Olympus Digital Cameras - Digging Into The History
One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long and historical journey. Olympus digital cameras are being used all over the world today. Let us take a look at the glorious history of Olympus here. Olympus was started way back in the year 1919 under the name of Takachiho Seisakusho. In fact, the first optical product made by the company was not a camera, but a microscope! The name 'Olympus' was introduced in 1921 as a trade name for the company's optical products. There is an interesting story attached to the name of Olympus. It has a deep, deep meaning attached to it as well. According to Greek mythology, Olympus is the mountain where the Gods live. And, Takachiho is the mountain where the Gods live according to the Japanese texts. In fact, all the names associated with Olympus cameras have a hidden meaning to themselves. For example, the first product made by Olympus for photographic purposes was the Zuiko 75mm/F4.5 lens in 1936. This is an abbreviation coined from the name of Olympus optical plant (Mizuho Kogaku-kenkyujo) and also has a hidden Chinese meaning. In the '30s, Olympus introduced many different types of cameras. Due to the world wars, production suffered from time to time till the '40s. The Twins Reflex camera was introduced in 1950s and became instantly popular. In fact, hundreds of models based on this technology were developed by several manufacturers. But it was the Olympus Rolleiflex which set the standard for these cameras in the industry. However, it was the Olympus PEN which was launched in 1959-60, which established Olympus as the manufacturer of small cameras in the market. The PEN was light, small, innovatively designed and could take 72 shots in one roll! It became increasingly popular and helped Olympus to gain hold of the market. After this, there was no looking back for Olympus and it went from strength to strength. As far as digital cameras are concerned, by the 80's and '90s, the video camera and the consumer digital cameras were already present in the market. However, they were not of very high quality and could only used for web publishing or low-res prints. But, by the late '90s, technology had advanced greatly and prices had also dropped, hence consumers were now going in for digital cameras more and more. It was at this time, in the year 1996, that Olympus introduced its P&S style cameras which had a resolution of 810.000 pixels. Slowly and steadily, Olympus came up with a 2 mega pixel and then a 3 mega pixel camera by the year 2000. At this time, one of the significant launches of Olympus was the 2.11 mega pixel model C-211 which also had an in-built Polaroid printer. Today, Olympus is considered to be one of the well-known digital camera manufacturers in the industry. The latest digital cameras by Olympus are: D-Series: Simple point-and-shoot cameras for beginners. C-Series: Digital cameras for advanced photographers. Stylus: Stylish cameras in attractive colors and designs. E-System Digital SLR's: Professional SLR's for digital cameras. Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of his kids playing sports.
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Basics of Photography
Understanding light is one of the very basic principles of learning to be a photographer. When you have a group of people in front of you with smiling faces ready for you to say 'cheese' or if you are taking a shot of a scenic area, the most important consideration is the light factor. Light controls the type of exposure and therefore the quality of the photo is dependent on the quality of the light on your subject and the amount of light that impacts on the film or digital sensor when you click. Controlling the amount of light is a good pre-occupation in the mind of a photographer keen to get a good shot. It should be one of the key considerations.
The word 'exposure' is a very important word in the lexicon of both amateur and professional photographers and is based on the understanding of light in creating good photographs.
--If there is too much light, the photo will look overly bright and over exposed.
--A happy group of people will not look as vibrant if there was inadequate light when you took the picture.
--Bright sunlight can create shadows under the eyes.
--Poor lighting may not bring out the colors in the scene to maximum effect
There are a few basics that you can apply to circumvent poor picture quality due to unfavorable light conditions:
--Change the position from which you take the shot
--Change the light if clicking indoors
--Use the flash
The use of the flash can be a boon when you operate in different light conditions. If you have an overcast sky, the flash in your camera will serve the purpose of letting some light into the image that you are trying to capture and brightening it up. The flash also works to your advantage when your subject is not too close but slightly away from you. But you have to check the 'flash range' of your camera in your manual. The flash works best when your subject is within a recommended range that is usually at least 4 ft and generally not more than 10 ft.
