Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom

Many digital cameras offer both digital and optical zoom. These two often confuse the average camera buyer, until you know what you’re looking at.

Optical zoom works much like the zoom lens on a 35 mm film camera. It changes the length of your camera’s lens and draws the subject closer to you. The optical zoom keeps the image quality high. Digital zoom on the other hand works differently. It simply takes the picture and crops it then enlarges the part that is left. It causes the quality of the photo to be reduced, sometimes greatly.

What this means in terms of quality output is you may have a larger view of an object with the digital zoom, but chances are your image will become unfocused and grainy. Details will become lost. It is actually best to turn off the digital zoom feature of your camera if possible. This will prevent you automatically zooming in too close as the digital zoom is often an extension of the optical.

Digital zoom has its place. It can be used if the only destination of your photo is the internet. Photos online can be a much lower quality in the camera and still appear acceptable when sent through e-mail or posted on a web gallery. If your goal is printing, however, seek a camera that has a greater optical zoom and turn off the digital zoom.

There are a couple of things you can do if you want a closer view of a subject but want the quality of your picture to still be good. Try moving in closer when you take the picture. Often only a foot or two will do the trick. If this isn’t possible, you can set your camera to take a picture at its highest file size. This will result in a photo that can be cropped to include only your desired subject, yet allow for an image that is still clear.

If the image is of high enough quality you may be able to crop and enlarge using photo editing software and end up with a much better looking photo than letting the camera do it. By not using the digital zoom your pictures will be better in the end, even if they are not as close up as you would like.

Free Online Photo Editing! ANNOUNCEMENT!

Over on my website you can now upload and edit your digital photos for FREE! Do you want to get rid of that red-eye you always get when you use flash? Now you can very easily with this new service!

Would you like your photos to show perfect smooth and lustrous skin? Smooth wrinkles, or crop out your old boyfriend? Can do!

You can also use a wide variety of effects to turn your digital photos into works of art you will be proud to show off to all your friends and family.

And the best thing is there is no program to download and install and fiddle with. You can also edit you photos from any computer connected to the internet!

To use just click on the icon above which will take you to the Photo Editor Control Panel. The upload a photo or click on one of the three example photos and play! The best way to learn this software is to experiment and see what happens! But if you have any question please feel free to leave a comment here or email me.

Be sure to bookmark the control panel so you can find it quickly the next time you need to edit your photos.

Most of all.... Have FUN!

Get Picture Perfect Shots via Digital Photography

Nowadays, there are a large number of photographers who have decided to shift from old SLR models to digital ones. Through DSLRs, they can get more time to concentrate in taking those great pictures since images that are not par with their standards can simply be deleted. Also as there is no film to buy and process, taking tons of pictures is as cheap as taking just a few.

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. The name implies the use of lenses and a mirror. Mirror reflects light entering the lens up into the viewfinder. Thus, a photographer can estimate how the image will likely appear when it is developed. Moreover, a SLR camera uses separate lenses that can be interchanged depending on the resolution needed.

Likewise, a digital SLR or DSLR camera uses lenses and mirror. But instead of a film that records the image, a DSLR camera uses light sensor chips and digital memory. In other words, a DSLR camera is the computerized version of the traditional SLR camera.

However, the functions of these models are rather different so it is suggested that users spend time getting familiar or acquainted with their owners manual. Owners should use that “trial and error” technique by taking a few shots and storing better pictures. Sooner or later, users can surely master these cameras.

Individuals who decide on using these types of cameras should really invest on memory cards and lenses. The lens can be more important than the camera body as even the most expensive camera is only as good as the lens attached to it.

Here are some more helpful tips that will aid owners of DSLR cameras in capturing a perfect image using the art of digital photography.

1. Normally, people take full body shots against a background. However, it is more appropriate to take a shot from shoulders up or an upper body one because image of those in the picture really appear small. Nobody wants to see Uncle Harry's hairy bowed legs anyway.

2. The law of optics remains the same whether using an old or a digital camera. For instance, if the sun is behind an image, the picture will be silhouette. If light is in front of the image, the subject will appear to squint and that makes for a bad image, unless it's Clint Eastwood.

3. A polarizing filter will remove glare. When using a polarizer, be sure that the source of light is 90% to the subject.

4. Try a few shots with your white balance setting changed auto to cloudy when shooting bright landscapes and outdoor portraits.

5. Do not use the flash mode when the setting is already sunny. Off camera flash can be used in some circumstances which I'll cover in the future. Using the on camera built-in flash is a great way to ruin an image anyway.

