Reviewing your pictures by looking at the camera’s LCD is often misleading. It makes you think that the photo you’ve just taken is just perfect, when, in reality, it’s far from it; it’s blurry. Sometimes you are lucky, and it’s possible to try taking that same shot at a later time. If a tripod is not available and setting a faster shutter speed is not an option, you might be able to eliminate the effect of shaky hands by simply turning on a setting in your camera. That setting is none other than Image Stabilization, or IS.

Different camera manufacturers have different names for this technology, so IS is also known as VR, MEGA O.I.S., SR, OS, SSS, VC. And although the technologies involved may differ from one manufacturer to another, the majority of the end users couldn’t care less, as long as they get what they paid for.

Two technologies can be used to achieve image stabilization:

• Lens Shift, in which the lens elements counteract camera shake by shifting. Other names for this technology, found especially in public forums, are in-lens stabilization, lens-based stabilization, and others.
  
• Sensor Shift, where, in response to camera movements, the camera’s sensor moves to prevent image blurring. This is also known as in-body stabilization, body-based, etc.
  

Be warned though; don’t be fooled by misleading advertisements and marketing campaigns. You may see from time to time other types of “image stabilization” in digicams, ones which involve high ISO settings, e.g. 800, 1600… Increasing the ISO setting means that the camera sensor amplifies the light coming from the lens, which in turn means that you can set faster shutter speeds than with low ISO numbers. But using a high ISO also means noisy photos (the higher the ISO setting, the more noise you get in the final picture). This is not image stabilization, like some manufacturers like to advertise it. Maybe in the near future, some really smart company will start to sell cameras with free tiny tripods included in the package, and they will call that “image stabilization”. After all, a tripod stabilizes the camera, right?

Before comparing lens-based and body-based stabilization technologies, we must note that using them does not prevent motion blur; it reduces the effects of camera shake. Motion blur is caused by the subject’s movement; camera shake is caused by the photographer’s unsteady hands. Some cameras offer the option of using stabilization in panning mode, when the photographer follows the moving subject. In this mode, stabilization counteracts vertical shake only.

If you are planning on buying a DSLR camera, first try to understand the difference between lens shift and sensor shift stabilization:

1. At shorter focal lengths, both systems do a good job.
   
2. At longer focal lengths (telephoto lenses), lens shift stabilization is better. This is because longer focal lengths (when you zoom in) exaggerate the effect of camera shake, and tiny movements of the camera translate into significant movements of the image on the camera’s sensor. Sensor shifting technology is (yet) incapable of correcting this, as it would mean a bulkier camera body and bigger components of the optical system of the body, to allow for larger shifts of the sensor to reduce blurriness. And this also would mean more expensive camera bodies.
3. Lens shift technology will cost you more, because you will have to pay for the IS technology every time you buy an IS-lens. So if you plan on purchasing more than one or two lenses for your camera, you have to think if the additional costs justify the benefits of having in-lens stabilization.
4. Sensor shift technology is cheaper. You pay for it once, then you can buy non-IS lenses for the body. You can even equip your camera with very old lenses, which were manufactured long before modern digital cameras were born. You can buy those in good condition and extremely cheap, too. Although it’s not guaranteed that image stabilization will work with every lens that fits into the camera body, there’s a good chance that it will.
   
5. If you know you will never purchase more than two lenses for your DSLR, then it’s a question of preference. Chances are, if you’re not a professional or a very serious amateur photographer, you won’t need many lenses.
6. In-lens stabilization allows you to see a stabilized image in the viewfinder. Sensor shift doesn’t. That’s because DSLR cameras have an OVF (Optical ViewFinder), and the image you view in the viewfinder comes directly from the lens, and not from the camera sensor.

Canon’s IS, Nikon’s VR (Vibration Reduction) and Sigma’s OS (Optical Stabilization) technologies, among others, are found only in the lenses. Tamron, who doesn’t manufacture camera bodies, sells several VC (Vibration Compensation) lenses. If you are considering purchasing a camera with in-body stabilization, such cameras are made by companies like Sony, Pentax, Olympus, and others.