Most simple cameras have an automatic flash. Slightly better models will have settings for fill-flash. The concept of fill flash revolves around filling light in areas of a picture that may turn out dark or shadowed. Fill-flash has the ability to balance the amount of light on different parts of a subject to ensure that the exposure is adequately bright. For instance, a portion of a person's face may appear shadowed and the fill-flash setting can help iron out this problem.
The angle of light is another important consideration. You have to pay attention to the direction from which light falls on your subject and there are several approaches in manipulating the angle of light to improve the visual appeal of a picture.
Sideways lighting: Light from the side is used to creates depth in the picture and is considered one of the best ways to use light if you are taking a portrait photograph.
Light from the top: This is a method used to brighten up most of the scene but does not work as well when you take a photograph of a person. It tends to create shadows on the lower half of the face when the lighting is high.
Light from behind your subject: This strategy is sometimes used by photographers to amplify the impact of the picture. It can create a halo like effect; it can add artistic shadows and can also create a striking contrast between the subject and the background if used effectively. When you use a 'back light' it is recommended that the fill-flash settings on your camera are also adjusted in order to avoid shadows in your photograph.
The second issue in photography is the aesthetics of the picture. Aesthetics is the creativity and attention to detail that you bring to your photograph. It is the most interesting part of photography since it is almost like a visual equivalent of composing a poem or writing a story. Aesthetics requires the use of visual skills to compose and deliver a pleasing, eye-catching and captivating image. It is a type of vision that you have for your photograph in terms of look and appeal.
Aesthetics requires a good eye for detail. The following factors have to borne in mind in creating an aesthetically appealing photograph:
Background
--Periphery
--Distance from subject
--Changing the direction of your camera based on picture dimensions
--Objects impinging on the picture
--Avoiding too many elements
Each of these factors that go into aesthetics are described and explained below-
-->Background
The background in a photograph requires much consideration. It influences the manner in which your subject is portrayed in the photograph. Depending on your choice of background, your subject will be shown to effect or may be overshadowed. The background also makes the difference between a boring and an interesting photograph. The colors, the type of background and the context add to the vibrancy of the photo.
-->Perphery
A common problem among beginners in photography is not paying attention to whether the image is being captured fully. When you view your subject through the viewfinder, you may think you have clicked a person from head to shoulder or from head to toe in a full shot. But when the actual photograph is processed, the top of your subject's head or part of the hair may be missing! Or, if you did not center your subject when you composed the shot through your viewfinder, a part of the shoulder or hand may be lost into the edges of the photo. You need to concentrate when you view your subject through your camera before you click, in order to get the picture exactly the way you want it.
-->Distance from Subject
The distance from a subject is another critical aspect in getting a good picture. You want to see facial expression, not a mass of faces when you take a photograph. To do this, you have to be at a suitable close distance from your subject. On the other hand, when you click pictures of a campus, the distance that you click from can give you a wide view and take in a lot more of the scene. To take close up pictures of flowers or crystal or any decorative item, you have to move into close range and use suitable lenses to achieve the right magnification.
-->Changing the Direction of Your Camera Based on the Picture
Many a time you may not be able to capture the subject in it's entirety in the conventional horizontal position in which the camera is usually held. You can easily change the direction. Hold the camera vertically and then view your subject. You will be able to capture more of a longish subject like a tall monument, a full-length picture of a child, and so on.
-->Objects Impinging on the Picture
At times there are certain objects in a scene that seem to almost invade into the picture. For instance, if you take a picture of a group of your friends on a street, chances are that a street sign may gain prominence in the photograph unbidden and may seem to sprout out of the head of one of your friends in the photograph. Or the light fixtures in your living room may find a place in the picture and appear in the form an unseemly blob in your photo. And the tough part is, when you take the shot you may not be aware of this because the eye is focused on the people in the picture.
