- Avoid brand name camera bags. If you have a more expensive camera, try to purchase a camera bag that does not LOOK like a camera bag. Thieves are always on the lookout for bags that look like they contain valuable equipment and nothing says ‘valuable inside’ more than a camera case with a camera maker’s brand plastered all around the outside. Purchase a camera case that’s a little less conspicuous - they’re usually less expensive as well.

- Think of the accessories you’ll place in a camera bag before purchasing. Do you have any other equipment (such as a card reader) you might want to take with your camera? What about accessories you are thinking about purchasing in the near future?

- A camera bag with moveable padded inserts will be more versatile than one without because you can customize the inside of the camera bag to your particular camera and accessories.

- Buy a camera case with lots of pockets and zippered compartments. This way, you can store used digital camera batteries in one pocket and unused batteries in another. The same with your memory cards… I label my pockets with labels like “Batteries - Used” so I can quickly find the correct pocket while out and about.

- Watch out for the prices of camera cases (and other accessories) when purchasing a camera case at the same time as your camera. Many retailers lower the price of their cameras to compete, and increase their accessory prices to compensate.

David Peterson has a great love of photography and has created a series of free tips at http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/ to help digital photography users everywhere take better photos.

Good skintones. The search for the holy grail of digital photography. I have been banging our heads against the wall for years trying to perfect “THE ONE SIZE FITS ALL” solution to working with skintones and I’m talking about capturing, workflow, output, the whole nine yards. What I’ve figured out so far is that skintones are somewhat subjective. The procedures that ultimately create good skintones are as follows:

Good capture:
When you capture the image 99% of your job is done. If your exposures are off and your colorbalance is off, then your skintones will be off. Of course this means your lightmeter will be your best friend (second to your dog). Be on top of your exposures like dirt on a pig. Know your histograms and image tones. Don’t just use your LCD as a reference. Your LCD brightness varies, and is not 100% reliable to use on it’s own, however it is an integral tool that works with everything else. Never get lazy here, always check your exposure, know your exposures and keep it
accurate. Make this a part of your mind set and workflow. And don’t forget to test new stuff, never assume….

Colorbalance:
I like to shoot a greycard under the lighting conditions we are shooting in as a custom whitebalance setting. For some reason a greycard seems to work better for us than a whitecard. What can I say. I get images that are neutral, I can warm them up later if I choose. However, for many digital photographers, using a white card to create their custom white balance weems to work just fine.

Workflow:
I like to get an idea of what a good skintone is by using the colorpicker. Now remember, skintones are subjective, so it’s purely arbitrary but you will get used to it in time. So, as a rule of thumb, using the color picker, depending on the actual pigmentation of the subject we find the reds are about 20% higher than the green and about 30 - 40% higher than the blue. Since during the capture the tone has been turned off (in camera parameters), I can add more to the skintone by using colorbalance and saturation.

Assuming that you have good capture, (exposure/whitebalance), there are several ways to acquire or enhance skintones. One of the best ways is by using the selective color (IMAGE/ADJUSTMENTS/SELECTIVE COLOR, or ALT-I-A-S). I have been using this for a little while now, and so far it’s rendered me outstanding skintones. Here’s how it works.

Simply reduce the amount of cyan in the reds. Usually about 40-50%. I could go more, but I hold off. Why? Because when I adjust the contrast later it will bring out more tones in the image, thus giving me more red in the skin. There is al lot or red in the skin, especially caucasians, so by doing this technique you will give most people more warmth and glow to their skin tone- but be careful!! Do not over do it.

The thing I like about using the selective color this way, is that I am only working with the red tones. If I didn’t want to affect any other reds (like the reds in her coat) I can simply do several things:

1. make a selection around her face and then perform the adjustments.

OR

2. after the adjustments simply use the history brush and erase the areas I don’t wish affected.

That’s it. Simple isn’t it, when you get down to the basics.

