Do you have your digital camera memory cards in order? Imagine taking your new digital camera on a vacation and then realizing that you can barely click 20-30 images at a go. So, what do you do to avoid such a situation? The answer to this question lies in the purchase of an extra memory card or two.
One of the important components of a digital camera is the memory card. Most digital cameras come with quite a low amount of memory and it is always better to include the cost of a memory card while purchasing a camera. There are several types of memory cards so you must check out the memory options available in the camera that you are planning to buy.
Also, remember that if the resolution of your camera is high, then you will also need a high capacity digital camera memory card. There is no predetermined number of images that you can store on a particular digital camera memory card. It depends on the kind of images, the file type of the images and the compression rate per photograph. Normally, a 128 or 256 megabyte card is adequate for the average photographer using a 3-5 mega pixel camera.
There are several types of memory cards available. Here is a list of the kinds of memory cards available in the market today:
* Compact Flash Memory Card: Compact Flash is a relatively cheap memory card. It is available in most shops and is compatible with a large number of digital cameras. It is very popular and is commonly used by camera lovers. These cards come with an in-built controller which results in high transfer speeds. However, in order to use this facility, you normally need to be using a digital SLR.
The Digital Flash's Take There are a large number of devices on the market that require this type of memory which should guarnatee it remains common. The high end versions support transfer rates of 12MB per second.
* Secure Digital & Multimedia Cards: Commonly known as the SD card, these cards are one of the smallest memory cards which are available today. These cards can be used in different types of equipment, i.e. digital cameras, phones, MP3 players and video cameras as well. However, the maximum memory capacity is only 512 MB. The difference between the SD card and the multimedia card is that, as the name suggests, the SD card comes with an additional write-protect switch for data security.
The Digital Flash's Take This is a very small form factor storage which means it can be used in many compact devices. Can be fragile so be gentle in handling.
* Memory Stick: The memory stick is an invention by Sony. As a result, these cards can mostly be used only on Sony devices. Hence, if you have a Sony digital camera, a Toshiba laptop; then it is most likely that you will not be able to use your memory stick on both equipments. It is a very durable and rugged memory option. So, unless and until you are a Sony fan, the memory stick has limited use for you.
The Digital Flash's Take Sony is a big compnay with a lot of clout, so this form of memory should be around for awhile. Can be used in a variety of Sony consumer products and is a strong durable device.
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/digital-camera-memory-cards.html
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Stock Your Kit with Digital Camera Accessories
here are a large number of digital camera accessories available in the market today. Even though you might have invested a few hundred dollars in your digital camera (although they are getting cheaper by the day), you should buy yourself a few accessories as well so that you can enhance the photo quality of your pictures and be able to capture anything that comes along in your daily digital life.
Software that can help you to organize your images properly is one of the essential digital camera accessories that you need. Remember the time when you returned from a vacation with your friends and you had over 100 images to organize? This is when you realize the value of such software.
There are a large number of such software apps available today. These include image-editing programs such as Photoshop Element 3 by Adobe. This program is an improved version of the older Photoshop Album and consists of some great image organizing tools. Then, we also have the Digital Image Suite 10 by Microsoft that has some cool features that allow you to very easily arrange your images in a particular order.
In addition to image enhancing capabilities, another problem that one faces is that normally digital cameras come with a limited data storage capacity. And when you are out vacationing, it is not always possible to keep on loading your pics onto your laptop (especially if you are trekking up Mt. Everest). So, one of the most handy of digital camera accessories is a Memory Card or a Secure Digital Card. These are extremely cheap, i.e. the price starts from a mere $30 and increases according to the memory capacity that you need. They are available in all stores that sell office or computer related items. Stock up your kit with several extra memory cards and you will never run out of room to store your images.
Now that you have purchased a memory card, the next step is to go buy yourself a memory card reader. This will help you to get rid of your USB cable and can be used to read the memory card when you want to transfer photographs to your computer. These are extremely handy and can easily be carried around in your laptop bag while traveling. But ensure that you are picking up one that is USB 2.0 compatible, since the transfer speed is much faster than the regular USB 1.1. This new standard is awesome. Now you can achieve transfer rates via USB that rival fast drives.
Once you have started collecting digital camera accessories, you will realize that there are many, many items that you can purchase. These include lenses that can add an extra zing to your snaps, an extra flash to help you during times of crisis, filters for creative work, a tripod (I recommend a large version and a small lightweight plastic version that can be taken anywhere) a nice camera bag to hold it all in - and loads more. So, get going and start your collection. Protect that investment!