-->Avoiding Too Many Elements
A picture cluttered with too many objects may detract from the actual subject. For instance, a wide view of a room in which your subject is sitting may create a photo in which too many objects vie for attention. If the person in the picture is your main target then narrow down and concentrate mostly on clicking the subject. While a good background adds value to a picture, too much paraphernalia could take the attention away from the main subject. Your picture may be focused and the lighting may be good but there is so much going on in the picture that it becomes aesthetically lacking and maybe even a little jarring.
Besides Light and Aesthetics, the third issue in photography basics refers to 'focusing' the picture. Getting the right focus is the difference between a blurred image and a sharp image. If you have an auto focus camera, the camera will do the job for you. This is available in most basic models. You can also achieve focus manually in other cameras using the mechanism to adjust the focus and to lock the focus on the subject before you click.
To achieve the right focus, it is important to decide on the artistic elements of the final picture. There are areas of a scene that you may want sharper and clearer. For instance, when you photograph a famous monument, you may want the building as well as the blue sky against which it is silhouetted to be crystal clear. If you are photographing a camel in a desert, you might want the camel to be clear and a slightly hazy/blurred effect of the surrounding sand. If you are taking a shot of a room containing a priceless vase, when you look through your viewfinder, you want the finer details of the intricate patterns on the vase to be clearer than other objects in its vicinity. So, it's also a question of the portion or key part of your picture your focus is really on.
This area that you identify for your focus is referred to as the 'depth of field'. You can lock the focus on the depth of field that you choose. You can control the focus and depth of field depending on your objectives for different shots.
The basics of photography are better applied when you put into perspective the capabilities of the camera model that you use or plan to purchase. Simple point and shoot cameras require minimal knowledge in operating them. They are easy to use and have the bare minimum controls. The user has to just compose and aim the shot on the subject and presses the shutter button. 'Click' and the job is done. The camera handles its functions automatically.
For those of you who want to work with a slightly more sophisticated camera, you have the option of a Single Lens Reflex camera popularly called the SLR system. This type of camera is available in both 35mm film format as well as digital format. Digital cameras have no film but the image is captured on an image sensor and stored in photo memory. Digital cameras in general provide superior picture quality. The internal system of the SLR camera is made up of angled prisms and mirrors that actually work like a lens when you click. But you have a few things to learn about this camera system before you can achieve better light exposure, sharpness and good focus. While it is imperative that you study the instruction manual of your SLR camera system thoroughly to understand the features and functioning, given here are some of the features and a brief explanation on how these features can help you in achieving the right exposure.
-->Additional Lenses for Close Up Shots
An additional feature in an SLR camera that makes it far superior to a simple 'point and shoot' camera is the ability to use add-on lenses. When you attempt to take a close up shot of objects in nature like a flower or a butterfly, you might want a very high level of clarity. You can add power to your camera by attaching an additional lens onto your camera lens for greater magnification of your subject. These supplementary lenses are available at reasonable prices in different powers like +2, +3 and so on.
You can also look for a model with an optical zoom lens that gives you the flexibility of variable focal length and a range of lens options within a single zoom lens.
-->Shutter Speed
The shutter in your camera lets light in during a shot and keeps light out at other times. When the shutter opens for an exposure, light is allowed to impact on the film or image sensor. If you set a slow shutter speed, more light impacts on the sensor and affects the type of exposure. When you use a faster shutter speeds your picture is sharper and clearer. There is a maximum shutter speed that is available to you in your camera system. The shutter speed is set at a fraction of a second- for instance, 1/1000th of a second. It could also be 1/2000th or even the much-preferred higher speed of 1/4000th of a second that is available in certain models. Professional use models boast of even higher shutter speed of 1/6000th or 1/8000th of a second. If you want to freeze action such as in sports, you require fast shutter speeds.
