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Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd Edition

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Page 2: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

the ordinary becomes

special

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*Taverner Research (Aust) August 2007

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Page 6: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

The best way to find out which cameras will suit you is to match the abilities and interests of the camera user to the camera type.

Point-and-shoot photographers are mainly interested in the end result and don’t want to fiddle around with lots of complex controls. They will feel most comfortable with Compact and Slimline digicams but can also consider an entry-level DSLR camera and shoot with the fully-automatic mode.

Intermediate level photographers require the reassurance of point-and-shoot simplicity but would like to be able to use some more complex controls. Photographers in this

group could benefit from additional manual controls that will allow them to learn as they shoot. All types of cameras will suit this group of photographers but Advanced digicams and entry-level DSLRs will provide the best starting point for learning more about photography.

Photo enthusiasts usually have a good understanding of how cameras work and prefer to take full control over all camera functions. This group is more likely to be a�racted to DSLR models if they want the best image quality. They will also be a�racted to Advanced digicams when looking for a compact ‘walk-around’ camera for everyday photography.

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One factor few digital camera buyers appreciate is just how small the sensors in digital cameras actually are. Currently, the most popular digicam sensor measures approximately 6.13 x 4.6 mm in size. That’s about half the size of your li�le fingernail. Camera-phone sensors are even smaller. Onto these tiny chips, manufacturers cram millions of tiny photodiodes (light-capturing elements) to collect the image-making light.

Because they can collect more light, larger photosites produce be�er quality digital images. And that’s where DSLR cameras have a huge advantage over digicams.

In a DSLR camera, the sensor chip is between 15x and 20x larger than a digicam chip – even though they may have a similar number of megapixels. The photodiodes on the DSLR sensor are, therefore much larger and can collect more light, producing significantly be�er picture quality.

For some inexplicable reason, the actual

size of digicam sensors has traditionally been obscured by providing the information as a ‘type’ designation inherited from the sizes used to define TV camera tubes. The actual sensor sizes for the most popular types can be found in the table below, with the sizes of the most popular DSLR sensors included for comparison.

Page 19: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Photographers often use the Japanese term, ‘bokeh’ to describe the quality of the out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. Though it’s difficult to quantify, some lenses produce more a�ractive bokeh than others.

Bokeh is most important for lenses that are used for portraiture and close-up or macro photography. It’s also relevant for long telephoto lenses that are used for photographing wildlife because they are often used at wide lens apertures.

The shape of the lens iris (which controls the aperture) will influence the subjective quality of

bokeh and also some of its objective parameters. Irises that close to a circle will produce more pleasing bokeh than the polygonal irises found on cheaper lenses. Mirror lenses, which lack irises, typically produce ‘donut-shaped’ highlights because part of the optical system consists of a ring of reflecting material that bends the light path, thereby enabling shorter lenses to be manufactured for very long focal lengths.

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Many cameras offer one or more bracketing functions. The most common is auto exposure bracketing (AEB), which involves taking a series of pictures of the subject while changing the exposure level. The normal practice is to take three shots, one under-exposing by 1/3EV, the second at the metered exposure and the third over-exposing by 1/3EV. This basic strategy is a kind of ‘insurance policy’ for obtaining a correct exposure (there’s a good chance at least one of the three shots will be correctly exposed).

It doesn’t ma�er which order you take the shots in; nor does it ma�er whether you take three or five – or even more exposures. Cameras with AEB can often be set to take the series of shots automatically. The amount of over- and under-exposure can often be specified in the setup menu and you can normally bracket shots across the same range of exposure levels as the camera’s exposure

compensation range.Other functions that can be bracketed

include white balance, flash exposure and focus. White balance bracketing is used to obtain be�er colour accuracy in mixed lighting. It seldom requires multiple exposures; instead using in-camera processing to change colour balance. Flash bracketing is like exposure bracketing for flash but adjusts the flash output without changing the camera’s exposure se�ings.

Focus bracketing involves making small changes to the focus position. It’s most useful for macro photography where depth of field is very restricted and provides a reliable way to ensure key parts of the subject appear sharp. Some point-and-shoot cameras include a version of this function that takes up to 10 shots and automatically chooses the sharpest in the series, discarding the rest.

