The Digital Photography Companion

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IMAGE STABILIZER

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to having your main subject properly exposed by the flash. Remember to hold the

camera very steady when using slow-synchro flash, to prevent blurring of the back-

ground. If you have a tripod, you may want to use it for these types of shots.

Focus Lock

One of the most common pitfalls with point-and-shoot cameras is their tendency to

focus on objects other than your intended subject. Instead of capturing your best friend

perfectly exposed and in focus, the back wall 10 feet away is sharp as a tack, while your

buddy is a fuzzy blob in the foreground. e odds for this scenario increase if your bud-

dy is standing off to one side of the frame.

You can avoid blurring your buddy by using focus lock. Simply point your camera di-

rectly at the primary subject, and then press the shutter button halfway until the focus

confirmation light goes on. Continue holding the shutter button down in the halfway

position and recompose your shot. en take the picture.

If your camera has face detection capability, you can use it instead of focus lock for

people pictures. If you are working with nonhuman main subjects, however, focus lock

is still a great way to go.

Format Card

Often included as a menu item, the Format Card command is an alternative to Erase

All. Either procedure clears your memory card of all images so that you can shoot more

pictures, but F ...