Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

If you’re like me, you like to give photo-themed gifts to friends and family during the holidays. But framing a photo or printing a calendar gets a little mundane after awhile.

That’s why I was so pleased to find fotobed.com. Their products are one-of-a-kind. Take your favorite photo and turn it into a machine washable work of art.

Fotobed.com offers Photo Throws, blankets, shower curtains, duvet covers, pillows, and pillowcases.

The site is extremely easy to use. Upload your photo and you’ll have your product shipped free within 2-4 weeks.

Take a picture of the kids and have it turned into a pillow for grandma. Or take a favorite snapshot from your trip to Tahiti and make a beautiful, realistic shower curtain to remind you of your tropical getaway. The possibilities are endless. This is a sponsored post.

Here’s a new place for budding photographers to get some exposure. The folks at Corbis, an online stock photo company started by Bill Gates, have launched a new website where anyone can upload and price their photos.

Called SnapVillage.com, this brand new site allows users to upload as many as five photos at a time (to upload more in bulk you have to mail them a CD or DVD). You can then price each photo anywhere from $1 to $50. If someone buys the photo the money gets deposited into your paypal account.

SnapVillage apparently launched on Monday. They don’t seem to have a huge inventory yet, which probably means your photos have a much better chance being seen before they are lost in a sea of submissions.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll make money, but it’s worth checking out.

Digital Photo Review, the web’s authoritative source for information on digital cameras, was just acquired by Amazon.com, according to officials from both companies.

DPReview.com was founded in 1998 as a hobby site and has morphed into a comprehensive camera review site that attracts seven million visitors a month.

The site has tremendous search engine clout: type in any digital camera model into Google and odds are a dpreview.com page will be among the first search results.
The visitor growth, while phenomenal, has posed challenges.
“One of the difficulties of operating dpreview independently has been the balance between producing content and delivering new site features,” said Phil Askey, founder of dpreview.com. “Now, with the support of Amazon, I’ll be able to devote more of my time to expanding and improving our features–such as product reviews and discussion forums, while still delivering the high-quality content that our readers have come to expect.”

Amazon, no doubt, is hoping dpreview will drive traffic to its site where it sells everything from digital cameras and lenses to photo printers and paper.

Said Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos: “DPreview.com is by far the most authoritative source anywhere for straight talk about new digital cameras. We at Amazon.com have been their fans for a long time…”

This sounds like a win for both entities. I’m excited to see how dpreview.com will be able to expand its site features and product reviews with resources from Amazon. I just hope they remain editorially objective and don’t become the pawns of a large corporate entity. Time will tell.

The Megapixel Myth is one of the great marketing ploys of our time. Many consumers are convinced that the more megapixels a camera has, the better the pictures.

In the words of NY Times tech writer David Pogue: “It’s a big fat lie.”

Digital camera manufacturers know that the general public believes this myth. They propogate it because it sells more cameras. They can get away with upgrading their point-and-shoot cameras to a higher megapixel count and charging the consumer more.

It’s nothing more than “a profit-driven hype to make you pay to much,” according to professional photographer Ken Rockwell.

A megapixel is one million tiny colored dots in a photo. A few years ago, 3.2 megapixels was standard for an average compact camera. Now, anything less than 7 seems obsolete. But is it?

Pogue tested the Megapixel Myth on a Discovery Channel TV Series called, “It’s all Geek to Me.” He created three versions of the same photo: one was 5 megapixels, one was 8 megapixels, and one was 13 megapixels.

He then asked a marquis New York graphic imaging company to print each one at postersize: 16 by 24 inches.

The photos were mounted on a wall in Union Square in Manhatten and Pogue set to work, asking passers-by if they could see any difference. More than 200 people were polled, and only ONE person correctly guessed which was the low resolution picture.

Pogue’s conclusion: “For the non-professional, five or six megapixels is plenty, even if you intend to make postersize prints.”

It’s a disappointing conclusion for many who rely on the megapixel number as a sort of letter grade for a camera. The best bet is to pay more attention to a camera’s lens, circuitry, and sensor.

Asking someone what the best camera is, is like asking what the best food or best movie is: totally subjective and based on personal preference.

David Pogue, tech writer extraordinaire for the New York Times, can’t tell you how many times readers pose the ‘best camera’ question to him.

“That’s a crazy question,” Pogue says on his blog. “There are so many models and so many people with different priorities.”

That said, he decided to humor his legions of readers and posted a Best electronics list that includes two cameras: the Canon SD800IS and the Nikon D40.

