Manual Control

Advanced compacts and DSLR's have manual settings that control specific features including the aperture, shutter speed and white balance. This allows you to have more design control over your photograph.


DSLR's and advanced compact cameras include pre-set modes for various subject and lighting situations. Sometimes, trickier conditions require manual adjustment in order to achieve better quality images.

Most automatic shooting modes cover the basics such as portrait, landscape, fast moving subjects, back-lighting, and close-ups. Each setting will vary the aperture, shutter speed, and focal length and each is designed for quick shooting in various situations. You don't need to be an expert to produce quality images with these settings.

White Balancing

Most cameras have automatic white balancing built in. Here's an explanation of the term white balance.

Light sources from light bulbs, fluorescents, and the sun emit different colours. The human eye automatically corrects this colour and recognizes whites even in slightly coloured light sources. For instance when you are outside on a bright sunny day (blue light) and you put on amber coloured sunglasses, everything appears clearer. If you take these sunglasses off, everything appears blue, but your eyes adjust quickly to compensate for the blue light and quickly adapt to the environment.

Unfortunately cameras are not as sophisticated as the human eye and can't accomplish the same adjustment without a white balance feature. Most digital point and shoot cameras have preset white balance controls like Sunny, Tungsten (Indoor), Fluorescent, and Cloudy. Each setting will compensate for the specific light source's colour that you can physically see in the LCD screen.


If you're not sure what kind of lighting you are shooting in, try using the instant preview while you're scrolling through the different pre-sets. This will allow you to determine which setting produces the best colour rendition. Although most cameras have an automatic white balance option, many have a custom white balance choice that will allow you to set it for a particular shot.

Image Stabilization

Blurry photographs are frustrating when you are trying to capture the perfect moment. Often, the blur is due to camera shake and slow shutter speeds. To compensate for these factors, many cameras now have an image stabilization or vibration reduction feature built into their lenses. How does this all work? Basically the lens element closest to the camera is movable. If you shake the camera in one direction, the element rotates and pivots in the opposite direction, bending the light a bit to make up for the motion. The result is a sharper image ideal for low lighting. It's magic! Well it's not really but it sure helps with shaky hands and it's a good idea to invest in this feature, or a tripod.

Battery

What kind of battery should you look for in a camera? Most point and shoots now a days come with rechargeable batteries (good for the environment!). The camera is usually packaged with this battery and its corresponding charger.

Cameras that use AA type batteries are ideal for travelers or those that maybe be forgetful in charging their batteries. Because they use AA batteries (rechargeable or regular) they're great for travel even if you forgot your charger at home. Use the rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) type to cut the cost of disposable batteries and help save our earth.



Lithium Ion or Li-ion batteries are made specifically for each model. These are not the universal interchangeable batteries that can be used between various models. Generally these batteries produce more images per charge than standard AA batteries and often recycle more quickly than non-rechargeables. This can be very important when you're taking candid photos using a flash. You can always purchase a secondary backup battery along with your charger for travel purposes.

Downloading Photographs

Digital cameras usually come with an USB cord that allows you to transfer images to a computer. With PictBridge capable cameras you can connect your camera to a printer directly and print photographs without ever having to connect to a computer. Wireless WiFi is even more convenient. Consumer digital cameras with WiFi capability typically include special software allowing you to send images wirelessly to a computer. With a push of a button images can be transferred to a designated folder on a hard drive. An added benefit is that some cameras are capable of shooting when tethered to a computer. With the program running on a PC or Mac, you can shoot images with a camera and instantaneously transfer to a hard drive for viewing and storage.

Style and Size

Although not truly a fashion accessory, you should consider the size and style of your digital camera. Is the camera comfortable to hold? Switching between holding it with two hands in portrait or landscape positions and one hand shooting will determine if the camera is the right fit for you. How will you carry your camera? Slim cameras easily slip into pockets while larger digital cameras with more features or longer zooms may require a camera bag. Locate the camera functions and buttons; are they easily accessible on the camera itself or are they in the menu functions? Once you know all the features you need plus the style of camera, your digital camera choice should be an easy one.



This concludes the Digital Camera Functions section.  Please proceed to the next section, where you will learn about the Digital Camera Types.