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/digital-camera-accessories-guide.html
Software that can help you to organize your images properly is one of the essential digital camera accessories that you need. Remember the time when you returned from a vacation with your friends and you had over 100 images to organize? This is when you realize the value of such software.
There are a large number of such software apps available today. These include image-editing programs such as Photoshop Element 3 by Adobe. This program is an improved version of the older Photoshop Album and consists of some great image organizing tools. Then, we also have the Digital Image Suite 10 by Microsoft that has some cool features that allow you to very easily arrange your images in a particular order.
In addition to image enhancing capabilities, another problem that one faces is that normally digital cameras come with a limited data storage capacity. And when you are out vacationing, it is not always possible to keep on loading your pics onto your laptop (especially if you are trekking up Mt. Everest). So, one of the most handy of digital camera accessories is a Memory Card or a Secure Digital Card. These are extremely cheap, i.e. the price starts from a mere $30 and increases according to the memory capacity that you need. They are available in all stores that sell office or computer related items. Stock up your kit with several extra memory cards and you will never run out of room to store your images.
Now that you have purchased a memory card, the next step is to go buy yourself a memory card reader. This will help you to get rid of your USB cable and can be used to read the memory card when you want to transfer photographs to your computer. These are extremely handy and can easily be carried around in your laptop bag while traveling. But ensure that you are picking up one that is USB 2.0 compatible, since the transfer speed is much faster than the regular USB 1.1. This new standard is awesome. Now you can achieve transfer rates via USB that rival fast drives.
Once you have started collecting digital camera accessories, you will realize that there are many, many items that you can purchase. These include lenses that can add an extra zing to your snaps, an extra flash to help you during times of crisis, filters for creative work, a tripod (I recommend a large version and a small lightweight plastic version that can be taken anywhere) a nice camera bag to hold it all in - and loads more. So, get going and start your collection. Protect that investment!
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/digital-camera-accessories-guide.html
How to make a time-lapse video with your digital video camera
Getting the most out of your digital video camera can mean being able to create some really cool stuff. You just have to step outside the manual a bit and find the cool things you can do with your digital video camera and your editing software.
We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segment of time and condense it into a very short amount of video. My very favorite example of this technique was an arty movie of many years ago that was called Koyaanisqatsi. [click to view movie trailer] In that movie they had some very interesting segments where they did time lapse effects to show driving on a bridge, flowers growing, clouds flying by and so on. Another example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day’s weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/digital-video-timelapse.html
We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segment of time and condense it into a very short amount of video. My very favorite example of this technique was an arty movie of many years ago that was called Koyaanisqatsi. [click to view movie trailer] In that movie they had some very interesting segments where they did time lapse effects to show driving on a bridge, flowers growing, clouds flying by and so on. Another example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day’s weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.
Well this technique is not just a tool in the hands of the movie makers or the big TV stations. You can do this with your digital video camera gear too. I will go into two ways that you can accomplish this effect and get some cool results for your next video project. This one is worth playing around with in order to find the right settings to get the most dramatic effect.
Technique number one is to use the camera itself to do the time lapse recording for you. Almost all digital video cameras have the ability to do an interval recording. What this means in a nutshell is that you tell the camera how long you want to record for and how long in between recordings and it will go on autopilot for you for as long as the battery lasts or the tape runs out. This is what those cameras at the convenience store do, they record a few seconds of motion every 30-60 seconds giving the overall view of the traffic in the store over time.
Now if you want to capture some time lapse in your digital video camera you will need to get into your cameras menu and find Interval Recording (or in my case Int Rec, as I use a Sony PD 150 for my camera) When you select this option you will decide how long of an interval between shots you want and how long to record each time. If you are trying to capture something that takes a long time to occur and in which not much happens quickly you will want to set the interval at around a minute and the record time as short as possible on your camera. An example would be if you wanted to record a day in the life of a flower or the clouds rolling by in the sky. Suppose however that you want to capture an event that has lots of action and occurs over a much shorter time frame. Then you would want to shorten the interval between recordings and increase the time of each recording. So in this case you might record every 15-30 seconds and record up to 2-3 seconds of video each time.
I used this technique to capture an afternoon of work being done by a team of carpenters on my house remodeling project. The result was a flurry of activity as workers raced hither and yon nailing boards, carrying equipment and building walls. I have added it to my photo collection of the project. (Hey I had to live through the project so I might as well have a great record of it for posterity!)
Now suppose you have one of the great software video editing packages on your computer to work with your digital video camera. Now you can do it in post as they say in the business. You can record any length of video you want (subject to the limitations of your tape length) and then import it into your editing program.
