DIGITAL CAMERA HINTS AND TIPS

The below listed comments are observations based on my experience with digital cameras. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert and welcome any assistance in preparing camera subject matter or answering questions.

DIGITAL CAMERA RESOLUTION CHART

1024 x 768 pixels	4 x 6 prints
1152 x 864 pixels	5 x 7 prints
1220 x 960 pixels	8 x 10, 8x12 prints
1536 x 1024 pixels	11 x 14 prints
3024 x 2048 pixels	12 x 18 prints
1024 x 768 pixels	Greeting cards

1. Use the above charts as a guide to decide the resolution of your camera settings with various card capacities to print largest desired picture size.

2. Note: If you crop a picture: Set the resolution to the highest setting to avoid loss of detail.
My preference is to shoot all pictures at the highest resolution for flexibility. Then you can crop and reduce file size with your photo program.

3. Note: Some camera settings vary in how they describe resolution - Fair Good High, Low-Medium-High, etc. Use the values above as a guide. Remember, the number of pictures available on a given size Media is dependent on the resolution setting. The higher the resolution the lower the Media capacity.

METERING

Metering is an important camera setting depending on conditions and results desired and is best described below. These comments are for cameras set for Auto operation and manually set metering.

ESP Metering automatically sets the exposure setting using the average light level of the entire LCD view or viewfinder. This is the setting is usually the default setting which I have been using when taking the Rec Hall flash pictures at night when lights are off.
Center Weighted Metering mode provides the average metering between the subject and the background lighting, placing more weight on the subject at the center. Use this mode when you do not want the light level of background to affect the exposure value.
Spot Metering meters a very small area around the center of the subject, defined by the spot metering area mark in the viewfinder. Use this mode for intensively backlit subjects, etc. If I used this setting for night and lights off in the Rec Hall, only the subject in dead center will be visible with surrounding objects left in the dark.

FLASH SETTINGS

The Flash Setting on most cameras, when you turn them on and lift the flash cover, will be set to Auto. However, review the conditions below for optional settings.
When taking pictures in the Rec Hall during the day be careful that your subject is not standing or sitting in front of an outside window. In the Auto setting, the effect of the bright window will cause the subject to be underexposed with varying results depending on the previous Metering setting. It is recommended that Flash be set to come on all the time which is generally signified by a plain flash symbol and a Center Weighted Metering setting.
The same setting in Step 2 should be used for subjects outdoors when standing with a bright sky in the background like at Picnic at the Beach or when subject is covered by shadows.
When taking pictures at night in the Rec Hall with lights off or outside night pictures say for the Farewell Party street dancing use the ESP metering setting, Flash On all the time and adjust the exposure intensity level if camera is so equipped. Increasing the numbers in a plus + direction will lighten picture.
Distance from the Flash can also be compensated by using the Zoom feature. If subject’s face is overexposed (too light) stetp back a few feet and re-zoom to original composition resulting in less flash illumination of subject’s face. Experiment with the different settings to achieve desired results.

ISO SETTINGS

1. Some of the newer digital cameras have an ISO adjustment. It adjusts the sensitivity to light of the CCD (the light sensing part of the camera). Making the CCD behave in a way that is more sensitive to light, increases the amount of noise in the image, so depending on how high of an ISO is selected, you can expect noisy shots (images with lots of grainy looking pixels- particularly in the dark areas).

2. Set ISO to Auto for most of your pictures and use experimentation for other settings. The general rule is to use as low (small) of an ISO number as you can for the best quality images. On the other hand, hiking up the ISO setting can allow you to take images using the light of a couple of candles. Shots like these of the kids make great Christmas cards but will be rather grainey.

CAMERA RESET SETTING

1. Most cameras have a Reset setting when set to Off, will remember the present camera settings when turned off and then back on. As long as you remember this setting no problem

2. Go to your Menu section and look for the term Reset and set the condition to On. This will Reset the camera to its original default setting.

3. If you set your camera to a resolution to a different setting then the default setting the camera will return to the original default resolution setting if Reset is set to On.