Digital Camera Workshop

The purpose of the Digital Camera Workshop is to enable senior people to get the best possible usage out of their digital camera.

These workshops are to help you understand the technology that is in your camera. They are not a photography course.

If you would like to do a Photographic workshop and are intend travelling to Alice Springs at any time the click here

For a Link to some videos on Digital Photography click here

If you want to see more about Digital SLR camera usage and how to use camera in Manual Mode click here

The methodology of the workshops is for each participant to bring along their own digital camera with an empty memory card and the cameras manual. You will be responsible for your own equipment. After receiving a brief description of the concepts of photography what will be presented will be up to each participant.

It should be appreciated because of idiosyncrasies of each different model of cameras and different features that cameras have that what applies to one person may not apply to others and that some, one on one, time may be required. Because of this the workshops will be limited to 4 participants.

To enable the workshop tutor to get ready for the workshop please email them your name and the make and model of the camera you will be bringing to the workshop so that they can possibly download the manual of you camera from the internet and read it beforehand.

Email address of Geoff Greig geoffreykgreig@gmail.com

https://youtu.be/UBX2QQHlQ_I

Steven Sasson, in 1972 whist working for Kodak. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Sasson. His invention eventually contributed to the demise of Kodak. Kodak have trouble is transitioning their business model of selling photographic film to digital as is disclosed in this interview with Steven Sasson. http://www.megapixel.co.il/english/archive/35884

A small video of an interview with Steven Sasson: http://www.davidfriedmanphoto.com/blog/inventors/ (Search for Steven Sasson on the page)

The best way to learn how to use your camera is to experiment. Fortunately modern digital cameras make experimentation very easy because you do not have to pay for the developing of your photos and you can see the results of the photos you take immediate.

The most difficult part of learning how to use a modern digital camera is simply coming to grips with the terminology and what each of the functions of your camera does. Hopefully these notes and this course will overcome these difficulties. Under the heading "What your cameras can do" is a list of the things that most common digital cameras can do. To the right of each item may may be a link that explains what the function does (how to do it). Below most of the explanations will be exercises that you can perform which will further help in your understanding of the function.

The exercises are an important part of learning how to use your camera. It may be well worth repeating them several times, especially if you do not understand what the function is meant to be doing

To get started you can read these sections

How to Use your Camera, Every Camera is Different, Installing and changing Batteries, Installing and removing the memory card, Switching on and off your camera, The difference between recording and playback modes, Why it's important to know which mode you are in,

A You Tude video of me presenting the below powerpoint

Power Point Presentation Introduction in MS Office format

Power Point Presentation Introduction in Open Office format

Because photography is the recording of light and we see light through our eyes (vision) it is important to know how our eyes work

how your eyes work from Kids Health

More technical

How Your Eyes Work from American Optometric Association

You may also like to read about visual perception

As shown in the links above your eyes work very similar to a camera. So how does a Camera work

Inner workings of a camera

Parts on a digital camera
Basic Parts of Camera

See if you can identify these parts on your camera

Because of the very fast developments taking place in digital cameras what is stated in some of these links may no longer be true. For example the point and shoot consumer cameras in the past did lot allow direct control over exposure, manual mode, more now do and even if they don't technology now exist to allow you to add features to basic cameras. Also the mega pixel that used to be only available in the expensive professional digital cameras is now available in the consumer point and shoot cameras

What Kind of Camera? from Photohead

An incomplete list. Just because something is in this list does not mean that your camera can do it, because different cameras have different features

Click on the green “How to do it” to the right of each item to see how to perform these functions:

1. Take a photo without making any settings How to do it
2. Take a photo with and without a flash How to do it
3. Reduce the possibility of red eyes in photos (red eye reduction) How to do it
4. Adjust the brightness of the flash or the point when it goes off
5. Take a photo making the image darker or lighter How to do it
6. Take a blurred photo
7. Make the subject of the photo appear closer (optical zoom & digital zoom) How to do it
8. Set the photo taking for specific conditions (Landscapes, Portraits, Night, Kids & Pets , etc.) How to do it
9. Take creative photos with manual settings
10. Set effects for the photos (Black and White, Sepia, Etc.) How to do it
11. Take Panoramic photos
12. Take Movies How to do it
13. Take multiple photos in quick secession (continuous shooting) How to do it
14. Take a photo with yourself in it (using the self timer) How to do it
15. Reducing the possibility of blurred photos (Image stabilisation)
16. Taking Photos of small items (macro) How to do it
17. Make the Date and or time be in the photo How to do it
18. Setting the size and quality of the photos you will take How to do it
19. Adjusting how automatic focus works
20. Manually focusing on items How to do it
21. Manually adjust the speed of the shutter (Tv mode)
22. Manually adjusting the amount of light entering the camera (F stops Av mode)
23. Manually adjusting the cameras sensor sensitivity to light (ISO speed) How to do it
24. Manually adjusting the tone of images (White balance) How to do it
25. Manually adjusting the colours the camera will take (Colours mode)
26. Placing grids on the LCD screen
27. Showing photos taken How to do it
28. Magnifying images taken How to do it
29. Viewing multiple images on the LCD screen How to do it
30. Jumping to a taken images
31. Viewing Movies
32. Rotate images on the LCD screen How to do it
33. Change the way the playback goes from one image to the next (Transition effects)
34. Set automatic playback of images (slide show)
35. Remove the red eyes (Red eye correction)
36. Change the size of the taken photos (image resize)
37. Record a sound for an image (Sound Memo) How to do it
38. Make an image so that can not be deleted or changed (Protecting images) How to do it
39. Show a graph of the LCD screen of the brightness and darkness of a taken image (Histogram)
40. Erasing one image only How to do it
41. Erasing all images on the memory card How to do it
42. Show what appears on the LCD display on a Television screen (Cable required)
43. Draw light on a photo (Very slow shutter speed in the dark)
44. Take one photo showing multiple images of yourself (Very slow shutter speed in the dark)

