Re: [Hampshire] Digital Cameras

There does seem to be some 'Duff Gen' floating around about Digital Cameras.

I went totally Digital (as opposed to film) some 4 years ago. I'm on my
3rd & 4th DSLR ( A Nikon D2X & D200 ).
I got my ARPS ( Associateship of the royal Photographic Society) with a
panel of A3 sized prints all taken with a nikon D70 6.1MP Camera. So, I
could be classed as a 'serious amateur'.

The main reason for poor quality of images is mainly down to the optical
quality of the lens. Many compact Digital Cameras are very challenged
optically.
The second reason is the dumbed down software that makers put in the
cheaper cameras (especially compact ones)

To get a 300DPI print on A4 without any scaling up, any camera over 6MP
will do. I have easily printed images taken from a 6.1MP camera on A3 at
200dpi and there is no pixellation. you should only start geting that if
you go down below 180dpi and most importantly, view the image from the
correct distance.

How you setup the camera is also important.
No in camer sharpening or application of VIVID colours is essential.
Shoot in RAW if possible and underexpose by 1/3 or 2/3's of a stop to
avoid highlight burnout ( Just like you did with Slide film all thouse
years ago)

Then you can adjust the images to your hearts content knowing that you
are working on the image you shot and not one which has been modified by
the camera in any way.

Camera memory cards are formatted FAT32 so can easily be read & written
by Linux.
My advice is don't connect your camera up to the PC or Laptop using USB.
It drains the batteries something rotten.
There are TWO types of PC to Camera using USB connection. Not all of
these work on Linux with ALL CAMERAS. Some even have problems on
windows unless you load a heap of proprietary software. So, I don't even
try.

So, remove the card and put it into a USB Card Reader. Multiformat card
readers are very cheap. some laptops come with SD or SDMC card readers
builtin.
This way, you can be shooting more piccies while the previous lot are
being copied onto the PC/Laptop.

For the type of work ( Document Copying), a 6.1Mb DSLR with a decent
lens will work fine. All DSLR type lenses will be of more than good
enough quality if you stick to brands like Nikon, Canon, Sigma or Tamron.

If you are doing closeup/Macro photography, the ONLY way to accurately
focus the lens is to use the Viewfinder of a DSLR. For rangefinder type
cameras then yes, use the CD but the CCD quality on some cameras is not
up to the sort of accurate focussing the macro photography demands.
A sheet of horticultural glass is a good thing to use to flatten curvy
documents. This may not be possible in all places so some perspex may do
instead.

I'm willing to show my DSLR kit to anyone who is interested at the next
meeting. They can even have a play if they want. Just let me know.

Stephen D