What’s
your digital photo personality?
By Alfred DeBat
What kind of digital photographer do you want to be?
It’s a question you should ask yourself before buying
a digital camera and photo printer. Here are the three main amateur photographer “personalities” with
a short profile of each.Casual Snapshot ShooterCasual photographers are interested
in making frequent snapshots of their friends and family at work and play, and
are satisfied with standard 4-by-6-inch color prints for their albums. This makes
2- or 3-megapixel digital cameras ideal for them, since they don’t need
big photo enlargements. Economical 2- and 3-megapixel cameras are usually available
in two different styles. One looks like a small point-and-shoot 35mm film camera,
the other is an ultra-compact, flat model that can comfortably slip into a shirt
or jacket pocket without making a bulge.
Both types of cameras
are available with zoom lenses (an important feature); however, the slim-line
model uses a prism or mirror within the body to incorporate a zoom lens that
doesn’t protrude from the camera.
Another advantage of these models
is that several manufacturers offer small cradle or accessory printers for individual
cameras that will, without a computer, produce 4-by-6-inch color prints with
the push of a single button. Some Canon and Kodak camera models have such printers
for less than $200. There are cradle printers that can also connect the camera
to a computer and send e-mail photos.
If you plan to send photos
online, these 2- and 3-megapixel cameras are perfect, since only low-resolution
images are used online and for computer monitor viewing of pictures. Many snapshot
shooting photographers prefer a memory card reader that is attached to their
desk computer or laptop. This means they can quickly take the memory card out
of their camera, slip it into the card reader, download the images to computer,
and immediately use the memory card for more picture-taking.
Remember, if you’re
too busy to print your photos at home or are on vacation, you can bring your
memory card to a digital photo retailer or photofinisher and have prints made,
as well as archive your images on a CD-ROM for future use.Family Historian
Family historians are individuals
who want to keep an ongoing photo record of their family’s changes and
growth. They cherish the memories found in family snapshots and portraits of
their parents and grandparents, and they want to provide an expanded visual history
for their own children and grandchildren. Whether you’re a soccer mom or
a family scrapbook maker, you probably want to print some photos as large as
8-by-10 inches. This requires digital cameras that have 4- or 5-megapixel resolution.
Most of these models are not ultra-compact, but have the look of small 35mm film
cameras. The higher resolution models also allow you to crop into a photo and
still make sharp enlargements of a section. For example, working with imaging
software on your computer, you can format an 8-by-10-inch team photo of your
son’s or daughter’s soccer team and drop in a 3-inch head-and-shoulder
portrait of your child into a corner of the overall group shot.
If you plan to make attractive
and interesting scrapbook pages by compositing photos or adding decorative borders
and text, you’ll need an inkjet printer and image enhancing software, such
as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Power Suite, or Roxio PhotoSuite.A
few inkjet printers don’t require computers; you just insert the camera
memory card into a slot on the unit and select the photo and size you want printed.
However, card-slot printers alone can only make a “straight” print
of your photography, just as the original image appears on the card.Inkjet printers
are available in different “media” (that’s printer talk for “paper”)
widths, usually from 8 inches or 12 inches wide. This means that you can output
long panorama prints the width of your particular printer’s media. In panorama
mode, you have the artistic freedom to make long wall-size prints. Since inkjet
printers accept a variety of different kinds of media, you can even use canvas
or watercolor paper to make the inkjet print look like a real piece of art. Again,
many of these kinds of advanced print services are available online, and at digital
photo retailers and photofinishers.
Even though 4- and 5-megapixel
cameras offer more sharpness and resolution in big prints, images can still be
sent over the Internet because Web transmission programs reduce the number of
pixels.Photo Hobbyist Since
digital imaging took the darkroom and chemicals out of home photo printing, more
individuals are becoming seriously interested in the art and craft of photography.
Photo hobbyists can work with almost any kind of digital camera. Those who want
to display large wall-size prints up to 16-by-20 inches, however, will require
fairly expensive 6- or 8-megapixel digital cameras that have nearly professional
sharpness and detail. There are a number of cameras less than $1,000 featuring
this kind of resolution: First are 8-megapixel zoom lens reflex (ZLR) models
with built-in extended-range zoom lenses that cover, for example, from 28mm wide-angle
to 200mm telephoto views (Canon, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Sony). Second
are 6-megapixel digital single lens reflex (SLR) models that employ interchangeable
lenses. Both the manufacturer’s standard SLR film camera lenses and special
digital camera SLR lenses can be used (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Sigma).
At this quality level
everything is more expensive. Some printers can accept extra-wide 17-inch media
and employ six-, seven-, or even eight-color inks for more accurate color rendition.
In addition to the standard Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks, some seven-color
models employ light-Cyan, light-Magenta, and light-Black inks, while an eight-color
Canon model includes separate Red and Green inks.
Serious photo artists
frequently use the magical capabilities of digital imaging manipulation software.
The $649 Adobe Photoshop CS is the choice of professionals, but the far less
expensive $99 Adobe Photoshop Elements offers almost as many image editing features.