Page 29: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

The pictures below simulate the effects of common lighting types that can be corrected with the white balance pre-sets in most digital cameras.

Page 31: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

All digital cameras record images in JPEG format and JPEG is the only file format that can be viewed in all viewing devices and edited by all image editors. For this reason, JPEG is known as the universal file format.

When an image is captured in JPEG format, the image processor in the camera converts the raw image data into Red, Green and Blue (RGB) pixel values (a process known as demosaicing). It then applies white balance, saturation, sharpening and other adjustments according to pre-determined formulae. These se�ings are effectively locked into the image file.

The camera’s microprocessor then compresses the image to reduce the amount of storage space it occupies. And this is the main downside of the JPEG format: image data is lost during this process. The more the image is compressed (by adjusting the Quality se�ing), the more information is discarded. This ‘lost’ data can never be recovered.

The actual size of a JPEG file depends on the complexity of the subject that has been photographed. Shots containing large areas of blue sky can tolerate a higher degree of compression so they can be two to three times smaller than pictures of detailed subjects – even though they might have originally been the same size as uncompressed files.

One of the advantages of the JPEG format is that the degree of compression is easily adjustable. Almost all digital cameras provide at least two compression levels in the image ‘Quality’ se�ing; typically designated ‘Fine’ and ‘Normal’. The image ‘Size’ se�ing has nothing to do with the JPEG format. It simply determines the size of the pixel array that makes up the image. It, too, is adjustable in most cameras.

All digital SLR cameras and some Advanced digicams provide photographers with the ability to shoot raw files. (These files are often presented as ‘RAW’ although these files are simply the raw image data that comes from the camera’s sensor.) The difference between JPEGs and raw files is that JPEGs are processed in the camera whereas raw files have to be processed on your computer.

Having to convert your images from raw

to an editable format (JPEG or TIFF) adds an extra step to your workflow. If this is irksome to you, you’re probably be�er off shooting JPEGs – especially if you don’t print your shots any larger than A4 size. However, if you want to get the most from your digital camera, shooting raw files is the best option.

When you shoot raw files, all of the information recorded by each photosite is used by the camera’s image processor to create the digital image. Nothing is discarded, even when the image processor compresses the raw file to make it smaller. The compression is ‘lossless’ which means all of the image data is retained – and usable by the photographer for subsequent editing.

Unfortunately, raw files are usually proprietary. Not only is Canon’s format different from Nikon’s, Olympus’s and Sony’s and everyone else’s, but raw formats may also vary from model to model within a manufacturer’s range. Before you can edit raw files they must be converted into an editable format – normally JPEG or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format). This requires special software, which is normally supplied with the camera.

The capabilities of this software vary widely between different manufacturers. Some manufacturers provide a wider range of adjustments than others and some have more intuitive user interfaces. Some include basic editing software, while others don’t.

A good raw file converter will allow you to correct errors in exposure, adjust brightness levels to ensure both highlights and shadows contain detail, remove colour casts and, generally, make your digital photograph look as much like the original scene you photographed without losing any of the fine tonal nuances that make the difference between an excellent digital picture and a poor one.

Shooting raw files allows you to take control of the white balance, saturation, sharpening and contrast adjustments during the conversion process. And, because it is done on your own computer, you have much more processing power at your fingertips than the camera can possibly provide.

Page 34: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Before purchasing a monitor for image editing, make sure it has the following features:1. Brightness, contrast and red, green and blue channel colour adjustments. Some monitors are sold with one or more of these controls locked and this prevents accurate profiling. Adjustable colour controls are vital because they allow you to set the colour balance of the display and ensure the monitor screen displays colours uniformly from edge to edge. Screens that are brighter towards the centre and darker at the edges and those that display colour spots are unsuitable for image editing. Avoid monitors with built in anti-glare and anti-reflection filters. They may not reproduce the full tonal range in the picture.2. Adequate Resolution. Resolution refers to the maximum number of pixels (picture elements) that the monitor can display and, therefore, to the amount of detail you can discern in displayed images. The ideal resolution for a standard 4:3 aspect ratio display for image editing is between 1280 x 1024 pixels and 1920 x 1200 pixels. Widescreen

