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By John SteeleMost digital cameras today have a mode setting knob. It's probably the most important control on your camera. The nice thing about the mode setting knob is that you can set it on full automatic and forget it. When the camera is in full automatic it does four things for you; it will:1. Focus the Lens2. Set the Aperture (size of the lens opening)3. Meter the Light and Distance4. Set the Shutter SpeedAll you need to do is snap the picture and you will get a decent exposure. But if we take a closer look at the mode setting knob we'll see it has other features as well. The typical digital camera will have the following settings on its mode knob.Landscape: The landscape icon usually looks like a mountain with a cloud over it. This setting presets the camera with a small aperture and helps keep your image in focus. It also sets the shutter speed fast enough to eliminate a blurred image. This setting can also be used for night landscapes, though it is not the preferred method. As you become more proficient with your camera you will learn ways to customize the settings to get better low light photos.Sports Setting: This icon typically looks like a figure running. It locks in a faster shutter speed to freeze the subject and background. The camera will use the center of the viewfinder for focusing.Portraits: This icon is easy to find it usually looks like a persons profile. This setting opens the aperture for a shorter depth of field. It keeps your subject in focus, but blurs the background for a more pleasing composition.Night Portraits: In this zone the icon usually has a star or moon in it. When shooting in this mode the flash mechanism fires to fill the background and correctly illuminate the subject. The night setting can be used when shooting in very low light conditions.Close-up: The close-up icon often looks like a flower, usually a tulip. This setting is used when you want to take pictures with great detail like plants or insects. This area of photography is often called macro-photography and is an art form in itself.Think of the different basic zone modes as tools to be used in different picture taking situations as they arise. You will get average pictures with the automatic settings. Some of them will be quite good. But the better cameras contain advanced settings sometimes referred to as Creative Zone Settings. These controls give you much more creativity in the pictures you take, and can be used to provide greater adaptability as changing circumstances arise. http://www.digital-id.info/Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Steele http://EzineArticles.com/?Digital-Camera---Mode-Setting-Control&id=785971
By Luvi Marie Corcuera
Living in today's high-tech world allows us to make use of the digital camera technology making it easier for us to shoot pictures on the go and be able to have them available in less time and with the use of digital camera accessories be able to improve or enhance the quality and experience of digital photography. The digital camera accessories available today as tools makes it better choice for us to invest in them especially if this becomes a hobby or a profession.
It doesn't really matter whether or not you do photography for profit or simply for leisure, it is probable that the next best equipment you need to invest in other than a nice new digital SLR camera are the digital camera accessories that you will use along with it. There are various types of digital camera accessories available that you may either need immediately or would need in the future which would help you with keeping your equipment in good shape, improve the quality of your photos, add additional capacity to your work output, reduce the complexities or simply just enhance your own photography experience. Some of the digital camera accessories may include any of the following and depending on your needs may even be further augmented as the need arises:
Camera Bags
The first probable investment being the camera bag, this is where you will place all the things that you will need when you are location shooting or traveling and it would also serve as your basic kit where all your photography equipment is stored and protected well. It is also one of the most inexpensive accessories that you may ever buy and add to this is that they enable you carry and protect the expensive equipment that you carry around. Camera bags come in many different shapes, sizes and colors through a wide variety of different brand names that specialize in this, and they are available for anyone's personal preference.
Of the camera accessories, perhaps the camera tripod is one that will help a lot of people since it helps reduce the amount of "camera shakes" when taking photos and allows you to take shots from a variety of angles. While does seem that this is a bulky and cumbersome accessory you should know that a great majority of tripods are either foldable or retractable and should be able to fit in most of the medium size to larger camera bags. If you happen to have one of the older tripods which you have used for your traditional cameras, then you should be ware that some of them are actually compatible with today's digital cameras and you may not need to re-invest in a new camera tripod. Just the ability to have steadier shot and a finer finished product is a must for many and this makes the camera tripod a great digital camera accessory to have and perhaps even a necessity for some.
For people who take vacations and for those that visit remote locations without the convenience or availability of digital camera accessories shops, the use of a battery charger is important. Even if you carry with you extra batteries sometimes these batteries just all of a sudden get drained and you are left with no power to your digital camera thereby rendering them useless. Having a battery charger is very handy in some situations and this may be the difference in being able to take that critical photo should the need arise. Being extremely affordable, it should be considered whenever deciding to but that those additional digital camera accessories on your next shopping spree.
The memory card for a digital camera is perhaps the most important digital camera accessory for many as akin to a traditional camera that needs film, a digital camera needs memory for storage of images. Most people take this likely since the capacity of the memory cards they purchase with their digital camera is sometimes sufficient, it should however be known that some people do not delete or transfer the contents of the memory to other devices like PC's and in some cases the memory becomes full. Having that extra memory card with you will help reduce this from happening and will also be of great assistance during times when a large volume of photos need to be taken especially for professionals and for those that take a vacation in remote places where they are unable to transfer the images, and with no shops readily available in the vicinity.
Other Important Accessories
Conclusion
As a final note, even if the requirement for digital camera accessories is not for you, then perhaps someone you know such as family and friends has these needs and this actually makes for great gifts on special occasions like birthdays. Anyone with a digital camera will be more than happy to receive these accessories as gifts and this should give you more options when giving away gifts this Christmas or any other occasion during the year.
Luvi Marie Corcuera is a full time Mom and works part time as the Editor of Informational sites such as: Acne Treatment andCake Decoration
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By Michael HuddlestonThere are two types of zooms used with digital cameras: optical and digital.Optical ZoomAn optical zoom changes magnification by moving glass in the lens, changing the image falling on the sensor. Using an optical zoom maintains picture quality.Zoom Ranges and 35mm EquivalentsOptical zoom lenses usually have a specification called “equivalent in 35mm.” This tells you the zoom range of the digital camera compared to a 35mm film camera. Typical 35mm equivalent zoom ranges you will see listed are 35mm-70mm or 35mm-105mm.For example:Wide-angle means a lens takes in more than normal viewing perspective. Telephoto lenses magnify the subject, bring it closer. Using these numbers as a guide, you can get an idea of the range of zoom lenses and what they will do for you.28mm…..wide angle35mm……slight wide angle50mm…..normal perspective70mm…..slight telephoto105mm…..moderate telephoto135mm…..strong telephoto200mm+…..extreme telephoto So, a 35mm-105mm equivalent zoom lens changes from a slight wide angle to a moderate telephoto. A 28mm-200mm equivalent lens changes from a wide angle to an extreme telephoto.A 35mm-105mm equivalent zoom is adequate for most users. If you plan on doing landscapes or picture taking in small, confined areas, consider a camera that can zoom to a 28mm equivalent.Optical Zoom as 2x, 3x, 5x…Taking the 35mm-105mm example above, we divide 105 by 35 to get a 3x zoom. A 28mm-105mm would be approximately a 4x zoom, and a 35mm-350mm would be a 10x zoom.Digital ZoomA digital zoom does not change, magnification. It simply crops the image on the sensor to magnify the image. Because less sensor is used, you use fewer pixels. This decreases picture quality. When comparing cameras, always use the optical number as this is much more important. You can get the same effect as a digital zoom by using software to crop the photos.Note About Digital ZoomAs digital cameras become more sophisticated and powerful they are becoming capable of delivering “optical tricks” that render pictures that are remarkably stable and good looking. Only recently, cameras “digital zooms” are getting much better. Like all things though some companies are better than others. Do your research.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Huddleston