ISO Speed

ISO speed is a number that indicates the sensitivity of the film or the imaging sensor to to the light. ISO sensitivity is measured by a set of standards established by the International Standards Organization (ISO). In general, films with a higher sensitivity (larger ISO number) have coarser grain and do not register detail as well as films with lower sensitivity (lower ISO number). With digital sensors, in general the larger ISO number will cause more noise in the sensor and will degrade the resulting picture to some extent, however there are some software application packages which can filter out the noise from the digital file.

Focussing and Depth of Field

Accurate focusing is one of the two main steps in obtaining an excellent image, the other main step is setting the camera to the correct exposure. If the scene captured by the camera contains close objects near the camera and far objects at a distance from the camera it may be difficult to get all of the image in focus due to depth of field limitations. The depth of field is a zone of focus in front of the subject and behind the subject which is acceptably sharp. This zone is controlled by the aperture setting of the lens.

Remote Releases

Would you like to capture a full frame image of a dangerous creature or a shy animal or bird. It is quite easy if you use a remote camera release. Today there are many types of remote releases available for cameras, there are cable releases, infra red or radio controlled releases. There are also many types on remote triggering devices to automatically trigger your camera as an animal or bird approaches.

Bad Weather Images

Illuka Beach

Many people believe that bad weather is the time to stay at home and wish for better weather. No, bad weather is the time to get out and take pictures.
Many bad weather conditions can actually enhance your images.
When it is very cloudy, the flat lighting is excellent for photographing people or animals. The flat lighting is very flattering to the subject as the contrast is low.
Foggy and misty conditions can add a moody feeling to your images. Moody foggy lighting can be excellent for landscapes.

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera Selection

Here we outline the main aspects to consider in selecting and purchasing a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, to help you make an informed decision on your camera purchase. The range of cameras available in any particular country may vary at any time but we endevour to give you some guidance an what to look for. DSLR cameras have larger image sensors than the compact range of cameras and will offer a far greater image quality. In addition, the range of DSLR cameras will offer a far better high ISO performance (to perform better in low light conditions) than the compact cameras.

Noise Reduction in Images

In some digital images the noise can become quite objectionable where images are taken in relatively low light levels and high shutter speeds are required, particularly when using telephoto lenses. Generally digital cameras allow for ISO settings between ISO100 and ISO3200 even in some cases up to ISO 6400 and higher. When used at high… Continue reading Noise Reduction in Images

Color Photography

Capturing color is all about making color predominate in the image. Colors in an image can be closely related to give the image harmony, or the colors may contrast to make the image stand out.

It is common for a splash of red in an image to make the whole image stand out. Some colors will give a warm feeling (orange and yellow), others will give a cool and calming feeling (green, blue and violet) and other may give us a hot feeling (red).

Camera Settings For Quality Images

Modern digital cameras will present many option which will have a bearing on the final quality of the images and it can be very confusing to get the best quality out of the camera. Choosing Raw will give the best capture in respect to tone and color. TIFF is the next best option as with both these options there is no loss quality. Some cameras will give a choice of shooting in modes of 16, 12 or 8 bits per channel, which will influence the color depth of the image. Choosing the higher bit depth will give larger files but will also give higher quality images.

Lenses and Focal Length

Lenses are essentially of two main categories, either fixed focal length or variable focal length or zoom lenses. Zoom lenses are available in many different focal length ranges, some popular ranges are as follows 10-20mm, 17-55mm, 70-200mm, 200-400mm.
Generally zoom lenses are available with apertures of f/2.8 or greater, however fixed focal length lenses can be available with larger apertures of f/1.4 and may be better for low or available light photography. Zoom lenses are great for landscape photography, where you may need to vary the angle of view to accommodate different aspects.