Sidebar:
I use Adobe Premiere Pro for my editing jobs, but I have also used Avid DV Express, Final Cut Pro, and others in the non linear editing world. These are all great programs and are very powerful products that can create some very professional looking videos. You don’t have to have these products to create your own videos but if you are serious about digital video editing it might be a good idea to take a look at these options.
I digitize my raw video of the scene I am doing time lapse on into my computer (big hard drive, video eats up GB’s of space) and then import the clip into my time line. From th3e timeline you can then select the clip with a right click. From there you will be given a menu with options depending on the software you use. Select the option that says “duration”, “speed” or something similar. Change the speed of the clip so that time will speed up considerably. If you have an hour of video in the clip and want to shorten it to 2 -5 minutes then you need to increase the speed of the clip to 3 or 4 thousand percent of normal. This will require your software to render the clip at the higher speed and may take some time top process depending on the speed of your computer.
Once you have rendered the video clip at the new speed you will want to play it to see if the movie flows evenly or if you will want to readjust the speed setting to make it better. Sometimes you may want to shorten your raw video and adjust the speed down somewhat in order to get a smooth flow of action. Once you have rendered the clip at the new speed you can now cut and splice it as you see fit with the speeded up action intact. There are some things you will record that might only need a slight speed change, take for instance some digital video of your kids playing sports. Double or triple the speed of the clip and show it to them and you might have them rolling on the floor.
You can also use these techniques to capture the growth of a flower or plant over the course of days or weeks. Simply set you camera in exactly the same place at the same time each day and record an interval that works each day fro however long you want to document. May be you get the seedling just breaking soil and follow it all the way through turning into a full grown plant.
Another interesting idea is to capture the path of the moon across the night sky. Set up your camera on a tripod in a spot that can see the path of the moon for several hours. Set the camera to interval record and put the moon on one side of the frame so that it will pass across the frame as the night passes. This one may require some testing in order to get the exposure and framing right as well as the right interval to record at. Most likely you would want to set the interval as long as you can and the record time as short as you can but do a test run first to see what works.
I can’t stress enough that using your digital video camera can be great fun and you can achieve some cool results. Play around and test. You just might find yourself creating some very creative digital video to share with the rest of the world.
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/digital-video-timelapse.html
Buying a child digital camera - what you need to know
Purchasing any gift item for your child is a mind-numbing task. Getting a child digital camera might seem worse. You can never be sure whether they will like what you buy for them or not. So, when you want to buy a digital camera for your little kids, then there are lots of things, which you must know, which will help you (hopefully!) to get the right camera for your child.
One of the most important things for children is that the digital camera should be one of the latest available in the market. If it has been heavily advertised and people are talking about it, then it is even better. This gives children a sense of pride and also allows them to 'show-off' their possession to their friends.
Another factor, which is critical for children, is that the child digital camera must look good. This is very, very important to them. It does not matter whether it has a big screen or small screen, whether it is 2 mega pixel or 1.5 mega pixel - the camera should have a smart shape, come in flashy colors or it can also look cute or funky. But, the camera should not look 'boring' or very 'serious' in nature. However good the functions might be, if the child digital camera does not look good, it is most likely that your choice will get rejected.
The size is also important. Most children will definitely prefer a digital camera that is small and compact in size. The weight and size should be such that they are able to easily put the camera in their pocket or hang it by a string. Large and bulky models, even if they have better features are not advisable for children.
It is also necessary to remember that even though you might gift your child a digital camera to click photographs for school projects, they will be using it to take pictures of their friends. So, look for some 'fun' features in the child digital camera. These can include colorful background images or sound effects, photographic effects that they can use to enhance the images taken by them.
One more thing is ease of use. It is important that the camera has a simple system through which children can easily take pictures quickly. However, you really do not need to worry about this aspect a lot because today's children have been born in the digital era. They are able to pick up things much faster than you or me, so as long as the camera is good in all other aspects, even if its 'click ability' is a little confusing, it does not really matter. They are fast learners these days!
Last but not the least, is the price. While buying a digital camera for your child, it is understandable that you really do not want to spend a lot of money. There are lots of choices available in the market today. The price range starts from as low as $30 and can go up to $300. So, it really depends on how much you would like to spend on the camera. Start simple and upgrade if they grow out of the digital camera that you buy for them. Hey share them with the whole family!
