So you want to capture your best fish as a digital photograph? What digital camera do you choose? It is staggering to see the amount of digital cameras and computer equipment on the market these days, so where do you start? There are a number of things to consider before spending your hard-earned cash on any hardware, so lets get back to basics… Firstly, lets look at the subject matter you wish to capture and what you wish to do with the images, the choice being website, email, inkjet prints and photographs. Secondly, how much do you want to spend, or have budgeted to spend, on a digital camera? Let’s take things one step at a time. Like most FM members we are looking at taking photographs of our best fish and scenes around the fishery. What do we look for? Now we have a starting point, what do we look for in a digital camera? There are a number of things to take into consideration; optical zoom, digital zoom, mega pixels and storage to name a few. Good optics If you are looking at purchasing a camera with a zoom, then I would suggest that you should think about one that has an optical zoom. The main reason for this is that you are enlarging the image across the surface of the chip and therefore using the full chip area to record the image. On the other hand a digital zoom works mainly by reducing the area of the chip that records the image. This in turn increases the size of the pixels, which reduces the overall quality of the final image. As we are looking at using the camera under various weather conditions and different times of the day, we do need one that has good optics. How many pixels? Next we need to look at the number of pixels that the chip has. This can range from two megapixels to more than 12 megapixels that some professional cameras now have. With traditional 35mm SLR or compact cameras the higher the ISO rating on the film the larger the silver crystals are and therefore the lower light that the film can record an image without the need for a flash. The only real drawback with high-speed film is that you get a less detailed print with loss of tone in some areas. With digital cameras the opposite is true, the higher the mega pixels the sharper the image will be and in turn it is able to record finer detail. In the following images, you will see the difference between a Fuji S1 Pro camera, which has 6.2 megapixel chip, and a Samsung Digimax 200, which has 2.1 megapixel chip. Both cameras had the same focal length lens and used their onboard flash; the studio was set-up without any extra lighting to make it a fair test. The Fuji camera is set to its lowest setting, which produced an image of 1440 x 960 pixels at 72dpi, and the Samsung to 1600 x 1200 pixels at 72dpi. Both cameras are set-up to record the images as superfine quality Jpeg files.
As you will see from these images, there is a noticeable difference with the Samsung; having a lower mega pixel it has a softer and less defined image around the edges of the bottle and label. File size and storage This now brings us onto the next question of file size and storage of these images. The file size of an image from the Fuji camera when set to maximum quality (3040 x 2016 pixels) is 17 MB whereas the Samsung has a file size of 5.9 MB (1600 x 1200 pixels). Both of these files are stored as a JPEG’s (Joint Photographic Experts Group), which uses an equation to compress the image. There is another factor to take into account, and that is the amount of information contained within your photograph. For example, a single item against a plain background contains less information than a landscape photograph would. The camera manual will guide you to how many photographs can be stored on the memory card, but in reality, this could be more. Memory Cards There are two forms of memory cards that most cameras use, SmartMedia (This card is no thicker than a credit card and has a number of gold coloured contacts on one side). The other is CompactFlash (This is about 6mm thick and contains either a memory chip or a Microdrive). The memory comes in various sizes from 8 MB up to 1 GB with the Microdrive’s. Most domestic digital cameras use a single type of storage media, but some at the top of the price range do allow you to use both types. PC Connectivity and software Nearly all the cameras on the market come with a USB lead that allows you to download your files directly from the camera to your computer. You chosen camera will have some form of software to install onto your computer so that you can download your photographs. You can purchase card readers, which do provide you with a unit to slot your card into, which can help to speed up the file transfer time. Now what? There is one final point to think about before purchasing your digital camera, and that is what do you want to do with the photographs? If you are looking at creating a photo album on your computer then a camera with a smaller megapixel may be what you are looking for. If on the other hand you are looking at getting your images output on professional photographic printing equipment, then you will need a camera with the best megapixel rating that you can afford. Now we have covered the basics of digital cameras and what to look for, try to remember the following three important points:
Battery power All digital cameras do like a fair bit of battery power (They are not so power hungry as they use to be) and I would suggest that you look at purchasing a very good set of rechargeable batteries. In the cold weather, keep a spare set in your pocket as the cold does drain the power. Most of all, compare prices and look for camera kits and starter deals. Test reports If you want to read test reports on all things digital go to steves-digicams.com or to compare prices try www.pricerunner.com. Feel free to browse my company website to see what can be done with digital cameras: www.lightimages.co.uk, or if you have any questions I can be contacted via email: info@lightimages.co.uk. Tight lines and enjoy your photography! Paul Tyer – www.lightimages.co.uk. |
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