I have been a huge fan of extreme macro photography for quite some time now. While experimenting with a lot of different equipment, and many different theories, I learned a lot about macro photography, and what it takes to assemble a high quality system, while on a budget. There several components to a macro setup to discuss, and I will focus on the lens, and the equipment needed to attach it to the camera body, and turn it into a macro lens, whether it was intentionally built to be a macro or not.

I have seen a lot of beautiful Fine Arts Prints of Macro subjects shot with fairly inexpensive setups. First of all, please understand that currently most cameras are automatic, in their focus, metering etc. Of course, this was not the case 20 or 30 years ago, when a lot of macro technology was being developed. This being said, I want to make sure that you understand that this setup will be a manual setup. However, it will work well with either a film or a digital SLR camera.

Modern cameras have been getting smaller, and more automated; however, for macro photography, smaller size, and automation are not necessarily an advantage. There are some really great macro lenses available for modern SLRs from all big vendors. However, their prices are commonly over $500. If you add the cost of artificial lighting, you are looking at paying around a grand. Our goal here is a quality yet low cost alternative, so let’s get to it.

The first thing that a good macro setup needs is something which all modern film and digital SLRs lack. What could they all possibly lack? An adjustable distance between the lens, and the film plane, or a digital sensor. Macro is about getting very close to the subject and magnifying it to its original size, or preferably larger. Having the ability to extend the lens away from the camera allows the camera to achieve focus at a much shorter distance, than if the lens was fixed to the camera.

So here’s what we need to get the lens broken away from the camera. Many people have heard of, or seen a bellows, which is nothing more than an accordion made out of some type of a synthetic material, painted black, with a lens mount on one end, and a camera mount on the other. The accordion is fixed on its horizontal plane, and the rail to which it is fixed allows it to extend and contract on that fixed plane. This device has the camera attached to it, and allows the end with the lens attached to be moved closer or further away from the camera’s film/digital plane. This makes for an excellent start. The Macro bellows such as this is commonly sold by specialty camera stores, and many stores online. A search on eBay will lend you one for under $100. Look for a bellows with a correct mount for your camera, and an M42 mount on the lens end. I know you are asking yourself right now, why not the correct mount for my lenses? You are more than likely shooting with an automatic film, or a digital SLR, and this will be a manual setup, and your lenses do not allow manual aperture setting. This means that you will not have any depth control, because your lenses will be at their widest opening. Depth of Field is essential in Macro photography. It is a must.

At his point we have a bellows but we need a lens. I will discuss getting a good lens in detail in another article, but to summarize, any normal to telephoto lens with an M42 mount will complete this kit. A lens which was designed to be macro is best, but a plain normal 50-80mm lens will work. Just remember, the lens should have aperture control, and manual focus, which will help you precisely adjust your composition, and will let you control depth of field. Older lenses from manufacturers like Carl Zeiss, or Pentax are of excellent mechanical and optical quality, despite their age. Once again, eBay is a good place to pick one up. Do not expect to pay any more than appx. $150.

So, for under $300 is it possible to have a better setup than a $500 macro lens. Yes, your results will be better with this setup, than with even the most expensive automatic macro lenses. Give this a try, and stay tuned for more articles on the subject of Macro Photography.

Owner of a small photography marketing company. If interested in learning more about me, visit http://www.worldonpaper.com.

You are what you drink and, if you are like me, you drink a variety of refreshments. Soft, fizzy and alcoholic. Coffee, tea, cocoa. It all goes down well and tastes just swell.

But fluids and delicate electronic equipment do not mix. Don’t just take my word for it, ask my best mate who managed to somehow drop his four megapixel compact into the sea. He doesn’t remember how it happened but he does remember that the sea in question was the Pacific.

As you can tell, he was a bit of a joker but the joke was on him when his four megapixel pride and joy still recorded the same number of megapixels but they were all in colours and brightnesses that were never in the original scene.

Now, picture a cappuccino in the same way as the Pacific Ocean. Not as cold, of course, and there was always too much salt in the Pacific for my taste. But, spill the coffee on your camera and you could end up like my mate.

