Learn Digital Photography - New User of a Digital Camera?

Kodak, the company well-known for taking cameras out of the hands of professionals and put them into the hands of everyday users, is in financial trouble. Why? People today -- everyday people -- are moving toward digital cameras, leaving film-based cameras to gather dust in the closet. As the largest manufacturer of film-based cameras, and photographic film, Kodak finds itself losing loads of money.
But a digital camera won't save you any money if you don't know how to use it. So here are some pointers on how to use your camera, and take advantage of your Mac, too.
You need a computer
While some cameras will allow you to view your pictures on a TV, in practice a digital camera is pretty useless without a computer. The best computer to have, of course, is a Macintosh with a USB port, which pretty much covers everything Apple has introduced since the iMac.
It will also help if the camera comes bundled with Macintosh-compatible photo editing/viewing software. Mac OS X 10.1 comes with software capable of downloading pictures directly from some cameras; you may not need to load a thing.
Learn the basics
Yes, you will probably need to read the cameras manual. Please note that some cameras don't come with a printed manual, you must read an Acrobat file from the CD-ROM that came with the camera. Take your time and find all the controls and learn how to use them. Make sure you understand how to load batteries, plug it into your computer, and turn it on and off.
You will also want to be aware of buttons you don't want to push. (I recently watched someone wonder aloud what one button did, so they pushed it -- and watched their rechargeable battery fall into the Pacific Ocean.)
Generally speaking, the more expensive the camera, the harder it will be to operate. Low-cost digital cameras rarely support more than "point and shoot," which means you simply aim it at the subject, push the button, and it takes a picture. The camera will try to auto-focus the image and adjust the exposure according to available light.
More expensive digital cameras allow you to manually adjust focus, focal length, lighting, and countless other settings to help you turn a good picture into a really bad picture -- if you don't read the manual.
Looking into digital photography, ever want to start Learning Digital Photography? Find some great tips on how to take digital photographs with This Free Report
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Feildman
Kodak, the company well-known for taking cameras out of the hands of professionals and put them into the hands of everyday users, is in financial trouble. Why? People today -- everyday people -- are moving toward digital cameras, leaving film-based cameras to gather dust in the closet. As the largest manufacturer of film-based cameras, and photographic film, Kodak finds itself losing loads of money.
But a digital camera won't save you any money if you don't know how to use it. So here are some pointers on how to use your camera, and take advantage of your Mac, too.
You need a computer
While some cameras will allow you to view your pictures on a TV, in practice a digital camera is pretty useless without a computer. The best computer to have, of course, is a Macintosh with a USB port, which pretty much covers everything Apple has introduced since the iMac.
It will also help if the camera comes bundled with Macintosh-compatible photo editing/viewing software. Mac OS X 10.1 comes with software capable of downloading pictures directly from some cameras; you may not need to load a thing.
Learn the basics
Yes, you will probably need to read the cameras manual. Please note that some cameras don't come with a printed manual, you must read an Acrobat file from the CD-ROM that came with the camera. Take your time and find all the controls and learn how to use them. Make sure you understand how to load batteries, plug it into your computer, and turn it on and off.
You will also want to be aware of buttons you don't want to push. (I recently watched someone wonder aloud what one button did, so they pushed it -- and watched their rechargeable battery fall into the Pacific Ocean.)
Generally speaking, the more expensive the camera, the harder it will be to operate. Low-cost digital cameras rarely support more than "point and shoot," which means you simply aim it at the subject, push the button, and it takes a picture. The camera will try to auto-focus the image and adjust the exposure according to available light.
More expensive digital cameras allow you to manually adjust focus, focal length, lighting, and countless other settings to help you turn a good picture into a really bad picture -- if you don't read the manual.
Looking into digital photography, ever want to start Learning Digital Photography? Find some great tips on how to take digital photographs with This Free Report
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Feildman