11C H A P T E RExploring the DigitalCamera

The digital camera you own right now is probably theperfect tool to capture memories of your trip. All you

may need are some accessories that can give you some extracapabilities or will make your photography a bit easier. If that’sthe case, you’ll find some suggestions for equipping yourself inChapter 2, and some accessorizing tips in Chapter 5.

This chapter is aimed at familiarizing you with digital camerafeatures that are most useful when taking travel and vacationpictures. If you’re thinking of upgrading to a newer or bettercamera, you’ll find some information on the various cate-gories available today, and what they have to offer.

Although it’s a safe assumption that as readers of this bookyou already own the digital camera you’ll be using on yourtravels, it’s still worth devoting a few pages to the ideal fea-tures and capabilities you’ll need. After all, a very special jour-ney may prompt you to buy a new, very special camera. Or,you might find that several members of your traveling partywant their own digital cameras so they can capture their ownmemories.

For most of us, a digital camera isn’t a lifetime investment. It’ssomething we buy in the same way we purchase a computer,as a tool that gives us the advantage of current technology,but with the full expectation of replacing it somewhere downthe road with a smaller, better, more powerful, more flexibledevice, at a lower cost. No matter what type of digital camerauser you are — veteran, beginner, or someone who hasn’tdipped a toe into the digital waters yet — and whether or notyou’re thinking about upgrading, this chapter will help you.

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In This Chapter

Digital cameracategories

Considerations for aNew Camera

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Digital CameraCategoriesUntil recently, most digital cameras could beneatly classified solely by the number ofmegapixels, or resolution, they offered,because all the other useful features andprices often followed in lock step with thecamera’s resolution. Today, however, youfind cameras with around 6 megapixelsranging from simple point-and-shoot mod-els to advanced SLRs with interchangeablelenses. You can’t tell the players without aprogram, but you can discern their differ-ences by their features and layouts. Yourdigital camera will be one of these types:

✦ Basic point-and-shoot models.You frame the picture through asimple optical viewfinder or asmall LCD screen, press the shutterrelease, and these cameras makeall the other decisions for you.Generally priced in the $100-$200range, these basic 4- to 6- (ormore) megapixel (millions of pix-els, or picture elements) modelshave a 3X zoom lens that may notbe quite wide enough for photo-graphing interesting buildings andmonuments in tight quarters, norhave enough telephoto magnifica-tion to capture distant subjects.The built-in flash unit may be goodfor shots from 5 to about 11 feet.Focusing is automatic, with nooptions other than a close-upmode.

✦ Intermediate point-and-shootcameras. Most travel cameras soldtoday fall into this category, withmodels having 5 to 7 megapixelsand prices in the $200-$400 range.They appeal to casual and slightlymore serious photographers who

want sharp, clear pictures, and abit of versatility in their cameras.Zoom lenses range from 3X to 6X.In addition to automatic focus andexposure, there may even be a fewmanual settings. These can includethe ability to choose the shutterspeed or lens opening , exposureadjustment for photos taken facingthe sun, or full manual control.Anyone who is not a dedicatedphoto buff can probably take anytravel picture he or she cares tocreate with a camera of this sort.

✦ Advanced point-and-shoot mod-els. More advanced models attracttravelers who want more optionsand features. Those with $400-$600 can buy an 8- to 9-megapixel(or more) camera with a 6X to 12Xor longer zoom (magnification)range, more manual controls, andinteresting bonus features. Thesecameras appeal to those who real-ize they can take better and moreinteresting pictures with a digitalcamera that has more options.Such cameras are stuffed with mul-tifunction buttons and dials, lots ofmodes, dozens of menus, andthick manuals. You’ll find goodieslike time-lapse photography, burstmodes that can squeeze off six to10 shots at 2 frames per secondor faster, and in-camera editing/image-enhancing features. Theseextra features can be very handywhile traveling without a computer.

✦ Photo enthusiast models. Theseare sometimes called “prosumer”cameras, and include non-inter-changeable lenses with generouszoom ratios (often extending fromtrue wide angle that’s the equiva-lent of 24mm for those of youfamiliar with 35mm camera lenses)to ambitious telephoto (up to the

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equivalent of 300-360mm—truly along reach). You can spend $600 to$1,000 for an 8- to 10-megapixelcamera that probably has a largeback-panel LCD (up to 2.5 inches)and a second, internal LCD (calledan electronic viewfinder, or EVF)that shows you almost exactly whatthe lens sees. These are the cam-eras that advanced amateur photog-raphers favor, because their lowercost frees up money to purchaseextra accessories. They are also thecameras that pros sometimes useon weekends for their personal pho-tography or which they purchase ascheap, extra cameras to supplementtheir good equipment.

