Basic Rules - Digital photography
Digital photography has surpassed film photography in popularity in recent years, a fact that has relegated some amateur and professional film cameras to the unlikely task of becoming a paperweight. In the art world, however, film cameras are coveted. The lesson is simple: choose the tools that you need to get the results you want. Just a couple of years ago a professional would have chosen from a vast array of film camera types—single lens reflexes, twin lens reflexes, rangefinders, and view cameras to name a few—when selecting the tools of his or her trade. Now, with the advent of digital technology and digital software, the serious photographer can, for the most part, rely on a digital single-lens reflex camera, or D-SLR. A D-SLR is an incredibly advanced and refined tool that still offers the all-important ability, as in film version cameras, to view your subject through the same lens that records the image onto your sensor. This is achieved via a mirror and a pentaprism so that what you see is what you get (often referred to as WYSIWYG). It is hard to imagine that every time you press the shutter to take a picture, a mirror between the rear of the lens and the image sensor flips out of the way, the camera shutter opens, and the sensor is exposed for the required time. Meanwhile, the camera’s microprocessor is writing the multitude of information the image sensor has recorded to the camera’s memory card. This is incredible in itself. Now consider how incredible are the cameras used by sport and press photographers, which manage this at eight frames a second! For all intents and purposes, there are two types of D-SLR cameras. The first is a traditional-looking camera roughly based on the 35mm film camera bodies that preceded it. Photographers who would normally use both medium- and large-format professional cameras are discovering that in some instances the modern high-end D-SLR provides superior image quality when compared to the scan that was possible from their film. (The “format” of a camera refers to the size of the negative of film cameras and the size of the image sensor in digital cameras. Large format refers to cameras with a 4 inch by 5 inch negative and larger, whereas medium refers to cameras between 35mm and large format.) Previous users of high-end film compacts and rangefinder cameras are also gravitating toward the more advanced functionality and image quality provided by the D-SLR. At the time of this writing, manufacturers such as Leica and Epson are close to producing a digital replacement for the rangefinder, but high-end digital compacts and D-SLRs are currently filling this void. The second type of D-SLR is based on the medium format SLR. Some models consist merely of a digital back on a medium-format film system camera, whereas a few manufacturers are producing large D-SLRs using the largest CCDs. These cameras tend to be used for pictures that require the highest image resolution, such as landscape and still life. Once you have your new camera, you should keep in mind that the camera essentially houses a miniature computer. Keep your camera software/firmware up to date. The camera manufacturers continuously tune and finetune the firmware that runs your camera. Updates can be downloaded from the support section of the manufacturer’s website and the instructions to install them into your camera will be found in your instruction manual. Copying the firmware file to a memory card normally does this. Once the memory card is in your camera, use the camera’s menu to upload the firmware to your camera. As soon as you buy your camera, check to make sure that you have the latest firmware. Bear in mind that this is new technology that is continuously
evolving and improving. Just as it is with computers, as soon as you buy a new model and are familiar with using it, a newer one will be on the market
sensors
The image sensor in a digital camera replaces the film. There are two main types of sensors used in D-SLR cameras. They are the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and the CCD (Charge Coupled Device). Both sensors have their particular idiosyncrasies, and they have various characteristics that should be taken into account when purchasing. So it’s important to look at some example files and research the characteristics of the system you intend to purchase. When professional photographers are choosing and purchasing a camera system, they like to shoot some comparison test shots with the cameras they’re considering.