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/child-digital-camera.html
One of the most important things for children is that the digital camera should be one of the latest available in the market. If it has been heavily advertised and people are talking about it, then it is even better. This gives children a sense of pride and also allows them to 'show-off' their possession to their friends.
Another factor, which is critical for children, is that the child digital camera must look good. This is very, very important to them. It does not matter whether it has a big screen or small screen, whether it is 2 mega pixel or 1.5 mega pixel - the camera should have a smart shape, come in flashy colors or it can also look cute or funky. But, the camera should not look 'boring' or very 'serious' in nature. However good the functions might be, if the child digital camera does not look good, it is most likely that your choice will get rejected.
The size is also important. Most children will definitely prefer a digital camera that is small and compact in size. The weight and size should be such that they are able to easily put the camera in their pocket or hang it by a string. Large and bulky models, even if they have better features are not advisable for children.
It is also necessary to remember that even though you might gift your child a digital camera to click photographs for school projects, they will be using it to take pictures of their friends. So, look for some 'fun' features in the child digital camera. These can include colorful background images or sound effects, photographic effects that they can use to enhance the images taken by them.
One more thing is ease of use. It is important that the camera has a simple system through which children can easily take pictures quickly. However, you really do not need to worry about this aspect a lot because today's children have been born in the digital era. They are able to pick up things much faster than you or me, so as long as the camera is good in all other aspects, even if its 'click ability' is a little confusing, it does not really matter. They are fast learners these days!
Last but not the least, is the price. While buying a digital camera for your child, it is understandable that you really do not want to spend a lot of money. There are lots of choices available in the market today. The price range starts from as low as $30 and can go up to $300. So, it really depends on how much you would like to spend on the camera. Start simple and upgrade if they grow out of the digital camera that you buy for them. Hey share them with the whole family!
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/child-digital-camera.html
Buying the best digital camera for your needs
Choosing the best digital camera can be a daunting task with the wide number of choices available in today’s market place. There are lots and lots of things that you need to keep in mind while going to choose a camera for yourself. The best digital camera for your friend might not be the best option for you. 
So, the first question that you need to answer is that for what purpose you are planning to buy a digital camera. Is it to take photos of your family while on vacation or are you planning to become a photographer? This will help you to narrow down your choices to a limited few. So lets take a look at the options that we have :
A camera for emailing photos, taking family photos etc. : Most people use a digital camera for taking personal photos and then emailing them to family and friends. For this purpose, a simple and relatively cheap camera costing $100 to $200 and having a 2 mega pixel range is sufficient.
A camera for photographing images for online auctions : With more and more business taking place through the Internet, you might also need a camera to take photos of your antique furniture which you would like to sell. So, you need a camera which can take pictures at an extremely close range, say within 12 inches of the object. Thus, a camera consisting of 3-4 mega pixel is suitable for such purposes. The prices of these cameras are falling nowadays since they fall into mid-segment, i.e. they are neither hi-fi nor low end. So if you go and do a little bit of research, it is most likely that you will hit a good bargain.
http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/best-digital-camera.html
The Inside Picture Of A Digital Camera
Electronics greatest technological breakthrough in this modern age is the digitization of analog signals. Digital information, which is represented by 1s and 0s, is formed upon successful conversion of analog information, which is represented by a fluctuating wave. This conversion of analog to digital has made the world of science and technology make great advances into the field of computers, Internet, satellites, and space research.
On the consumer domain, the benefits of this technological breakthrough can be witnessed in consumer electronic products like TVs, computers, cameras, camcorders, CDs, DVDs, etc. Digitization gave rise to microchips, which could be programmed to perform any task. With the utilization of the microchip, the digital camera was born.
In a digital camera, the lens focuses the image, the shutter allows the entry of light reflecting from that image into the camera, for a fraction of a second, and the aperture determines the quantity of light allowed inside the camera. When the light enters the camera, it does not fall on a photographic film as it does in a conventional camera, rather it falls on an image sensor.
The image sensor is an electronic device, a semiconductor, made up of photosites that measures the light intensity. The photosite can only measure the intensity of light and cannot recognize any color. To overcome this, each photosite is covered with a color filter of red, or a green, or a blue color according to a pattern known as the Bayer pattern. Since the human eye is twice sensitive to the green color, the number of photosites having green color is twice the number of photosites having red or blue color. Millions of photosites are covered by this Bayer pattern. Each color occupies a single photosite, which is known as a pixel.
The more the number of pixels, the greater is the amount of detail that can be captured. The detail of the image is called as resolution, which is determined by the quality of the lens and the number of pixels in the image sensor. High-end digital cameras have about 12 million pixels, whereas professional digital cameras have about 20 million pixels.