There are many more features that when used effectively can add value to the impact of your photographs. Most 35mm SLR cameras have a TTL viewfinder. TTL stands for 'through the lens' metering system. This device has the ability to measure (on a scale) the amount of light impacting the film. Using this device is the key to control the exposure and get the right amount of light in order to capture a proper image. You can also use a tripod with your SLR camera. A tripod is your answer to achieving the right exposure in a close up shot and in low light conditions. It holds the camera steady, helps in focusing and ensures a sharper picture even when shutter speed is slow.
The guidelines discussed here on the basics of photography and the additional features of the SLR system, will not only get you started but also help you avoid the common mistakes that many budding photographers make. Study your manual thoroughly for insights and ideas. Learning photography requires patience and the ability to constantly experiment and teach yourself through a process of trial and error.
How to Buy the Right Digital Camera
When buying a digital camera there are many things you should consider. First you should understand how a digital camera works. What you are using your digital camera for will help you decide what features to consider and how much you should spend. I am here to educate you and help you decide.
A New Way to Use Old Snapshots
If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting in envelopes. Pictures from birthday parties, weddings, family gatherings, anniversaries, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have already put the best snapshots into albums and these are leftovers. You don't want to throw them away, but you also don't know what to do with them.
Kodak CX7300 Digital Camera
Quality digital cameras are becoming affordable for just about everyone these days. Kodak's entry into the low cost end of the market is their CX7300 3.2 mega pixel model. You just may be surprised at what a terrific value it is. Please read on.
Start Your Own Photography Business from Home
Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can set up a home business, marketing photography. You need only to convert a room of your house into an office, and then you can work immediately.
Why 1.5 Megapixels is Enough
Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution. But if you don't know the image size in inches or some other measure of size, then the amount of dots per inch doesn't mean much. That's why DPI is used in conjunction with scanner Specifications, because you know that the size is going to be 3.8 by 1.7 inches!
Photography 101 Part 1
Photography 101
Terms Used The In The Stock Photography Business
So you are a small business person or web designer and you want to purchase some stock photography for your website. Great. Photography is a wonderful way to improve the emotional impact of your site. But there are a few terms unique to the stock photography business that you should know.
Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View
Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the happiest and stressful days of you life. The happy part comes naturally but how can you cut down on the stress? Well from a photographers standpoint, seeing that he is with you from the beginning of the day till the end, and sees you before and after the wedding, I would like to offer some tips and secrets to make it more happy than stressful.
How to take Great Photos of Your Pet
We all love our animals. They do such funny, adorable, and cute things. But somehow when that camera comes out they run and hide or they just seem to always be pointed away from the camera when you push the button. Well here are some tips to help you have a better chance at getting great photos of your pet.
Buying the Best Digital Camera for Your Needs
Choosing a digital camera can be a daunting task with the wide number of choices available in today's market place. There are lots and lots of things that you need to keep in mind while going to choose a camera for yourself. The best digital camera for your friend might not be the best option for you.
Proper Handling and Storage of Paper Photos
Youv'e taken that perfect photo in the perfect light at the perfect angle and it has turned out beautifully.
Is Film Better than Digital for Weddings?
As a professional wedding photographer I get this question asked more than anything else. Rarely will somebody ask me about my wedding photography education, awards, or professional memberships. I believe the root to this question lies on misinformation about the different qualities of film and digital.
Digital RAW Workflow for Beginners
Having an efficient work flow is essential for photographers. In the days of film, many of the tasks in the film work flow were handled by the lab. Now, more and more photographers are switching to digital and have to handle many of these tasks themselves. The purpose of this document is to provide a basic digital work flow for working with RAW images that is camera and system independent.
Most modern digital SLR cameras, and some point and shoot models, have the ability to record the RAW data from an exposure, allowing the photographer to process the images as they see fit. This can be a daunting task, especially for those who don't have a work flow in place to handle the images from the camera. The following steps will take you through the process of setting up your own RAW digital work flow.