Where possible, emulate this practice. Check the files in the image-editing software on your computer. Make sure both cameras are tested with all in-camera
sharpening turned off to allow for a fair comparison. A camera technician at your local store can show you how to do this. Some sensor/camera combinations are particularly good for low light when using a sensor sensitivity of 400 ISO or higher, while others are fantastic in full natural light and terrible when used with a high ISO sensor sensitivity. Check the amount of “noise” or “grain” at a higher ISO. Do your research well and choose a suitable sensor for the type of photography you’re most interested in. Whereas in the era of film you would have bought your camera and decided on the type of film required at a later stage, now you have to make this important decision at the outset. It’s not just about the file size your intended camera is capable of. For instance, if the sensor is less sharp than the alternative camera, or the color characteristics less favorable, you could be unhappy with your choice. Some D-SLRs have in-camera sharpening to compensate for anti-aliasing filters, the main source of “unsharpness.” Initially you wouldn’t think that the physical size of the image sensor would be a factor to consider, since the quality of the file would seem to be the governing factor. However, the smallest sensors on a D-SLR are 18mm x 13.5mm, compared to the format of a traditional 35mm film camera, which is 24mm x 36mm. In this case, a 50mm lens, which on a film camera would constitute a standard lens, becomes a 100mm short telephoto. This initially may seem to be an advantage, since you won’t need long telephotos. But there is an issue with wide angles. A 15mm is an extreme wide angle with a 35mm film camera. With a small sensor, this is only a slightly wide angle, equivalent to a 30mm lens on a 35mm film camera in some digital cameras. Some manufacturers are addressing this and are beginning to produce special lenses specifically for digital bodies, such as the extraordinary Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/4.0.
Where possible, emulate this practice. Check the files in the image-editing software on your computer. Make sure both cameras are tested with all in-camera
sharpening turned off to allow for a fair comparison. A camera technician at your local store can show you how to do this. Some sensor/camera combinations are particularly good for low light when using a sensor sensitivity of 400 ISO or higher, while others are fantastic in full natural light and terrible when used with a high ISO sensor sensitivity. Check the amount of “noise” or “grain” at a higher ISO. Do your research well and choose a suitable sensor for the type of photography you’re most interested in. Whereas in the era of film you would have bought your camera and decided on the type of film required at a later stage, now you have to make this important decision at the outset. It’s not just about the file size your intended camera is capable of. For instance, if the sensor is less sharp than the alternative camera, or the color characteristics less favorable, you could be unhappy with your choice. Some D-SLRs have in-camera sharpening to compensate for anti-aliasing filters, the main source of “unsharpness.” Initially you wouldn’t think that the physical size of the image sensor would be a factor to consider, since the quality of the file would seem to be the governing factor. However, the smallest sensors on a D-SLR are 18mm x 13.5mm, compared to the format of a traditional 35mm film camera, which is 24mm x 36mm. In this case, a 50mm lens, which on a film camera would constitute a standard lens, becomes a 100mm short telephoto. This initially may seem to be an advantage, since you won’t need long telephotos. But there is an issue with wide angles. A 15mm is an extreme wide angle with a 35mm film camera. With a small sensor, this is only a slightly wide angle, equivalent to a 30mm lens on a 35mm film camera in some digital cameras. Some manufacturers are addressing this and are beginning to produce special lenses specifically for digital bodies, such as the extraordinary Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/4.0.
What type of lens do I need?
Now that you’ve bought your new D-SLR camera and are starting to come to terms with its operation, you might well be thinking about buying another lens. When you purchased the camera it more than likely came with a zoom lens; something like a 28-80mm is the usual offering with new cameras, and this is a good lens with which to start. But if you feel like you need something different, what do you look for? There are many types of lenses available, and to know which lens you should buy you need to know what you want to photograph with it. Lenses come in all shapes and sizes—a bit like a family—and they all have specific characteristics. Here is a breakdown of the different lens types and some of their applications.There are three basic types of lenses:
• wide-angle
• standard
• telephoto
A lens belongs in a particular category based on its focal length.
• 50mm is the traditional focal length for a standard lens.
• Less than 50mm is considered a wide-angle lens.
• Greater than 50mm is considered to be a telephoto lens.
• Lenses beyond about 300mm are known as super telephoto
Standard Lenses
The standard lens (50mm) gives an angle of view of
between 45 and 55 degrees, which is approximately the
same as that of the human eye. Because of this it produces
an image with a natural look; it photographs things in
a manner that is as near as possible to the way we would
see the same subject.
