DigicamGuy Workshop

(last updated 3/12/2007)

Class Schedule?
MTC Digital SLR Photography (2 days, with or w/o digital SLR), March 21st and 22th 2006, 6pm to 9pm, Meridian Technology Center, please call 405-377-3333 for more info.

Intro to Digital Photography (one-day workshop, for first-timers, with or w/o digital camera), JAN 20th 2007, 9:30am to 12:30pm, and FEB 24th 2007, 9:30am to 12:30pm, Multi-Arts Center in Stillwater, please call 405-533-8539 for more info.

MTC Intro to Digital Photography* (2 days, for first-timers, with or w/o digicam), Jan 17th and 18th 2005, 6pm to 9pm, Meridian Technology Center, please call 405-377-3333 for more info.

Advance Digital Photography (digital retouching aka photo editing, no camera work), Oct 23rd and 24th 2006, 6pm to 9pm, Meridian Technology Center, call 405-377-3333 for more info.

*MTC Intro class is 6 hours instead of 3. It covers camera operation and image editing more substantively.

Recommendations?
Due to the fast-changing nature of digicam (digital camera) technologies and market place, the latest and greatest are posted here for the benefits of students and customers.

Nikon Coolpix S10 (first low-cost birding camera [Sept 2006])

Nikon Coolpix S5 / S9 (ultracompact camera with a punch [Sept 2006])

Nikon Coolpix S4 (little camera with a big zoom [Dec 2005])

Sony DSC-R1 (first professional-quality point-and-shoot digicam [Sept 2005])

Giottos Rocket Air Blower (Best Dust Remover [May 2005])

Trailblazer (small monopod for digicam/DSLR [Jan 2005])

HiTi 631PS Photo Printer (Best Compact Photo Printer [2004, Feb 2005])

Nikon Coolpix 8800 (advance amateur/high-quality digicam [2004])

Nikon D50 (advance amateur/entry-level professional DSLR [2005])

Sony P72 (excellent all-around everyday digicam [2003])

JASC Paintshop Pro (Photo Editing Software for Everybody [2002])

B&H Store (Best Online Photo Equipment Store [2002])

Here are some helpful common digicam tips.

Sony Delete-All
Somebody asked me how to delete the entire Sony Memory Stick in the camera without formatting. Obviously he had not read the entire manual, but neither have I. After playing around with the camera for a while, I realized you need to turn on the multi-image display in the playback mode and hit delete, the camera will then prompt you to do a delete-all.

Camera Doesn't Work?
Most of the time when the digicam or other electronic device does not work or partially malfunctions, the battery is running low. Switch to a new set and try again.

Batteries Always Seem to be Running Low?
Well, you have to use the right type of battery and the right rating, and use them properly. This problem occurs mostly with cameras using AA batteries. The old types -- “regular”, Alkaline, NiCd – cannot be used in today’s digicams, as their power output are too low and slow. Even when they work, they will quickly drain and go empty in a snap. You need to use either NiMH or lithium. However since today’s AA lithium is not rechargable and plently expensive to begin with, your only practical option is NiMH.

You want to get as high a rating as you can on these AA NiMH. The rating is printed on the battery label (along with the word “NiMH”). I have AA NiMH with many different ratings – 1200mAh, 1800mAh, and even 2500mAh. You should get as high as possible, they will last proportionally longer, i.e. 2500mAh will last twice as long as 1200mAh.

Last thing you need to know about NiMH, is that they go flat if you let them sit idle for weeks, inside the camera or not. Hence if the last time you charged the batteries was at least two or three weeks ago, charge them again before shooting.

Oh, in case some people don’t realize, you need to get a NiMH-specific charger for NiMH batteries. Most new chargers now can charge either NiCd or NiMH with a flip of a switch, they should do fine.

Megapixels, megabytes, print size?
How many megabytes (MB) does it take to store an image of 5 megapixels (MP)? About 2.5, if the JPEG quality is of the best. It takes approximately half as many MB to store an image of a certain MP in the finest JPEG format. For example, if you have a Sony P72 which is 3MP, each image file will take 1.5MB, therefore you can record about 80 finest images on a 128MB Memory Stick.

And what does higher MP mean? Larger print size. Rough guideline is 1MP (approximately 1280 x 960) = decent 4x6, 2MP (approximately 1600 x 1200) = good 5x7, 3MP (approximately 2000 x 1500) = decent 8x10, 4MP (approximately 2250 x 1700) = good 8x10, 5MP (approximately 2560 x 1920) = marginal 11x14 or excellent 8x10, and 8MP (approximately 3250 x 2450) = marginal 16x20.

Hot and Cold
Something to remember when you move your digicam from a very cold environment to a warm or hot place, put it in a bag to make the transition more gradual. This will prevent any parts from cracking due to temperature expansion, and avoid condensation.

Nikon Capture "Click" Sound
This tip is for advance users running Nikon Capture in batch mode. Just found a way to disable the annoying "click" sound every time NC processes an image. Rename the "Win XP Start" file under "C:\Windows\Media" to something else. This will disable that sound, together all other "click" sounds the PC generates.Keywords: stillwater, oklahoma, entomology, insect, photographer, photography, teacher, instructor, instruction, digicam, digital camera, digital photography, expert, workshop, education, graphics editing, NEF, RAW, JPEG, TIFF, Paint Shop Pro, helpdesk, assistance, consulting


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