True, most cameras are resistant to a bit of moisture. After all, they don’t have gaping holes scattered all over their bodies. But they do have joints and compartments and bits that open and bits that move and turn and twist. And the laws of physics states that coffee will get everywhere especially if you don’t want it to.

So, just be a bit careful with what you drink and where you drink it. Keep your delicate electronic wizardry out of the way. Well out of the way…

… especially if it’s alcohol you’re consuming.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

I want to use my own photographs to decorate my home and office. I want pictures of the people that are important in my life.


I used to have a problem.

We have all seen the advertisements promising personal photographic glory.

“This camera makes it impossible to take a bad picture.”

“Point and shoot! The camera does it all.”



It is true, modern digital cameras are pretty amazing pieces of equipment. The amount of whiz-bang gizmos packed into one of these little technological marvels is truly amazing to those of us that can remember when Polaroid was cool.



All of these gizmos and features help us take better pictures. However, until the camera is designed to point itself, we can still take pictures that are less than striking.



A few of the problems we might have with our photos can include the following.

Cutting off the heads of our subjects.

Undesirable “stuff” in the background.

To much back light

Improper focus

Our subject may have their eyes closed

Some of our subjects may be looking away.

God forbid that any of these photo maladies could happen to us. We may even take a picture that is free of these problems, but is just unremarkable. We take care to avoid these common problems, but still our photos lack pop. Maybe the images are ok, but the photo just does not have any character.



What is the difference between the photos that the pros take and the photos that we take?



In fact, what is the difference between my sister’s photos that always look good and mine that always look so ho-hum.



Composition.



From the base word “Compose,” dictionary.com offers the definition “To make or create by putting together parts or elements.” Sounds like a recipe doesn’t it? A master chef uses the recipe as a guideline and adds her own special touches to make the dish special. A professional photographer has training and experience in choosing the ingredients that make up or “compose” a photograph.



Most of us will never get the extensive training of a professional. Still, we can learn to improve our photos quite a bit by learning (and experimenting) with a few tricks that can make our photography much better.

The Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds adds interest to photos, especially photos of people. Imagine the field of your photo looks like a tic-tac-toe game. Imagine two vertical and two horizontal lines cutting your image into 9 areas. This pattern creates four spots where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect. Your photo will have much more impact if you place the focal points of your photo on these intersections. Images of people almost always look more interesting if the subject is off center. This type of placement will leave an open area opposite the subject. It is best to leave the open space in the direction the subject is looking. Try it out and you will be pleased with the results.



Get Close

Many times we are too far from our subjects. Move in! Most modern point-and-shoot cameras will focus properly as close as 3 feet from the subject. The idea is to make the picture have a subject. If your subject is a person, fill the picture with the subject. Capture the expression on their face.



Pay Attention To the Background

You may well have a great shot of your subject, but the background of your photo may ruin the shot. A plain background works better to highlight your subject. A busy background confuses the eye and steals attention from your subject. The garbage can or laundry basket have a place in our homes, but not in the background of our photos.



Portrait vs Landscape

Experiment with portrait and landscape aspects. We call it “portrait” when a picture is more vertical than horizontal. When a picture is wider than tall, we call it “landscape.” These terms are the result of classic artists painting portraits in a taller format and landscapes in a wider format.



Many times an image that would seem to be a landscape scene makes a very interesting image in portrait mode. Just turn your camera ninety degrees an snap another shot of the same subject to compare portrait and landscape modes. Photos often become more interesting when they seem to break the rules a bit.



Do Not Fear Black & White

Color can make a picture beautiful. However, color draws a lot of attention. Sometimes that attention is bad. When you convert an image to black and white, the details of the image get the attention. Some images are greatly enhanced by removing the color.



We talk a lot about Black and White. To be correct, we should say “Shades of Gray” or “Grayscale.” A picture that we call black and white actually contains many different shades of gray. Often a photo that has been reduced to 256 shades of gray is far more interesting than the same image in full color. Image details shine through that may have been overpowered by the vivid color of a dress or a wall.



