Mastering Digital Photography and Imaging, Chapter 1: Essential Digital Imaging | 4 Equipment. Pt. 1. By Sybex | 4
Mastering Digital Photography and Imaging, Chapter 1: Essential Digital Imaging Equipment. Pt. 1.
Viewfinders and LCD MonitorsSome of the affordable compact digital cameras do not include an optical viewfinder. With such models, use the LCD monitor for viewing your subject while composing photos. Naturally, you can use this viewing technique with any compact digital camera—instead of using the viewfinder—but battery consumption will be substantially higher when the monitor is always on. Although most digital cameras include an optical viewfinder, some models—particularly those with a built-in zoom lens with very long focal lengths—incorporate an electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead. An EVF is actually a small LCD monitor that allows you to see the image that the sensor will capture. The view through an EVF is not as sharp, crisp, and bright as it is through an optical viewfinder, but this is a standard feature in cameras with long (built-in) zoom lenses. There is an advantage to using the LCD monitor on the camera back, or an electronic viewfinder, when composing your images in extreme close-up photography. Because you view the subject through the taking lens, the view is accurate. You see exactly what the lens sees, without the parallax error that occurs when viewing the subject through a secondary lens (optical viewfinder) that is above the primary lens. This allows for accurate framing, capturing the desired subject area instead of an area above it. |
The advanced cameras include a wealth of capabilities, from fully automatic, to semiautomatic to fully manual operating modes. They may also include overrides for controlling factors such as sharpness, contrast, the intensity of color rendition, and more, as discussed in a later section.
The more expensive prosumer models are loaded with extra features (see Figure 1.6). Many such cameras also accept optional accessories, including wide-angle and telephoto lens adapters, filters, and high-powered accessory flash units.
Figure 1.6: Compact digicams usually include a few analog buttons, switches, and dials and many electronic controls, usually accessed via a menu button.
If you buy one of the latest compact digital cameras, it will probably include all the essentials: a built-in 3x optical zoom lens and flash unit, automatic focusing, a color LCD monitor for viewing your photos, a memory card for storing images, a CD with software, cables for connecting the camera to your computer and to a TV monitor, plus a battery. Some camera kits include rechargeable batteries and a charger; others include only single-use batteries. If a camera that uses single-use batteries accepts rechargeables, you’ll want to purchase a set, plus a spare set, along with a suitable charger.
| Digital camera kits include only a low-capacity memory card that may hold no more than a dozen images made in the camera’s best-quality capture mode. Just as you would buy extra film for a 35mm camera, you’ll want to buy at least one memory card. Think of the card as “digital film.” A 64MB card is a good start with a 1, 2, or 3 megapixel camera, but for a 4, 5, or 6 megapixel camera, you’ll want a card with at least 128MB capacity. |
Compact Digicam Pros and Cons
Compact digital cameras are the most popular type by far, and that’s understandable considering their advantages over the SLR cameras that accept interchangeable lenses.
- They are more affordable and offer a better value because a lens is built-in
(see Figure 1.7), and is not an extra cost option.
- Their smaller size and weight allows for greater portability and greater
convenience with a built-in lens.
- They are less complex.
- They are available in a broader range of choices in brand, price, megapixels,
and capabilities.
Figure 1.7: Common in compact digicams, a 3x zoom lens includes focal lengths ranging from moderately wide angle to short telephoto and is useful for many types of subjects. (Settings: Image on left made at 37mm equivalent; image on right made at 111mm equivalent.)
Although these advantages are certainly meaningful, compact cameras are not ideal in all respects. Consider the following issues:
- A built-in zoom lens is not nearly as versatile as a wide range of SLR
system lenses ranging from fisheye to super telephoto.
- Only a few compact digicams, usually the most expensive models, accept
filters, lens adapters, and accessory flash units.
- Compact cameras have fewer capabilities and options than SLR cameras.
- Few models are available with resolution higher than 5 megapixels.
- The smaller sensors in compact cameras, with their smaller pixels, do
not produce image quality comparable to that produced by SLR cameras.
- In extreme close-up photography, models with an optical viewfinder do
not produce accurate framing. You must use the LCD monitor to compose your images
in such situations.
Created: March 27, 2003
Revised: March 17, 2004
URL: URL: http://webreference.com/graphics/digital/1
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