How to Use Your Digital Camera’s ISO Settings

anneroberts — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:16:01 +0000

Nowadays most people, from layman users to professional photographers, have switched to digital photography, with the advent of digital cameras. They range from simple, compact ones to advanced versions loaded with high-tech features. With so many new advances in digital camera technology, it is not possible to describe everything in one post. So, I will be discussing the various aspects of ISO settings alone in this post.

ISO setting is one of the most basic ways of controlling the light. Traditionally, ISO referred to film speed. As digital cameras no longer use film but instead use image sensors, the ISO equivalent is given. It primarily determines how sensitive the image sensor is to light. The common ISO settings are 100, 200, 300, and 400. Advanced models of digital cameras have ISO settings of 800, 1600, and sometimes even 3200 and 6400. To put it in simpler terms, a lower ISO number means better defined photos in low light whereas a higher ISO number means grainier ones.

Some useful tips:

• Use the lowest ISO setting to obtain the best image quality. You can easily set it from the default “Auto ISO” in the menu.

• For taking pictures where there is sufficient light, like on a sunny day, choose a low ISO setting, preferably 100 or 200.

• For indoor photography, low-light situations, or on cloudy days, you have to choose a higher ISO.

All this information regarding ISO should definitely help you take better pictures. So good luck!

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Cool Features in Digital Cameras!

Maddy — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:14:25 +0000

Digital cameras have totally revolutionized the way we capture and share photographs. I still remember growing up in the 80’s with regular cameras. Buying film rolls, loading them onto the camera, stocking up on additional rolls of film during vacations, and waiting for the rolls developed before you finally get the pleasure of viewing the images taken. Not anymore. All this changed with the advent of digital cameras. As you take pictures, you can not only view the pictures, but choose the ones you like and delete the rest. You can also upload them into the computer within minutes. Once the images are transferred, they can be cropped and edited and shared with everyone. This is the ease that digital cameras have brought to our lives.

These days, digital cameras come with so many cool features. I’ve listed a few of my favorites.

Framed Up: Many digital cameras come with face detection technology. This feature of detects faces while composing an image and then adjusts the focus and exposure accordingly. This is very useful when taking a picture of large groups or when the subject is at a distance.

Say cheese! Sony was the first to introduce smile detection in digital cameras. With the DSC-T300, featuring Sony’s “smile shutter” technology, you will never fail to miss the unexpected smiles. Once it detects a smile, it automatically activates the shooting mode. You can also choose from three smile detection levels, namely smile, grin, and great grin. You are assured of great looking pictures with many big smiles every time.

No more sleepy looks: GE Electronics is well known for digital cameras featuring blink detection facilities. Its E1050 model, with advanced blink detection technology, informs you that a picture has to be retaken, if the original has blinking subjects.

Get Closer: Fujifilm’s FinePix Z200fd features “Couple Timer”. Along with face detection, this new feature helps to determine how close the faces are before clicking the picture. You can preset the menu to “Near”, “Close-up” or “Super-Close”. Now the camera detects whether you are close enough as per the settings and snaps the picture automatically. So be it your spouse, sibling, parent, or child, cuddle up!

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Destination Camera » Digital Camera Features

How to Use Your Digital Camera’s ISO Settings

Cool Features in Digital Cameras!