displays typically range between 1280 x 800 pixels and 1440 x 900 pixels.3. Pixel Pitch. The pixel pitch of an LCD is the distance between adjacent sets of the pixels that are displayed on the monitor screen, measured in mm. The lower the number, the sharper the picture the screen can display. A pixel pitch of 0.294 × 0.294 mm is seen as very good for a 19-inch monitor with a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels.4. Gamma Correction. The gamma of a monitor screen refers to the luminance (or brightness) of the red, green and blue signals in the display. A monitor with 10-bit (or higher) gamma processing will display a smoother gamma curve and greater hue and tonal accuracy than an 8-bit monitor. Expect to pay a premium price for a monitor with high-bit gamma processing. 5. Adjustability. The height and tilt of the monitor should be adjustable. Some photographers also prefer monitors that can be rotated through 90 degrees to allow vertical pictures to be viewed at full screen size.

Page 35: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

ICC profiles contain information that characterises a colour input or output device in accordance with standards set up by the International Colour Consortium (ICC). Each ICC profile describes the colour a�ributes of a particular device by defining the most saturated colours the device can produce in a standard colour space. By having a standardised reference, colour reproduction can be controlled throughout an entire imaging chain or ‘workflow’.

An ICC profile can be created for every device or medium that captures or displays

colour. However, for digital photography, the most important devices to profile are the monitor and the printer because if they can’t communicate colours and tones correctly, what you see on the monitor will not look like the image when it is printed.

To profile a device you must map the way it reacts to a standard colour input. Once this information is known, the device can interact with other profiled devices to ensure the result of the interaction is as close a match to the known standard as possible. This means consistent colour reproduction across the entire imaging chain.

Page 37: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Page 38: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

The software CDs supplied with some cameras contain image editing applications ranging from very basic to reasonably powerful manipulation programs. Leading computer operating systems, such as Windows and Mac OS come with integrated image browsers that usually include editors and sharing tools. Apple’s iPhoto is a good example.

However, most keen photographers prefer to choose their own image editors. We’re highlighting the freeware applications in this chapter because there are plenty to choose from, at all levels of complexity from very basic to professional standard.

At the most basic level, Google’s Picasa combines an image organiser that will ‘manage’ your photos when you upload them to your computer with an editor and effects and projects creator and also lets you upload images to Picasa Web Albums for sharing. Picasa has been designed for Windows

computers but can also be run on Macintosh and Linux operating systems.

Irfanview is essentially a viewing and file organisation program that also contains editing tools for sharpening, cropping and changing colour depth as well as painting and drawing tools. Batch processing facilities (for applying the same change to a number of files) are extensive and slideshows can be viewed, saved or burned to CD or DVD.

Page 39: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

The GIMP is a powerful and sophisticated freeware editor that includes many of the tools found in expensive professional applications. Designed for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring, GIMP is wri�en and developed under X11 on UNIX platforms but will run on Windows and Mac OS X.

The essential difference between freeware and software you must purchase is that the la�er has undergone more rigorous testing and is backed up with technical support. When you use freeware you must be your own problem-solver although, if the application crashes or you can’t make it perform the functions you require, the main cost is your time.

Investing several hundred dollars in editing software is rarely worthwhile for snapshooters because most will only use a fraction of the application’s functions. Serious photographers who wish to become deeply involved in image manipulation will usually find the investment worthwhile, although the high cost of a professional application like Adobe’s Photoshop would usually be viewed as overkill.

Page 41: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Page 51: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

If your digital camera can record raw files, you can take advantage of higher bit depths when you edit your images. Bit depth refers to the number of colours that can be displayed by a digital device. The higher the bit depth, the more colours used in the image and, consequently, the larger the file size.

JPEG images are always recorded with 8-bit depth. This means the files can record 256 (28) levels of red, green and blue. Cameras that support raw file capture offer higher bit depths, usually ranging from 12 to16 bits. A 12-bit image file can record 4096 levels of each of the

three colour channels, while a 16-bit image file can cover 65,536 discrete levels of red, green and blue information.