Most of us have an image on our camera or computer that looks pretty dull and boring. The composition may be great, but the sky is gray and the grass is a little blue. Converting an image like that to grayscale sometimes will produce a classy, nostalgic image that soon becomes a favorite.



There are lots more tricks of the photographic trade. I will cover some of these in future articles. Practice these tips and you will take more pictures that you can use to decorate your own spaces.

Darrell Oller works with Pix2Posters.com where we use up to 25 of your digital images to create unique, personalized artwork for your home or office. Please visit our site to see some examples of our work.

Darrell has nearly 20 years of experience in information mangagement and programming.

The PMP-140 with it’s large 3.5” LCD screen, lets you take your audio, video and photographic media files with you, on all your adventures. With a generous 40 GB of storage is not just for digital photos, it plays full color, full motion video too.

An audio input so you can load audio from other devices, without a computer. The iRiver PMP-140 doubles as a voice recorder, with its built in mic. Transfer media files to the PMP-140, Via USB 2.0. You can store up to 160 hours of video or up to 1,200 hours of music. The iRiver PMP-140 supports formats MP3 and WMA to WMV and DivX AVI video and BMP/JPEG image files. Weight: 2.6lbs, Dimensions: 8.1”x7.5”x3.9”

iRiver PMP-140 40GB Portable Media Player Specifications:

Capacity: 40GB : PMP-140

Display: 3.5 inch TFT LCD(QVGA) 320X240 pixels, Transflective, 260K Colors

Video Recording: 4 hours 640×480 @24fps

Audio:128kbps, 44.1kHz

Video: 5 hours 320×240 @24fps

Audio:128kbps 44.1kHz

Continuous Playback Time Audio: 10 hours

Connection Type: USB 2.0

Download Speed Max. 480Mbps

Equalizer: 5 Preset Normal, Rock, Jazz, Classic, Ultra Bass and 1 programable

Dimensions: 8.1”x7.5”x3.9”

Weight: 2.6lbs (PMP-140, Including Battery)

Direct Encoding: MP3

Voice Recording: Yes

Line In: Yes

Line Out: Yes

Audio frequency Range: 20Hz~20kHz

Headphone Output Power: 20mW(R) + 20mW(L) (16 ) at Max. Volume

S/N Ratio 90dB, A weighted

Frequency Characteristics: 3dB

No. Channels: Stereo Left and Right

FM tuner frequency range: 87.5MHz ~ 108MHz

S/N Ratio: 60dB, A weighted

Antenna: Headphone/Earphone-Cord Antenna

File support: MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer3, WMA, WAV, ASF

Bit Rate MP3: 8kbps ~ 320Kbps

Tag: ID3 V1 Tag, ID3 V2 2.0, ID3 V2 3.0

Motion Picture File Type: AVI, ASF, MPG

Video Type: Compatible XviD, MPEG-4 Video Compliant SP, MPEG1

Audio Type: MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3

Video Bit Rate: Max. 1.5 Mbps

Audio Bit Rate: 8 kbps ~ 192 kbps

Resolution : Max. 640 x 480

Frame Rate: Max. 30fps

Image File Type: Baseline (Non-progressive) JPG, BMP Mono, 4, 8, 24 bit
Resolution: JPG 3100 x 2100, BMP 800 x 600

TV Out: NTSC / PAL

Power Supply: AC Adaptor, DC 5.0V, 2A

Battery: Detachable Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

Operating system requirements: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, MAC OS 9.2.2 or higher, Mac OS 10.2 or higher

Visit KISSERreviews.info to compare prices, read actual customer reviews or find accessories. You will also find KISSER reviews for the Apple iPod photo, Archos AV700, Archos AV500, Epson P-2000 and P-4000, Samsung Yepp YH-999, SmartDisk FlashTrax, Creative Zen, Nikon MSV-01 CoolWalker and the JOBO Giga Vu. Also Nikon and Canon Cameras.