6. Zoom in to emphasize a certain asset or characteristic of the subject being captured.

7. Practice. Practice. Practice. And experiment!

It suffices to say that the techniques in getting the perfect shot have not changed from the film days. However, using digital cameras and employing this new art of digital photography have simply improved photo shooting by making capturing pictures easy for everyone.

Got to go. Mr. Eastwood is glaring at me through his polarizing sunglasses!

Smoke on the Water

Japanese Kabuki Style!

My wife being Japanese does her surfing mostly on Japanese web sites. She finds some really funny and interesting stuff. When she showed me this I cracked up laughing and knew I just had to pass it on! Enjoy!





And For an encore!

How to Clean your New Diamond

Congratulations! You are now engaged to
be married! Now you have a very busy time
ahead of you so from time to time I will have
wedding tips along with photography related
info posted here to help you on the road ahead.

Now that you have that beautiful sparkling proof
of your future husband's love, you will wish to take
great care of your engagement ring.

Through your day to day movements your
diamond will get smudged and soiled. Even
when wearing them, they collect
dust. Lotions, soaps, our natural skin oils,
can cause film and grime on diamonds
and inhibit their brilliance.

Want to keep that Brilliance and Shine?
Diamonds require cleaning so that maximum
amounts of light can refract fiery brilliance.
Remember that all it takes is a few minutes
and a little care to keep that diamond as fiery
as the day you first saw it.

You can use a small soft brush such as an
eyebrow or lip stick brush and soap and
water to clean your jewelry. Simply make a
bowl of warm sudsy water with a mild
detergent and place your pieces in the
mixture. Then brush the diamonds with the
soft bristles of the brush while they are in
the suds. You will need to make certain that
you rinse them clear of the suds after
cleaning them. You can use a small kitchen
strainer such as a tea strainer to contain
them while rinsing under warm water. Use
a lint free cloth, or a jewelry polish cloth to
pat them dry.

If your diamonds are in need of a stronger
cleansing, you may want to soak them for 30
minutes in a solution of half and half water and
ammonia. Once they have soaked for 30
minutes, remove them and gently brush the
mountings with a small brush. Then replace
the pieces to the solution and swish them
around in the mixture before removing them
to rinse and pat dry.

If you find your self too busy to be mixing
soaps and ammonias, many department
stores sell liquid jewelry cleaners. Most are
kits, with everything you need included. You
need to read the labels to determine the one
that is right for your diamonds and other
jewelry. Read the complete directions and
follow all the precautions.

And if you find yourself more the
“high-tech type”, even in your diamond
cleaning routine, there are multiple ultrasonic
cleansers on the market. These machines
use high-frequency to create a cleaning motion.
All machines are not the same, so please read
the instructions before using.

Only you can choose the cleaning method
right for you. But, it is essential to keep
your jewelry clean to keep it brilliant and
sparkling. Between cleaning, try not to touch
your clean diamonds with your fingers or
handle your jewelry by its edges. This will
help maintain its shine and brilliance for
longer periods.

New Fine Art Images

A few of the new images I have been working on. These will soon be available for purchace on my web store as either regular prints or handmade in the darkroom as limited edition Fine Art Prints.

Weddings in Japan

I recently moved here from Japan where I have lived and worked on and off for the last few years. I worked as a wedding photographer for a few "Wedding Chapels" in the Tokyo area. In Japan the photographer is more likely to be an employee/contractor for one of these venues rather than freelance. It's VERY difficult for a foreigner to get a business going there. Many Japanese couples want a Western style wedding now so the more "Guijin" (foreigners) employed by the chapel the better. It's all for the ambiance. Even the officiant is just an actor saying the lines! Very seldom is he actually a real Pastor. It's both sad and funny at the same time, but very Japanese!

More and more couples are opting for the western style wedding as it's "kakoi" (Cool). It seems like western culture is really taking root over there with the younger generation of Japanese. My wife says it's because the wedding kimono is so expensive and uncomfortable! When we got married she wanted to wear a traditional American bridal gown. Whatever the reason, could be their way of rebelling against the old school ways? Or perhaps it's just the same as with us here where many of us enjoy learning and experiencing diffrent cultures. There are so many good things about their culture like strong family ties, respect for elders, low violent crime and taking responsibility for their own actions that I hope will never change.

The couple above are dressed in the traditional wedding kimono. You may recognize the temple behind them. It is Kiyomizu-Dera in Kyoto. The temple dates back to 798 but the present buildings were constructed in 1633. One of the oldest wooden buildings in the world! The temple takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills.