Welcome to my Photography Journal

The purpose for creating this separate journal site was to have a platform where I could express and share photographic thoughts, tips and information learned from my experiences, and from others, about the taking, saving, editing and sharing of photographs - without 'cluttering up' my Photo Gallery site. It is my hope that other amateur photographers like myself, will be able to find information and tips that will be helpful in improving their picture taking and photographic skills. Let me start by saying this ...

Journal Entry for Wednesday, July 28th

Today’s Photo Tip: Understanding ISO. One of the three pillars of photography referred to as the “Exposure Triangle” (the other two being Aperture and Shutter Speed), every photographer needs to thoroughly understand ISO to get the most out of their equipment. It's one of the most prominently featured specifications of any modern digital camera, and it's one single aspect that can make a night-and-day difference in the outcome of your shots. Click here to read this photo tip … Understanding ISO.

Journal Entry for Sunday, July 21st

Today’s Photo Tip: If you’re one of those photographers that still leave the white balance selection on your camera set to the AWB (automatic white balance), you need to read this photo tip. Learning what white balance really is and how to properly use this control can have a profound effect on your photos. What you don't know about white balance can kill an image. Click here to learn more about White Balance … Understanding White Balance.

Today’s Musing - Digital Camera Sensor Size

Thinking about buying a high-end digital camera? Purchasing a quality digital camera today can be a daunting experience. Similar to the cellphones, tablets and laptops, advances in the technology for making cameras and lenses is moving so rapidly, it makes zeroing in on a purchase seem like you are selecting a moving target. However, regardless of the type and style of camera you choose, or its feature set, the one single factor that determines a camera’s ability to capture great pictures is the size of its digital sensor. Hopefully this post will help you to better understand this all important feature and the options available to you. Check it out here … Digital Camera Sensor Size.

Journal Entry for Sunday, July 14th

Today’s Photo Tip: It seems that I am always struggling with making the proper aperture settings on my camera when trying to achieve specific results. If you have ever tried to make use of the manual aperture settings on your camera, and are anything like me, I’m sure you have had some of the same problems.  For me, I think it is due in part to the fact that the whole classification of f/stops seems contrary to logic; e.g. larger f/stops mean smaller openings and smaller f/stops mean larger openings. As a result, I began an Internet search for pages on aperture, looking for information that would help me to better understand it.  After reading numerous pages, I attempted to boil down everything I read into simple, everyday language, and create a page that I could use to refresh my memory as needed, until all of the information becomes imbedded into my sometimes thick scull. Here is the result … Understanding Aperture. I hope you find it helpful.

Journal Entry for Monday, July 8th

Today's Photo Tips: Taking Better Pictures with a Cell-Phone. There are a lot of the things that you can do to capture better pictures with your cell-phone; many being some of the same techniques you would normally apply to taking pictures with any ordinary hand-held camera. Here are just a few … Tips for Taking Better Cell Phone Pictures.

Recent Purchase - Joby JM1-01WW GripTight Mount

Joby JM1-01WW GripTight Mount (Black): The perfect holder for any smartphone, any tripod, anywhere! This is the only tripod mount that supports all the best-selling smartphones, with or without a protective case. It is compatible with GorillaPods™ and other tripods via a universal stainless steel ¼"-20 thread. The GripTight Mount stabilizes and positions your smartphone to give you steady video and crisp photos from new perspectives. It is designed with a durable steel inner frame and rubber grip pads that holds your phone in place, even when rotated sideways or upside down. Furthermore, it is fold-able and portable. The legs fold in making it easy to fit it in your pocket or bag. you can also attach a lanyard to it and add it to your key chain so it's always with you. Even though I have never been one for taking many pictures with my phone, I have begun to realize that this seems to be where the trend in picture taking is headed. With higher mega-pixel resolution cameras on phones, due to rapidly Increasing technologies in the areas of smaller camera censors, smaller lenses, more powerful memory chips, and a vast array of post editing software for phones has made picture taking with a phone almost a violable option for obtaining quality pictures. Today there are an overwhelming number of photo related apps to help edit, enhance, and share pictures, and while in-phone editing can be convenient and fun, there is always the ability to download the pictures to a computer for post editing with a full version of Adobe Photoshop, or other editing software, opening up many possibilities like layer masking, unsharp mask, noise reduction, and more. For example, my new Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 13-Megapixel auto-focus camera that allows you to simultaneously take pictures with both its front and (2MP) rear camera. This is 12x the megapixel count of my first handheld digital camera, an Olympus D450 1.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom that cost nearly $300. Check out my tips for taking pictures with a cell-phone camera …. Tips for Taking Better Cell Phone Pictures.

Category Description

Whenever I figure out the answer to a problem or find some bit of information that has been helpful to my personal photographic experiences, I try to make a point of posting the solution or tip at the bottom of one of my daily postings or as a separate photo tip. I created this page to act as a collection point for all of these tips. If you are looking for more help and tips, I have also listed some of my favorite Internet sites in the References tab found at the top-right of each page. Click the tab (and the links therein) to see more.

