Accessories
How to Buy a Digital Camera - The Beginner’s GuideThe easy way of finding the best camera. Trying to find the best-rated digital cameras online is a difficult task. I have finally found a good format to guide you through the maze and to the digital camera that is best for you. I have created an interactive Mind Map to show you which digital camera to buy based on your requirements. You can manipulate the map and let it guide you toward a small selection of cameras that fit your needs: |
How to avoid a “bad" memory cardLearn how to avoid data loss and how to shop smart. Nothing can be more frustrating than losing pictures due to memory card problems. I shot some nice pictures at the end of a strenuous hike to a waterfall. As Murphy wants it, those images were lost, not the ones easier to take again. As a semiconductor professional, I have some insight into Flash technology. Some of it translates into easy to follow guidelines to avoid data corruption. I put technical background information in italics, making it easier for you to skip over these sections. |
Geotagging invades Privacy
|
Recommendations, Third Party Lenses, Digital
Choosing the right lenses is still hard, even with all the technical facts at our disposal. How do the lenses behave in real life and why are lenses from some manufacturers cheaper? |
Aperture, Image Stabilization, Shutter Speeds, ISO Small
ApertureWhy some lenses cost
more than you can imagine.Lenses with wide maximum aperture are big, heavy and expensive. Besides the coolness factor of showing off large lenses, what drives people to buy these monsters and why should we even care? What is Aperture?Aperture is the circular opening of your lens.You can control the size of the opening with the aperture setting on your camera. The camera then controls the lens. Depending on the lens you are using, you can dial in a different maximum aperture setting (smallest f-number). Lenses with large maximum aperture settings thus, need to be physically large as well, to deal with the wide opening. |
My Gorillapods are here
Somehow, whenever Dani and I go on a trip, we end up shopping for it. This time we bought better carry-on suitcases with laptop bay, since we will try to cut down on our check in luggage. We also end up buying camera stuff, even if we buy just a filter or some other accessory. This time we will go on a big city trip in the eastern USA and Canada. Big tripods are always a hassle on trips like this. Even if you would choose to lug a big tripod through a city, officials often restrict access to public places if you carry a tripod. They automatically assume that you make a load of money from your pictures, just because you plan and choose not to have blurry pictures. On this trip we are going to better the odds in our favor with our new Gorillapods. We bought the large version (Gorillapod SLR-Zoom) which is surprisingly small. It appeared bigger on the pictures. I think you also need a tripod head, although you can screw the pod into your camera directly, some positions require the head. I am using my Bogen Head in the picture. Attaching the pod to the tree is surprisingly flimsy. I do not expect to get superior results from this, especially on a windy day. I have to remember to turn on the mirror lockup feature, even with moderately long exposures. When I am back from the trip, I will post a Gorillapod review. |
Examples, Lens Testing
Scenario: Wildlife photography on a shoestringMark’s story:Mark contacted me with a difficult task. What we considered:Since his XTi already came with a kit lens, we focused on the most reach for the money. A 300mm lens gives him an equivalent focal length of 480mm due to the XTi’s 1.6 crop factor. |
I quit the split
|

Geotagging
This article is part of a larger 