Because these lenses photograph subjects in the same
way as we see things, they produce pictures that tend to
look “normal” and, thus, have a wide application as a
general-purpose lens.
Wide-Angle Lenses
With so many wide-angle lenses available ranging in focal lengths from 8mm to 35mm, the choice is huge and can be quite confusing. Basically, the wider the lens, the more specialized its use. Super-wide lenses can distort the image and have a limited, if valuable, use. I would suggest that either a 24mm or a 28mm lens—the more common types of wide-angle— would be a good choice to purchase as a starter lens. The 35mm wide-angle lens is often used as a standard lens because although the focal length is slightly less than the 50mm of the standard lens, the difference is not huge. It can give the photographer the advantage of extra depth of field, a real benefit for news photographers, who shoot where space is often limited and for whom the more of the picture in focus, the better. Because the angle of view of the wide-angle lens is much greater than that of the telephoto or standard lens, it’s obviously the lens to use where there’s limited space or the subject is large. Taking the family picture at Christmas when 30 of your relatives have arrived at your place would be impossible unless you lived in a very large house—or you had a wide-angle lens to take the shot. Landscape photography is another area where wideangle lenses are very useful. Using a wide-angle offers the ability to get close to your main subject to make it more prominent in the frame while keeping as much of the background in focus as you want.
Telephoto Lenses
We all know that a long telephoto lens can bring the subject right into the heart of the picture; objects that appear to be miles away when shot with a standard lens appear to be only feet in front of the photographer when shot with a telephoto lens. This is why all the photographers at a football match or soccer game use telephoto lenses to capture the action.Telephoto lenses have many more uses than just sports photography. The narrow angle of acceptance and the extra magnification allow the photographer to foreshorten the distance between himself and the point of interest of the picture. The lens allows you to capture a smaller portion of the scene so that your subject is not lost. This effect makes telephoto lenses particularly suited to landscape photography when you are trying to isolate details in a rather large area. The longer focal length of a telephoto lens means that it has much less depth of field than a wide-angle or evena standard lens. This effect can be used to “drop out” or
blur backgrounds to create a sharp, clear subject without the confusion of a busy background. You must take this factor into account when using a telephoto to shoot landscape pictures, where it’s often best to have as much of the picture in focus as possible. This often requires long shutter speeds and small apertures to create creater depth of field. A tripod will be necessary to hold the camera perfectly still. A short telephoto lens—90mm, 110mm, or 135mmis ideal for portraiture. It allows the photographer to maintain a comfortable distance from the subject while still allowing use of the limited depth of field to avoid confusing backgrounds.
Zoom Lens or Fixed Focal Length
As zoom lenses have become better, their popularity has grown. A few years ago a zoom lens could not match the quality of a fixed focal-length lens and was seen as
a cheaper alternative to buying a number of fixed focallength lenses. This situation has rapidly changed, and some of the sharpest and fastest lenses now available are zoom lenses. The zoom lens allows the photographer to carry less equipment, since a single zoom lens will often replace two or even three normal lenses. A top-quality zoom lens is expensive and will often cost the equivalent of the two or three fixed-focal-length lenses it replaces. If you have a choice between a constant-aperture zoom lens versus a variable-aperture zoom lens, choose the constant one. The reason is simple: Your aperture remains the same as you zoom, so your exposure can remain the same. With a variable zoom lens, the aperture can close down as much as one f-stop. For example, if you zoom from 28mm to 135mm and you started with f/3.5, you may end up with f/5.6. The way to combat this is to stop down anyway so you are not affected. Or better yet, spendmore money for a constant-aperture zoom lens. Macro Lenses If you have a desire to photograph insects, close-ups offlowers, or any other small objects, then the macro lensmight be what you need.Usually available in 35mm, 50 or 60mm, or 100 or105mm focal lengths, these lenses are similar to normallenses in that they can focus to infinity, but they aredesigned to focus at extremely short distances. They areused for extreme close-up photography.Coins, stamps, or any other small objects are idealsubjects for a macro lens. And because it can focus at adistance as well, the macro lens can also be used as a standardlens. The addition of extension rings that fit betweenthe lens and the camera can make this lens capable ofeven more extreme close-up photography.Finally, there are macro zoom lenses in this categorythat can produce an image of an object at a 1:3 ratio.Sometimes these lenses can even give life-size reproductionson the film or on the sensor.
