Understanding Digital Cameras

Understanding Digital Cameras

by Jon Tarrant
Released February 2007
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136105098

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Book description

Understanding Digital Cameras will help you to:

* Choose the right camera, lens and output option to capture the perfect image
* Develop great technique, whatever your style or subject matter
* Be inspired! Showcasing a wide range of images, plus the work and insights of guest photographers
This key resource for all photographers will help you get the very best from today's sophisticated digital cameras.

Discover which type of camera, lens, lighting and printer is right for you with clear explanations and close-ups of camera settings and menus. A key tool to improve your photography is to see comparison images side by side. Tarrant shoots the same scene with different equipment or a different approach, to show exactly what a camera and technique can or can't do. He also shows you images that haven't worked - and explains precisely why.

In this book you will learn essential photographic techniques, before moving on to specific genres: people, nature, action shots and working in the studio. Detailed captions throughout explain which camera and lens was used for each shot and highlight key factors in getting the right exposure, lighting and composition. There is an essential troubleshooting guide to printing errors such as smudges, lines and colour casts. Discover how to produce fine art prints and optimize images for the Web. Plus key technical information on digital and optical quality and colour management.

Packed with tips, clear explanations, with all photography terms defined, box outs with key information, and showcasing a wide range of image styles and subjects, this book (and a camera!), is all you need to start creating great images!

Jon Tarrant has spent many years as an award-winning professional photographer and much-published photographic writer. He is former editor of the British Journal of Photography, to which he still contributes, and of Professional Photographer and HotShoe International magazines.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. Chapter 1
    1. Introduction
  9. Chapter 2
    1. Basic Features
      1. Types of cameras
      2. Camera features
  10. Chapter 3
    1. Camera Menus
      1. General settings
      2. Image capture
      3. Image adjustments
      4. Image review
      5. Other settings
      6. Memory cards
  11. Chapter 4
    1. Exposure and Focusing
      1. Understanding exposure
      2. Focusing modes
      3. Exposure solutions
  12. Chapter 5
    1. People
      1. Babies and children
      2. Candids
      3. Groups
      4. Events
      5. Holidays
  13. Chapter 6
    1. Nature
      1. Domestic animals
      2. Farm animals
      3. Animals in zoos
      4. Birds
      5. Landscape composition and flora
      6. Macro
  14. Chapter 7
    1. Action
      1. Location choice
      2. Lens choice
      3. Camera choice
      4. Camera settings
      5. Composition and cropping
      6. Using colour
      7. Quiet moments
  15. Chapter 8
    1. Studio
      1. Basic equipment
      2. Advanced equipment
      3. Lighting arrangements
      4. Lighting techniques for still life
  16. Chapter 9
    1. Printing Systems
      1. Online printing
      2. Desktop systems
      3. Dye-sublimation
  17. Chapter 10
    1. Printing Problems
      1. Line faults
      2. Smudges
      3. Colour casts
      4. Image deterioration
      5. Image sizes
  18. Chapter 11
    1. Fine-art Printing
      1. A note on terminology
      2. Equipment choice
      3. Image improvements
      4. Image output
      5. After-treatment
  19. Chapter 12
    1. Image Editing
      1. Raw formats
      2. Archiving your images
      3. Image corrections
      4. Standalone image manipulation programs
  20. Chapter 13
    1. Supporting Software
      1. Image enlargement
      2. Image browsers
      3. Filing software
      4. Image enhancements
      5. Watermarking
  21. Chapter 14
    1. Digital Quality
      1. Analogue versus digital
      2. Bits and bytes
      3. Pixels
      4. Sensor types
      5. Colour variations
  22. Chapter 15
    1. Optical Quality
      1. Resolution terminology
      2. Maximum resolution
      3. Resolution testing
      4. Nyquist limitations
      5. Accurate focusing
      6. Lens choice
  23. Chapter 16
    1. Colour Quality
      1. Recording colour
      2. Colour values
      3. How many colours?
      4. Colour balance
      5. Defining colour
      6. Colour calibration
      7. Colour spaces
      8. Profiling
  24. Chapter 17
    1. A Backward Glance
      1. Digital SLRs
      2. In the beginning
      3. Ten digital cameras
      4. Summary
  25. Chapter 18
    1. Epilogue
      1. Image quality
      2. Final thoughts
  26. Index

Product information

  • Title: Understanding Digital Cameras
  • Author(s): Jon Tarrant
  • Release date: February 2007
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136105098