Computer Talk

Understanding the White Balance of the Digital Camera

ibozo — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:42:17 +0000

When I was a new user of the digital camera I sailed merrily along, not giving much thought to white balance. My first digital camera, a point and shoot Canon A-310, was excellent for color. An awkward sort of change came when that camera was dropped in the waters of a creek crossing. The camera was left damaged, with only the memory card untouched. My second digital, also a point and shoot model, was a borrowed Sony cyber-shot. This camera was new to me and I didn’t know it had no white balance mode. It had most of the same mode settings otherwise. It also had a snow mode, which I loved. Perhaps there would be no more bluish overtones?

I discovered the difference of not having a white balance mode the day I had a bad photo shoot. I took off-white pictures! I took many poses of my cute sisters dressed in their matching black and white attire. Little did I know that when I clicked so many times I disturbed the white balance, only the first few pictures turned-out. Being very disappointed, I wanted to learn how to take the best color photos. I had to understand the white balance of digital cameras, as this was the key to good color photos.

The day I took the pictures of my sisters it was sunny with overcast periods, the background was not the best, either. Too many times I had asked my models to pose in different positions. The models became impatient and smiles were fading. I had assumed that changing between the cloudy mode and the sunny mode, the images would be color balanced. How can you tell if the image is off-white? When the image is off-white it will be dull looking. I also know because those peculiar shots were refused by an online photo stock company as having an off-white balance. This is harder to tell on your little digital LCD screen, where it is easier to see on your computer screen. This is why it is always best to check your white balance before hand.

I also learned that different light sources have varying color temperatures, including neutral. The balance is a reference point in which your camera determines the true color white. The camera has a harder time judging true white, a harder time than our eyes do. The camera will calculate what it is told: you need to tell the camera how to handle the lighting condition. Film photographers use filters and lens, with digital cameras you use white balancing.

One has to understand white balance if you want to program your camera. Learn enough about balancing when your camera has no white balance mode. I had looked-up a Kelvin color chart spectrum chart. 5000 K (K for Kelvin) is neutral light. Our automatic white balance mode is set-up using a neutral light measurement. To set a balance you can take a picture of a non-glossy white surface, but first place it where it is not in shadow. I use a small to medium piece of cut cardboard and I carry it with me. You can also use a white T-shirt surface, or the underside of a coffee container lid, if available. It would be a good investment to buy the credit card size white or grey card. They are professionally made for this so there is more chance it is correct.

White color balance is so important for good color. I check my white balance often now. It’s good thing we can experiment with the digital camera. We can shoot many frames as they can be deleted or saved at no cost. The saved images can be further edited in a photo editor computer program. In an editor program, a color balancing tool can take away the wrong color cast. For regular photography the automatic white balance and other mode settings work-out just fine. It is good to have an understanding of the white balance so you can take the best color photographs.

Jessie Eldora www.gotmydigital.com

All About Single-Lens-Reflex (SLR) Cameras

ibozo — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:20:09 +0000

Summary:
Photographers, much like artists, possess reasonable amounts of control over many elements of the masterpieces they create. Single-lens-reflex, or SLR, cameras present an opportunity for photographers to take great advantage over flexibility and creativity while they construct and capture the perfect shots. Digital SLR cameras embrace a number of advantages over 35-mm SLR cameras, such as increased photograph capacity on memory cards, no film costs or processing fees (unless prints are desired), faster shooting speed, higher ISO and ISO changing abilities.

Photographers, much like artists, possess reasonable amounts of control over many elements of the masterpieces they create. Single-lens-reflex, or SLR, cameras present an opportunity for photographers to take great advantage over flexibility and creativity while they construct and capture the perfect shots. Digital SLR cameras embrace a number of advantages over 35-mm SLR cameras, such as increased photograph capacity on memory cards, no film costs or processing fees (unless prints are desired), faster shooting speed, higher ISO and ISO changing abilities.

Digital SLRs basically allow advanced photographers to shoot photos with the techniques they may have mastered on a film camera with the ease and comfort of a digital camera.
Interchangeable lenses give digital SLR cameras a great increase in versatility, allowing photographers to capture a wide variety of perfect images with the same basic camera. By switching lenses at the appropriate time, photographers may capture everything from a vibrant flower close-up to a picturesque mountain scene off in the distance.

