The Magic of Digital Photography

Slide 1:The Magic of Digital Photography A Presentation by John O�Sullivan to the Bray Camera Club January 2006

Slide 2: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

Slide 3: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

Slide 4: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?

Slide 5: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

Slide 6:Photographic Pathways

Slide 7:Digital Pathways

Slide 8:Types of Digital Cameras 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!

Slide 9:Some Cameras Available

Slide 10:A Typical 4 Million Pixel Camera

Slide 11:Medium Format Digital Route

Slide 12:Anatomy of a Digital SLR

Slide 13:Some DSLR's Available

Slide 14:Differences between Film and Digital 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.

Slide 15: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.

Slide 16: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.

Slide 17:Sensor Size 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.

Slide 18:Effective Focal Length 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

Slide 19:Sensor Size and Field of View

Slide 20:Digital Memory Cards Explained 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

Slide 21:Some Types of Memory Cards

Slide 22:What about Future Developments? 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

Slide 23:The Digital Darkroom, What you need

Slide 24:Choosing the Best Software 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

Slide 25:I Hope I Haven't Confused You

Slide 26: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

Slide 27: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??????

Slide 28:The End Thank you for your interest Good Night.