Nothing beats good photography techniques, and learning how to hold the camera in your hands and how to stand while taking pictures is of utmost importance. Image stabilization is a very nice feature to have in a DSLR, be it in the body or in the lens. First decide on a budget, then on the focal lengths you will need in lenses, and it shouldn’t be too hard to decide which type of image stabilization suits you more. Although image stabilization doesn’t perform miracles, it will make you more confident when taking challenging pictures, and more happy when viewing them.

May 24th, 2008 | Tags: body, image stabilization, IS, lens, lens shift, sensor shift, vibration reduction, VR | Category: Digital Cameras & Accessories Buying Advice | Leave a comment

Some things in nature never cease to amaze us. Take lightning, for example. It’s not just amazing, but it gets so scary that our ancestors, in an attempt to appease the alarmingly loud and surprisingly bright thing, elected it as a God.

They didn’t have a camera…not even a film camera. Of course, then, Camera would have been known as the God who captured the God of Lightning; which brings us to the purpose of this article: photographing lightning with a digital camera without getting fried. Although there is no guarantee that your equipment won’t be hit by lightning, we’ll try to do our best to prevent that.

Open the shutter long enough, and you might catch two or more lightning bolts in a single photo!

Lightning Photography equipment needed

• A digital camera. You really need it, we’re talking from experience! You don’t need a DSLR, but be sure your point-and-shoot camera has some basic manual settings. We’ll list which settings are needed in a little bit.
  
• A tripod. Although you could do without it, it’s highly recommended. A monopod could be useful if you’re not photographing lightning at night. If you’re planning on shooting lightning during the day, then handheld would also be okay.
  
• An extra battery/set of batteries. You don’t want to run out of those in a middle of a beautiful thunderstorm!
  
• Storage. Be sure to have a memory card that can store at least several hundred shots, especially if your camera doesn’t have a bulb setting or if you’re planning on shooting lightning during the day in continuous (burst) mode.
• If you don’t want the camera’s lens to get wet, a UV filter is a great option. In fact, many purchase a UV filter just to protect their lenses.
• If you are planning on setting up your equipment in a place that doesn’t have a roof, then think about getting a waterproof case for your camera. An umbrella alone will not save it from moisture!
  
• Cable release. It’s a cable which lets the photographer release the shutter remotely, which eliminates camera shake caused by the finger pressing the shutter button. Don’t worry if you don’t have it or if it’s not available for your camera model. Unless your camera model has a bulb setting (which involves pressing on the shutter button) and you were planning on using it, it’s really not that necessary.
  

If you don’t want to go thunderstorm hunting, you can stay at home and try to capture the lightning strikes. If you live in a city, then this is the easiest scenario, especially if you have a balcony in a tall building. And it helps if no surrounding building is blocking the view. Be aware that, although a balcony is not as exposed as the roof of a building, you could get struck by lightning!

In case you’re outside, be sure there’s an enclosed building nearby you could seek shelter in. After all, we want to survive the photo session and brag about how we took those lightning pictures!

Photographing lightning during the day

Now let’s suppose it’s daytime, so we’ll prepare the camera accordingly:

• Manual Focus at infinity.
• If you are planning on shooting handheld, choose a wider aperture (smaller F-Stop number). This will allow you to set a faster shutter speed, eliminating camera shake.
  
• Choose the best shutter speed for the aperture you set earlier. Or just put your camera in Av Mode (Aperture Priority) and it will set the shutter speed automatically.
  
• Set your camera to continuous shooting mode (burst mode). This will prevent missing some really valuable lightning bolts! If the camera’s on a tripod, turn on the camera’s self-timer and set it to the maximum amount of shots possible, with the briefest shutter interval (time between shots).
  
• A high ISO is not needed, so ISO 100 is good.
  
• Point your camera in the right direction, and execute!

Photographing lightning at night

At night you will need different settings:

• Manual Focus at infinity.
• You don’t have to set the widest aperture, even at night, because setting the shutter speed at 15 seconds or even more sometimes (bulb setting) means very bright surroundings, especially in urban areas.
• The shutter speed and ISO are up to you. So experiment! But know that the lower the shutter speed, the longer the shutter is open, and the higher the chances of capturing multiple lightning bolts, several seconds apart, in one photo. As a side note, it is known that noise in the picture is more visible when photographing with low shutter speeds (several seconds or more).
  