For helpful information about, How to Become a Freelance Photographer and Freelance Photographer Jobs, visit our unique Digital Photography Website at: DigitalPhotographyWebsite.com for great ideas. There’s are a lot of free photography tips, tutorials and travel information there.

I have been a professional photographer at several western ski resorts including Vail and Breckenridge. I started out at Grand Targhee Wyoming. Where I landed my first professional photography job taking action photos of skiers on the slopes at Grand Targhee. I am currently a freelance photographer based out of Lake Tahoe, California

Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution. But if you don’t know the image size in inches or some other measure of size, then the amount of dots per inch doesn’t mean much. That’s why DPI is used in conjunction with scanner Specifications, because you know that the size is going to be 3.8 by 1.7 inches!

Different resolutions are used for different purposes. 72 or 75 DPI for screen viewing; 250 for digital photography and 300 dpi for printing. See how this is a nice comparison, yes, you can get away with 50 less pixels per inch in your photographs than would be required for A4 printing, this is because of the physical size of the photo!rnrnDots Per Inch specifies how much information is resolved in a picture, whereas the number of megapixels is usually used to describe the total output size (in pixels) of an image.

Example: I want to reproduce the standard photograph size. This would be 6 by 4 inches. Digital photography requires a minimum of only about 250dpi, So: 6 * 250 = 1500 and 4 * 250 = 1000, so you need an image sized about 1500 * 1000 pixels (about 1.5 megapixels). Thus you can get a perfectly good standard print from a 1.5 megapixel camera! rnrnIf you take a photo twice, one at 5 and the other at 1.5 megapixels, than ask your self which one looks “better”? They will both look reasonable because your computer generates colours such that the image looks better than it really is; if you were to print both as a 6 by 4 image, they will look identical, because your printer can’t generate more than 300 dpi so the “better” image is effectively reduced in quality anyway. This example demonstrates how it is possible to literally waste memory, ie for everyday use the additional memory required for the other 4 megapixcels gives you no real benefit!

This is quite good because a 36 Megabyte media card can store 50 to 65 images at 1.3 megapixcels but only 8 to 10 at 5 megapixcels, so unless you are planning on getting your images printed larger than 6 by 4 there’s no real advantage to the full 5 megapixcels.

Now we have established that a 1.5 megapixel camera will produce a 6 by 4 inch standard photograph, that is, it will generate a resolution such that each pixel is simply reproduced “as is”, we come to the more interesting issue of enlargement.

If you wanted to print your 6 by 4 inch image as a 10 by 8 photo (which would normally need the full 5 megapixels), there would not be a sufficient number of pixels for the additional surface area, so we now need to scale up the existing pixels by “resampling” the existing pixels, a process which estimates how the “missing” pixels should appear, and fills them with the appropriate “colour”.

Photo printing help is commonly needed. With more individuals purchasing digital cameras, there is a wide need for help in printing off their pictures. While most standard computers with a decent printer can handle a good quality photo, others are looking for exceptional quality photos instead. The good news is that there is a wealth of help to be found for those who need it.

Photo printing help should start with your camera itself. Having a good quality camera is important for the finished product. Many who purchase digital cameras only purchased based on their price. The best thing to do is to look at the quality of its picture. You will want to insure it captures the best photo it can.

You will also want to look for help through the camera’s guide. Sometimes, there are photo printers specifically made for the digital camera. These are really growing in popularity. You’ll find them throughout the web and in most photo quality retail locations. Make sure to purchase both the right quality camera and printer if you do go with the set. If you purchase the printer alone, you’ll want to make sure you get one that is compatible with your camera.

You should also insure that you always use the right printing materials. Get high quality photo paper. Make sure to get the right printer ink for your machine as well. And, you’ll want to make sure that you set up the cartridges correctly. Make sure to load the paper correctly and insure that there is enough ink left to provide excellent quality photos.