The information of the pixels is recorded as electrical analog signals, is amplified, and then is fed into a converter, which converts the amplified analog signals into digital binary numbers, with respect to the color information of each pixel. These digital binary numbers are then fed into a computer chip residing inside the camera. The computer chip analyzes the digital binary numbers that have been made as per the color of individual pixels. This information is known as RAW data. For analysis, the computer chip subjects this RAW data using a technique known as demosaicing.
In this technique (demosaicing), the pixel color is determined as per the color of the neighboring pixels. For example, if a red color pixel is surrounded by blue and green pixels, then that red color pixel is treated as white color, since the color white is a combination of the colors, red, blue, and green. After demosaicing is complete, the image is further subjected to the photographer`s settings of the camera, like adjustments made for brightness, color saturation, contrast, etc.
High-end digital cameras usually do not do anything more to the image thus produced. However, professional digital cameras have a sharpening algorithm, which heighten the sharpness and clarity of the demosaiced and settings adjusted image. Professional digital cameras also have the option of saving the image in its RAW data before any demosaicing or adjustments are made by the computer chip. This is to give control to the professional photographers to make changes to the RAW data as per their own choices.
The image can be saved in an uncompressed format like TIFF or a compressed format like JPEG. Uncompressed formats preserve greater information; thus, the detail of the photograph is much more than a compressed format, where detail is less, as lesser information is stored. Hence, compressed formats are also known as lossy formats, since details are lost. An uncompressed format increases the file size, whereas a compressed format reduces the file size. Depending upon the need, the image can be saved either in an uncompressed or a compressed image format, as bits and bytes in a memory card. The stored image can be viewed on the digital camera`s display screen as a digital photo.
This digital photo can then be transferred from the digital camera to the computer`s hard disk via the serial port or USB port or FireWire port or Bluetooth wireless using Wi-Fi connectivity. RAW data and uncompressed data like TIFF take a longer time to transfer than compressed data like JPEG or GIF.
Once the data has been transferred to the computer`s hard disk, any photo editing software can manipulate and adjust it, as per the individual tastes and requirements of the photographer. The digital photo can then be printed on photographic paper, specially coated paper, or any other paper via a color inkjet or laser printer. Utilizing a plotter, it can be printed in larger sizes, in any other medium like canvas, acrylic, vinyl, etc. The digital photo can be saved on a hard disk, pen drive or a CD, for archival purposes.
With passing time, more and more features are being introduced in a digital camera. Nowadays, audio-video recording is also fused with the still image capturing capability of the digital camera, making them small camcorders (camera + recorders).
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/camera-digital.php
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br
http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/159115.html
On the consumer domain, the benefits of this technological breakthrough can be witnessed in consumer electronic products like TVs, computers, cameras, camcorders, CDs, DVDs, etc. Digitization gave rise to microchips, which could be programmed to perform any task. With the utilization of the microchip, the digital camera was born.
In a digital camera, the lens focuses the image, the shutter allows the entry of light reflecting from that image into the camera, for a fraction of a second, and the aperture determines the quantity of light allowed inside the camera. When the light enters the camera, it does not fall on a photographic film as it does in a conventional camera, rather it falls on an image sensor.
The image sensor is an electronic device, a semiconductor, made up of photosites that measures the light intensity. The photosite can only measure the intensity of light and cannot recognize any color. To overcome this, each photosite is covered with a color filter of red, or a green, or a blue color according to a pattern known as the Bayer pattern. Since the human eye is twice sensitive to the green color, the number of photosites having green color is twice the number of photosites having red or blue color. Millions of photosites are covered by this Bayer pattern. Each color occupies a single photosite, which is known as a pixel.
The more the number of pixels, the greater is the amount of detail that can be captured. The detail of the image is called as resolution, which is determined by the quality of the lens and the number of pixels in the image sensor. High-end digital cameras have about 12 million pixels, whereas professional digital cameras have about 20 million pixels.
The information of the pixels is recorded as electrical analog signals, is amplified, and then is fed into a converter, which converts the amplified analog signals into digital binary numbers, with respect to the color information of each pixel. These digital binary numbers are then fed into a computer chip residing inside the camera. The computer chip analyzes the digital binary numbers that have been made as per the color of individual pixels. This information is known as RAW data. For analysis, the computer chip subjects this RAW data using a technique known as demosaicing.
