You’ve been snapping away with your nifty little point and shoot camera for a while now and you’ve discovered you really like taking pictures and want to get more creative and have more control over your photos. Naturally the next step is to upgrade to an SLR camera. But which one? There is a ridiculous number of products out there with all sorts of buttons and dials that do this or that. This article attempts to give a brief overview of the things that are actually important when considering which camera to buy.
Firstly, let’s dispel one of the most common myths associated with upgrading equipment. Buying a new camera will not make you a better photographer. Repeat: it will NOT make you a better photographer. Not instantly, not in 2 years time, not in 10 years. What will make you a better photographer is you. Your willingness to learn and develop your skills. Sure a high end camera will give you more control over your image making, but that’s just it; its you controlling the camera, and therefore the end image. Ok, now that we’re on the same track, a few things to think about.
How many megapixels do I need?
We are going to assume that you are looking at digital cameras here, although I should point out that there are some excellent film cameras around at much less expense. So don’t discount film altogether (it’s not dead just yet!). But to answer the question, we first need to answer another: What do you want to do with your photos? If you only want to post your photos on the web, e-mail them or make small prints to put in a photo album, the resolution you need for this is quite low. To give you an idea, a camera with 2 megapixels will create an image that can make a good quality 6 x 4 print (standard photo album size). Most entry level SLR cameras start at around 6 megapixels. Therefore if this is all you want to do with your images, the amount of megapixels does not need to be a major concern. If, however, you want to make large sized prints, you may need a higher resolution camera. While entry level SLR’s often produce very good quality prints up to a certain size, more pixels gives you the freedom of being able to enlarge even further. While image software programs can increase the size of your photos they will lose some quality. Starting with a larger image means that fewer pixels are added by the program and less quality is lost.
Is brand important?
Not as important as some would have you think. While photographers will continue to debate the Nikon vs Canon issue, my belief is that it is a moot point. Both companies produce some excellent products and some pretty ordinary ones. What should be foremost in your mind is build quality. How many plastic parts does the camera have versus metal ones? Metal parts can be replaced, while plastic parts are usually set into a mould and cannot be. Potentially this could mean the difference between having to buy a new part or a new camera a few years down the track. Check how the camera feels in your hand. If it feels solid and sturdy, it probably is. Quality between brands doesn’t differ greatly until you get into the higher end cameras. This is where Nikon and Canon come to the fore and other brands that don’t target this market drop off. However if you decide you don’t need a higher end camera, don’t discount other brands.
What about features?
Cameras come with all sorts of different modes and features. Some of them seem to be included for no other reason than to be a selling point for that particular model. It takes a little research to discern which are actually going to be useful. There are, however, some that you should factor into your considerations. Firstly, what mode settings does the camera have? Many entry level SLR’s have similar settings to point and shoot cameras. I.e. Portrait, landscape, low light etc. While these make things easy, the point of moving up to an SLR camera is to gain more control over your photos. You will never gain the control you want without learning how to use a camera in full manual mode.
Other features, such as a built if flash or cable release socket, may be important to you depending on the type of photography you want to do. If you like to shoot portraits, a built in flash can be a huge help in lighting shadows. If you are interested in landscape photography, you will at some point want to set you camera up on a tripod to capture a low light scene. Using a cable release allows you to press the shutter without actually touching the camera, removing the camera shake that blurs a picture.
One final consideration.
This is possibly the most important of all. Make sure the camera you choose is comfortable and easy to use. Check that you can reach all the buttons easily while shooting and that the dial and menu configurations are logical. This allows you to learn your gear easily so that you can concentrate on the most important thing: taking pictures.
http://www.expansephotography.com.
Capture Perfect Digital Sports and Action Shots - Digital Photography Tips Complementary Guide
What gets you all excited about your favourite sport? ... the thrill of the chase in horse racing or maybe the atmosphere and tension of a ball game, maybe your favourite player? ... Well if you were to capture some of these scenes how would you do it best? For some digital photography tips, let’s take a look at a few ideas right now to capture that realism ...
Get Familiar
It’s worth getting familiar with the sport before you start shooting, for example, how points are scored, what causes penalties etc, as this will give you an advantage over others … you will learn to expect where the best action is likely to be, and you can then capture those glorious moments.
Another great tip, as well as aiming to catch the action, capture the ‘emotion’ too. Be ready to shoot players’ faces on triumph of a goal, or any other emotive action in the game and you will bring your photos alive!
Be Prepared
Cold and bad weather conditions can quickly rob the life of your digital camera’s battery, so it’s important to always carry an extra charged battery especially for outdoor sports.
Action Techniques
Stop Action … you’ll very quickly be able to shoot an action shot and ‘freeze’ your subject practically in mid air. Imagine the wheels of a drag car on a dirt road, bouncing off the many bumps … for those few seconds while the car is in mid air, snap away to capture the action.
