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Digital Camera Care and Maintenance

Like most electronic devices, digital cameras need extra care when being handled. They have sensitive components that may be damaged by improper handling. We therefore came up with several tips to help you maintain your camera so that you can use it for a much longer time.

1. Keep your camera from getting wet unless it is indicated that it is waterproof. Otherwise, moisture will build up inside it which will destroy your camera’s internal components.

2. If you are using a rechargeable battery for your camera, the time will come when it no longer works as well as it used to. Typical Lithium Ion batteries last up to 500 cycles after which a decline in its performance can be noticed. Dispose of your batteries properly and replace them with new ones.

3. Always keep your lens clean. This is especially the case if you have a digital SLR as its lens is more complex and need better maintenance. Read your user’s manual on how to maintain your camera’s lens.

4. Avoid dropping your camera. As mentioned earlier, your camera contains sensitive equipment which may be destroyed due to excessive shaking or impact.

5. When shooting pictures in the sea, make sure to protect your gear by waterproofing it well. Salt water can corrode your camera.

Therefore, you should gently wipe its surface with a cloth dipped in fresh water to rinse off remnants of salt water on your camera. Wipe it dry after.

Editing Your Digital Images

While the use of digital cameras has made it easier for photographers to quickly check whether or not they like the shot they’ve taken, there are still usually flaws that need to be touched up or a crop that will make the image more dramatic. Because of this, they need to use image editors to produce their desired results.

While image editors that are built-in to the computer’s OS (take Microsoft Paint, for example) can do very basic editing, power users such as professionals and web designers need more powerful programs. There are a number of good image editors out there that are popular among photographers and web designers alike. For one there’s Adobe Photoshop.

Ever since it was released in 1990, its use has become an industry standard in the image editing industry. Then there’s Corel PHOTO-PAINT of the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. This program specifically targets photographers who wish to edit their images using the computer.

Another photo editing software is GIMP which stands for GNU Image Manipulation. The good thing about this photo editor is that you can use it in a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix. For those who are used to the Photoshop interface, there’s the GIMPshop developed by Scott Moschella.

Google has also developed Picasa which is a basic photo editing and organizing software which can be useful to photographers who only need to crop, fix red eye, and adjust the hues on their photos.

Storage Types for Digital Cameras

Unlike the 35mm film camera which differed only in the number of shots and manufacturers, different digital

cameras use different storage media. This is usually the case for different camera manufacturers as some brands prefer to have a proprietary storage medium for their cameras.

Aside from the different types of storage media, they also differ in the amount of memory they can handle. Today’s cameras eat up more memory which is why bigger memory is the order of the day especially for professionals. Here are some of the most popular storage media used by digital cameras today:

1. Compact flash

- this is perhaps the most common storage device for digital cameras, especially high-end ones like digital
SLRs.

Compact flash memory comes in two flavors: Type I and II. Most cameras accept Type I although the Type II varieties have a higher capacity.

2. Memory Stick

- this is a proprietary storage media produced and developed by Sony not only for their digital cameras but
also on their other products.

Early Memory Sticks were able to store only up to 256MB although Sony has already come up with the Memory Stick Pro which has capacities up to 1GB.

3. Secure Digital (SD) and MultiMedia Cards

- are yet other varieties of storage media. Aside from digital cameras, they can also be used on a host of devices such as mobile phones.

These varieties are the smallest among storage media especially when the micro SD memory was introduced to the public. The SD card and the MMC (MultiMedia Card) are basically the same except for the fact that SD cards have a write-protect switch to protect the data that is stored inside.

Which Image Format Do I Choose

If you are into digital photography, chances are that you have already come across the different file formats used by digital cameras.

It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur or a professional because you will have to deal with them when taking
pictures and transferring them to your computer and eventually editing them.

But which image format is best for you? It all depends on the result that you want and how much control you want to have over editing your images. Below are the most common image formats used by digital cameras.

1. JPEG

- this is probably the most popular image format used not only in digital photography but also in web design. It is a good thing because you can be sure that you can open your file using any computer and without the need of special software.

There’s a downside, however, since JPEG is considered a glossy’ format, which means that a lot of details are lost due to the format’s compression.

2. TIFF

- the answer to JPEG’s lossy quality is the TIFF format. It means that more details are saved which translates to a better image quality.

But it comes at a price since TIFF files are notoriously huge and could eat up storage media space in no time.

3. RAW

- among the three, RAW could be considered as the file that shows images at its, well, rawest. RAW images are unprocessed which gives photographers more control in editing them later on.

Parts of a Digital Camera

Although the major parts of the digital camera is much the same as the typical film camera, there are differences that may confuse people especially those who are making the jump from the film to digital format.

It doesn’t also help that digital cameras, even the most basic ones, typically have more buttons than the usual point and click film cameras. We hope that with this article, we can help you in identifying the parts of your digital camera.

1. The LCD screen

- this is probably the most obvious difference between a digital and a film camera. The LCD screen provides users with a preview of the shot they will be taking.

Unlike film cameras which use only the viewfinder, the LCD gives people exactly what they see on the display. Aside from that, the LCD also provides information on the camera such as the amount of battery left and the like.

2. A slot for the storage media

- while the film in a film camera is usually loaded on the back, the slot of the storage media differs from one type of digital camera to the other.

The user manual can help you find where it is.

3. A slot for transferring your data

- you can transfer that pictures you have taken by physically removing your card from the camera and putting it into the card reader of your computer.

However, you can also connect your camera via USB or other ports on your computer if you do not have a card reader.