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PLEASE NOTE: Any specific references to camera buttons, settings, mode dials, menus, displays, etc. are all based upon the two cameras that I use; a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 Micro Four Thirds camera, and a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS19. (Click the My Equipment tab above for more details) Though the elements described may be somewhat different from manufacturer to manufacturer, they are quite often very similar. Most of the time you should be able to equate the reference to your specific camera without too much trouble.

The Journey: The journey to becoming a better photographer is a long and arduous one, often veering in many directions. I created this category to act as a collection basket for some of my photographic musings. Every photographer has moments when they reflect back on their picture taking experiences and contemplate on just what it is that they are trying to accomplish. Occasional musing can help to refocus on goals and objectives, or even change direction in an effort to grow and bring improvements to your photography.

Index for the Category - Photography Tips

Click Any Title Below To View Photography Tips EQUIPMENT TIPS: Changing Lenses In The Field Lens Cap Storage Tips Camera Cleaning Tips Lens Protection Tip A Primer on Understanding Photographic Filters UPDATED 11/04/13  Tips For Using Monopods & Tripods Packing For A Photo Shoot Making A Pre-shooting Session Equipment Checklist Macro Photography Equipment Options CAMERA OPERATION & SETTINGS: NEW  Understanding White Balance NEW  Understanding Aperture NEW  Understanding ISO Understanding Camera Modes - Key to Controlling Exposure  Intelligent Auto Mode vs Manual Program Mode Learn Your Cameras' Functions Establishing Re-set Routines FILES, STORAGE & ORGANIZATION TIPS: Tips For Organizing Your Photos Resizing vs Resampling Always Shoot In RAW Always Reformat Your SD Card PHOTO SHOOTING TIPS: NEW Tips for Taking Better Cell Phone Pictures More Tips & Hints for Taking Wildflower Photos Avoiding Camera Shake Creating Black & White Photographs UPDATED 07/22/13 How To Capture Sharp Photos Tips for Obtaining The Best Focus Tips For Taking Better Landscape Photos Taking Panoramic Pictures Tips for Taking Pictures of Wildflowers Portrait Photography Tip Tips For Shooting In Manual Mode Tip For Shooting Close-ups Close-up Focusing Tip Shooting Pictures With A Lightbox Tips For Taking Food Pictures Solving Mechanical Vignetting Problems GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: Set Photography Goals Tip For Improving Your Photographs Learn the Elements of Exposure

Index for Category - Photographic Musings

Click on a Title Below to Read Digital Camera Sensor Size Musings - Black & White Conversions Photography or Art Why Do Photographs Matter?

Index for Category - Picture Editing Tips

Click on a Title Below to Read Scanning Basics Scanning Notes for my Epson V100 Photo Scanner Know Your Photo Editing Program's Functions  Making Re-edits Photo Sharpening Techniques Photo Sharpening Tips

Understanding Aperture

Understanding Light: Photography is not about selecting buttons and switches on a highly sophisticated piece of electronic and optical equipment; photography is about seeing the light. Without light, there is no photograph; end of story. Light controls what you see in a photograph and how you see it. Aperture, which is measured by f/stops, controls the volume of light passing through your lens. Controlling the intensity of light as it passes through the lens (opening) and onto the camera’s electronic sensor (or film) is what aperture is all about. There are only two other mechanisms used for controlling light, filters and shutter speed. The chart above shows how the amount of light is decreased as the f/stops increase in "full" f/stops. Increasing the f/stop numbers to reduce the amount of light passing through the lens is known as “stopping down” the lens. In contrast, decreasing the f/stop numbers to double the amount of light that is passing through the lens, is known as "opening up" the lens.

Lens Aperture & Identification: Every lens has a limit on how large or how small the aperture can get. The maximum aperture of the lens is much more important than the minimum, because it shows the “speed” of the lens. The f/number is the focal length of the lens divided by virtual aperture (the circle you see when looking through the back end of a lens. Every lens is designated by its LARGEST opening (smallest f-number) e.g. 50mm f1/4. BIGGER numbers (f/16, f/22) specify a SMALL aperture (lens opening) that admits LESS light. SMALLER numbers (f/2, f/2.8) indicate a LARGER aperture (lens opening) that admits MORE light.

The f/stop Scale: The first thing you need to know the f-stop scale. The scale is as follows: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22. The thing to know is that, from each number to the next, the aperture decreases to half its size and allows 50% less light through the lens. This is because the numbers come from the equation used to work out the size of the aperture from the focal length. You’ll notice, on modern day cameras, that there are apertures in between those listed above. These are1/3 stops, so between f/2.8 and f/4 for example, you’ll also get f/3.2 and f/3.5. These are just here to increase the control that you have over your settings.

