Tips 1 : How to check Shutter Count?

What is shutter count? Shutter Count is the quantities of shutter we've been pressing and it shows us how many shots we've taken with the camera.

How to check the shutter Count?

Here's some link for you to check :-


( FOR NIKON USER )


http://scent.org/cgi-bin/exif.cgi

http://regex.info/exif.cgi/


( FOR OLYMPUS E-500 USER )

• Turn camera on
  Open card door.
  Press Play(green arrow on e1) and ok together
  
  Press up down left and right
  Press shutter button
  Press up
  press right.
  
  
  R = shutter releases (it shows the number of shutter releases the camera had so far)

( FOR CANON USER )

the shutter actuation count for the Canon EOS series is not included in any output file.

It can presumably be read from the camera somehow by a facility only had by authorized Canon service centers.

If you need any assistance , please feel free to drop some comment!

Photography Lesson 9 : Metering Control

Spot metering

With spot metering, the camera will only measure a very small area of the scene (between 1-5% of the viewfinder area). This will typically be the very centre of the scene, but some cameras allow the user to select a different off-center spot, or to recompose by moving the camera after metering. A few models (including the Olympus OM-4 and Canon T90) support a Multi-Spot mode which allows multiple spot meter readings to be taken of a scene that are averaged. Both of those cameras and others also support metering of highlight and shadow areas.

Spot metering is very accurate and is not influenced by other areas in the frame. It is commonly used to shoot very high contrast scenes. For example, if the subject's back is being hit by the rising sun and the face is a lot darker than the bright halo around the subject's back and hairline (the subject is "backlit"), spot metering allows the photographer to measure the light bouncing off the subject's face and expose properly for that, instead of the much brighter light around the hairline. The area around the back and hairline will then become over-exposed. Spot metering is a method upon which the zone system depends.

Center-weighted average metering

In this system, the meter concentrates between 60 to 80 percent of the sensitivity towards the central part of the viewfinder. The balance is then "feathered" out towards the edges. Some cameras will allow the user to adjust the weight/balance of the central portion to the peripheral one. One advantage of this method is that it is less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at the edges of the viewfinder; as many subjects are in the central part of the frame, consistent results can be obtained.

Average metering

In this metering mode the camera will use the light information coming from the entire scene and averages for the final exposure setting, giving no weighting to any particular portion of the metered area.

Partial metering

This mode meters a larger area than spot metering (around 10-15% of the entire frame), and is generally used when very bright or very dark areas on the edges of the frame would otherwise influence the metering unduly. Like spot metering, some cameras can use variable points to take readings from, (in general autofocus points), or have a fixed point in the centre of the viewfinder. Partial metering is found mostly on Canon cameras.

Multi-zone metering

Honeycomb Metering ona Dynax 5D. The AF point was set to the eye of the toy; the camera has been able to produce a good exposure, by not being fooled by the strong back lighting of the out of focus areas.

This mode is also called matrix, evaluative, honeycomb, segment metering, or esp — (electro selective pattern) metering on some cameras. This metering mode was first introduced by the Nikon FA, where it was called Automatic Multi-Pattern metering. On a number of cameras this is the default/standard metering setting. Here the camera measures the light intensity in several points in the scene, and then combines the results to find the settings for the best exposure. How they are combined/calculated deviates from camera to camera. The actual number of zones used varies wildly, from several to over a thousand. However performance should not be concluded on the number of zones alone, or the layout. In general, the most advanced metering is found on single-lens reflex cameras.

Many manufacturers are less than open about the exact calculations used to determine the exposure. A number of factors are taken into consideration, including the following: Autofocus (AF) point, distance to subject, areas in focus or out of focus, colours/hues of the scene, and backlighting. Multi-zone tends to bias its exposure towards the autofocus point being used (whilst taking into account other areas of the frame too), thus ensuring that the point of interest has been exposed for properly. A database of many thousands of exposures is pre-stored in the camera, and the processor can use a selective pattern to determine what is being photographed.

Some cameras allow the user to link or unlink the autofocus and metering, and allow the option of locking exposure once AF confirmation is achieved, AEL, (auto-exposure lock). Using manual focus, and on many compacts/bridge cameras, the AF point is not used as part of the exposure calculation, in such instances it is common for the metering to default to a central point in the viewfinder, using a pattern based off of that area. There is considerable variation from different manufacturers as to how multi-zone metering is implemented, and even from the same maker in their model range, and how much "priority" is given to the AF point itself. Some "Scene" modes, such as sunset, sports, night exposures etc, also often affect the calculations of this metering pattern.