The main reason bit depth is important to digital photographers is that images with higher bit depth give you so much more data to work with when the image is edited than 8-bit JPEGs. Consequently, you can make a wider range of adjustments without compromising picture quality. If you don’t plan to edit your digital photos and print them to poster size, the ability to work with high-bit images is irrelevant; you might just as well stick with JPEG files.

Page 57: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Regardless of what type of printer you want, when choosing an inkjet printer, consider the following additional factors:

1. The ‘Look’ of the Prints. How do prints look in colour or black-and-white on glossy, semigloss or ma�e papers? Check for highlight and shadow detail and avoid printers that block up tones at either end of the range. Examine the surface of the print for discontinuities in smoothness. These are created when different densities of ink are applied and give the print an obvious ‘inkjet’ look. Watch for colour changes when you look across the surface of the print.

2. Colour Accuracy. Does the printer reproduce the hues in the image accurately? Do those hues look ‘right’ in all types of lighting? Take particular care with black-and-white prints as some printers impart subtle colour casts, due to incorrect ink distribution. If black-and-white printing is important, a printer with at least three black inks and sophisticated tonal range control is required.

3. Running Costs. When calculating the cost of making prints, take account of potential for wasting inks and paper through misfeeds, over-inking and user errors such as incorrect driver se�ings, poor colour control and unsatisfactory working conditions (dust, power surges, etc).

4. Speed. Some printers are fast; some are slow. If you need prints in a hurry, a fast printer can deliver the goods. But check the way the ink is laid down, looking for signs of banding and blotchiness as these may be sacrificed at the expense of speed. Fast printers may also produce less colour-stable prints. Overall, the odds of obtaining a high-quality print are higher with a relatively slow printer.

5. Workflow. How well does the printer fit into the way you work? Are its physical dimensions appropriate for your working area? Is it easy to connect to other devices (camera, computer or scanner) Can you extend your capabilities and learn more by using this printer?

Page 59: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

As we explained in Chapter 8, buying a printer locks you into a particular type of ink so it’s important to understand the features and benefits of each ink type. Dye inks are cheaper to manufacture and, being liquid, can be forced through finer nozzles than pigment inks so they should be capable of reproducing finer detail than pigment-based printers. (Although whether you would actually notice much difference is debatable.)

Pigment inks contain millions of tiny solid particles of coloured pigment suspended in a liquid carrier medium. In the early days, ink formulators had a limited range of colours to choose from but recent developments have almost eliminated the differences in colour gamut (the range of colours that can be produced) between the two ink types.

Dye and pigment inks behave differently when placed on printing paper. Dye inks are designed to soak into the surface of the paper. If the surface of the paper is too absorbent, the droplets of dye may spread, causing a loss of precision in edges. However, because the inks are absorbed, prints made with dye inks are usually scratch-resistant.

Pigment inks remain on the surface of the paper, where they are vulnerable to physical

abrasion and scuffing. Some papers have porous surfaces that provide a degree of protection for the pigment particles. In a few printers, the pigment particles are resin coated and the printer applies a layer of resin (‘gloss overcoat’) over the surface of prints on glossy papers to provide a scuff-resistant surface.

The table below shows the strengths and weaknesses of dye and pigment inks. Use it to help you to decide which type of printer to purchase.

For prints that will be framed behind glass, it doesn’t really ma�er which type of ink/paper combination you choose because the glass will largely eliminate the differences between the two ink types. However, prints made with pigment inks will have greater lightfastness as a rule.

Page 66: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

How long will the prints of your digital photos last? This issue is vital if you want prints for display or to hand on to future generations because many paper manufacturers make claims about the longevity of prints on their media. Unfortunately, while most inkjet prints made with genuine media are much more durable than colour photo prints, some ink/paper combinations are even more prone to discolouration than traditional photo prints.

In the past, the action of light on the chemical dyes that made up a photographic print was the main factor that caused them to fade. Today, the most common cause of colour changes in inkjet prints is a change in the dye chemistry due to oxidation. This is rare in prints made with pigment printers – but worthy of consideration for prints made with dye inks.