The zoom problem: Unless buying the “body only”, almost every camera, no matter how good the camera,  comes with an inexpensive zoom lens. As you zoom the lens to a longer focal length, but maintain the same maximum aperture size, you end up with a larger f-number that results in a dimmer image. Zoom lenses that do this are called "variable-aperture zooms" and are designated with a hyphenated maximum aperture, e.g. an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. This means that you get f/3.5 when set to the maximum aperture of 18mm, but only f/5.6 when zoomed to 55mm. A "constant-aperture zoom lens” on the other hand will maintain the same f-number at all focal lengths when set manually. Such zooms, e.g.24-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens, are optically much more complex than variable-aperture zooms, resulting in a bulkier, heavier and more expensive lens. Because this type of lens allows you to capture better pictures in low light situations, and usually has more aperture blades that provide better “bokeh” (the wider the aperture, the narrower the depth of field), it is definitely worth the extra money.

Setting the f/stop (aperture): Simply put, aperture is the hole within a lens, through which light travels into the camera body. The lower the f/stop number, the wider, or bigger, the aperture.  Changing the aperture for a particular evenly-exposed shot means you need to shoot faster to compensate (or increase the ISO). This is because shooting faster reduces the amount of light going through the lens. This is the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. It is recommended that you only shoot in the Auto mode (where the camera makes all the decisions on settings) when circumstances dictate quick, responsive, shooting. Turning your camera’s Mode Dial to A or Av (which stands for Aperture value) means that you set the aperture you want and the camera compensates by making the decisions on shutter speed. This is a particularly good way of ensuring you achieve the DOF you want from your image, the other reason why a faster lens is desirable. Bokeh. The wider the aperture, the narrower the depth of field.

What is Depth of Field?  The one important thing to remember is that the size of the aperture has a direct impact on the depth of field, which is the area of the image that appears sharp. A large f-number such as f/32, (which means a smaller aperture) will bring all foreground and background objects in focus, while a small f-number such as f/1.4 will isolate the foreground from the background by making the foreground objects sharp and the background blurry, creating what is commonly referred to as “bokeh”.

Setting Exposure: The optimum exposure for any given scene is comprised of four elements; light, shutter speed, aperture and ISO, the last three under your control are know as the "Exposure Triangle". There are two parts involved in exposing a digital sensor to light. One is the intensity of the light and the other is the length of time the light is allowed to strike the sensor. Exposure is the measure of how much light (the AMOUNT OF LIGHT controlled by the aperture) that is captured over a SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME (controlled by the shutter speed), e.g. Exposure = Intensity x Time. Understanding the relationship between aperture and shutter speed and how to control them will take your photography to another level. Aperture and f/stop are indeed references to the same thing. The aperture is the lens mechanism and f/stop is the measure of mechanism’s engagement. Think of it this way; a properly exposed photo might need 1,000 "units" of light to hit the sensor. Your camera can do one of two things to ensure that 1,000 units hit the sensor: (1) it can open the shutter for more time - this is called the shutter speed. If opening the shutter for half a second lets in 500 units of light, doubling that to one second will let in the 1,000 units you need for a well exposed photo, (2) your camera can allow those 1,000 units in is to make the hole at the front of the camera wider (this hole is the aperture). The shutter speed can stay at half a second, but make the hole at the front of the camera twice as large and 1,000 units of light can enter in that same half a second. The longer the shutter is open, the longer the light has to expose the film, the shorter the shutter is open, the less time there is to exposed the film. Just remember that each full f/stop either halves or doubles the amount of light entering the camera and each full shutter speed stop either halves or doubles the amount of time of the exposure. It is possible to have the same exposure with a variety of different f/stops and shutter speeds depending on what effect you want to achieve. If you are in aperture priority and change the f stop the shutter speed automatically changes for a proper exposure; if you are in shutter speed priority and change the shutter speed the f/stop automatically changes for a proper exposure. Since you don’t have to manually change both factors of an exposure in these modes, many new photographers have a hard time understanding this relationship. Then there is ISO. While shutter speed and aperture determine how much light reaches the sensor, ISO relates to how the sensor reacts to that light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitivity and the greater the sensor's light gathering capacity; meaning that less light is needed to create the desired exposure. So I know you are now thinking, if my camera can  automatically do this for me why should I care what my f/stop or shutter speed is?  Because a knowledge of these concepts will allow you to determine the sharpness or depth of field given to a given area. If you let the camera do everything for you, you will only get average images. In Summary - Practice, Practice, Practice:  The best way to improve your photography is to practice as often as you can. Always try to have your camera with you. Even when that is not possible, continue to look at your surroundings as if you were trying to create a photograph. Compose hypothetical shots in your mind by thinking about light and what settings you might use to achieve various effects.

Understanding White Balance

As a budding photographer, I’m sure you have read advice emphasizing the importance of learning how to use your cameras manual controls, such as shutter speed, aperture, and focus, to insure the desired effect for individual scenes. Unfortunately, most photographers still leave one critical setting on automatic: white balance. That's a mistake, because this control can have a profound effect on your photos. What you don't know about white balance can kill an image.

What is White Balance? Simply put, white balance is a camera setting that adjusts for lighting in order to make white objects appear white in photos. To understand white balance, first consider that light comes in different colors. A candle or wood flame will cast shades of warm orange and amber; fluorescent lights tend toward a cooler, sometimes even blue, tint. A consistent shift in color throughout the whole image is called a color cast. The standard measure for the color of a light source is color temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin. It may seem confusing, but lower readings are associated with warmer tones while higher readings indicate cooler ones. Because our brain is smarter than a camera, it automatically adjusts white balance. If we know something to be white, we'll perceive it as white even when the color of the light changes. But a camera needs to be told what to do.