If you end up needing assistance as in technical help for your photo printers, the best thing to do is to look for a camera shop in your area. Ask them questions so as to help determine what your problem is and then how to fix it. You may want to take in your camera as well. Getting photo printing help is something that many have to do each day!

for more information please see http://www.photo-printing-help.co.uk

Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are excellent cameras that produce clearer, sharper and more colourful images than most point and shoot digital cameras available. With prices falling rapidly, they are now more affordable then ever. With the price gap between an entry model digital SLR camera and the most expensive compact digital camera narrowing; the question is… do I spend the extra money and get a Digital SLR camera? or save a few hundred dollars and purchase the best digital compact camera.

Well, it really depends on your budget; however if you do spend the extra money, here’s what you get:

In addition to the price falls in the Digital SLR models, the performance on these cameras has increased year on year with the latest Digital SLR cameras being quicker and faster than ever before. They have improved to such an extent that power up or start-up time is near instantaneous with virtually no lag time. “Lag time is the time between you pressing the shutter release button and the camera actually taking the shot”. This delay can vary quite a bit between different camera models and it is one of the biggest drawbacks compared to a compact digital camera. The latest digital SLR cameras have virtually no lag times and react in the same way as conventional film cameras, even in burst mode. Compact digital cameras are catching up; however the difference is still significant. A lag time of ~0.5 seconds can result in you missing the heartbeat of the moment and hence that potential great picture.

Digital SLR camera also has a larger sensor versus a smaller sensor in a compact digital camera. This equates to higher sensitivity and less noise and results in the camera taking clearer pictures in low light. (They also have better autofocus speed in low light as well). A measure of sensitivity in a digital camera is ISO and a typical ISO range for a Digital SLR camera varies from ISO 100 – 1600 with the latter being more sensitive. The ISO range for a compact digital camera varies from ISO 50 – 400. In summary, the higher the ISO rating, the greater the sensitivity and the better the photo can be taken in low light.

The Digital SLR cameras have a much longer battery life due to the limited use of the LCD screen. Please note, that as the LCD screen is only used for viewing the image, the battery life of a digital SLR can allow up to 2000 shots per charge in some cameras compared to 500 for a good point and shoot digital camera.

Digital SLR cameras also allow you to interchange lens such as adding a zoom or macro lens when required.

On the negative side of a Digital SLR camera; They are usually larger and heavier than compact digital cameras, the image cannot be previewed on the LCD screen prior taking the picture. If you really require the image to be viewed on the LCD prior to taking the picture, there are third party manufacturers that produce LCD screens that attaches to the viewfinder and allow the scene to be view just like a compact digital camera. The other drawback is the inability to take videos and finally, lenses are expensive with the majority costing more than the camera itself.

Although compact digital cameras cannot compete on features with a Digital SLR camera, they are great value, have the ability to take videos and are portable. If you have decided to purchase a Digital SLR camera I recommend you visit www.infodigitalcamera.com to find additional information on Digital SLR camera. If you are still undecided, purchase both.

Virginia Wong is an IT consultant and has a passion for digital photography. Her research into digital camera resulted in the development of http://www.infodigitalcamera.com

There is still a large population of 35mm users shooting in the photographic world. With Canon’s 5D announcement, the digital enticement is certainly going to be hard to resist. Will film users convert?

Full-Frame DSLR Now Within Reach

Originally, a DSLR would cost around $7,000 for a full-frame shooter. Canon’s 1Ds series was the only choice and it was an expensive one. It was also extremely heavy. Try carrying around 3.5lbs (camera and battery) and a 3.5lb lens (the Canon 70-200 2.8L IS USM), and 7lbs begins to take its toll. Canon has gone an interesting route by creating a full-frame DSLR in a conveniently small package, basically the size of its 20D, for under $3,300. A battery grip has been offered (BG-E4), and it’s nice to see Canon giving users a choice of what to use. Sometimes you just don’t want to lug around an extra pound and a half, as well as making the camera conspicuous by its size. I can say from using a Nikon D100 in the past, it was very convenient to take off the battery grip and just shoot with the camera, making it lighter and more compact to take on particular outings.

