My eyes adjusted to the sun and my face to the sudden reminder of desert heat as I climbed out of the Red Pyramid in Dashur, trying to straighten my back after an upward climb through a narrow tunnel. Preventing your lenses and camera bodies from scraping and banging against stone walls is difficult under such confined conditions, so, checking my Nikons for new signs of abuse, I descended to meet the others. We were all there to photograph one of the most fascinating places in the world and we had already come to know and love the faces of Egypt…

Most cameras these days have built in flash. Even the more upmarket digital SLRs sport a small pop up flash. They also have a hot shoe for flash. However, as well know, this kind of flash photography can often yield boring and unnatural lighting results.

Another strike for Kodak, one of the lowest end models it offers, the EasyShare C653 was reviewed by Cnet and no one was impressed by it, not even the bystanders that were asked their opinion of the camera.

Sometimes I wonder why we all just can’t get along.  In the case of Kodak, it is claiming that both Panasonic and JVC have infringed on patents owned by the company.

FujiFilm has just announced five new, mostly point and shoot digital cameras with availability starting later this year the new models offer (almost) something for everyone but are probably lacking in low light conditions.

Currently, the name of the game in the compact and ultra-compact point and shoot market is cramming more megapixels onto tiny CCD sensors which only really increases noise and reduces details.  Manufacturers should start realizing that there is an “in-between” market that doesn’t want a SLR camera but wants performance equivalent to one.

“Down by the seaside” – words that by their very combination make you feel relaxed. However, for the avid photographer, there is little time to relax because the ocean, the beach and all that is nearby can cause the photographer quite some anxiety just trying to get it all in!
The seaside is more than just a place to photograph sunsets and seascapes. It is a great location for photographing people, colours, textures, sports, boats and much much more.

The basic idea behind depth of field is that wide apertures mean less in focus and small apertures mean more in focus. So, for portraits we often use a wide aperture and with landscapes a small one. Even with a small aperture you may be wasting depth of field beyond the infinity focus point where it does  no good at all. Imagine it is a blanket hanging over the end of your bed. If your chest is cold, simply pull the blanket up. The same principle can be applied with depth of field.

Compact cameras are now incorporating longer zoom lenses that make taking certain photographs easier and the results more pleasing to the eye. Let’s have a look at why you should be zooming more often. Compact camera zooms are not designed for wildlife or sports photography. You need something much more powerful for that. But in our everyday snapshots there are opportunities – and good reasons – for using the zoom.