White Balance Settings: The white balance (WB) control on a digital camera allows you to compensate for differences in ambient color temperature. It adjusts the balance of red, green, and blue in the image so that neutral tones (white and gray) remain neutral, regardless of where you are or what light source is affecting the image area. Digital cameras offer WB presets for specific conditions (Auto (AWB), Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash and Custom. The Auto mode (AWB) tries to determine and compensate for color temperature. For more accurate balancing, the custom setting lets you take a reference shot to base the correction on Some cameras and most RAW converters allow even more control by letting you directly set the color temperature in degrees Kelvin.

Outdoor Photography and WB: In nature photography the sun is usually your primary light source. Color temperature outdoors changes throughout the day and may be affected by such factors as the position of the sun, the presence of clouds or haze, whether you're in direct light or shade, and whether the light is reflected off something that absorbs parts of the spectrum. The good news is that color accuracy in a nature scene is not as critical as it may be for some types of commercial work in which a product's image must match its color exactly or a bride's dress must be perfectly white. On a given day, color temperature may range from very low (yellow/ orange) at sunrise, through neutral around midday, and up to very high (blue) shortly after sunset. Even at the same time of day, it may vary widely between direct sunlight and open shade, reflecting the blue sky. At a given WB preset, these differences will produce casts in light that do not match your preset. For instance, setting your camera to Tungsten and photographing a sunlit scene will result in a deep blue cast, since the camera assumes the color temperature is much lower than it really is—yellowish—and counters it by adding blue. Even with a neutral setting such as Daylight, you'll get color casts under heavy cloud cover, in deep shade, or at sunrise or sunset. Here are four tips on using WB to your advantage in nature shots. 1. Avoid auto white balance. You may think you should eliminate color casts to maintain a scene's natural look, but this isn't always true. Color can be used very effectively to create or enhance mood. Imagine the cool blue of a clear winter morning, the warmth of the first rays of sunlight at dawn, or the rose and lavender hues in the sky after sunset. Set to Auto WB, your camera may eliminate some or all of these desirable effects, resulting in a dull, lifeless image. That's why it's always best to adjust the WB setting individually for every scene rather than let the camera make the decision for you. Shoot RAW and adjust WB later. Differences in color temperature can be too subtle to judge accurately on your camera's little LCD. It's much better to decide on the correct WB setting while viewing the image on a large, color-calibrated monitor. Capturing images in RAW mode, rather than JPEG, has the added advantage of letting you choose a WB setting while processing your images at home. This way you don't have to commit to one in the field with limited ability to see the effect. Use histograms to obtain better detail. The differences between pixels are what make up image detail. As each sensor has a limited range of values, sometimes one or more of the channels (red, green, or blue) will become saturated. For example, when photographing a bright red flower all the red pixels may return their maximum value, and conversely all blue sensors may return a zero reading if no measurable amount of blue exists. This is called clipping, and these areas will contain no detail in the clipped areas. Whenever a histogram graft extends past the far left or far right edge, it is an indication that there will be clipping in at least one of the RGB channels. The WB setting determines the way readings from the three channels are blended together to produce the final picture. For example, when set to Cloudy (or to a high color temperature), the camera will assign greater weight to readings from the red and green channels, and reduce the weight of the blue channel in order to warm up the palette. By carefully adjusting WB, you can vary the blending ratios so that you take more data from channels containing image detail and less from ones that are clipped. By doing this you may gain detail but end up with unnatural-looking colors. But as long as the color casts are subtle, they can generally be corrected in Adobe Photoshop or other image-editing programs to restore the original hues without loss of detail. Blend multiple WB settings. Much like exposure compensation, WB is a global control, affecting the entire image. But in some situations, you may want to apply it selectively. This is not much different from using a split neutral-density filter to make up for differences in brightness, or blending multiple bracketed exposures to achieve high dynamic range. Similarly, you can blend separate versions of the same image, converted from RAW using different WB settings. The technique is especially useful in images with strong blues and yellows—a given WB setting may significantly alter one or the other. Once you have made separate conversions from your RAW file, you can blend these images precisely using Layers in Photoshop. Don't be afraid to experiment. Most digital cameras offer a wealth of creative controls and myriad ways to express your vision. The more you experiment, the more you'll discover. White Balance for B&W: Changing white balance to maximize detail is especially useful when you intend ultimately to convert the image to black-and-white. Since color information will be discarded anyway, you can set extreme WS values to ensure maximum detail without worrying about unnatural color casts. Another consideration is that channels with low readings will also tend to contain more noise. When converting to b&w, you in effect merge readings from the three color channels into one. If you convert by using all or most of the data from a noisy channel, noise will become all the more visible and image detail contained in the other channels will be reduced or lost. So it's imperative to study the color histograms and adjust the RAW conversion accordingly before converting to monochrome.