35mm Film = How Many Pixels?

This is really a controverisial subject, and quite honestly, you will get a huge variance of answers, depending on how zealous a photographer is in defending his particular format. I’ve read articles over the past several years of photographers saying anywhere from 3MP to 30MP for a DSLR to equal 35mm film. As usual, the facts are in between somewhere. Let me just state a few experiences from my own use with film.

From my own experience in shooting film and digital (about 15 years), I’ve noticed that a 6MP DSLR can just about match a 35mm Film camera’s resolution. Notice I say “just about” and I say “DSLR”, not a compact camera or a DSLR-Type camera. The main reasons are the pixel size and dynamic range.

Crash Course On Pixels

I will be covering this subject in-depth in another article, but for the purposes of this one, smaller pixels inherently have more noise, and lower dynamic range (that’s why your compact camera does terrible in low-light situations). Larger pixels inherently have less noise and more dynamic range. Basically put, larger pixels enable a much higher tolerance of light accumulation before they carry over into nearby pixels (resulting in Blooming, a very common issue with digital cameras). Think of pixels as a bucket (which is a common example most imaging professionals and photographers use). Some buckets can hold more water than other buckets. Canon’s 6MP DSLRs and Nikon’s 6MP DSLRs have just about reached the 35mm film equivalency. And in fact, I would just about say a 6MP digital image properly exposed, could match up to a film image. Overall, my observations are that a 6-8MP DSLR can match a film print. Canon’s 12.8MP full-frame DSLR at 8-microns square, easily makes this target.

Canon: Alone In The Full-Frame World

So far, there is no other company offering a full-frame digital even close to the price of the Canon 5D. In fact, we don’t have any other camera manufacturers at the date of this article, even mentioning a full-frame DSLR as a possible offering in the future. This is quite disturbing. Why? Well, it appears most camera manufacturers are concentrating on compact camera sales (these are the highest profit products), in addition to sending a message that full-frame DSLRs are not necessary to get high quality images.

It is a shame we don’t see as much leadership in the imaging technology. But we sure see a lot of hype and empty promises. Whatever happened to Foveon? LBCAST? I remember when these two technologies were touted as new and revolutionary in the DSLR sector, and how users would expect such great images, putting all other cameras to shame. Well, the shame only really started to form, when the promises became biblical. Come to find out Foveon sensors could barely survive over ISO levels of 800 (which required a second generation DSLR to come out, leaving previous 1st gen owners in the dark and irritated…and a worthless investment), and Nikon’s LBCAST sensors were just politely and purposely forgotten. And we have one manufacturer creating “honeycomb” pixels (I’ll leave that to another discussion). From my viewpoint, we have a terrible behavior from camera manufacturers denying the opportunity that people want full-frame digital cameras which mimic the 35mm film cameras most of us are familiar with using. Why are they denying us this? I guess we’ll these questions and answers for another time, but currently, Canon is the only company to step up to the plate and take a chance. Personally, I think they made a good one, and I think they know the Canon 5D is a sure winner.

35mm Film Users Should Begin The Celebration!

If you’re currently shooting Canon 35mm film cameras, your lens collection will do just fine. True, we have some who make arguments about the edge issues of wide angle lenses on full-frame digitals, but in my opinion, this is mostly an exploded issue. I’ve seen so many Canon 1Ds and 1DsMKII images which look absolutely amazing, with no edge problems, that I am purplexed at why it’s an issue. While $3,300 is not small amount of money, this price point has surprised almost everyone in the digital sector. Even in the film sector. If you’re thinking of taking the digital plunge, the Canon 5D might just be the answer.

©2005 by Jason Busch (http://www.digitaldingus.com)

35mm Film Shooters: Is It Time To Go Digital?

A part of The DigitalDingus Guide To Photography series.