However, some photographers may be uncomfortable with multi-zone metering. This tends to stem from a lack of clarity about "how" the camera reacts in certain situations. The design concept behind multi-zone is to reduce the need to use exposure compensation.

Some users have problems in wide-angle shots with high contrast, due to the large area which can vary greatly in brightness. It is important to understand that even in this situation, the focus point can be critical to the overall exposure.

Photography Lesson 8 : How to compose your Photo?

Composing Your Picture

We all, at times, fall victim to selective seeing. We look at a scene and we pay close attention to the main subject, failing to really see what is behind or in front of it. If there are elements within the frame that do not add to the picture, the chances are great that they are detracting from it by diverting the viewers attention away from the main subject.

After few years in photography, when I see a subject that I think has possibilities, I automatically look at the background and the foreground. If they are not to my liking I will go out of my way to change my shooting position, either getting down lower, up higher, or to the side.

By getting the camera low and using the sky as a background the composition was kept simple and the picture has much more impact because there are no distractions.

For the picture of the street clown I politely asked him to move to a spot a few feet away that had a dark background and I used tight framing to further increase impact. Doing these simple things will improve your photographs immensely. I realize the photographer cannot always do these things but should try to do them whenever possible.

Reducing unused space in the photograph is another way to improve it. In the picture of the old saw and barn almost every pixel is taken up with the subject with very little to divert the viewers gaze away from what I intended them to see.

There are times though, that having space around your subject suits the picture very well, as in this photograph of a glass of tea and its shadow taken on my front porch. But the composition was kept very simple and balanced and no distractions were allowed.

Keeping your picture uncluttered and simple in its message is just one way, along with accurate focus, the rule of thirds, and correct exposure...of getting that extra WOW! in your shots.

Give "keep it simple" a try and I think you'll be amazed at how much improvement you'll see. More improvement than buying the latest camera or a new lens, more than just about any one thing you can do.

It really is very simple!

Photography Lesson 7 : Choose your own Focal Length

Creative use of focal length

Focal length indicates whether a lens is wide angle, telephoto or anywhere in between.

Generally speaking, using wide angle is ideal for shooting scenes such as land and city landscapes, group photos and room interiors. For portraits, a mid-range focal length is a good choice. Long telephoto lengths are ideal for photographing wildlife and distant subjects.

Focal length as a creative tool

Focal length selection can be used creatively when composing a shot, beyond simply getting more or less of a scene into the frame. The focal length you choose plays an important role in composition and the "feel" of an image.

Wide angle effectively exaggerates distance and shrinks distant subjects. Telephoto compresses distance without shrinking distant subjects.

For example, if you were to take two shots of a landscape with an object in the foreground such as tree, rock or flower, etc. and an object such as a mountain in the background using a wide angle and then a telephoto, they would look very different though framed in the LCD (or viewfinder) in a similar way.

Selecting a focal length to achieve the effect you want can be just as important as selecting the right aperture and shutter speed. Focal length can also be used to vary the emphasis on an object/subject.

Photography Lesson 6 : What is EV?

Exposure Value (EV)

A cameras metering system can be fooled when taking pictures where large areas of a scene are very bright, very dark or contain strong contrast. To help prevent a photo from under or over exposure, adjust Exposure Values (EV).

Exposure values, represented by numbers with a plus or minus in front of them, override settings automatically selected by a cameras exposure mode. When the main subject is darker than the background, increase exposure value. If the subject is much lighter than the background, decrease exposure value.

For overexposed subjects (too light), decrease EV.

For underexposed subjects (too dark), increase EV.

Suggested Exposure Value settings

• Bright sunlight coming over the back of you when taking a photo: -0.3 or -0.7 EV compensation
• For shots with strong light coming behind the subject (back lit): +0.7 or +1.0 EV
• Scene with bright sun and/or backlighting: 0 to +2 EV
• Snow, beach or highly reflected water: +2/3 to 2 EV
• Close-up of white or yellow flower: +1/3 to +1-2/3 EV
• Dimly lit night sky: 0 to +2 EV
• Land or seascape taken just prior to dusk: -2/3 to 0 EV
• Very dark or black objects: -1 1/3 to -2/3 EV

Photography Lesson 5 : ISO Setting

Adjusting ISO

Digital cameras are usually set by default to automatic ISO. The camera automatically sets the ISO according to light conditions: the brighter the light, the lower the ISO; the lower the light, the higher the ISO.

Many users prefer to manually adjust the camera's sensitivity to light. It gives them some control over the amount of noise that may appear in an image. In some cases, you can avoid using the flash by increasing the ISO.