Achieving the Perfect White Balance: The main thing to remember is that white balance systems can be fooled, forcing you to fix the color during post editing. However, why waste time after shooting when you can do it right in the camera? Here are some tips on how to keep your WB from being fooled: When Shooting in JPG: When you store images as JPEGs, your camera locks in the white balance it calculated based on the scene content. But it can get thrown off if there isn't a pure white in the photo or if one color dominates the scene. For instance, shooting a model in a red dress against a red barn may create an unwanted cyan or blu­ish skin tone. If you try to remove this later with a global color correction in image-editing software, skin tones will improve, but the color relationships might change slightly. Your best bet when shooting JPEGs in tricky lighting is to use one of your camera's white balance presets instead of its Auto WB setting. The camera will ignore the scene content when establishing white balance, and colors may appear more natural. Set the Temperature: Presets are typically based on a fixed Kelvin color tempera­ture. On many new DSLRs and a handful of EVFs, you can manually set white balance to Kelvin color tem­peratures. This could result in more accurate colors, but it only works well if you measure the scene with a hand­held (and expensive!) color tempera­ture meter, or know the precise color temperature of studio flash units. Pick a Card: In mixed lighting, even a handheld color meter can be fooled if aimed at the wrong light source. To avoid this, or if you don't own a color tem­perature meter, your best option is to create a custom white balance using either a white or 18 percent gray card (see your camera manual). Place the card where it's illuminated by all lights; or have your model hold the card. Then create and choose your custom white balance. (In a pinch, select a white wall or white cloth.) The few minutes this takes are well worth not having to fix your images. Shoot in RAW: The ultimate white balance control comes by shooting in RAW mode, since most RAW software, utilities let you tweak Kelvin color temperature or use curve controls to adjust color bal­ance. Of course, if you shoot in RAW + JPEG, your preview images will be locked into the WB the camera chose. Break Neutrality: An off-balance color cast may create a desired mood: a warm tone in late afternoon, a cool cast in a snow scene. You can create color casts by using white balance presets for opposite situations. For example, setting the camera to the Daylight preset when shooting under tungsten lights will give you a yellowish color cast, and will produce a bluish -cast when shooting in shade.

Digital Camera Sensor Size

Thinking about buying a high-end digital camera? Purchasing a quality digital camera today can be a daunting experience. Similar to the cellphones, tablets and laptops, advances in the technology for making camera and lenses is moving so rapidly, it makes zeroing in on a purchase seem like you are selecting a moving target. However, regardless of the type and style of camera you choose, or its feature set, the one single factor that determines a camera’s ability to capture great pictures is the size of its digital sensor. Hopefully this post will help you to better understand this all important feature and the options available to you.

Understanding Sensor Size: The size of sensor that a camera has ultimately determines how much light it uses to create an image. As noted in my post on APERTURE, capturing a great picture is not about selecting buttons and switches on a highly sophisticated camera or lens, it’s about seeing and capturing light. Without light, there is no photograph. In very simple terms, image sensors are the digital equivalent of film. They consist of millions of light-sensitive spots called photosites which are used to record information about what is seen through the lens. Therefore, it stands to reason that a bigger sensor can gain more information than a smaller one and produce better images. Able to gain more information, the large sensor would be capable of turning out photos with better dynamic range, less noise and improved low light performance over that of a smaller sensor.                       Another thing to understand is that sensor size relates to capture size. As a sensor reduces in size, it captures image data from a smaller area than a 35 mm film SLR camera would, effectively cropping out the corners and sides that would be captured by the 36 mm × 24 mm 'full-size' film frame. This is called crop factor and is related to the ratio of the dimensions of a camera's imaging area compared to a reference format; most often, this term is applied to digital cameras, relative to 35 mm film format as a reference. The term crop factor was coined in recent years in an attempt to help 35 mm film format SLR photographers understand how their existing ranges of lenses would perform on newly introduced DSLR cameras which had sensors smaller than the 35 mm film format, but often utilized existing 35 mm film format SLR lens mounts.Because of this crop, the effective field of view (FOV) is reduced by a factor proportional to the ratio between the smaller sensor size and the 35 mm film format (reference) size.                       So, larger sensors can help you capture better quality images, but as you can see from above, they bring with them a number of other characteristics, some good and some bad. Another obvious impact of a bigger camera sensor is that of size; not only will the sensor take up more room in your device, but it will also require a bigger lens to cast an image over it. Bigger sensors can also be better for isolating a subject in focus while having the rest of the image blurred. This usually meant a bigger and heavier camera, however, the good news here is that camera manufacturers are coming up with ways to put larger sensors into smaller cameras.

Types of Sensors: There are only two basic types of sensors, CCD and CMOS. CCD stands for ‘charge-coupled device’.  CCD sensors are renowned for creating the highest quality, lowest noise images, however, they consume 100x the battery power of a CMOS sensor. CMOS stands for ‘complementary metal oxide semiconductor’. They are considerably cheaper to produce than CCD sensors and are faster at reading the information gathered when you open your shutter and expose it to light. Furthermore, they are known to suck up less power from your battery, thus enhancing battery life. Beyond this, sensors are classified by their physical size, which most often determines the size and classification of the camera that the are found in. Let’s review the options generally available.

