Tom's Digital Camera Photography Tips
These items are on their own page.
Photo Battery Cross Reference Table Various Local and National Photo Sources
Kodak Film Number Cross Reference Table Fuji Film Cross Reference Table
Digital Camera Photo Tips
Here are some useful digital camera photography tips.
| Memory Card Care | Exposure Latitude | Use Filters |
| Digital Video | ||
Memory Cards
Exposing Guide
Taking pictures with a digital camera is like shooting slide (reversal) film: you have + - 1/2 F stop exposure latitude.
This means if you overexpose by 1/2 stop you will get "washed out" highlights that must be fixed (sometimes not possible) by digital editing software, or 1/2 underexposed very dark images that also must be corrected using digital imaging software.
Since 2010 the newer low end and point and click digitals have become better at preventing the washing out and have maybe a 1 stop over from what is the correct exposure and still maintain a good image - a 1 stop range error margin compared to color negative and B&W films 3 stops.
I found that by permanently setting my camera to underexpose by a 1/3 stop prevents highlights from being washed out.
Anytime you must use software to correct for improper exposure you will lose quality.
Lens Filters
Just because you are using a digital camera does not negate the use of lens filters. You will see a dramatic increase in quality of images when you do use them. A Polarizing, yellow, and a UV haze filter is still a required tool to have with digital cameras.Digital Video
Most digital cameras allows you to take video with them. My first digital camera, a Nikon N5700 is what I used to video the Lancaster flying in the UK other aircraft at the Reno Air Races performed this trick. My point and shoot Nikon S550 does 720 quality and my high end D90 takes video at the 1080P quality - even the phones you get through most Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile prepaid plans now have cameras with video capability. This is a whole new area where some still camera "rules" do not apply. Other sites are more specialized and better suited to tell all about making movies so this list will cover a few basic ideas.
- Dollying: This refers to moving the camera forward and backward in a scene. Although, at first, dollying may seem similar to zooming, the two are different in terms of how and why you use them. You dolly by moving the camera, whereas you zoom in and out by adjusting the lens.
- Trucking: This refers to moving the camera left or right in relationship to a scene. When you truck your camcorder, you change the character's background and make an otherwise dull scene quite stimulating.
- Panning: Rotating the view without moving the location of the camera. Panning can be done in all directions.
- Zooming: This is when you change the focal length of the lens and thus bring the subject closer or move the subject further away from your point of view - and indirectly you affect the depth of field at the same time.
- Fades: This is when a scene comes into view from total black or vice versa. Used commonly to denote time changes between scenes.
- Wipes: Vertical, diagonal, horizontal - all are cues to the audience that a transition is taking place to another part in the story in the movie - often it means it is related from the scene just ending.
- Cut: An abrupt change from one scene to another. Used to denote a complete change / thought / action from the previous scene.
- Craning: This refers to when you move the camera up and over a scene. As the name implies, the pros use a crane pull off this shot, but you may have to forego craning if you have a limited budget.
- Tilting: These moves are performed with a camcorder resting on the head of a tripod. Tilting is moving it vertically on the tripod's head.
When possible, try and take movies using a tripod. If not, then practice, practice, practice, rotating your whole body when filming so as to avoid camera shake by locking your arms against your body and then rotate.