Additional benefits of digital SLR cameras are the accessory flash units and various exposure modes available. Certain flash utilities may be best suited for certain types of photography, from portrait photography to nighttime shoots, sports and action subjects and even formal events like weddings and galas. Special exposure modes allow photographers to select the best possible setting for photographing each subject. Manual mode gives the photographer the most freedom while program mode provides a great automatic setting – like point and shoot – for beginners, amateurs and split-second shots.

With the adaptability of a digital SLR camera, photographers can quickly and easily switch between different flash units, lenses and exposure modes. While experience is not always necessary to start, beginners will find that they eventually become comfortable making decisions about which lenses and which settings to use in various photo opportunities.

Some great digital SLR models currently on the market include the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Canon EOS 10D, Canon EOS 20D, Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D, Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200, Nikon D50, Nikon D70, Nikon D100, Olympus EVOLT E-300 and Olympus EVOLT E-500.

By Kathryn M. DImperio
Open Digital Photography editorial Staff Writer

Data Recovery: Beginners Tips

ibozo — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:00:56 +0000

Right now you probably in a lot of mental pain, and all you’re concerned about is recovering your data as quickly as possible – so we’ll refrain from comments on the wisdom of regular back ups. The time for preventative measures has gone – the issue at hand is data recovery.

First – a simple tip could save you a lot of money. Take out your rolodex and get hold of your tech-savvy friends. If you’re in luck, they’ll offer to help, and if you’re really lucky, they might even have some disk recovery software.

If you’re out of luck, then get out your wallet or purse out now… because this is going to cost you. Also, be prepared for a lot of time being wasted – data recovery can take a long time.

The first thing to establish is what exactly is wrong with your hard disk:

* Either your computer won’t boot up, or
* Your computer boots up OK but you can’t see one of your other drives.

Let’s see if we can eliminate the worst scenario. Listen closely to your hard drive – is it making any sort of weird noise, such as scratching, scraping, ticking etc?

If so, then your drive is physically damaged and the only hope that you have is to take it to a data recovery service where experts might be able to get your data off for you. These services are expensive and time consuming – so you need to make a judgement call as to the value of data on the disk:

If it’s only your saved game data or downloaded music files you would like back, you’re probably better off kicking yourself for not backing up, and accepting the data loss.

If, on the other hand, it’s a book or other type of information product that you’ve been working on for years, then send it to a data recovery service for an evaluation and quote – it usually costs nothing.

If your hard disk sounds OK, then you stand a decent chance of recovering data yourself.

First you’ll need to download some software to help you out.

Unfortunately, the better software utilities are not free, but the good news is that many allow you to try them out to see if they can access the data. There are some freeware products available but generally speaking these are not easy to use – no user interface / little documentation, or they are not very effective.

There’s a list of recommended software on our site – http://www.recoverdatafiles.com – compare the different options then download a few of the trial versions.

Your next steps will be based on how your hard drive/s were setup:

* If you only have a single hard drive that has not been partitioned or split into different “logical” drives, you’ll probably need to attach the hard drive to another computer that has enough space to store all your data. This can be quite technical so if you don’t have the skills please get a computer savvy friend to help out.

Another option is to purchase an external USB hard drive case. You can then simply slot the hard drive into the case and plug it into another PC using a USB port.

* If you have a multiple drive setup and your computer boots up fine, then it will merely be a case of getting the downloaded software to read the files and then copy them to another drive – provided you have a drive with enough space on it. If not, you’ll need to attach the hard drive to another machine with enough spare capacity.

* The scenario where you have a multiple drive setup, where the problem drive is the one that contains your operating system files is more tricky.

Look for a data recovery software package that has a boot disk option available. What this means is that when you start your computer with the boot disk in it, it will automatically run the data recovery program without trying to start windows. You should be able to see your files and then copy them across to another drive.

Hopefully these tips will enable you to get all your important files back.

Once you’ve had some time to recover, please take a look at the various articles on our website – our goal is to make it one of the best resources on data recovery.

