The “alpha” version of my new Web site, Beginners’ Guide to Digital Photography, has been launched at Cycroft.com. The alpha version is really a “proof of concept,” but I expect to publish a beta version later this month, just as soon as I develop an initial critical mass of content.
I was saddened to learn that Montreal Canadiens’ tough guy hockey star of the 1960s, John Ferguson, died Saturday at his Windsor, Ontario, home after a 22-month battle against cancer. He was 68.
John Ferguson was one of the most feared players in the NHL between 1963 and 1971. Acting as an enforcer on a very talented Montreal team that won the Stanley Cup five times with him in the lineup, it was Ferguson who added the toughness that made them champions after a four-year Cup drought.
During his 500-game NHL playing career, Ferguson piled up 1,214 penalty minutes, but he did more than fight. He scored 145 goals, including a personal best 29 in the 1968/69 season.
Ferguson retired at 32, then put his hockey smarts to use in new roles. He became coach and general manager of the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets. He served in the Ottawa Senators’ front office before joining the San Jose Sharks in 1995 as part of their player evaluation network and more recently served as a special consultant to that team.
Fergie will be missed.
This is my first in a series of posts covering various subjects aimed at the new photographer and is intended to support Cycroft.com’s new photography web site, Beginners’ Guide to Digital Photography. We’ll start by looking at some of the issues you’ll face when buying a new digital camera (digicam).
There is a huge variety of sub-6 megapixel digicams available that will suit most budgets. The most popular of these are the compact, point-and-shoot (automatic) models, which are ideal for most beginners. For enthusiasts, there is a wide assortment of 5+ megapixel compacts with built-in telephoto lenses ranging up to 10x or 12x zoom. And for the really serious enthusiasts there are the digital single lens reflex (D-SLR) models with removable/interchangeable lenses and pixel counts up to about 12 megapixels. Beyond that, there are the professional models, which are outside the scope of these posts. So, unless you have very specialized needs, you can be sure that there is a digicam available to meet almost any amateur photographer’s needs and budget. And remember that behind every terrific photograph is a photographer who may or may not have a terrific camera, i.e., it’s the person not the thing that really counts.
Identify what it is about photography that’s important to you, and you will be better able to match a digicam to your needs. It will be easier on your pocketbook if you don’t buy one that far exceeds your requirements. On the other hand, you’ll save yourself a disappointment if you do not under-buy and end up leaving your new camera at home because it does not do what you’d hoped it would.
First you may want to consider how much size and/or style matters. Many of us want something that looks very cool and slips into our pocket or purse when not in use, but is quickly available to record a special memory. For others, it’s the features and zoom length that is most important, and those folks are usually prepared to compromise on size/weight. Then there are the hobbyists who want to produce really high-quality, large-format prints — they are prepared to lug a kit weighing several pounds around all day.
Next consider the camera’s resolution — its number of megapixels. (A megapixel, by the way, means 1 million pixels, and is a term also used to express the number of sensor elements of digital cameras, e.g., a camera with an array of 2048 × 1536 sensor elements is commonly said to have 3.1 megapixels (2048 × 1536 = 3,145,728).)
Do you, for example, simply want to take photographs that you can:
If so, this places you in the largest group of people who use digital cameras. This is a good place to be since it gives you the widest choice of digicams and accessories — virtually any model with one or more megapixels will provide images that meet these needs. You may even own one in your cell phone.
If you want better-quality prints, however, or wish to crop areas of your photos and have them display full-size on 4” x 6” prints, or perhaps you’d like very good quality 5” x 7” prints, then you should consider a higher-resolution camera, i.e., one with more megapixels. In my view, something about 3 megapixels will do nicely. But for prints up to 8.5” x 11” you really should consider something more in the 3 to 5 megapixels range. A 5 megapixel camera, for example, will allow you to crop areas of your image and enlarge them to produce very good 5” x 7” prints or even acceptable 8.5” x 11” prints.