✦ Digital SLRs. The digital SLR (sin-gle lens reflex) is the camera ofchoice for serious photo hobbyistsand professional photographers.They offer unlimited optical flexi-bility because the lens can beremoved and replaced withanother lens that is wider, longer,focuses closer, or has the ability

to shoot in lower light levels. ThedSLR also has faster performance,with little of that frustrating lag thatdelays the actual picture-takingonce you press the shutter releasebutton. Digital SLRs cost around$700 to $1,300 (add another $100to $300 and up for a lens) for theprosumer models, and $1,300 to$5,000 or more for those suitablefor advanced amateurs and profes-sionals. Resolution for dSLRsranges from 6 to 16 megapixels.

Chapter 1 ✦ Exploring the Digital Camera 17

1.1. An enthusiast camera may have both a large back-panel LCD aswell as an internal electronic viewfinder (EVF).

1.2. Digital SLR cameras feature inter-changeable lenses, excellent performance,and lots of extra features.

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Working with what youhaveEven if you’ve been using your camera forawhile, it’s a good idea to explore the typi-cal features as they relate to travel photog-raphy. This section helps you refamiliarizeyourself with your own camera from a travelphotography perspective.

✦ Resolution. Resolution expressesthe number of individual pictureelements, or pixels, a cameracan capture, usually specified inmegapixels. The resolution deter-mines the maximum size of theprints you can make from your dig-ital camera’s images or whetheryou can crop out a small section ofan image and enlarge it. If you’rejust going to make small prints ofyour travel pictures you don’tneed as many megapixels (4 to 5megapixels is plenty), and beingfrugal with resolution allows yourmemory cards to hold moreimages before they fill up.

✦ Lens. The lens mounted on yourdigital camera determines the rela-tive magnification of your image.Most digital cameras use zoomlenses that can be adjusted tomake the image larger or smaller,so you can shoot different subjectswithout the need to get closer orback away. This quality is usuallydescribed in terms of focal length,expressed in millimeters, andalmost always given as the equiva-lent focal length if the lens weremounted on a 35mm film camera.Equivalent focal lengths of 35mmto 40mm or less are consideredwide-angle lenses; those from40mm to about 55mm are consid-ered normal lenses, and anything

with a longer focal length isreferred to as a telephoto. DigitalSLR (single lens reflex) camerashave the ability to substitute a dif-ferent lens for the one mountedon the camera. The range of yourlens is important for travel photog-raphy. You frequently need to usea wide-angle setting to take in allof a building or monument, whilea telephoto setting brings youcloser to a distant subject.

✦ Focus. Another characteristic of thelens and the camera it is mountedon is the ability to focus sharply ata given distance. All digital cam-eras and their lenses can focusfrom a few feet to the horizon(infinity), but some can focuscloser, down to an inch or lessfrom the front of the lens. Thisgives you the ability to shoot close-up, or macro, pictures. Thesimplest digital cameras use a full-time autofocus system to set thefocus point for you. More advancedcameras let you specify the zonewithin your picture frame to beused for focus or to focus manu-ally. Travel photos can vary fromdistant subjects to fine details, so agood focus range and efficient aut-ofocus system are desirable.

✦ Exposure. An autoexposure sys-tem keeps your photos from beingtoo light or too dark. The systemsets the amount of time the sensoris exposed to light (the shutterspeed) and how much light isadmitted through the lens (theaperture or f-stop.) Such exposuresystems may use a complicatedmatrix of zones within your imagearea to determine ideal exposureor let you opt to measure exposurefrom a smaller area of your choice.A good exposure system allows

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you to expose your travel photosflexibly, say, to create a silhouetteor other effect.

✦ Viewing System. Digital camerashave one of four kinds of viewfind-ers: an LCD that shows an imageas currently captured by the sen-sor; an optical window you canuse when the light is too bright toview the LCD on the back of thecamera; an electronic viewfinder(EVF) inside the camera that issimilar to the back-panel LCD, butshielded from external light; and athrough-the-lens optical viewfinder(found in dSLRs) that uses a mirrorto present an image to you beforeexposure. The mirror flips up toallow the image to continue to thesensor during exposure, and thenreturns to its original position torestore your view in a (literal) blinkof an eye. Some cameras may haveonly a back-panel LCD, or mayinclude the LCD plus an optical

window or internal EVF. With digi-tal SLRs, viewing is always throughthe optical viewfinder; the backLCD is used only for reviewingphotos. Because so many travelphotos are taken outdoors, digitalcameras with an LCD as their onlyviewfinder are often less desirable.