ISO and Noise

On many consumer digital cameras, selecting an ISO number above 100 produces little visible noise. Test each ISO number under a variety of lighting conditions until you become familiar with the noise your camera produces at each setting.

If images are noisy, noise reduction programs do an effective job at eliminating some of it, though fine detail may be sacrificed.

Low ISO settings	High ISO settings
ISO 50-100	ISO 200 and above
More light needed	Less light needed
Less noise	Increased noise
More image detail	Less image detail
Larger aperture +/or longer shutter speed	Smaller aperture +/or faster shutter speed

When deciding whether or not to use an high ISO number, keep in mind that the visual presence of noise is often barely noticeable when images are reduced in size for printing and/or viewing on a computer.

Sample Chart of ISO Setting :-

AUTO ISO - digital camera automatically sets the ISO speed according the the brightness of the scene, increasing or decreasing the sensitivity. User has no control over which ISO number is used.

ISO 50 - 80 - for taking photos in bright light; excellent for close-ups, landscape, and portraits. Produces fine detail and image quality.

ISO 100 - for extra sensitivity with little, if any, reduced image quality.

ISO 200 - cloudy and overcast days. Acceptable image quality, with some visible noise.

ISO 400 and above - suitable for indoor photography whether or not a flash is used. Useful for "stop-action" and sports photographs. Most compact digital cameras produce high to very high image noise.

P/S : Changing ISO also changes the aperture and shutter speed.

Photography Lesson 4 : AE/AF LOCK

AE-Lock & AF-Lock

Digital cameras are set to default to lock focus and exposure together when the shutter release button is pressed halfway. Some digital cameras have a feature to lock focus and exposure independently.

AF-Lock: controlling focus

Gain more control over where the camera focuses when you depress the shutter-release button half-way. Say you want to focus on the subject that is off to one side in a scene. Move your digital camera so the focus area indicator is on the subject. Then press the shutter-release button down half way to lock focus. While holding the button in this position, recompose and then fully depress the button to take your shot. This helps ensure that the main subject is in sharp focus rather than a random object selected by the camera.

AE-Lock: controlling exposure

Obtaining better exposed photos in difficult lighting situations involves moving the camera to the main area you want properly exposed. It should of equal distance as the subject since the shutter-release button controls focus too. For example, if you want to capture detail in an area that would otherwise come out dark, lock exposure on the area, recompose and press the shutter-release button all the way down.

Sample of Auto Exposure Lock:-

Photography Lesson 3 : Shutter Speed

Here is a quick list of shutter speeds starting from slowest upwards, what they can be used for and the probable result:

• 30 seconds or more - Great for night shots where you want the illumination of the city lights to glow brightly, or to get the effect of milky smooth water from a waterfall at dusk or dawn. If you keep the shutter open for a couple of hours and directed at the night sky, you should end up seeing star trails on your image as the Earth rotates.

• 1 second - If you are at a wedding reception or a dance and want a spooky but nice effect, try this. Have your flashgun charged and switched on to auto, set your cameras shutter speed to 1 second and aperture to approximately f.8. Take some shots whilst moving the camera about and the effect of the flash will "freeze" your subject, but the long shutter speed will give some amazing background effects from the lights.

• 15th/30th/sec - If you have image stabilisation on your lens, this is about the absolute limit that you can hand hold a shot. But using a tripod, this speed will give you a small aperture creating large depth of field and is good for dusky or dawn landscapes. These speeds are also good for panning shots of moving objects such as cars. Panning creates a feeling of speed with motion blur as the background blurs while the subject stays in focus.

• 60th-250th/sec - Anything in this range is good for everyday general photography. In normal light, these speeds should give sufficient depth of field from the aperture setting for most subjects, whilst allowing you to hand hold your camera without causing camera shake.

• 1000th-8000th/sec - These speeds, if your camera has them, will freeze most objects in their tracks. You can get really experimental here and keep your eyes open for fast subjects that you can practice on! You will need either bright sunshine, a high ISO (400/800/1600), or fast lens (f2.8/1.4) to be able to shoot at these speeds whilst exposing correctly.

I have given some examples below, of shots with shutter speeds ranging from 6 seconds to 4000th/sec. Don't be afraid to really experiment as if you are "digital" it won't cost you a penny extra!

Slow Shutter Speeds

Fast Shutter Speeds

Photography Lesson 2 : What is DOF?

So how does depth of field (DOF) work?