Work flow Step 1: Compose and Expose
Your digital work flow begins before you ever sit down at your
computer. One of the best things you can do to make your work flow more efficient is to get as much of your image perfect in the camera as possible. Many digital photographers have fallen into the "I can fix it on the computer" trap. This costs you time and money. The more time you spend "fixing" a photo after you've tripped the shutter, the less time you are spending with clients.
Here are a few tips to help reduce your workload from the time you make your exposure:
Set your white-balance to match your scene. If you get the proper white-balance in the camera, you won't have to adjust it later on the computer. See your camera documentation for how to set a custom white-balance. Remember to set your white balance whenever you change lenses, or the quality of light. If you change modifiers, or lenses, change your white-balance as well.
Expose for the highlights. Since digital acts similar to slide film, its easy to accidentally blow your highlights. By exposing for the hot parts of the image, you'll save yourself some time in the long run.
Scan your frame. Get in the habit of doing a top-to-bottom scan of your frame before you trip the shutter. This will help you avoid stray hairs, lights in your frame, reflectors being visible, and anything that you might have to clone out of the image later.
Work flow Step 2: Importing and Backing Up Your Images
There are many ways to get your images from your camera to your
computer. Some people use a card reader that will read the images off the memory card from the camera. Others connect the camera directly to the computer and import the images directly. No matter how you get the images to the computer, your first step is to setup an organizational structure for the images and create a backup copy of the RAW files for safety.
First, create a folder to store your image files. In our studio, we use the folder name to organize our images. For instance, let's say we are importing images from a portrait session with Jane Doe that took place on January 1st, 2005. Our folder name for this session would be P_2005_DoeJane_0101. If we also did a portrait session with John Doe on the same date, our folder would be named P_2005_DoeJohn_0101. This allows us to keep our images organized in a way that we are familiar with. Use whatever folder structure you like, as long as it helps you keep things organized.
Next, we will create the folders under our P_2005_DoeJane_0101 folder that we will use during the course of processing the images. We create the following folders: RAW, WORK, and JPEG. The final file structure looks like this:
-+P_2005_DoeJane_0101
-|-RAW
-|-WORK
-|-JPEG
The RAW folder holds our RAW image files, the WORK directory holds the processed TIFF files where we will do all of our editing, and the JPEG folder holds the completed files, ready to be uploaded to the lab.
Copy the images from your camera to the RAW folder using whichever method you prefer. As soon as this initial copy is complete, make a backup copy of these images. Some photographers backup to writable CD-ROM or DVD discs. Other photographers backup to a separate backup hard drive. No matter what method you choose for your backups, they are CRITICAL. Make sure you can recover your images if something should happen to your memory card.
Work flow Step 3: Verify Your Backup
Your backup copy of the RAW images files is important. Take a moment to verify that you can read the images you copied to your backup medium. Once you have verified your backup medium, you may proceed with the work flow.
Work flow Step 4: Culling the Herd
Converting the images you never want the client to see wastes time and money. Use your preferred image browser to go through the RAW images and delete any that you know you won't use. Don't worry about deleting the wrong file, that is why we made a backup. If you delete a file you wanted, just bring it back from your backup.
Once you have selected your "keepers" from the RAW images, it is time to move on to the next step.
Work flow Step 5: File Conversion
Most cameras come with software specifically designed to convert the RAW image data from its native format into TIFF files, JPEG files, or some other format that is compatible with the popular image editing software.
At our studio, we convert the RAW images into 16-bit TIFF files,
because we like to have the maximum amount of data available for
editing and processing. Your needs may vary. There are many articles on the Internet that deal with the different file formats and the pros and cons of each. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are going to assume that the files are being converted to 16-bit TIFF files.
We now open the software that came with our camera and set it to
convert our RAW image data to 16-bit TIFF files, and save them in the TIFF folder we created in Work flow Step 2. This step can be time consuming, so we often go out to eat while the images from a session are converting.
Once the conversion is finished, you will have a folder of 16-bit TIFF files to do editing and retouching on. We use TIFF at our studio because it is a loss less format. That is, we can save the file as many times as we like without degrading the image quality. JPEG is a lossy format, every time you save a JPEG file, you lose a little more data to compression.