✦ Performance. Your camera’s performance can be measuredby how quickly it operates, whichcan be crucial in travel photogra-phy because you often don’t havea lot of time to waste. In some sit-uations, you need to take the pho-tos you want and then move on. Inothers, you see a fleeting momentand want to capture it instantlywithout waiting. Important per-formance parameters can includehow long you must wait after youturn on your camera before youcan take a picture (3 seconds ormore is probably too long in mosttravel settings), and how quickly

Chapter 1 ✦ Exploring the Digital Camera 19

1.3. A camera that has a large LCD on the back, but no opticalviewfinder, is great for reviewing your photos but may be difficult touse in bright sunlight.

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you can take your next picture(anything more than 2 or 3 sec-onds will become frustrating). Fastexposure measurement and auto-focus, speedy electronic flash recy-cling, and quick storage of imagesto your memory card (so youcan keep taking many pictures insequence) are all important whenyou’re in a hurry — or sometimeseven when you’re not.

✦ Flash Range. Electronic flash needslittle explanation. The image of thetourist wandering around, flashing acamera incessantly, is one of thereasons why electronic flash isbanned from so many venues. Flashpictures rarely provide the bestimage of your subject in any case.Even so, there are times when flashis useful, particularly to fill in darkshadows outdoors in full daylight.For those times when you do needto use flash, you’ll want a flash thathas enough power to illuminateyour subject at a decent distance(12 feet at the minimum.)Generally, the smaller the camera,the more puny the output of itsflash. That’s not because powerfulflash tubes won’t fit in tiny cameras.The real reason is that an electronicflash uses a lot of power, and smallcameras usually have correspond-ingly small batteries. That’s anotherreason why you should try to relyon flash as little as possible for yourtravel photos. Naturally lit picturesare...more natural...and should beyour first choice.

Simple enhancements toimprove your travelhardwareHere are some things you can do toupgrade the capabilities of your digital travel

camera. I list five easy ways to improve yourtravel photos here, but there are more sug-gestions in Chapter 5.

✦ Wide-Angle/TelephotoAttachments. Point-and-shootcameras don’t have interchange-able lenses, but many of them canbe fitted with wide-angle and tele-photo attachments that provide abroader or longer perspective.These fasten to the front of the lensand may cost $100 or less. If youdon’t own one of those “super-zoom” (8X to 12X zoom) cameras,an attachment of this sort can be agood investment, perhaps evenpostponing the need to replaceyour camera for a few years.

✦ External Flash. An external flashunit (if your digital camera can useone; digital SLRs and manyadvanced point-and-shoot camerashave the correct connectors, whileothers can use a “slave” flash

20 Part I ✦ Becoming Familiar with Your Traveling Camera

1.4. This attachment fits on the front of apoint-and-shoot camera’s fixed lens andincreases its wide-angle perspective.

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that has its own triggering unit)provides more power and lets youuse creative techniques.

✦ LCD Hood. If you have difficultyviewing your back-panel LCD underbright light, a custom-fitted hoodcan shield your viewfinder fromambient illumination. Hoodman(www.hoodmanusa.com) has easy-fasten hoods for most digital cam-eras and video camcorders. If yourcamera has only an LCD with nooptical finder option, this may bethe best investment you can make.

✦ Beanbag. Sometimes you need tosteady your camera to shoot at aslow shutter speed under dim illu-mination. Other times you justwant your camera to stay put as

the self-timer ticks off while youfrantically run to get into the pic-ture. If you don’t want to take a tri-pod on your trip, a soft beanbag(like those your kids toss around ata school carnival) may be the nextbest thing. Plop the bag down on asuitable surface, nestle your digitalcamera into the beanbag’sembrace, and then proceed to takeyour picture. Just be sure to keep alookout for dishonest folk whomay cast a covetous eye on yourbeanbag and unattended camera!

✦ Lens Hood. One way to dramati-cally improve the quality of yourimages when shooting images inthe direction of the sun or otherbright light is to mount a hood onyour lens. Most digital SLR cameralenses are furnished with a hood,but you can usually find one to fit many intermediate point-and-shoot or advanced digital cameras, too. The hood reducesflare and improves the contrast of your pictures, and serves as amodicum of protection should you accidentally swing your camera into an object.