Full-Frame DSLR Camera: These are ILC, “inter-changeable lens” cameras with a  "D" (digital) electronic image sensor sensor that is equal in size (measuring 36 x 24mm) to that of the negative frame found on a roll of 35mm film. The "SLR" stands for single-lens reflex. This is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex", from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured, contrary to viewfinder cameras where the image could be significantly different from what will be captured.  Though these cameras are generally the largest and heaviest, advances in electronics and technology are help to reduce their footprint. Full-Frame Fixed Lens Digital Compact (DC): Though not a SLR camera, Sony’s new DSC-RX1 if the only digital compact camera with a Full-Frame sensor. It, however, in not a ILC and comes with a Zeiss 35mm f2 lens. Though obviously much smaller than a DLSR, the asking price of this new camera is approximately $2,700.00.   APS-C DSLR Camera: Unless specifically specified as a “Full-Frame” DSLR, most DSLR’s use sensors measuring approximately 24 x 16mm, called APS-C sensors. The actual size of APS-C sensors in DSLR Cameras varies by manufacturer. Nikon DX, Pentax, Sony APS-C sensors are 23.6 x15.7mm. Canon APS-C sensors are 22.2x14.8mm; though they do have a larger APS-H sensor that is 28.7x19mm. APS-C DSLR Camera w/LCD/Optical/Electronic View Finders(EVF): These cameras can have an LCD screen with Live View, an optical viewfinder, an electronic viewfinder, or a combination of these. Many newer DSLR cameras now come with LCD screens with Live View, in addition to an optical or electronic eye-level viewfinder. EVFs overcome the problem of your viewfinder and camera seeing slightly different things by giving you an exact picture of the scene you’re photographing in the viewfinder. This happens simply by putting a little LCD in the viewfinder. APS-C Interchangeable Len Compact (ILC) w/EVF or OVF (built in or available): or APS-C Fixed Lens Digital Compact (DC): It is important to note that there are many smaller, non-DSLR high-end compact cameras available today that offer a APS-C sized sensor. Mirrorless Four-Thirds/Micro Four-Thirds ILC w/LCD/Electronic View Finders: These smaller Four-Thirds cameras use a digital electronic image sensor sensor that, at 17.3x13mm, is slightly smaller than a APS-C sensor. Low-end Point & Shoot Cameras: Obviously, due more to a low price point than the size of the camera, the cheaper sensors in low-end cameras become much smaller. Cell Phone Cameras: Most smartphones, including the iPhone 5 use a tiny 1/3.2-inch image sensor. In real terms this measures just 4.54 x 3.42 mm and explains how they are able to keep devices so slim and light, but also why image quality and low light performance suffers, especially when they can have as many as 12 megapixels. The HTC One uses a slightly larger 1/3-inch sensor (4.8 x 3.6 mm) and fewer pixels to combat this. The Nokia 808, with a 1/1.2-inch sensor (10.67 x 8 mm), was undisputed king of smartphone sensors. However, the recent announcement from Nokia about its Lumia 1020 smartphone with its 41 megapixel camera with a 1/1.5-inch image sensor that uses a Zeiss-branded lens with six elements, with a maximum aperture of f/2.2 is the new game changer. With close to three times the area of the sensors in most compact cameras, and more than five times the area of typical camera phone imagers, this camera phone should be affecting every digital camera offering right up the line over the next year.

Summary: Obviously, many physical aspects contribute to making a quality picture; from the quality and speed of the lens and the number of its elements, the size of the sensor, the number of megapixels “crammed” onto the sensor, RAW capture, to the camera’s built-in ability to perform focusing, apply anti-shake, and algorithms designed to perform post “clean-up” of the image. One thing still remains true, the larger the image sensor is, as it relates to all of these aspects, the better the final result will be.

Scanning Notes for My EPSON V100 Photo Scanner

I created this page for my sole use, to remind me of things to remember when scanning pictures. If other viewers find anything useful here, great!

Always scan at 300dpi and save the file as either a … .TIF (Best but creates a 10x larger file size) .JPG (OK if you save as a negative file and use a duplicate for editing)

EPSON Flatbed Scanner Specs for my picture files: Olympus 1.2MP pictures (Best Quality is a 3.5” picture) Canon 5MP pictures (Best Quality is a 5x7” picture) Panasonic DMC-G2 12MP pictures (Best Quality is 14x18” picture) Panasonic ZS20 14MP pictures (Best Quality is 16x20” picture) Panasonic ZS30 18MP pictures (Best Quality is 24x32” picture)