Few photo printers can generate prints larger than 8.5” x 11”, so unless you plan to buy an expensive large format printer, or if you plan to crop your images extensively (calling for significant enlargements) I believe you’ll be very satisfied with a top-rated 4 to 5 megapixel camera.
The point I’m trying to make here is that while, generally speaking, you should look for a camera with the highest resolution available in your price range, the average amateur photographer need not be overly concerned in exceeding the 5 megapixel mark. And for many, if not most, casual photographers, anything above 5 megapixels will be a poor use of money that could be used elsewhere — a nice camera bag or extra batteries or a spare memory card, to name a few alternatives.
In future posts, I’ll cover zoom length, LCD screens, viewfinders, media (memory) cards and other important considerations that I hope will help you make the right camera choice.
Photoshop Finishing Touches by well-known Photoshop author and trainer, Dave Cross, shows you a number of ways to give your images that one last finishing touch that really makes them pop. With chapters on frames and border effects, colour and artistic effects, presentation, sharpening, and printing, Cross covers a broad range of topics. I particularly like the fact that this full-colour guide covers everything from creative cropping to dramatic lighting, collage ideas, combining black-and-white and colour, selective blurring, and especially its guide to storybook layouts and PDF presentations.
It’ll be a handy reference guide that you will want to keep close at hand. The material is relevant to Photoshop CS2 and CS3. Find out more about Photoshop Finishing Touches
The fourth edition of Complete Digital Photography by Ben Long is now available. According to the Complete Digital Photography Website, the new book is longer and has lots of new detailed information on flash shooting, available light photography, HDR, sensor cleaning, adapture shadow/highlight controls, composition, printing, and much more. Also, full Photoshop CS3 coverage is provided as well as detailed workflow discussions that include coverage of Aperture and Lightroom. You can order the new edition from Amazon here: Complete Digital Photography, Fourth Edition
A new Podcasting Legal Guide For Canada has been published and is available for download.
With the hoopla and hype accompanying the much anticipated introduction of the iPhone, the question many Canadians ask is, we love what we read and hear about the iPhone, but when will it be available in Canada?
AT&T, Apple’s exclusive partner in the U.S. is expected to sell services to customers there for about US$60 a month, including data downloading — this after shelling out US$500 plus for the device. Assuming a two-year service plan, the average iPhone will cost its owner almost US$2,000. Wow! Far too rich for me.
But that is a bargain compared to the projected cost to Canadians when the iPhone is introduced in this country sometime in the next few months. A service from Rodgers Communications Inc. — AT&T’s Canadian counterpart — with less data downloading and fewer minutes could cost about CAD$295 a month based on current rates. Wireless data rates in Canada are among the highest of those in developed countries.
The prospect of forking out more than $3,500 a year to use the iPhone has prompted many potential owners to sign an online petition asking Rodgers to introduce wireless data rates that will be comparable to those offered in the U.S. Good luck!
Instead of signing petitions, which amounts to “begging” Rodgers to be fair, why not just exercise one of our most fundamental rights as consumers: don’t buy the thing until it can be operated at a cost that is comparable to rates in the U.S. or other developed countries. Anyway, that is the way I see it.
I have just installed Adobe Photoshop Lightroom version 1.1 and really like it. For those of you who are familiar with the original version, you’ll be impressed with the enhancements in version 1.1.
Apart from bug fixes and support for many of the latest cameras, all the enhancements from Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 4.1 have been added. Having worked with the new sharpen and clarity tools in ACR 4.1, I am really looking forward to using them in Lightroom.
Now that we’re in the middle of the season, here’s a handy list of non-technical tips for those who plan to take pictures at a wedding.
Mary Jo Foley reports that a first beta of a new service pack for Vista is due to go to selected testers the week of July 16. Apparently Microsoft is aiming to release the final version of Vista SP1 in November 2007.
I’m in now hurry to upgrade XP to Vista — I think I’ll wait until after the above date.
Well, SLR Today reports that there’s a rumor circulating that Canon is poised to officially announce the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. They even have a couple unofficial pictures of the new camera available.
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