Lighting is not too much of an issue if you’re outside on a sunny or partially sunny day say at a car race, dog track, or horse race etc, but you’ll maybe need to make adjustments if you’re inside a gymnasium shooting a basketball game, for example. If the lighting is bright, then you’ll probably be okay, but depending on the type of lighting, you may need to activate your fill flash if you shoot players in action and you find your photo colorisation shifting to ‘yellow’.
Also bear in mind the distance, as your flash will not carry too far … it might be worth sitting near the basket hoop to catch the action!
Blurred Action … a couple of ideas behind blurred action is, firstly … if you look back at your photos you have taken using Stop Action, you may find one or two shots that did not freeze the action, which means your camera did not catch the action at the right moment … so you end up with an interestingly blurry effect to your subject.
Secondly, if you’re shooting a ball game, for example, you may get blurring if your player moves just as you click your shutter. If you did not intend for this to happen, you might be pleasantly surprised with the effect!
Panned Action … the most difficult to accomplish, but probably the most effective shooting technique, once mastered. The advantage using your digital camera is that you can delete unwanted frames and start again, so here’s how panning basically works...
Using your digital camera in automatic mode press the shutter half way down to focus on your subject, moving your camera sideways following the action, then pressing the shutter fully while still moving your camera. The effect created is the front of your subject should remain in fairly strong focus, while the back of your subject should start to blur, and as it blurs a long trail should appear, giving a feeling of movement like no other effect could possibly achieve.
Experiment
By knowing what your digital camera can do, experiment with different methods to get the best shots. You could try shooting in continuous mode, then try panning the camera along with your subject, whilst he/she or it is in motion.
I hope these digital photography tips are helpful. If you can get to grips with panning, as I have described above, you’re on a winner!
Get Familiar
It’s worth getting familiar with the sport before you start shooting, for example, how points are scored, what causes penalties etc, as this will give you an advantage over others … you will learn to expect where the best action is likely to be, and you can then capture those glorious moments.
Another great tip, as well as aiming to catch the action, capture the ‘emotion’ too. Be ready to shoot players’ faces on triumph of a goal, or any other emotive action in the game and you will bring your photos alive!
Be Prepared
Cold and bad weather conditions can quickly rob the life of your digital camera’s battery, so it’s important to always carry an extra charged battery especially for outdoor sports.
Action Techniques
Stop Action … you’ll very quickly be able to shoot an action shot and ‘freeze’ your subject practically in mid air. Imagine the wheels of a drag car on a dirt road, bouncing off the many bumps … for those few seconds while the car is in mid air, snap away to capture the action.
Lighting is not too much of an issue if you’re outside on a sunny or partially sunny day say at a car race, dog track, or horse race etc, but you’ll maybe need to make adjustments if you’re inside a gymnasium shooting a basketball game, for example. If the lighting is bright, then you’ll probably be okay, but depending on the type of lighting, you may need to activate your fill flash if you shoot players in action and you find your photo colorisation shifting to ‘yellow’.
Also bear in mind the distance, as your flash will not carry too far … it might be worth sitting near the basket hoop to catch the action!
Blurred Action … a couple of ideas behind blurred action is, firstly … if you look back at your photos you have taken using Stop Action, you may find one or two shots that did not freeze the action, which means your camera did not catch the action at the right moment … so you end up with an interestingly blurry effect to your subject.
Secondly, if you’re shooting a ball game, for example, you may get blurring if your player moves just as you click your shutter. If you did not intend for this to happen, you might be pleasantly surprised with the effect!
Panned Action … the most difficult to accomplish, but probably the most effective shooting technique, once mastered. The advantage using your digital camera is that you can delete unwanted frames and start again, so here’s how panning basically works...
Using your digital camera in automatic mode press the shutter half way down to focus on your subject, moving your camera sideways following the action, then pressing the shutter fully while still moving your camera. The effect created is the front of your subject should remain in fairly strong focus, while the back of your subject should start to blur, and as it blurs a long trail should appear, giving a feeling of movement like no other effect could possibly achieve.
Experiment
By knowing what your digital camera can do, experiment with different methods to get the best shots. You could try shooting in continuous mode, then try panning the camera along with your subject, whilst he/she or it is in motion.
I hope these digital photography tips are helpful. If you can get to grips with panning, as I have described above, you’re on a winner!
The Basics of Measuring Digital Signage ROI
Back in the days when mail order was the primary channel through which non-store sales were conducted, it was relatively easy to determine your return on investment for a given campaign. If you spent $50,000 on production, postage, and other costs, and generated $10,000 in profit, your ROI was 20%. When it comes to a digital signage network, the numbers are harder to calculate. It's often difficult to know what effect, if any, your content is having on viewers. The reason is largely due to problems in tracking and measuring their response.