Certain paper/ink combinations are highly sensitive to ozone, which is common at low-levels in urban environments and reaches high concentrations around devices like refrigerators and air conditioners. This is why you should never display unprotected inkjet prints on the fridge door.

Light can cause differential fading, particularly with magenta dyes. Cyan dyes, on the other hand, are most susceptible to chemical contaminants and, as they fade, prints turn orange. To complicate ma�ers, prints made on some papers can take several days to finally stabilise. This can lead to uncertainty about what the final print colour balance will be.

Page 67: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

To obtain the maximum stability from your inkjet prints, give each print a minute or two to dry then cover it with a sheet of plain paper. Leave the covered print for at least 24 hours before framing it or storing it in an album.

Inkjet prints last longest when framed behind glass or encapsulated in plastic (‘laminated’) to protect them against airborne pollutants. This is also a good way to protect traditional photos against light, dust and

moisture - as well as airborne fungal spores. Don’t expect them to last as long if you stick them up on the fridge door – or in any other place where they may be exposed to ozone or other atmospheric pollutants.

A wealth of information on print stability – along with results of tests of a wide range of printing media can be found at www.wilhelm-research.com. This site also offers a free download of a PDF-format book, The Permanence and Care of Colour Photographs, which covers traditional and digital prints, colour negatives, slides and motion pictures. It’s a 79.6MB file for the complete book – but individual chapters are available separately.

Page 71: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

Inkjet prints will last longest when they are protected from direct sunlight, heat, humidity and airborne chemicals. Storing them in ‘archival’ albums provides the very best protection but, with today’s long-lasting inks and papers there’s no reason not to put prints out on display – as long as you consider the following issues:1. Strong, direct sunlight can cause both traditional photos and inkjet prints to fade over time. Magenta dyes are the most susceptible to fading in dye-based inkjet prints and this will cause a colour shift in the picture that is often quite una�ractive.2. Ozone is the main chemical that can cause inkjet prints to change colour. Again, prints made with dye inks are the most susceptible with cyan dyes being the fastest to fade.3. Fading is faster in polluted urban environments than in clean, rural areas – unless the prints are displayed in rooms frequented by smokers. Cigare�e smoke contains many chemicals that can a�ack dye inks and se�ling smoke will disperse a fine layer of ash over the surface of prints, subduing their vivid colours and reducing overall contrast.4. Humid tropical cities like Darwin and Cairns place prints at risk of fungal a�ack, whereas fungus-affected prints are rare in dry cities like Alice Springs and Adelaide. A relative humidity of 40% and temperature of between 15 and 22

degrees Celsius is recommended as the ideal conditions for long-term print storage.

Always wear co�on gloves when handling valuable prints to prevent damage to the print’s surface. If you have to remove a print from a frame and find it has stuck to the glass, seek the advice of a professional conservator.

If you print with dye inks, always allow at least half an hour for the colours to stabilise before judging colour accuracy. For all inkjet prints we recommend covering each print with a sheet of plain paper as it comes off the printer and leaving the prints covered for at least 24 hours before framing or mounting them. Encapsulating prints in plastic (‘laminating’) is a useful way to protect prints from airborne chemicals if you want to display them without having to frame them.

Keep at least two archived copies of each image you print in digital form, preferably in different locations. Computer hard disks may crash unpredictably so having additional copies ensures your valuable images remain accessible – and reprintable. Save images at a minimum of 300 dpi resolution in JPEG and TIFF format. JPEG images can be viewed in most applications and are easily compressed so they download and email quickly. TIFF files are ideal for archiving and printing and offer the maximum amount of detail, colour and flexibility.

Page 75: Mastering Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd  Edition

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The Epson Stylus™ Office printer range is a design innovation for the small office. It has everything − the latest light touch-screen LCD display, up to 40ppm, (the fastest inkjet printer in its class*), auto-document feeder, fax, WiFi, LAN and optional auto-duplexing. Productivity is increasedwith a choice of high capacity ink cartridges, and you only replace the cartridge you use. What’s more, you can choose an office model with DURABrite™ Ultra for durability or Claria for high definition prints. These small, stylish, heavyweight performers will carry all your office needs!

For further information please call 1300 361 054. *See www.epson.com.au for details.

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