It's all to do with how much light enters your camera and the type of lens that you use. Basically, there are 3 factors that determine the depth of field in your images;

• Focal length of the lens

To put it simply, the shorter the focal length, the greater the DOF (or more of the image will be sharp). I.e., 16mm = More in focus, 400mm = less in focus. When I do a lot of interior work with an ultra wide angle, I generally use f8 or f11 as I know this will suffice for the image quality I need with this lens.

• Distance between camera and subject

If you photograph your subject sitting on a wall about 20-30 meters away or more, and using a wide angle or standard lens, you can almost guarantee that a lot of your image will be in focus whatever the aperture (within reason). However, bring the subject closer to say 2 meters, and the camera will focus on the subject but will more than likely throw the background into blurred oblivion.

• Aperture setting

The aperture setting has the largest factor in determining the depth of field of your images. Just remember that f4, 3.5 or 2.8 (or bigger) will have shallow or little DOF whereas F8, 11, 16 or smaller, will have greater DOF. This is particularly true if you are doing close up work, a large aperture close up will have very little in focus.

To illustrate these points, have a look at these 2 pictures. I was testing the Sigma 105mm Macro lens and wanted to check the sharpness at close quarters. The shot on the left was taken by dropping a small amount of milk into a larger container.

The camera was on a tripod and I used 2 studio lights closely positioned, and pre-focussed on the point where I would drop the milk.

Because I was using a telephoto lens and working extremely close, plus the fact that the lights were bright and also close, I needed a very small aperture. In this case, all the way closed at F36! It has to be said that even with this small aperture, parts of the background were blurred. I am told this is due to "diffraction" of the light when you stop down too much, so f16 is normally enough for good, sharp pictures. Also note that a telephoto combined with macro leaves little room for error as the depth of field is at its smallest.

Because I was using a telephoto lens and working extremely close, plus the fact that the lights were bright and also close, I needed a very small aperture. In this case, all the way closed at F36! It has to be said that even with this small aperture, parts of the background were blurred. I am told this is due to "diffraction" of the light when you stop down too much, so f16 is normally enough for good, sharp pictures. Also note that a telephoto combined with macro leaves little room for error as the depth of field is at its smallest.

I was pleased with the result but I must point something out to digital camera users at this point.

The smaller the aperture you use (especially this small), the more "specs" of dust will appear on your images. This image was literally covered in them before I cleaned it up. It is a good way of testing your sensor for dust, but don't be too put off by this, it is quite normal and is easily fixed using a good editor and cloning/healing brush. If you are unsure of what you are doing please do not try and clean the sensor yourself, you may damage it and they cost a bit! Go to a reputable dealer/cleaner and get it done. Otherwise, there are many safe ways of cleaning the sensor yourself...just do a Google search for "camera sensor cleaning" for more information.

For the second shot, the leaf was brought inside, rain water and all, and set up in a similar way. This time, however, I used natural low lighting which meant that with an aperture of F29, I needed 30 seconds to make the correct exposure. Remember that when you open or close the aperture, you or the camera has to adjust the shutter speed to compensate. If you close the aperture right down for good depth of field, check the shutter speed as it may become slow and non-hand holdable.

Lastly, this image shows the other extreme. I used a Canon EF 50mm standard lens to get this shot of Max. You can see that the background is completely out of focus with virtually no depth of field. In fact the depth of field is so shallow that even though his head is only slightly turned, one eye is in focus and the other isn't!

This is because this particular lens has a maximum F-stop of just 1.4 and this was taken at that aperture. I like this effect and use it a lot for portraits. It draws your eye to theirs with no other distractions.

So when you are out and about next, instead of setting the camera to auto, experiment with depth of field and get a bit creative. Used in the right context a large or very shallow DOF can be very effective.

Depth-of-field refers to how much of a photo is sharp in front and back of where you focus on the main subject. DOF is primarily controlled by aperture size though other factors come into play such as the focal length of the lens.

More (deep) DOF

Deep depth of field means that all or most of the picture is in focus from front to back. It is often used for capturing subjects in the distance, such as in landscape scenes. The further away your camera is from the subject, the greater the depth of field. Higher f-stop numbers obtained by using smaller apertures produce deep depth of field. Short focal lengths (when lens is set at wide angle) help increase depth of field.

Less (shallow) DOF

Less depth of field means a subject is in focus but objects in front and behind it appear out of focus. Less DOF is often desired when taking portrait, close-up and macro shots. Lower f-stops (larger apertures) decrease DOF. Long focal lengths (zooming in) produce less DOF. With a digital camera, you can also make the background appear out of focus by placing the subject close to the camera and having the background far away.

If you can't manually control aperture, use portrait mode for shallow depth of field. For deep depth of field, use infinity mode.