Canon’s SD800 IS (the IS stands for Image Stabilizer) is a 7.1 megapixel compact digital camera with a 3.8x zoom. It’s the best camera that fits in your pocket, according to Pogue.

He especially praised the SD800’s image stablizer which, “saves about 90 percent of the low-light photos that would otherwise have been ruined by blur.”

The camera also has face recognition technology, ISO capabilities of up to 1600 and an easy-to-use interface. DP Review.com also recommended the Canon SD800 IS, but complained that the ISO 800 and 1600 were of limited use and that there is very little manual control. The older version, the SD700, is better, DP Review said.

The Nikon D40 has received heaps of praise from reviewers, and is Pogue’s pick for ‘Best Amateur SLR camera’. This entry-level DSLR camera is great for SLR beginners.

The Nikon D40 takes features from the more advanced Nikon D50 but is more lightweight and significantly lower priced. It’s a solid, well-built camera with an insanely low price.

“The price is amazing ($530) considering everything you get: fast startup, zero shutter lag, fast autofocus, big sensor, spacious and bright viewfinder, big screen,” Pogue wrote in his blog.

He says it’s a better buy than Canon’s Digital Rebel, which he finds awkward to hold and handle compared to the Nikon.

Although the D40 is barely six months old, Nikon has already updated it with the D40x, which has 10.2 megapixels compared to the D40’s 6.1 megapixels.

But seriously, unless you are going to be doing professional poster-size prints, you don’t need more than six megapixels. The D40 gets the job done and image quality differences are negligible.

Don’t forget to take a look at the best lens for the Nikon D40 and D40x. This one is also a bargain and would be a great addition to your lens kit.

Most professional wildlife photographers put a modern twist on Teddy Roosevelt’s famous saying when shooting wild birds and animals: “Speak softly and carry a big lens.” It’s not unusual to see a serious wildlife photographer lugging big, bulky 500mm or 600mm lenses in their quest to get tight shots of a wild animal.
But what about the budding wildlife photographer or hobbyist who doesn’t have thousands of dollars to spend on heavy camera equipment? You can still get intimate wildlife shots if you know what to look for and apply a few simple tips.

1) Find Places where animals are not afraid of humans. And I’m not talking about your local zoo. Beaches are a great place where humans and wild animals often co-exist. In La Jolla Cove near San Diego, harbor seals and their pups sprawl out on the sand just feet from onlookers. Also you’d be amazed how tame the wildlife is in places that see a lot of tourists, like the rainforests of Costa Rica. I once walked down a trail in Manuel Antonio National Forest next to a wild deer!
2) Fast Framing. Moderate zoom lenses like a 28-105mm or 55-200mm allow you to tailor the framing to the scene quickly. Most of these new lenses come with image stabilization or vibration reduction, meaning you don’t necessarily need a tri-pod to ensure crisp, focused pictures–and that gives you more mobility.

3) Don’t be afraid of short lenses. Sometimes you can get great perspective by going wide with a short lens. Use the spectacular sunrises or sunsets and pristine surroundings as backdrops. Capture large flocks of geese as they soar overhead.

4) Get Down. Go low (on your belly, if need be) and move slow. It’s a little extra effort, but you might be surprised just how close you can get to your subject.

5) Be Careful! These are still wild animals after all. Use common sense. Is a great picture worth getting trampled by an angry moose or bitten by a venomous snake? Know your subjects and be respectful. You’re in their house.

These were compiled from a variety of sources, including writings from bird photographer Arthur Morris.

Another amazing macro photo with an enhancing title to go along with it. The photographer who captured this extreme close-up of a tulip bud reported that the subject was on a window sill with direct, but weak, sunlight shining straight into the bloom.

“It looked stunning and irresistible,” the photographer said.

Macro photography can be tricky depending on the subject due to their slower shutter speed. A good macro camera lens is a must in any photographer’s equipment cache. A short macro telephoto lens (90-105mm) is great for portrait works and other close-ups. Try the longer macro telephoto lenses (180-200mm) for great close-up action shooting.

Originally uploaded by Sir Fish at flickr.com

Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel 350D XT

Macro, or close-up photography, can be a great way to put a new spin on a familiar subject. We can almost smell the waxy scent of crayons in this shot–it takes us back to our thrid grade classroom.
Take into consideration the limited depth of field on macro shots–you will notice that segments outside the focal plane are noticibly blurry. (Example: In the excellent photo above there is slight distortion on the gray crayon). Therefore, it’s crucial to focus only on a miniscule portion of your subject.
Usually a special-purpose camera lens will have to be used when taking macro shots. Many photographers will use a telephoto macro lenses to help with lighting issues.