In this technique (demosaicing), the pixel color is determined as per the color of the neighboring pixels. For example, if a red color pixel is surrounded by blue and green pixels, then that red color pixel is treated as white color, since the color white is a combination of the colors, red, blue, and green. After demosaicing is complete, the image is further subjected to the photographer`s settings of the camera, like adjustments made for brightness, color saturation, contrast, etc.
High-end digital cameras usually do not do anything more to the image thus produced. However, professional digital cameras have a sharpening algorithm, which heighten the sharpness and clarity of the demosaiced and settings adjusted image. Professional digital cameras also have the option of saving the image in its RAW data before any demosaicing or adjustments are made by the computer chip. This is to give control to the professional photographers to make changes to the RAW data as per their own choices.
The image can be saved in an uncompressed format like TIFF or a compressed format like JPEG. Uncompressed formats preserve greater information; thus, the detail of the photograph is much more than a compressed format, where detail is less, as lesser information is stored. Hence, compressed formats are also known as lossy formats, since details are lost. An uncompressed format increases the file size, whereas a compressed format reduces the file size. Depending upon the need, the image can be saved either in an uncompressed or a compressed image format, as bits and bytes in a memory card. The stored image can be viewed on the digital camera`s display screen as a digital photo.
This digital photo can then be transferred from the digital camera to the computer`s hard disk via the serial port or USB port or FireWire port or Bluetooth wireless using Wi-Fi connectivity. RAW data and uncompressed data like TIFF take a longer time to transfer than compressed data like JPEG or GIF.
Once the data has been transferred to the computer`s hard disk, any photo editing software can manipulate and adjust it, as per the individual tastes and requirements of the photographer. The digital photo can then be printed on photographic paper, specially coated paper, or any other paper via a color inkjet or laser printer. Utilizing a plotter, it can be printed in larger sizes, in any other medium like canvas, acrylic, vinyl, etc. The digital photo can be saved on a hard disk, pen drive or a CD, for archival purposes.
With passing time, more and more features are being introduced in a digital camera. Nowadays, audio-video recording is also fused with the still image capturing capability of the digital camera, making them small camcorders (camera + recorders).
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/camera-digital.php
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br
http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/159115.html
New digital camera? Know how, where you can use it
Digital cameras were one of the hot gifts these holidays — the first one for some people, an upgrade for others. Cell-phone cameras are everywhere too, and sites like Flickr and Buzznet — not to mention photoblogs — make it easy for anyone to share the zillions of photos they're taking.
With all these cameras snapping around us, I started to wonder about the laws regarding using them. Where can you shoot? What can you shoot?
A blogger I know shot a picture in an office building. One of the tenants had boxes of medical records sitting around in an unlocked office, visible from the hall. He published a picture of the boxes, which started a little brouhaha: He didn't have permission from the building's landlord, someone said, so he wasn't allowed to take or publish the photos.
That turns out not to be the case.
What I discovered is that a lot of people have ideas — often very clear ones — of what is legal and what isn't, based on anything from common sense to wishful thinking to "I always heard…"
Trouble is, they aren't always right. If you've got a digital camera and like to shoot in public, it pays to know the real deal.
So I went looking for it. I checked with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and found its Photographers' Guide to Privacy.
The Missouri Bar has a terrific Journalists' Right of Privacy Primer by attorney Mark Sableman.
Bert P. Krages, an attorney in Portland, Ore., and author of the Legal Handbook for Photographers, has a short but excellent PDF document called The Photographer's Right.
I also had e-mail conversations with both Mssrs. Sableman and Krages (who were both careful to point out that they were only speaking in general terms, and not offering legal advice).
Finally, I got some background from the American Law Institute's A Concise Restatement of Torts on the Harvard Law website.
Of course, I'm not a lawyer; in this case I'm a researcher. But lemme tell you: All these sources jibed, which I take to be a good sign. Just don't take this as legal advice; it's one columnist's researched understanding of the law.
If you can see it, you can shoot it
Let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Aside from sensitive government buildings (e.g., military bases), if you're on public property you can photograph anything you like, including private property. There are some limits — using a zoom lens to shoot someone who has a reasonable expectation of privacy isn't covered — but no one can come charging out of a business and tell you not to take photos of the building, period.
Further, they cannot demand your camera or your digital media or film. Well, they can demand it, but you are under no obligation to give it to them. In fact, only an officer of the law or court can take it from you, and then only with a court order. And if they try or threaten you? They can be charged with theft or coercion, and you may even have civil recourse. Cool. (For details, see "The Photographer's Right.")
It gets better.