For example, the purpose of your signage network may be to generate leads. But, when a lead is generated, how do you know whether your signs stimulated the action? Or, consider sales. Even if you only have a few digital screens in one venue and the goal is to lift sales for a given product, how do you know what level sales lift can be attributed to your signs?
These are a few of the challenges that are inherent with identifying your network's return on investment. Below, we'll take a brief tour through a hypothetical signage network that exists exclusively to sell advertising space. There are obviously many reasons for which you can deploy digital signs; this particular business model offers simplicity for our discussion.
Trackable Metrics
The main variable that we're going to track is the cost for every thousand people who view our hypothetical signage segment. This metric is referred to as the "CPM." Let's assume that that all of our screens are within one retail venue and our venue receives 10,000 people each day. On average, each person spends 7 minutes within our store. Our signage segment lasts for 7 minutes (for simplicity's sake) which means that each person sees it one time.
Let's further assume that we're selling ad spots on our screens for $250 for distribution throughout the week. Given these numbers, every impression of our segment has a cost of $0.025 (or, $250 divided by 10,000). Therefore, our CPM is $25. If each spot is 15 seconds, a 7-minute loop would accommodate 28 advertisers, assuming our entire segment is comprised of advertising. That means we're generating $7,000 in weekly revenue (or, 28 multiplied by $250).
If the cost of our maintaining the digital signage network - including hardware, software, staff, and support - is $3,500, our profit is $3,500. That translates into an ROI of 100%.
Other Data To Track
Admittedly, the example that we're using in this article neglects some of the finer points of determining your signage network's ROI. For example, you might not be selling advertising space on your screens. Instead, you might be designing your segments in order to lift in-store sales. Or, you may have your digital screens positioned outside the entrance of your retail stores and are trying to motivate people to enter. Or, maybe you're using your screens to not only lift sales, but to up-sell customers.
Each of these objectives requires that you track a different set of variables. Some of them are incredibly hard to measure. For example, if the goal of your signage network content is to give your brand increased exposure, how do you quantify the result? In truth, it's often impossible (or nearly so).
In a future column, we'll explore some of these points in greater detail. We'll take a closer look at some of the methods that you can use in order to track an assortment of variables, including feedback forms, sales receipts, and other data. For now, realize that calculating the ROI of your network can often be a vague science.
For example, the purpose of your signage network may be to generate leads. But, when a lead is generated, how do you know whether your signs stimulated the action? Or, consider sales. Even if you only have a few digital screens in one venue and the goal is to lift sales for a given product, how do you know what level sales lift can be attributed to your signs?
These are a few of the challenges that are inherent with identifying your network's return on investment. Below, we'll take a brief tour through a hypothetical signage network that exists exclusively to sell advertising space. There are obviously many reasons for which you can deploy digital signs; this particular business model offers simplicity for our discussion.
Trackable Metrics
The main variable that we're going to track is the cost for every thousand people who view our hypothetical signage segment. This metric is referred to as the "CPM." Let's assume that that all of our screens are within one retail venue and our venue receives 10,000 people each day. On average, each person spends 7 minutes within our store. Our signage segment lasts for 7 minutes (for simplicity's sake) which means that each person sees it one time.
Let's further assume that we're selling ad spots on our screens for $250 for distribution throughout the week. Given these numbers, every impression of our segment has a cost of $0.025 (or, $250 divided by 10,000). Therefore, our CPM is $25. If each spot is 15 seconds, a 7-minute loop would accommodate 28 advertisers, assuming our entire segment is comprised of advertising. That means we're generating $7,000 in weekly revenue (or, 28 multiplied by $250).
If the cost of our maintaining the digital signage network - including hardware, software, staff, and support - is $3,500, our profit is $3,500. That translates into an ROI of 100%.
Other Data To Track
Admittedly, the example that we're using in this article neglects some of the finer points of determining your signage network's ROI. For example, you might not be selling advertising space on your screens. Instead, you might be designing your segments in order to lift in-store sales. Or, you may have your digital screens positioned outside the entrance of your retail stores and are trying to motivate people to enter. Or, maybe you're using your screens to not only lift sales, but to up-sell customers.
Each of these objectives requires that you track a different set of variables. Some of them are incredibly hard to measure. For example, if the goal of your signage network content is to give your brand increased exposure, how do you quantify the result? In truth, it's often impossible (or nearly so).
In a future column, we'll explore some of these points in greater detail. We'll take a closer look at some of the methods that you can use in order to track an assortment of variables, including feedback forms, sales receipts, and other data. For now, realize that calculating the ROI of your network can often be a vague science.
Labels:
Signage Measurement
The Basics of Measuring Digital Signage ROI
Back in the days when mail order was the primary channel through which non-store sales were conducted, it was relatively easy to determine your return on investment for a given campaign. If you spent $50,000 on production, postage, and other costs, and generated $10,000 in profit, your ROI was 20%. When it comes to a digital signage network, the numbers are harder to calculate. It's often difficult to know what effect, if any, your content is having on viewers. The reason is largely due to problems in tracking and measuring their response.