Settings for Scanning a picture or Film Negative: Step-1 Set MODE to PROFESSIONAL (for photographs) Set DOCUMENT TYPE to FILM Set FILM TYPE as appropriate to Positive Film, Color Negative or B&W Negative Set DESTINATION  IMAGE TYPE to 48-Bit Color SCAN QUALITY to BEST Step-2 Refine (size) the Image Step-3 Click on the Button for the Histogram For each channel, DRAG the triangles outward so they are just beyond the data edges Step-4 Uncheck each of the ADJUSTMENT Boxes RESOLUTION to 9600 dpi NOTE: 9600dpi will produce a 750MB file that can print to 4-feet NOTE: 4800dpi will produce a 185MB file that can print to 2-feet Step-5 Hit the SCAN button and print to either a .TIF or .JPG file Save the original to a SCAN Negative Folder and a “copy” to an editing folder Step-6 Open the file in a Photo Editing Program Retouch to get dust spots out  Use a Curves Adjustment Layer to remove any color casts Step-7 Save the picture to a file with a new file name Then resize to an 11x14-inch print Zoom in to 50% and perform a Sharpen/Smart Sharpen Set the amount LOWER and the radius HIGHER SAVE

Sharing Options: Post to Blog or Email Post to Dropbox and share the link Email as an attachment Send to Text as an attachment

Understanding ISO

What is ISO? The three letters stand for International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO is one of the three pillars of photography referred to as the “Exposure Triangle” (the other two being Aperture and Shutter Speed) and every photographer needs to thoroughly understand it to get the most out of their equipment. It's one of the most prominently featured specifications of any modern digital camera, and it's one single aspect that can make a night-and-day difference in the outcome of your shots. So, what is it? ISO is the measure of your cameras’ digital image sensor’s sensitivity to available light. Unlike the old days when you literally had to change the film to change its sensitivity (formerly expressed as ASA), digital cameras allow you to just set the ISO as desired. Typically, ISO numbers start from 100-200 (Base ISO) and increment in value in geometric progression (power of two), e.g. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, etc. The important thing to understand here is that each step between the numbers effectively doubles the sensitivity of the image sensor.               The higher the ISO, the more sensitivity and the greater the image sensor's light gathering capacity; meaning the less natural light that is needed to create the desired exposure. Though a higher ISO allows you to capture pictures in low light situations, the downside is that you will end up with increased image noise (more grainy). 100-200 ISO, usually the default setting, is generally accepted as ‘normal’ and will give you lovely crisp shots with very little noise/grain. Even though you should always try to stick to the base ISO in order to get the highest image quality,  there will be times when working in low-light conditions that you will not be able to do so. Though most people tend to keep their digital cameras in ‘Auto Mode’ where the camera selects the appropriate ISO setting depending upon the conditions you’re shooting in, there may be advantages to selecting your own ISO.

Noise: Digital noise in photos taken with digital cameras is random pixels scattered all over the photo that degrades the photo quality. Digital noise usually occurs when you take low light photos (such as night photos or indoor dark scenes) or you use very slow shutter speeds or very high sensitivity modes. Image noise is random (not present in the object imaged) variation of brightness or color information in images, and is usually an aspect of electronic noise. Produced by the image sensor and circuitry of a digital camera, it is the undesirable by-product of image capture that adds spurious and extraneous information. Think of it as analogous to the subtle background hiss you may hear from your audio system at full volume. For digital images, this noise appears as random speckles on an otherwise smooth surface and can significantly degrade image quality. Although noise often detracts from an image, it is sometimes desirable since it can add an old-fashioned, grainy look which is reminiscent of early film. Some noise can also increase the apparent sharpness of an image. Noise increases with the sensitivity setting in the camera, length of the exposure, temperature, and even varies at the same settings on different camera models. A sharp noisy picture is far better than a blurry fine grained one or no picture at all. Digital noise can be dealt with using a combination of optimizing the camera settings and by removing it with professional software.

Noise Reduction: Always a factor is the amount and type of noise reduction being applied in the camera. Because all pixels collect some noise, every digital camera runs processing on every image (except for a RAW file that can be changed later) to minimize that noise. Newer cameras use newer technology to reduce that noise, with the result being less noise at similar ISOs than what earlier cameras could achieve. Improvements in this area have been huge in recent years.The second thing to remember is that many post editing programs offer functions for reducing noise. If it is a matter of choosing between not being able to take a picture and suffering with a noisy image, I'd rather be able to take the picture at a higher ISO and then try to clean up the noise afterwards in a noise reduction software.

ISO Speed & Image Sensor Size: The size of the image sensor determines the ISO speed range that a digital camera can use without suffering from undue noise. One reason for this is because the pixels on the larger image sensor can be larger and therefore receive more light, and thus have a greater signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Simply put, if you have two image sensors, each with 4 megapixels resolution, but of different sizes, the 4 megapixels image sensor that is smaller will exhibit more noise at higher ISOs than the larger one. 4 million tiny pixels crammed into a 1/1.8 in. image sensor cannot compete in image quality with 4 million large pixels on an APS-sized image sensor. Most consumer digital cameras use 1/1.8 in. (and smaller) image sensors, so noise at high ISO is more of a problem. A digital SLR (dSLR), on the other hand, uses a large image sensor, usually full frame (24x36 mm) or APS-sized (half-frame). Noise is rarely a problem and the use of a high ISO 400 results in images with barely noticeable noise. Even as manufacturers attempt to bridge the gap between consumer and professional digital cameras by using a slightly larger image sensors, the "megapixels race" has meant that ever more pixels are being crammed into a small area. Where before there were 5 million pixels on a 2/3 in. image sensor, now we see 8 million pixels crammed on the same sized image sensor. It is therefore not surprising that noise remains a problem. And which is why you should not be fooled by the "more megapixels is better" mantra.