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About the author:
For the past 20 years, Jeff Walters has developed and processed analytical routines (ABC costing, CRM analytics, customer datamarts) in various data intensive sectors- banking, insurance, gambling, medical, government.

Processing millions of records has its consequences – over the years, Jeff has had to recover data from several fried hard disks.
Jeff can be contacted at: www.IntelliNova.com,or www.RecoverDataFiles.com

This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.

Microsoft Xbox 360 UK Launch

ibozo — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:58:17 +0000

Microsoft Xbox 360 UK launchOK, so Microsoft are releasing their Great White Hope of the gaming world, the Xbox 360 , onto the UK population on 2.12.05. This is only a couple of weeks after our cousins from across the pond get their gaming mitts on the US Xbox 360 . In fact, Microsoft are planning a near simultaneous global release of the Xbox 360. Around the world in under 3 weeks is the kind of form that makes our own Phileas Fogg look positively bone idle.
No one has tried this before, and with good reason. The logistics of trying to launch an eagerly anticipated product as the Xbox 360 to a global market in pretty much the same time frame is daunting to say the least. What it should guarantee at the very least, is that anyone out there with a spare Boeing 747 freight plane can expect to be fully booked up for those 3 weeks. What it means to us, the consumer, is less appealing. Demand is almost certainly to outstrip supply, which means festive season discounts are going to be rarer then hens teeth, and that the best way not to be disappointed is to pre-order the Xbox 360. Most of the large retailers are taking orders already and there are scores of websites, like www.microsoftxbox360.co.uk , that are promoting Xbox 360 sales as affiliates of the larger retailers. Microsoft themselves are admitting there is going to be tears for some,
“We are going to have some disappointment with retailers and consumers “ J Allard, Xbox .
Whilst I’m not trying to ‘sex up’ the probability of shortages of the Xbox 360, if you want to be one of the first to own this new generation gaming system, and you haven’t already pre-ordered, then you’d better hurry.About the author:
I”m the webmaster of www.microsoftxbox360.co.ukand plan to build and promote more websites so I can eventually leave work and employ myself

Comparing Digital Camera Features

ibozo — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:30:10 +0000

More people are able to afford digital cameras because their prices are falling but the number of characteristics is rising so it is important to be able to compare digital camera features.

The first step in being able to compare digital camera features is to decide what you want to get out of your camera. If you compare digital camera prices you will see that for shooting family snapshots you can get a good basic digital camera for under $400, while a professional model is over $2,000. When you compare digital camera features you need to know the extent of the use you are going to get out of it.

It is essential when you compare digital camera options to understand the issues of image resolution, which is measured in megapixels. Basically, the more megapixels, the higher the resolutions of the final image but you definitely need to compare digital camera images with your actual requirements. This is best done if you compare digital camera resolution with the size of the images that you want to print and you will find that a 1-mg camera can create a 3-by-5-inch (7.5 by 13 cm) photo-quality print; a 2-mg camera will make a 5-by-7-inch (13 by 18 cm) print; a 3-mg camera will make an 8-by-10-inch (20 by 25 cm) print, and a 6-mg camera will make a 9-by-13-inch (23 by 33 cm) print.

One of the other points to consider when you compare digital camera prices is to look at the complete package that is offered. Some included extras to look for when you compare digital camera packages are if the camera includes a cable for your computer and if it comes with image-editing software that works with your computer. If these are not included it is still possible for you to buy them separately but you need to allow for this when you compare digital camera prices. Another important point to consider when you compare digital camera options is to choose a camera with removable memory in addition to built-in memory.

All of the cameras that you are considering when you compare digital camera features should have an LCD screen for viewing pictures, a built-in flash, a timer, and a time/date stamp on even the most basic camera. You should also look to compare digital camera packages that have optical zoom, not digital, if you need a zoom capability and most midrange cameras should have high-quality optical zoom lenses but it is still worth checking to make sure.

About the author:
Steve Gargin is the administrator of http://digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/casio-slim-digital-camera/index.htmlwhich is a great website dedicated to giving free advice on Digital Cameras.