Photo Journalism 4(1+3)

Lesson 11 : Handling of Different Types of Camera

A 5 mega-pixel Camera Phone

• The inexpensive digital camera looks much like a disposable film camera. It is often even smaller than the disposable compact. The smallest versions of course are cameras that are also cell-phones.
• Such cameras are adequate for taking photographs that may be transmitted over the Internet, or sent from one mobile phone to another.
• The printable picture size may limited, (even to that which may be achieved with a simple disposable camera), although some camera-phones now boast 5 mega pixel sensors and good optics.
• Beware, some cheap digital cameras claim to produce large images, but these are achieved via special software in the camera and are not truly large images at all.
• Equivalent software is available for computers and indeed very good results may be obtained from 2 – 3 mega pixel cameras when computer software is used.
• Most cheap cameras cannot be focused but rely on something called depth-of-field. This means that you must hope that most of the picture you desire to capture will be reproduced sharply enough to be a good photograph.
• Focus can be adjusted on more expensive cameras. Today most cameras designed for amateur use focus electronically.
• All cameras have some kind of window through which you look to compose your photograph.
• Disposable, compact and the rangefinder cameras favoured by travel photographers place the viewfinder just above, a a little above and to the side of the lens.