Choosing An ISO Setting: The result of the sensor’s increased sensitivity due to higher ISO settings, means that it needs less time to capture an image. When you do decide to override your camera and choose a specific ISO you’ll notice that it impacts the aperture and shutter speed needed for a well exposed shot. For example – if you bumped your ISO up from 100 to 400 you’ll notice that you can shoot at higher shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures. What does this mean? if your camera sensor only needed exactly 1 second to capture a scene at ISO 100, simply by switching to ISO 800, you can capture the same scene at 1/8th of a second or at a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. That can mean a world of difference in photography, since it can help to freeze the motion of a subject that would otherwise end up being blurred when shot at ISO 100, thereby ruining the shot. When should you increase ISO? … Anytime when there is not enough light for the camera to be able to quickly capture an image. If you don’t have a tripod and/or the subject is moving, increasing the ISO as it will enable you to shoot with a faster shutter speed and still expose the shot well. Anytime shooting indoors without a flash, a higher number will be able to freeze motion, but may require the use of a tripod. Whenever you need to get ultra-fast shots, like taking bird pictures. Always ask the question if it is OK for you to introduce noise to the image. Other situations that might require you to push ISO to higher settings might include indoor sporting events, concerts, or the interior of buildings such as art galleries, churches, etc. Auto ISO, which works great in low-light environments, was introduced into digital cameras several years ago to help photographers manage that balance. Turning on this feature allows the camera to push the ISO up when it decides the shutter speed is getting too low for a good picture. The beauty of this setting, is that you can often set the maximum ISO to a certain number, so when the ISO is automatically increased based on the amount of light, it does not cross the set barrier. So, if I want to limit the amount of grain in my pictures, I typically set the maximum ISO to 800.

Summary: You already know it is tough to shoot good digital photos in low light conditions without a flash. The trick is really to get more light into the camera without using that harsh flash – and we can do that by cranking up the ISO setting to the higher part of the range and setting the camera to Aperture Priority (an f-stop (bigger aperture) that allows more light through. It also helps to shoot in RAW mode so that you capture maximum detail in your digital shot (no compression in the captured image). ISO is an important aspect of digital photography to have an understanding of if you want to gain more control of your digital camera. A solid understanding of ISO and experimenting with different settings and how they impact your images will help you make smarter decisions about how to set your camera that, in turn, will lead to better pictures.

Taking Better Pictures with a Cell-Phone

Today's Photo Tips: There are a lot of the things that you can do to capture better pictures with your cell-phone; many being some of the same techniques you would normally apply to taking pictures with any ordinary hand-held camera. Here are just a few …           01 – Try to use natural light sources. Natural lighting will make your photo more clear without washing out your subject. Don’t allow your subject to be illuminated by several light sources with different temperatures, e.g. warm incandescent lighting and cool outdoor lighting. 02 – Whenever possible, avoid direct sunlight. If your subject is a person, they’ll look squinty and uncomfortable. Try to get closer to the subject. An overcast day is always best for photos. If it is a bright and sunny day, use the hours of sunrise and sunset for your pictures. 03 – Narrow the subject. Focus by only selecting what you really need to be in the photo rather than trying to get it all in. Find a "clean" background. When taking portraits it’s important to think about not letting the background steal too much attention. Avoid having things stick up behind people’s heads. 04 – Hold the camera still. Stabilize your phone while you’re taking a photo by putting your arm on any flat, stable surface you can find to make sure the photo isn’t blurry. If you can’t find a stable surface, hold your arm against your body. If you’re taking pictures indoors without a flash, this is essential for getting a sharp focus. Lean against a wall, door jamb or a chair for support. 05 – Anticipate movement. Remember, a subject appears to approach slowly, but disappears like lightning. If you know where something is going to happen, try to place yourself right there in plenty of time. 06 – Keep it natural. Try to capture true sensations in your snapshots. Be sociable when you take photos; downplay the situation and shoot even when the subject isn’t prepared. 07 – Learn your phones camera settings. Today's newer phones offer dozens of changeable settings such as mode, exposure, focus, flash, anti-shake, metering, burst, photo size, face detection, night detection, etc. I can't emphasize this tip enough. I had my new Samsung Galaxy S4 phone for several months before I took the time to study and learn how to use all of its capabilities and functions. It literally took me several hours of "playing" to learn everything it had to offer. The upside is that now I am able to capture much better pictures!   08 – Take advantage of all of the great photography apps available for your phone. Today there are literally dozens of photo apps for both iPhone and Android that provide you with many post picture taking editing options that will improve or enhance your pictures. 09 – Take lots of photos. Last, but not least, the best advice used even by all pro photographers: Take lots of photos and you will increase your chances of taking some that are good.