• wide-angle
• standard
• telephoto
A lens belongs in a particular category based on its focal length.
• 50mm is the traditional focal length for a standard lens.
• Less than 50mm is considered a wide-angle lens.
• Greater than 50mm is considered to be a telephoto lens.
• Lenses beyond about 300mm are known as super telephoto
Standard Lenses
The standard lens (50mm) gives an angle of view of
between 45 and 55 degrees, which is approximately the
same as that of the human eye. Because of this it produces
an image with a natural look; it photographs things in
a manner that is as near as possible to the way we would
see the same subject.
Because these lenses photograph subjects in the same
way as we see things, they produce pictures that tend to
look “normal” and, thus, have a wide application as a
general-purpose lens.
Wide-Angle Lenses
With so many wide-angle lenses available ranging in focal lengths from 8mm to 35mm, the choice is huge and can be quite confusing. Basically, the wider the lens, the more specialized its use. Super-wide lenses can distort the image and have a limited, if valuable, use. I would suggest that either a 24mm or a 28mm lens—the more common types of wide-angle— would be a good choice to purchase as a starter lens. The 35mm wide-angle lens is often used as a standard lens because although the focal length is slightly less than the 50mm of the standard lens, the difference is not huge. It can give the photographer the advantage of extra depth of field, a real benefit for news photographers, who shoot where space is often limited and for whom the more of the picture in focus, the better. Because the angle of view of the wide-angle lens is much greater than that of the telephoto or standard lens, it’s obviously the lens to use where there’s limited space or the subject is large. Taking the family picture at Christmas when 30 of your relatives have arrived at your place would be impossible unless you lived in a very large house—or you had a wide-angle lens to take the shot. Landscape photography is another area where wideangle lenses are very useful. Using a wide-angle offers the ability to get close to your main subject to make it more prominent in the frame while keeping as much of the background in focus as you want.
Telephoto Lenses
We all know that a long telephoto lens can bring the subject right into the heart of the picture; objects that appear to be miles away when shot with a standard lens appear to be only feet in front of the photographer when shot with a telephoto lens. This is why all the photographers at a football match or soccer game use telephoto lenses to capture the action.Telephoto lenses have many more uses than just sports photography. The narrow angle of acceptance and the extra magnification allow the photographer to foreshorten the distance between himself and the point of interest of the picture. The lens allows you to capture a smaller portion of the scene so that your subject is not lost. This effect makes telephoto lenses particularly suited to landscape photography when you are trying to isolate details in a rather large area. The longer focal length of a telephoto lens means that it has much less depth of field than a wide-angle or evena standard lens. This effect can be used to “drop out” or
blur backgrounds to create a sharp, clear subject without the confusion of a busy background. You must take this factor into account when using a telephoto to shoot landscape pictures, where it’s often best to have as much of the picture in focus as possible. This often requires long shutter speeds and small apertures to create creater depth of field. A tripod will be necessary to hold the camera perfectly still. A short telephoto lens—90mm, 110mm, or 135mmis ideal for portraiture. It allows the photographer to maintain a comfortable distance from the subject while still allowing use of the limited depth of field to avoid confusing backgrounds.