For example, the purpose of your signage network may be to generate leads. But, when a lead is generated, how do you know whether your signs stimulated the action? Or, consider sales. Even if you only have a few digital screens in one venue and the goal is to lift sales for a given product, how do you know what level sales lift can be attributed to your signs?
These are a few of the challenges that are inherent with identifying your network's return on investment. Below, we'll take a brief tour through a hypothetical signage network that exists exclusively to sell advertising space. There are obviously many reasons for which you can deploy digital signs; this particular business model offers simplicity for our discussion.
Trackable Metrics
The main variable that we're going to track is the cost for every thousand people who view our hypothetical signage segment. This metric is referred to as the "CPM." Let's assume that that all of our screens are within one retail venue and our venue receives 10,000 people each day. On average, each person spends 7 minutes within our store. Our signage segment lasts for 7 minutes (for simplicity's sake) which means that each person sees it one time.
Let's further assume that we're selling ad spots on our screens for $250 for distribution throughout the week. Given these numbers, every impression of our segment has a cost of $0.025 (or, $250 divided by 10,000). Therefore, our CPM is $25. If each spot is 15 seconds, a 7-minute loop would accommodate 28 advertisers, assuming our entire segment is comprised of advertising. That means we're generating $7,000 in weekly revenue (or, 28 multiplied by $250).
If the cost of our maintaining the digital signage network - including hardware, software, staff, and support - is $3,500, our profit is $3,500. That translates into an ROI of 100%.
Other Data To Track
Admittedly, the example that we're using in this article neglects some of the finer points of determining your signage network's ROI. For example, you might not be selling advertising space on your screens. Instead, you might be designing your segments in order to lift in-store sales. Or, you may have your digital screens positioned outside the entrance of your retail stores and are trying to motivate people to enter. Or, maybe you're using your screens to not only lift sales, but to up-sell customers.
Each of these objectives requires that you track a different set of variables. Some of them are incredibly hard to measure. For example, if the goal of your signage network content is to give your brand increased exposure, how do you quantify the result? In truth, it's often impossible (or nearly so).
In a future column, we'll explore some of these points in greater detail. We'll take a closer look at some of the methods that you can use in order to track an assortment of variables, including feedback forms, sales receipts, and other data. For now, realize that calculating the ROI of your network can often be a vague science.
For example, the purpose of your signage network may be to generate leads. But, when a lead is generated, how do you know whether your signs stimulated the action? Or, consider sales. Even if you only have a few digital screens in one venue and the goal is to lift sales for a given product, how do you know what level sales lift can be attributed to your signs?
These are a few of the challenges that are inherent with identifying your network's return on investment. Below, we'll take a brief tour through a hypothetical signage network that exists exclusively to sell advertising space. There are obviously many reasons for which you can deploy digital signs; this particular business model offers simplicity for our discussion.
Trackable Metrics
The main variable that we're going to track is the cost for every thousand people who view our hypothetical signage segment. This metric is referred to as the "CPM." Let's assume that that all of our screens are within one retail venue and our venue receives 10,000 people each day. On average, each person spends 7 minutes within our store. Our signage segment lasts for 7 minutes (for simplicity's sake) which means that each person sees it one time.
Let's further assume that we're selling ad spots on our screens for $250 for distribution throughout the week. Given these numbers, every impression of our segment has a cost of $0.025 (or, $250 divided by 10,000). Therefore, our CPM is $25. If each spot is 15 seconds, a 7-minute loop would accommodate 28 advertisers, assuming our entire segment is comprised of advertising. That means we're generating $7,000 in weekly revenue (or, 28 multiplied by $250).
If the cost of our maintaining the digital signage network - including hardware, software, staff, and support - is $3,500, our profit is $3,500. That translates into an ROI of 100%.
Other Data To Track
Admittedly, the example that we're using in this article neglects some of the finer points of determining your signage network's ROI. For example, you might not be selling advertising space on your screens. Instead, you might be designing your segments in order to lift in-store sales. Or, you may have your digital screens positioned outside the entrance of your retail stores and are trying to motivate people to enter. Or, maybe you're using your screens to not only lift sales, but to up-sell customers.
Each of these objectives requires that you track a different set of variables. Some of them are incredibly hard to measure. For example, if the goal of your signage network content is to give your brand increased exposure, how do you quantify the result? In truth, it's often impossible (or nearly so).
In a future column, we'll explore some of these points in greater detail. We'll take a closer look at some of the methods that you can use in order to track an assortment of variables, including feedback forms, sales receipts, and other data. For now, realize that calculating the ROI of your network can often be a vague science.
Labels:
Signage Measurement
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