Tips for new digital camera owners
If you just purchased a digital camera in an after holiday sale, or received a new digital camera as a holiday gift you may still trying to figure out how to use it. If you’re just making the switch from film to digital, here are some basic tips to get your started with your new camera.
Read the Manual
We know, no one wants to actually read the manual for any of their electronics. The manual for your digital camera however can help you understand what particular features your camera may have and help you learn how to use them. If you absolutely can’t stand reading manuals at least try to skim the features section to get a feel for what’s available on your camera, and keep the manual in an accessible spot so you can reference it in the next few months while you’re getting to know your camera.
Turn OFF the digital zoom
Unlike your old film camera, digital pictures are made up of thousands of tiny dots called pixels. While the optical zoom on your camera uses the lens to get closer to the picture (like your old camera)the digital zoom just makes those pixels larger, making your picture appear to be closer to the action. The result can be some pretty grainy looking photos. You can get the same effect as a digital zoom by enlarging your photos using a photo editor later on- that way you’ll still have an excellent quality original if you don’t like that effect.
Lay OFF the effects
Along those same lines. Don’t use the black and white, sepia, or any other effect with your camera when you’re taking a picture. Save effects like black and white for your photo editor later on. The reason? If you take a picture in black and white, then you’ll never be able to have a color version. If you take the original version in color, you can always apply effects in a photo editor and have several different version of the same picture. It’s much easier to edit a high resolution color photo than it is to edit a picture you took with an effect applied.
Turn Off the LCD screen
The LCD screen is one of the hugest draws to owning a digital camera. It’s great to look at pictures right after you take them, but the LCD screen takes up a HUGE amount of your cameras battery power. Try to set your camera so at least the LCD screen doesn’t stay on- and try to take pictures using the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen to frame shots whenever possible.
Buy a BIG memory card
I recommend going ahead and buying the largest memory card your camera can handle. If you buy a huge memory card you’ll never have to switch out memory cards while on vacation (and risk losing them) and can ensure that you’ll never run out of space and miss taking pictures.
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