Transcript Training - Bray Camera Club

The Magic of Digital
Photography
A Presentation by
John O’Sullivan
to the Bray Camera Club
January 2006
Introduction
Tonight's topic is “Digital Film and stuff
like that” if you where hoping to learn
some new knitting patterns you’re at the
wrong event, so leave now.
 Please try to keep awake, there will be a
little quiz at the end (but no prizes given)
 Any questions will be answered at the end
of the presentation
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Agenda
Types of Digital Cameras Available
 The Digital SLR
 Difference between Digital and Film
 Digital Sensors Explained
 Types of Digital Film/Memory Cards
 Setting up a Digital Darkroom
 Choosing the right Software
 Where to get more Information
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So what will I get out of this
then?
Apart from a free Eye Test, You’ll learn the
main features associated with Digital
Capture
 You will no longer feel anxious about
using a digital Camera
 Just as CD has not fully replaced Vinyl and
Video has not replaced your local flea pit,
Digital Cameras will NOT replace Film
Cameras we hope, Or do we?
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Vocabulary
DSLR - Digital SLR
 Pixel – Picture Element, Digital photos are
comprised of millions of them
 Megapixel – Equal to 1 Million Pixels
 CCD - Charged Couple Device
 Photoshop - photo editing software
 PC - Personal Computer
 USB - Universal Serial Bus
 Compact flash - Digital Film
 JPEG - Image file type
 CD - Compact Disk
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Photographic Pathways
Digital Pathways
Types of Digital Cameras
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Entry Level - 1.3 to 2.1 Million Pixels examples
are mobile phones Fuji Finepix etc..
Mid Compact 3.34 to 4 Mega Pixels eg Canon
Powershot G1, Nikon 4300
Digital SLRs 6 - 12MPixels e.g. Nikon
D70/100,Canon 20D,Canon 350D, Nikon D2X
Medium Format Digital Back - up to 39MPixels
More Pixels More money, Bigger Prints!
Some Cameras Available
Entry Level 1.3 to 2Mega Pixel Price Range €150 to €250
Mid Range 3 to 4 Mega Pixel Price Range €300 to €500
Top end 5 to 12Mega Pixel Price Range €1500 to €6000
A Typical 4 Million Pixel Camera
The Nikon 4300 will easily produce prints of up to A4
(10x8) and above in size
Medium Format Digital Route
Anatomy of a Digital SLR
Some DSLR's Available
Nikon D100 6.1MB
Nikon D2X 12.1 MB
Differences between Film and
Digital
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Film and digital make use of light energy to
make some change to light sensitive material.
Film is constructed of light sensitive material
arranged in random patterns called grain.
Film grain responds to light energy based on the
levels of the three primary colours, Red, Green &
Blue.
Digital
The light sensitive material in a digital
camera is called the photo sensor.
 The photo sensor generates electrical
signals based on the levels of light energy
hitting the sensor.
 The photo sensor is comprised of millions
of small cells called pixels.
 The cells are covered by red, green and
blue filters with the majority cover by
green filters as green is the colour of light
that the human eye is most sensitive to.
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Resolution
The number of individual cells on the
photo sensor determines the number of
dots that will make up the final picture.
 The larger the number of dots, the greater
the quality of the image recorded.
 This image quality is often termed the
resolution and is typically referred to as the
number of mega-pixels.
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Sensor Size
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Digital SLRs typically have a smaller sensor than
a 35mm frame.
The cost and complexity of sensor technology
dictates that all but the most expensive SLRs use
this smaller size (Same as APS Negative).
The effect of the smaller sensor is to narrow the
field of view so the effective focal length of
lenses is different when used on digital cameras.
Effective Focal Length
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Most digital cameras have a field of view that
corresponds to 1.5 X the focal length.
So a 100mm lens becomes 150mm and
a 300mm becomes a 450mm.
This feature is great for increasing the effective
length of long lenses
The downside is that an 18mm lens is required to
simulate the effect of a 28mm lens on a film
camera.
So an ultra wide angle lens is required in addition
to the digital camera
Sensor Size and Field of View
Digital Memory Cards
Explained
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5 Major Digital Memory Card Types
Smartmedia - Fuji and Olympus Cameras
SD and XD - Fuji Cameras
Memory Stick - Sony
Compact Flash - Nikon, Canon, Kodak,Fuji,
Pentax, Minolta (most DSLR)
Card Sizes vary from 16MB to 8GB depending
on card type. Lexar and Sandisk good reliable
Brands.
All cards are reusable
512MB card will store 150 High Quality Images
Some Types
of Memory
Cards
What about Future
Developments?
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What can we expect?
More Pixels! will eventually settle down to
maybe 25MP only Nikon ,Canon etc can answer
this one.
Larger Sensors. Full frame i.e. size of 35mm
Faster cycle times
Larger capacity memory cards min 8GB
Remember digital has only been around for less
than 10 years, a lot will change over the next
decade
The Digital Darkroom, What
you need
Choosing the Best Software
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Depends on what you want to do.
Use Adobe Photoshop Elements Version 2/3/4 or
Paintshop pro for basic photo editing.
Reasonably priced for Mac and PC
For serious work try Photoshop Version CS/CS2
- Very Expensive
You will need Windows XP or Mac OS X for
latest versions, older versions will run on
Windows 98/ME/2000, Mac OS 8/9
For Slide shows use Adobe Photo Album for PC
or iPhoto for Apple Mac
I Hope I Haven't Confused You
Where to Get More Information
The WEB, www.dpreview.com,
www.adobe.com,
www.luminous-landscape.com
www.fredmiranda.com
 The Bray Camera Club, feel free to ask
any of our Digital Experts
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Summary
We’ve discovered how Fantastic our
Digital life’s will be!!!
 Plenty of Good Books are available check
out your local library. Night Course’s are
available in the Bray area on Digital
photography and Photoshop
 Any Questions??????
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The End
Thank you for your interest
Good Night.