Cover

Table of Contents

Introduction

What’s in This Book?

Icons Used in This Book

What Do I Read First?

Chapter 1: Gearing Up: Does Your Equipment Fit Your Needs?

The Savvy Shopper’s Camera Guide

Design options: Point-and-shoot or SLR?

Picture-quality features

Lens features

Photo-enthusiast features

Make-it-easy features

Speed features

Other fun (and practical) features

So . . . is it time to upgrade?

Equipping Your Digital Darkroom

Sources for More Shopping Guidance

Chapter 2: Extra Goodies for Extra Fun

Buying and Using Memory Cards

Memory shopping tips

Care and feeding of memory cards

Storing Your Picture Files

Adding more hard-drive space

CD storage

DVD storage

On-the-Go Storage and Viewing

Protecting Your Camera

Seeking Software Solutions

Image-editing software

Specialty image software

Getting Support from Tripods

Types of tripods

Scrutinizing tripod features

Checking out tripod alternatives

Making Good Use of an Electronic Flash

Types of electronic flash units

What to look for in a photographic slave flash

Acquiring Other Useful Devices

A filter holder

Filters

A second camera

Waterproof casings and housings

Battery packs

Chapter 3: The Digital SLR Advantage

Six Great dSLR Features

A bigger, brighter view

Faster operation

Lenses, lenses, and more lenses

Better image quality

Camera-like operation

More control over depth of field

Six dSLR Drawbacks That Are Ancient History

No LCD preview? Meet Live View!

Limited viewing angles? No longer!

Lack of super-wide lenses? Improvements made!

Dirt and dust? Automatic cleaning has arrived!

No movies? Not always!

Too much weight and size? The gap is narrowing!

How Digital SLRs Work

Managing dSLR Quirks

Noise about noise

The real dirt on sensors

Going in crop factor circles

Chapter 4: Working with Lenses

Optical Allusions

Primes or Zooms

Pros for primes

Pros for zooms

Special Features

Chapter 5: Top Ten Maintenance and Emergency Care Tips

Keep Spare Batteries On-Hand

Format Your Memory Cards

Keep Your Memory Cards Clean

Clean the Lens and LCD with Care

Update Your Firmware

Protect Your Camera from Temperature Extremes

Keep Your Camera Away from Water

Clean the Image Sensor

Back Up Your Images Regularly

Clean Out Your Computer’s Hard Drive

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Introduction

It’s official: Digital photography is no longer considered a fleeting fad or solely a game for techno-types. Today, everyone from preteens to great-grandmothers is recording their memories with digital cameras, abandoning their old film models to the attic, the basement, or worse.

This growing enthusiasm for digital photography is for good reason, too. The features and quality packed into today’s digital cameras are nothing short of astounding. Tiny, fit-in-your pocket cameras are now capable of producing images that, in some cases, surpass those of professional models from five or six years ago — and at prices that were unheard of in years past. Digital SLR models, which accept interchangeable lenses, are now remarkably inexpensive, too, making the step up to semi-pro features much more accessible to enthusiastic shutterbugs.

For many people, though, figuring out how to use all the features offered by today’s cameras, let alone how to download, organize, and share digital photos, is an intimidating proposition. First you have to deal with all the traditional photography lingo — f-stop, shutter speed, depth of field — and on top of that, you then have to decode a slew of digital buzzwords. Just what is a megapixel, anyway? If your professional photographer friend keeps talking about “shooting Raw,” does that mean that you should do the same — whatever it is?

In easy-to-understand language, with a dash of humor thrown in to make things more enjoyable, this book spells out what you need to know to choose the right digital camera for you and how a few accessories can make a dramatic difference in the quality of your photos.

What’s in This Book?

This book helps you assess your current digital photography needs and determine the best gear and products to suit your style.

Here’s just a little preview of what you can find in each chapter of the book:

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the latest and greatest camera features, explaining how they affect your pictures and your photography options.

Chapter 2 introduces you to some cool (and useful) camera accessories, picture-storage products, and computer software that enables you to do everything from retouching your pictures to making them look like watercolor paintings.

Chapter 3 shows you exactly why digital SLRs can do things that other types of picture-shooters (both film and digital) cannot.

Chapter 4 discusses what you can do with interchangeable lenses available for digital SLRs.

Chapter 5 describes ten critical steps you should take to protect and maintain your gear — and also offers advice about what to do if disaster strikes.

Icons Used in This Book

Like other books in the For Dummies series, this book uses icons to flag especially important information. Here’s a quick guide to the icons used in this book:

This icon represents information that you should commit to memory. Doing so can make your life easier and less stressful.

Text marked with this icon breaks technical gobbledygook down into plain English. In many cases, you really don’t need to know this stuff, but boy, will you sound impressive if you repeat it at a party.

The Tip icon points you to shortcuts that help you avoid doing more work than necessary. This icon also highlights ideas for creating better pictures and working around common digital photography problems.

When you see this icon, pay attention — danger is on the horizon. Read the text next to a Warning icon to keep yourself out of trouble and to find out how to fix things if you leaped before you looked.

What Do I Read First?

For Dummies books are designed so that you can grasp the content in any chapter without having to read the chapters that came before it. So if you need information on a particular topic, you can get in and out as quickly as possible.

If you’re interested in finding out more about digital photography, pick up a copy of Digital Photography For Dummies, 6th Edition, by Julie Adair King and Serge Timacheff, or Digital Photography All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition, by David D. Busch. These are the books that all this information is based on.

Please note that some special symbols used in this ePub may not display properly on all eReader devices. If you have trouble determining any symbols, please call Wiley Product Technical Support at 800-762-2974. Outside of the United States, please call 317-572-3993. You can also contact Wiley Product Technical Support at www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Digital Cameras & Equipment For Dummies®, Portable Edition

Digital Cameras & Equipment For Dummies^®, Portable Edition