You can take photos any place that's open to the public, whether or not it's private property. A mall, for example, is open to the public. So are most office buildings (at least the lobbies). You don't need permission; if you have permission to enter, you have permission to shoot.
In fact, there are very few limits to what you're allowed to photograph. Separately, there are few limits to what you're allowed to publish. And the fact that they're separate issues — shooting and publishing — is important. We'll get to that in a moment.
You can take any photo that does not intrude upon or invade the privacy of a person, if that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Someone walking in a mall or on the street? Fair game. Someone standing in a corner, looking at his new Prozac prescription? No. Using a long lens to shoot someone in an apartment? No.
Note that the limits have nothing to do with where you are when you take the shots; it's all about the subject's expectation of privacy. You can be on private property (a mall or office-building lobby), or even be trespassing and still legally take pictures. Whether you can be someplace and whether you can take pictures are two completely separate issues.
Chances are you can publish it
Publishing photos has some different restraints, although they're civil, not criminal. Break one of these "rules" and, while you won't go to jail, you could find yourself on the short end of a lawsuit. (Although, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, "the subject's remedy usually will not include the ability to bar the publication of the picture.")
Revealing private facts about someone is a no-no. As the American Law Institute put it, "One who gives publicity to a matter concerning the private life of another is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if the matter publicized is of a kind that A) would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and B) is not of legitimate concern to the public."
Here the private property issue comes a bit more into play. Publishing a recognizable photo of someone at an AA meeting could be a problem, even if that meeting is open to the public. (An elected official, perhaps, but not of Joe Citizen.)
You also can find yourself in civil court if you publish a shot that places a person in a false light. That might be more of an issue with the caption than with the photo; running a shot of the mayor and his daughter labeled "Mayor meets with porn star" could land you in hot water. (Assuming his daughter isn't a porn star.)
Finally, you can't use someone's likeness for a purely commercial purpose — using a photo of someone in an ad, for example. That isn't to say you can't publish a photo in a commercial environment, such as a newspaper or a blog that accepts ads. If the photo is being used in a news or artistic sense as opposed to a commercial one you're OK.
Risk factors
The fact that taking a photo and publishing it are separate things might go against some folks' common sense.
Let's say you're banned by the local mall for taking photos there, but you go back anyway and take more. Now you're trespassing. But unless the photos you take violate someone's expectation of privacy, your taking photos isn't illegal — only being there.
That said, if you're arrested and convicted, a judge might use the fact that you were taking photos to increase the penalty, but shooting on private property isn't a crime in and of itself. As one lawyer told me, "I don't see why the act of trespass would turn something that occurs during the trespass into a tort if it wasn't one already."
There are some other risks to taking and publishing 'problematic' photos. But, as you'll see, they're easy to avoid.
Trespassing is an obvious problem. If you're not supposed to be someplace — you see a sign or you're told by the property owner, for example — you can get arrested. Sure, you might be able to publish the photos you take, but Web access from jail is limited. (Trespassing is almost always a misdemeanor, by the way.)
You might be charged with your state's variation of intrusion — using technology (e.g., a long lens, hidden camera, or parabolic microphone) — to access a place where the subject has an expectation of privacy.
Beyond trespass, the major risks you run are civil, not criminal. You can lose an invasion of privacy lawsuit if your photographs reveal private facts about a person that are offensive and not newsworthy when the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Ditto if they place the person in a false light, or inappropriately use the specific person's image for commercial purposes, e.g., stating that the mayor endorses a product by publishing a photo of him using it.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-29-camera-laws_x.htm
Top Players In Digital Camera Market
Selecting a digital camera is definitely not an easy task with hundreds of brands available in the market. Before you decide to buy, you should take a look at the many features like optical quality, zoom, storage media and etc. These are only a few features among the many digital camera models to be compared. In terms of image quality, the amount of mega pixel resolution and the quality of the lens are the main factors that determine the sharpness of the pictures. And one of the best ways to know the quality and crispness of pictures is to see a printed picture.
As for image storage, there are many different kinds of storage media or flash memory cards available for digital cameras, which are rewritable chips that do not require power in order to retain the content. This makes it possible to take many photos without the fear of losing them before they are stored in CD-ROM or hard disk of the computer.
Surely, choosing a digital camera is not an easy task with so many models and range of mega pixels, features and different prices. Some of major brands available in the market are Argus, BenQ, Canon, Casio, Disney, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, JVC America, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Polaroid, Ricoh, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony and Toshiba. However the most popular among them are Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Kodak.
