Understanding Camera Zoom Lensesa
Optical Zoom
Optical zoom measures the actual increase in the focal length of the lens. Focal length is the distance between the center of the lens and the image sensor. By moving the lens farther from the image sensor inside the camera body, the zoom increases because a smaller portion of the scene strikes the image sensor, resulting in magnification.
When using optical zoom, some digital cameras will have a smooth zoom, meaning you can stop at any point along the entire length of the zoom for a partial zoom. Some digital cameras will use distinctive stops along the length of the zoom, usually limiting you to between four and seven partial zoom positions.
Digital Zoom
The digital zoom measurement on a digital camera, to put it bluntly, is worthless under most shooting circumstances. Digital zoom is a technology where the camera shoots the photo and then crops and magnifies it to create an artificial close-up photo. This process requires magnifying or removing individual pixels, which can cause image quality degradation.
Most of the time you can perform functions equal to a digital zoom with photo-editing software on your computer after you shoot the photo. If you don’t have time for or access to editing software, you can use digital zoom to shoot at a high resolution and then create an artificial close-up by removing pixels and cropping the photo down to a lower resolution that still meets your printing needs. Obviously, the usefulness of digital zoom is limited to certain circumstances.
Source: about.com
Olympus PEN E-P3 Micro Four Thirds camera review
Being the gadget hounds that we are, we’re still struggling to fully digest the Micro Four Thirds / interchangeable lens camera market. The performance freak in us suggests that one simply buy a smaller DSLR given the parallel annoyance of carrying around a bag full of lenses, but the mobility junkie in us does appreciate the downsizing — however minor. Olympus’ PEN line has been a beautiful one from the start, but one that found itself out of consideration for many due to the poor value proposition. Even the newest PEN E-P3 isn’t a bargain; at $900 with a somewhat versatile 14-42mm lens, it’s well north of most entry-level DSLRs, and on-par with many mid-rangers. So, is it really worth splurging on a slightly more compact frame, devilishly good looks and “the world’s fastest autofocus system?” Read on for our take.
Image and video quality
For an absurdly in-depth look at what the “new” 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor is capable of in just about every scenario, we’d encourage you to peek the extra reviews linked below in our ‘More Coverage’ section. From an amateur’s viewpoint, we have to confess that our love affair with the design and usability don’t entirely bleed over to the image results. For all intents and purposes, the output you’ll get here is eerily similar to that found in the E-P2. Even more depressing is the low-light performance; while the ISO ceiling sits at 12,800, anything over 3,200 results in a tear-jerking amount of noise.
Source: engadget.com
Following a Digital Photography Guide and Learning Your New Camera By Trond Kristiansen
Once you obtain your new-fangled digital camera, a reasonable chance is you’re not fairly sure how to use it. For this reason a digital photography guide can be practical when you’re learning about your new-fangled toy. If you want a digital photography guide, here are some options you have:
Internet – the essential source
This days, the Internet is efficient as the central source for any query, trouble or interest you may have. If you are sprouting an interest in digital photography, the Net is a superior way to find what you need in a matter of seconds. Simply types in the words digital photography guide in any search engine, and you will be redirected to a number of websites that can help you with digital photography. Search engines such as Google.Com, about.com, and yahoo.com is wonderful gateway into answering your question or queries.
Your Neighborhood Bookstore
If you don’t have access to the Internet, or like to find things simply, than going to your neighborhood bookstore is a good way to find a digital photography guide. There will be an overflow of books on how to use your digital camera, how to successfully take digital photographs, and how to edit them on your computer. Using a book to guide you are beneficial, as you could get it wherever you go with your camera, and even refer to it as your successfully taking pictures.
Taking a photography course
Another alternative for a digital photography guide is successfully taking a course. If you are passionate enough about learning the famous art of digital photography, and don’t would appreciate to do it on your own, then think about signing up for a class. Many community colleges offer ways once or twice a week, flexible to your schedule to learn this craft. The sections may charge a bit more than a book or using the Internet, but you’re given the opportunity to learn your hobby in-depth, and have an instructor to give you guidance and constructive criticism along the approach.
Not every person is born technically gifted. Some of us need a little push to assist us understand the unknown devices that are popping up in all places. That is why a digital photography guide is practical and vital. Whether you prefer to just surf the Internet for the information you want, read a notebook or even take a section, learning the photography of digital photography is well suited time and money spent.
You are now prepared for your first fantastic shot with your new Digital Camera. Remember, lots of light and gets close to the object before you snaps you first photo. A good rule of thumb is that if the object you are photographing are more than 4 meters away.
Author: Trond Kristiansen is the owner of Digital Camera Assist – You can find more info about Digital Photography on: Digital Camera Assist [digitalcameraassist.com] You may publish the article on your website if you do not change the article, and include all html as direct links to our site.
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
Sony DCR-HC36 MiniDV Handycam
At $400, the Sony DCR-HC36 is very affordable. But, unfortunately, it produced some of the lowest-quality video among recently tested MiniDV camcorders. Our test video shot in studio lighting looked acceptable (scoring slightly below average); compared to video produced by costlier camcorders, the DCR-HC36’s looked fuzzy and grainy, and colors looked pale. These problems were much more exaggerated in low light, where the grain was extremely distracting.
The DCR-HC36 handles well and is easy to use. It fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, with the zoom control falling under the index finger when the hand strap is properly adjusted. The record button is a little high, though; you may have to brace the camcorder with your left hand to reach up and hit it. This camcorder is a bit bulkier than the Canon Elura 100, but it’s pretty light, at 15 ounces.
Most of the DCR-HC36’s controls are located in an on-screen menu, which is accessed via the touch screen. Though this does keep camcorder operation as simple as possible, you end up with fingerprints on the screen, and many options are buried deep within menus, requiring a number of screen presses to access. But to be fair, this is a camcorder that’s designed for point-and-shoot users, many of whom will never want to go anywhere near options such as the white-balance setting. And Sony offers another option that these users will find attractive: Easy mode (accessed through a button on the camcorder body) puts most settings at Automatic, which is great for inexperienced or nervous shooters.
The 2.5-inch LCD display is clear and bright, but it doesn’t accommodate wide-screen viewing: If you shoot with the camcorder in 16:9 (wide-aspect) mode, it adds two black bars at the top and bottom; this letterboxing makes the video more difficult to see. The DCR-HC36 has a 20X zoom lens and includes electronic image stabilization, which does a reasonable job of controlling the effects of camera shake. It’s not as effective as the optical image stabilization of Panasonic’s PV-GS300 and PV-GS500, though. The battery life of just over 100 minutes was acceptable but not outstanding.
The DCR-HC36 can also capture still images to a Memory Stick Duo card, but only at a resolution of 640 by 480. And the results are, as you might expect, less than appealing: We saw grainy images and pale, washed-out color. Frankly, the image quality is so poor that it’s not worth bothering with. Unless you have a burning need to record low-resolution images to Memory Stick, go with the DCR-HC26 (the next model down in the Sony line, it skips the Memory Stick slot completely) and put the $50 you’ll save toward a decent point-and-shoot still camera. Even a low-end digital camera will take better still images than this camcorder.
The Sony HC36 MiniDV Handicam is a budget camcorder that takes adequate video in daylight, but its poor performance in low light will be a problem if you want to take videos indoors–at a party, for instance.
Richard Baguley
Source : pcworld.com