• Turn on the camera’s self-timer and set it to the maximum amount of shots possible, with the briefest shutter interval. Continuous shooting mode is a good option at night only if you have a cable release, because if you keep the shutter button pressed all the time through several 15 second shots (and the time between those that the camera needs to process them), then you won’t only have extremely blurry pictures as a result, but an awfully numb index finger as well!
• Do I need to remind you to point the camera in the right direction?

If you have some lightning photography techniques to share with us, then please contact us.

You should take safety precautions whenever you’re planning on photographing lightning! Visit the Lightning Safety page on the noaa.gov website.

May 12th, 2008 | Tags: lightning, lightning photos, thunderstorm | Category: Photography Tutorials | Leave a comment

The term “pixel”, or picture element, is not only used in photography. As the name says, a pixel is the smallest element of a picture, just like a letter is the smallest element of a word. It is used to define the resolution of a screen or a digital camera sensor.

The color of each pixel in RGB mode is defined by a combination of the values from 3 channels, the Red one, the Green one and the Blue one. The value is between 0 and 255. For example:

A red pixel has these values: R=255 G=0 B=0

A green pixel has these values: R=0 G=255 B=0

A blue pixel has these values: R=0 G=0 B=255

May 9th, 2008 | Tags: pixel, RGB | Category: Photography Glossary | Leave a comment

MP, one of the most widely used abbreviations in photography, stands for MegaPixel. One megapixel equals one million pixels.

The MP unit is used in digital cameras as a very important specification, because the more megapixels a digital camera sensor has, the bigger the resolution of the pictures taken. But let us point out that a larger number of megapixels does NOT always mean a better image quality.

May 9th, 2008 | Tags: megapixel, MP, resolution | Category: Photography Abbreviations | Leave a comment

TTL stands for Through The Lens metering. The TTL metering system meters the light that comes through the lens, bounces off a mirror and onto a sensor inside the camera.

There’s also TTL flash metering. It’s a type of flash exposure metering that is used to measure the flash light that reaches the sensor when the camera’s shutter is open. When the needed amount of light is detected by the camera, the latter instructs the flash unit to shut off.

May 5th, 2008 | Tags: flash, metering, through the lens, TTL | Category: Photography Abbreviations | Leave a comment

The focal length is the distance, measured in millimeters, between the optical center of the lens and the focal point (film or sensor), when the lens is focused on infinity.

Various lenses have various focal lengths. Wide angle lenses have a focal length of less than 35mm in film cameras and full-frame DSLRs; lenses are considered standard if they have a 50mm focal length; telephoto lenses generally have focal lengths of 70 or more.

April 30th, 2008 | Tags: focal length, telephoto, wide angle | Category: Photography Glossary | Leave a comment

The speed of a lens is determined by the maximum aperture of the lens at a given focal length.

For example a 50mm f/2.0 lens is faster than a 50mm f/2.8 lens, because the first one has a smaller f-number (larger aperture), which means that it allows more light through the camera’s diaphragm and onto the sensor or film, allowing the photographer to set a faster shutter speed.

April 30th, 2008 | Tags: aperture, lens, lens speed | Category: Photography Glossary | Leave a comment

LCD is short for Liquid Crystal Display, the kind of displays which are used in cameras, monitors, cell phones and pretty much everywhere else where there is a display.

Although it’s not a big deal nowadays to see a point-and-shoot camera that features a swivel/tilt LCD with a live view, it wasn’t until recently that DSLR cameras started to have one or both of these features. The first DSLR camera that had an LCD with both swivel and live view capabilities was the Olympus E-330, announced in January 2006.

April 25th, 2008 | Tags: LCD, liquid crystal display | Category: Photography Abbreviations | Leave a comment

FOV is an abbreviation of Field of View, the angle captured by a camera at a given focal length and sensor size (or film size). This angle is measured vertically, horizontally and diagonally.

April 24th, 2008 | Tags: field of view, FOV | Category: Photography Abbreviations | Leave a comment