2.5 OTHER CAMERA FEATURES

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In addition to some of the features we have already discussed such as image size, storage, and download, digital cameras have lots of other features to be considered.

In the old days, a photographer had to cover his head with a black cloth so he could see the image (upside down) on the camera's ground glass. With digital cameras, you sometimes think you need to do the same to see the image on the LCD monitor. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Frame Rate.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is famous for his photographs that capture that "decisive moment" when random actions unfold into a single instant that makes an interesting photograph. His eye-hand coordination is unrivaled, and he was able to get the results he did because he was always ready. There was never any fumbling with controls and lost opportunities. Most digital cameras have an automatic exposure system that frees you from the worry about controls. However, these cameras have other problems that make decisive moments hard to capture.

Henri Cartier-Bresson in Brooklyn Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA 1946 Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson photographs the streets of Brooklyn outside a warehouse. His work in Brooklyn was chronicled in a photographic essay for Harper's Bazaar Magazine. www.corbis.com/Genevieve Naylor Image ID: RZ001315

There are two delays built into digital cameras that affect your ability to respond to fast action when taking pictures.

• The first is the delay you experience between pressing the shutter button and capturing the image. This delay, called the refresh rate, can be up to 1 or 2 seconds long. The delay is caused because when you press the shutter release, the camera first clears the image sensor, sets white balance to correct for color. sets the exposure, focuses the image, and even checks to see if the flash is charged. 
• The second delay, the recycle time, occurs when the captured image is processed and stored. This delay can range from a few seconds to half a minute.

Both of these delays affect how quickly a series of photos can be take, called the frame rate. If they take too long, you may miss a picture. Some cameras have a burst mode that lets you take one photo after another as long as you hold down the shutter button. To increase the frame rate, they often reduce the resolution used to capture the images. Some even divide the surface of the image sensor up into sections and store images in each section before processing them all at once. Another, and better way to reduce the recycle time is to temporarily store a series of images in the camera's RAM until they can be processed.

Creative controls.

Almost all modern cameras offer a fully automatic mode so you can just point and shoot. However, you'll want to control the shutter speed to capture action, aperture to control depth of field, focus to control the sharpest plane, and exposure to control how light or dark the image is. You'll learn how and why to do these things in Chapter X. 

White balance.

Not all whites are the same because they can be tinged with other colors. In film photography, color balance filters are placed over the lens to adjust colors and remove casts from various types of lighting. With digital cameras this is done by adjusting white balance so the camera correctly records white (although what it thinks is "right" might differ from what you think). It does so by adjusting the relative brightness of the red, green, and blue components so that the brightest object in the image appears white.

Exposure values

(EV) indicate aperture and shutter combinations that give the equivalent exposures. For example, an EV of 3 represents an aperture of f/2.8 and a shutter speed of one second, or f/1.4 at 1/4 second. The EV range for a specific camera depends on its range of apertures and shutter speeds. A camera that has an EV range of 1 to 20, for example, has a broader range of available shutter speeds and/or apertures than a camera with an EV range of 1 to 18. The EV range also indicates how a camera will work in both dim and bright light. For example, a camera that has a range starting at 0 or -1 is better in low light than one starting at 3. One with a range ending at 20 is better in bright light and at freezing fast action than one ending at 15. An EV range of 3-18 means the camera can use any of the aperture/shutter speed combinations shown in green.

Lenses.

Currently all consumer digital cameras come with a single zoom lens.  It's only expensive professional cameras that allow you to changes lenses.Macro mode lets you take close-ups of things in nature, documents, or other small objects. 

Size and Weight.

The size and weight of a camera can have a pronounced effect on how much you like it. You're much less likely to take a bulky camera with you. If it fits in your shirt pocket, you'll probably take it with you everywhere. The problem is that adding features adds bulk and weight. There's no such thing as a perfect choice.

Built-in flash

Let's you take photos when available light is dim or non-existent. But it has serious limitations. These small flash units built into cameras don't have much range and aren't adjustable so you can't use bounce flash to soften shadows or position the flash away from the camera to eliminate red eye. Better digital cameras have an external flash sync connector so you can attach a more powerful flash to the camera and have it fire when you press the shutter button. Some cameras also have a hot-shoe into which you can mount a separate flash unit. Not only does this secure the flash to the camera, it also provides the electrical connections.

Image Preview.

Many cameras have a preview screen that allows you to preview a picture before you take it and scroll through those you have already taken. If you need room for another image, you can find one you don’t like as much and delete it. 

Optical or Thru-the-lens Viewfinders.

The image you see on a digital camera's preview screen is taken directly from the image sensor, so it is a true TTL (thru-the-lens) view. For some images, such as extreme close-ups, this screen is a great way to compose and focus the image. But for most images it isn't. For one thing, the image on the preview screen is hard to read in daylight. For another, you end up composing an image with the camera at arm's length, a difficult and tiring experience. (For best results, brace your elbows against your body to reduce camera shake.) To make framing images easier, better cameras provide an optical viewfinder. These are ideal for following fast action as it unfolds—waiting for the decisive moment. The better cameras include optical viewfinders that are coupled to the zoom lens and show the full area covered by the image sensor. The best offer thru the lens viewing just like a 35mm SLR camera.

Orientation Sensor.

You can take photos in both landscape and portrait modes with any camera just by turning it 90 degrees. However, when you then view thumbnails, display the images on a connected TV, or load the images into the computer the portrait images are usually sideways and you have to rotate them (if possible). Some cameras sense then the camera is turned to portrait mode and automatically rotate those images for you. Portrait mode shows the image vertically. Landscape mode shows the image horizontally.

Landscape	Portrait

Continuous photography.

Some cameras let you take a series of pictures. Any of the features can capture sequences that can be used to create animated GIFs for use on a Web page. To increase the frame rate, resolution is often reduced. A few cameras offer a better solution. They temporarily store images in RAM until they are processed. A few cameras allow time lapse photography—a series of pictures at specified intervals—perhaps to show a flower opening.

Self-timers

Allow you to get in the picture. You just start the timer and run like hell. Wireless remote controls allow you to retain your dignity. You just get in the picture area and then click a button. The problem is keeping the remote from being obvious in the image. A timer or remote control is also great in low-light situations. You can rest the camera on a table or tripod and use them to take the picture. This eliminates the camera shake that causes soft or blurred images.

Voice Annotation.

Some cameras have built-in microphones that let you speak into your camera. This is a nice feature when you want to preserve comments about an image. These recordings are saved in sound files that can later be played back and edited on the computer.

Digital Print Order Form

(DPOF) lets you specify the number of prints you want from each picture and store that information on a memory card along with the image file. Then, you take the card to a photography store or minilab, or use your own printer if it’s designed to work with the system.