Considerations for aNew CameraThe ideal camera for travel photographyvaries, depending on who is doing theshooting. Some travelers want the smallestcamera possible, something that can beslipped in or out of a pocket on the spur ofthe moment to photograph an interestingmonument or unexpected scenic wonder.Others prefer a camera with maximummegapixels, because the extra detail all thatresolution supplies makes it possible toenlarge the very best shots to sizes suitable

Chapter 1 ✦ Exploring the Digital Camera 21

1.5. An external flash can be attached to thecamera, or it can be removed and used whileattached to the camera with a cord to allowlighting your subject from a different angle.

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for framing and display in a personal photogallery, or to crop out all but a tiny portionof the image, creating a whole new photo-graph from the contents of your originalshot.

Or, you might simply want a digital camerathat has features that make sharing yourpictures easier. There are cameras thatmake e-mailing photos back home as easyas connecting the camera to a computer inan Internet café and pressing a few buttons.

Because deciding on the idealdigital camera for travel can bedaunting, it is a good idea if youcan narrow the field a bit. Or, ifyou are just looking to upgrade,and you want recommenda-tions for specific models, youcan read the evaluations foundon the most highly regardedInternet review sites, such aswww.dpreview.com or www.cnet.com.

To arrive at the ideal digital travel camera,the first step is to decide exactly what youwant to accomplish with your travel photog-raphy. This section explains some things toconsider. If any of the features listed areunfamiliar to you, you’ll find an explanationearlier in the chapter.

✦ Is size important? Travel booksalways advise you to pack light,and the same goes for photo gear,within limits. If you truly want tocarry only the minimum amount ofphoto equipment, there are sometiny full-featured cameras that aresmaller than your passport and notmuch thicker. Or, you may want acamera with a longer zoom lens,more powerful electronic flash,interchangeable lenses, or otherfeatures that call for a larger package. Evaluate the importanceof size and weight when choosingthe best camera for your travels.

Tip

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1.6. Small digital cameras can fit in any pocket, ready for use on a moment’s notice.

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✦ How will you be using your pic-tures? Some travelers make lots ofstandard sized (4- × 6-inch) prints,but few enlargements. Others wantto display their best work at largesizes, as framed prints. Many dis-tribute their snapshots by e-mailor display them in slide showson their computer screens. Yourintended use for travel photos canimpact your choice of a camera.For example, if you rarely makeenlargements, you don’t need acamera with extra-high resolution(more megapixels.)

✦ Do you plan to edit yourimages? Many folks like to usetheir photos just as they comefrom the camera with little or nomanipulation in the computer.Indeed, these no-fuss folks place a high premium on getting usablepictures right out of the camera.Others find that playing with thepictures in image-editing software —even if it’s just to crop the photosto remove extraneous subject matter or to remove “red-eye”effects — is part of the fun. Somecameras do a better job than oth-ers in giving you finished imagesthat are ready to go. They mayeven provide in-camera fixes toimprove exposure, color, and otheraspects after the picture is taken.Other cameras offer better, sharperraw material that you can tweak toperfection in your favorite imageeditor.

✦ Is photography a creative outletfor you? You might be someonewho wants little more than sharp,clear pictures that accurately repre-sent a memorable scene or experi-ence. Or, you might see travelphotography as a creative outlet

and want special features suchas extra-long or extra-wide zoomlenses, sequence shooting or time-lapse photography modes, super-close focusing, and other options.

✦ How many pictures do you take?The economy of digital photogra-phy makes it easy to take manymore pictures than you might havehad when you were paying for filmand processing. Even so, somephotographers tend to view thepicture-taking part of their trip as asideline activity, while others enjoyimmersing themselves in capturingevery possible scene and event ina photograph. If you belong in thelatter category, pay special atten-tion to how many pictures will fiton a single memory card, andexplore your options for stretchingand augmenting your camera’s pic-ture capacity.

✦ Is your camera a long-terminvestment? The amount investedin a digital camera today candepend on whether you planon buying a new model in a yearwhen spiffy new features are avail-able at an even more attractiveprice, or whether you plan onusing your current camera for two,three, or more years. Unless youhave unlimited funds to spend ona digital camera, you might wantto pay a little less for a camerayou’ll be using for only a few trips,and a little more for a camera thatyou’ll use over a longer term.

✦ Do you want to share acces-sories? The accessories you pur-chase for your digital camera mayinclude memory cards, externalelectronic flash units, or, in thecase of digital SLR cameras, lenses

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(which can add up to an expendi-ture equal to the camera itself).If you want to share these acces-sories among several family mem-bers or use the same accessorieswith the next camera you buy, it’s

a good idea to stick to one cameravendor’s line of compatible prod-ucts. That means fewer items tobuy, and, when you’re sharing,fewer to carry along on your trip.

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