Sony`s digital cameras are among the most innovative and popular in the industry. The cameras range from tiny 2 mega pixel point & shoots to bulky 8+ mega pixel units. Some of Sony digital cameras that are selling fast are Cybershot N2, Cybershot S700, and Cybershot T20.
Canon is also ruling the market with its amazing array of models. They receive high ratings from consumers because of their impressive construction and top quality images. Canon produces a wide variety of cameras, ranging from small point and shoot ELPH series to the professional range of SLRs. The most popular ones are Canon PowerShot A460, PowerShot A710 IS and PowerShot A640.
Nikon is not far behind in the consumer digital market where it is one of the major players.The Coolpix line of cameras with its impressive D-series SLRs has made a splash in the camera scene. Take a look at the fast selling ones: Nikon D40, Coolpix S50 and Coolpix L12.
Kodak digital cameras are known for their simplicity and quality. The easiest to operate when compared to its competitors. The one-touch image downloading, emailing, and printing features have made this brand even more popular in the market. Take a look at few of the models in the market: Kodak EasyShare V1003, EasyShare V803 and Easyshare C653.
Among the other major brands is the Olympus that offers innovative features like the 10x optical zoom on the Ultra Zoom models and the weather-proof body of the Stylus series. Some of the popular ones are Olympus Stylus 550UZ, Stylus 760 and Stylus 770 SW.
Before you start shopping for a digital camera, it will be helpful to know the lingo. Understand what the salespeople are talking about when they drop these digital camera terms - Borderless, CCD, Compact Flash, Digital Zoom, DPI, Firmware, F-stop, Image Format, Grayscale, LCD Screen, Mega pixel, Memory Card, Memory Stick, Optical Zoom, Secure Digital, SLR and xD Picture Card. So, to be on the safer side, it is better to have the knowledge of these terms so that you don`t get cheated.
There is so much that goes into buying a digital camera. Wrestle all the details under control with the various brochures provided by the manufacturers before deciding to buy one for yourself.
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/camera-digital.php
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br
http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/159106.html
As for image storage, there are many different kinds of storage media or flash memory cards available for digital cameras, which are rewritable chips that do not require power in order to retain the content. This makes it possible to take many photos without the fear of losing them before they are stored in CD-ROM or hard disk of the computer.
Surely, choosing a digital camera is not an easy task with so many models and range of mega pixels, features and different prices. Some of major brands available in the market are Argus, BenQ, Canon, Casio, Disney, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, JVC America, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Polaroid, Ricoh, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony and Toshiba. However the most popular among them are Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Kodak.
Sony`s digital cameras are among the most innovative and popular in the industry. The cameras range from tiny 2 mega pixel point & shoots to bulky 8+ mega pixel units. Some of Sony digital cameras that are selling fast are Cybershot N2, Cybershot S700, and Cybershot T20.
Canon is also ruling the market with its amazing array of models. They receive high ratings from consumers because of their impressive construction and top quality images. Canon produces a wide variety of cameras, ranging from small point and shoot ELPH series to the professional range of SLRs. The most popular ones are Canon PowerShot A460, PowerShot A710 IS and PowerShot A640.
Nikon is not far behind in the consumer digital market where it is one of the major players.The Coolpix line of cameras with its impressive D-series SLRs has made a splash in the camera scene. Take a look at the fast selling ones: Nikon D40, Coolpix S50 and Coolpix L12.
Kodak digital cameras are known for their simplicity and quality. The easiest to operate when compared to its competitors. The one-touch image downloading, emailing, and printing features have made this brand even more popular in the market. Take a look at few of the models in the market: Kodak EasyShare V1003, EasyShare V803 and Easyshare C653.
Among the other major brands is the Olympus that offers innovative features like the 10x optical zoom on the Ultra Zoom models and the weather-proof body of the Stylus series. Some of the popular ones are Olympus Stylus 550UZ, Stylus 760 and Stylus 770 SW.
Before you start shopping for a digital camera, it will be helpful to know the lingo. Understand what the salespeople are talking about when they drop these digital camera terms - Borderless, CCD, Compact Flash, Digital Zoom, DPI, Firmware, F-stop, Image Format, Grayscale, LCD Screen, Mega pixel, Memory Card, Memory Stick, Optical Zoom, Secure Digital, SLR and xD Picture Card. So, to be on the safer side, it is better to have the knowledge of these terms so that you don`t get cheated.
There is so much that goes into buying a digital camera. Wrestle all the details under control with the various brochures provided by the manufacturers before deciding to buy one for yourself.
This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.
This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Article section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/camera-digital.php
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br
http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/159106.html
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