Zoom Lens or Fixed Focal Length
As zoom lenses have become better, their popularity has grown. A few years ago a zoom lens could not match the quality of a fixed focal-length lens and was seen as
a cheaper alternative to buying a number of fixed focallength lenses. This situation has rapidly changed, and some of the sharpest and fastest lenses now available are zoom lenses. The zoom lens allows the photographer to carry less equipment, since a single zoom lens will often replace two or even three normal lenses. A top-quality zoom lens is expensive and will often cost the equivalent of the two or three fixed-focal-length lenses it replaces. If you have a choice between a constant-aperture zoom lens versus a variable-aperture zoom lens, choose the constant one. The reason is simple: Your aperture remains the same as you zoom, so your exposure can remain the same. With a variable zoom lens, the aperture can close down as much as one f-stop. For example, if you zoom from 28mm to 135mm and you started with f/3.5, you may end up with f/5.6. The way to combat this is to stop down anyway so you are not affected. Or better yet, spendmore money for a constant-aperture zoom lens. Macro Lenses If you have a desire to photograph insects, close-ups offlowers, or any other small objects, then the macro lensmight be what you need.Usually available in 35mm, 50 or 60mm, or 100 or105mm focal lengths, these lenses are similar to normallenses in that they can focus to infinity, but they aredesigned to focus at extremely short distances. They areused for extreme close-up photography.Coins, stamps, or any other small objects are idealsubjects for a macro lens. And because it can focus at adistance as well, the macro lens can also be used as a standardlens. The addition of extension rings that fit betweenthe lens and the camera can make this lens capable ofeven more extreme close-up photography.Finally, there are macro zoom lenses in this categorythat can produce an image of an object at a 1:3 ratio.Sometimes these lenses can even give life-size reproductionson the film or on the sensor.
Checklist for D-SLR Photography
The following is a checklist to help you remember all the technical aspects of your photography that need to be kept in mind.
Your new camera is a highly sophisticated piece of equipment; this list should help you avoid simple mistakes while you become
familiar with it.
• Have you charged your batteries? Before every outing, charge your battery. Most digital cameras have rechargeable batteries. In the early
days you will be checking almost every image on the LCD screen on the back of your camera, and this is what runs the camera battery
down more than anything else. In fact, to start with, buy a spare battery.
• Have you formatted your memory card? Before every shoot, and after you download or print your pictures, always, always format your
memory card. As with all technical equipment, failure is always possible. You can lose pictures. However, you can minimize this risk with
good housekeeping. Format your card in the camera’s menu before every use and after you confirm you have downloaded your pictures.
• Do you have enough memory in your cards? One of the plus points of the pre-digital era was the ability to pick up a new roll of film in
almost every corner shop. The cards included with most digital cameras today have a very small capacity for pictures. You will inevitably
need to purchase additional, more spacious cards. Make sure you buy enough for that trip to the Caribbean or some other exotic location
like Alaska where you may not be able to find suitable cards while you’re traveling.
• Have you cleaned your image sensor? If you like to change lenses often, there is a chance that dust attracted to your image sensor will
result in black specks or hairs appearing on your image files. This is especially likely if you forget to turn off your camera before changing
the lens. If the sensor is not cleaned carefully, it can be damaged. Check the manufacturer’s website to see what they recommend. One
way to avoid having to clean the sensor all the time is to keep the lens mount facing down when changing lenses. This way, any airborne
debris is less likely to settle on the sensor.
• Have you set your sensor sensitivity (ISO)? It’s best to use as low an ISO as possible because higher ISO settings produce more “noise”
(undesirable visible grain). The general rule is: The lower the ISO, the better the quality (ifthe shooting circumstances permit it).
• Have you set your color/white balance? We will be going into this later in more depth, but at this stage make sure that your camera is set
on auto-white balance, as in most cases this will produce an acceptable result.
• Have you set the right file type—JPEG, RAW, or TIFF? We’ll be addressing this subject later on. For now, make sure your camera is set
to produce the largest/highest quality JPEG possible. It is absolutely pointless to shoot on smaller JPEG settings, since doing so defeats
the purpose of using a high-quality camera.