Work flow Step 6: Editing and Retouching
This step of our work flow is where the real work is done. You will open each TIFF file in the image editor of your choice and make sure your colors and exposure are correct, the crop is the way you want it, and the image is ready for printing. At this point you will make any edits to the image, such as changing the crop, converting it to black and white, or doing any needed retouching.
If you use the TIFF file format, you can save as many times as you need to during this process without having to worry about losing image quality.
Once editing and retouching is done, save your work file and move on to the next step.
Work flow Step 7: Saving the Production File
One of the cons to working with 16-bit TIFF files is that they take up an incredible amount of disk space. Once we have reviewed the images with the client and ensured that no further edits/retouching need to be made, we convert the TIFF file to a JPEG production file for archive purposes and sending to the lab.
Open the TIFF file in your preferred image editor and save your file as a Baseline Level 10 JPEG in the JPEG folder we created earlier. Why not save as a Level 12 JPEG, you might ask. When printing your image, there is no discernible difference between a level 10 JPEG and a level 12 JPEG. Try it for yourself and see.
Once your files are saved as JPEGs, move on the the next step.
Work flow Step 8: Backup Your Production Files
This is a good time to make a backup (either to CD/DVD, or to another hard disk) of your JPEG production files. This ensures that you have a copy of all your hard work and if something should happen to the original files, you know you have a good backup.
Work flow Step 9: Cleaning Up the RAW and Work Files
Once we know we have a good backup of our production JPEGs, we delete the entire WORK folder and the entire RAW. This frees up the large amount of space that TIFF files require and leaves us with a manageable set of files from the job. However, we have already made backup copies of the RAW files and the JPEG files, so if we ever need to re-edit an image, we have the materials to do so.
Work flow Step 10: Final Touches
At this point our production JPEG images are ready to print or send to the lab. Make any final adjustments to the image size and print or upload your images.
Final Thoughts
With an efficient digital work flow, handling large amounts of digital images is easy and relatively stress free. I hope this tutorial has given you some ideas on how to best setup your own RAW digital work flow.
Canadas Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders and Cheap Memory Cards Canada
Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is an ideal camera for professionals and amateur photographers. They usually having interchangeable lenses and are known for capturing superior quality images. They come with many advanced features like megapixels, zoom, memory cards, batteries, comfort and more. One of the great appeals of digital is the ability to shoot in "raw" format.
Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade
While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph instantaneously, it also offers you the added convenience of editing photos on the fly as well.
Digital Camera Printers
The digital camera is not meant only for capturing images and storing them on the computer memory disks. The real effect comes from the hard copy of those fantastic images taken by the users, that is the printed photographs! In order to get the printer copy of the images a very important device necessary is the printer. The digital image printing requires a few numbers of components that comprises the total process of printing. This discussion is thus primarily focused towards analyzing and understanding this whole experience of digital camera printers.
Digital Image Files ? Megapixels, Megabytes, or DPI?
When I promised readers that I was going to do an article on this topic I was scared. For two reasons - firstly, it's a HUGE subject. I get lots of questions about it, and I see a fair bit of misunderstanding about it. Secondly, there are already a lot of good articles about it on the web, like this one on luminous-landscape.com.
Get The Most Out of Your Digital Camera Today!
Point and click. The new life of digital cameras gives us all the opportunity to capture images as we go. Whether you simply hit the shutter button to take pictures of your friends and family or if you want to have your camera with you at all times in order to capture the beauty of life wherever you find it, getting the most out of your digital camera can be easy.
The Primer on Digital Camera Printers
Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then the next step is to turn these 'virtual' images into real photos. One way is to send the memory card to a digital photo laboratory and get the images developed there. But if you click digital photos on a regular basis, then it is better that you buy yourself a digital camera printer, or more commonly known as a digital photo printer.
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