The following functions can usually only be performed with more advanced cameras, a camera connected to a computer or with some basic Canon models via extra software loaded on the memory card. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

1. Control all the functions of the camera via a computer
2. Save the images directly to a computer rather than on a memory card
3. Take a photo every x seconds (Time Lapse)
4. Use extreme setting for shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focus
5. Take multiple photos in quick secession with different setting for shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focus (Bracketing)
6. Change video recording quality parameters
7. Save exactly what the cameras sensor sees (RAW mode)
8. Combine multiple RAW images
9. Convert from RAW format to JPAG
10. Show save and retrieve an outline of what is on the LCD display (Edge Overlay)
11. Show a graph on the LCD screen of the brightness and darkness before photo is taken image (Histogram)
12. Set parameters for histograms
13. Show the light and dark areas of a image before it is taken (Zebra parameters)
14. Show various internal camera functions on the LCD display (Date, time, Temperature of various part of the camera, Depth of field Calculator, Scene lumience ….)
15. Change the colours of any of the on screen display items
16. Load and operate scripts, created on a computer, to control any part of the camera
17. View and operate on computer files in the memory card in a windows explorer type way
18. Read computer text files
19. Play games
20. Test the performance of the camera and the speed of the memory card

You may want to check in the manual of you camera to see if it has the following functions. If it has and you do not know how to use it them please ask.

The best way to find something in your cameras manual is look it up in the Index at the back of the manual that should be in alphabetical. Good camera manuals have an index.

If you can't find the function in the index that does not mean that your camera does not have it because different camera manufacturers sometimes have different names for functions.

If you camera does not have a function and you would like to know what that function does do a Google search or ask me.

1. Installing/ Changing Batteries and Memory Cards
   
2. Operating Buttons
   
3. Working through menus
   
4. Swapping between taking and showing photos
   
5. Automatic Focus
   
6. Manual Focus
   
7. Macro
   
8. Face Recognition
   
9. Setting , date, time ect.
   
10. Optical Zoom
    
11. Using the flash
    
12. Red Eye reduction
    
13. Flash Settings (compensation, Output, timing)
14. Image Stabilisation
    
15. Automatic Focus
    
16. Face Detection
    
17. Motion Detection
    
18. Automatic red-eye correction
    
19. Self-timers
    
20. Movie recording
    
21. Sound recording
    
22. Date and time stamping on image
    
23. EXIF information
    
24. Panoramic stitching
    
25. Fully automatic mode
    
26. Exposure compensation (stops)
    
27. Program mode
    
28. Tv Mode
    
29. Av Mode
    
30. Manual Mode
    
31. Continuous shooting
    
32. Effects
    
33. ISO Speed
    
34. Metering Modes
    
35. White balance Adjustment
    
36. Erasing images
37. Red eye correction
    
38. Image editing
    
39. Direct Printing
    
40. Connecting Camera to a TV
    

Photography from Wikipedia

Inner workings of a camera

Digital Photography Basics from HowStuffWorks

Things To Consider Before Shooting Pictures

Exposure Basics

The Rules of Composition

Light

Night

A good explanation of how digital cameras record colour can be found here: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/digital-camera4.htm and here http://www.shortcourses.com/guide/guide1-3.html

Depending on the type of camera most store the information about colour via numbers from 0 through to 255 for red green and blue. By combining these combinations of red green and blue you get shades of colours. The best way to see how this works is use a computer program like Microsoft Paint to produce colours. Follow these steps: (

1. Start Microsoft Paint. Start, All Programs, Accessories, Paint
2. From the Colors menu, select Colors, Edit Colors, Define custom Colors
3. Make red 255, green zero and blue zero. Click Ok.
4. Select a rectangle for the items on the left. in the blank what area drag right and down to make a rectangle
5. Select the fill with color (paint can) item on the left by clicking on it and then click inside the rectangle you created. It should be filled with red
6. Repeat from step 3 above this time selecting zero red, 255 green and zero blue.
7. Repeat from step 3 above this time selecting zero red, zero green and 255 blue.
8. Experiment with other combinations
9. Note also the effect that Hue, Saturation and Luminance (Hue, Sat and Lum) have

If you look at the files size of the images that your camera takes you will notice that if you have say a 5 Mega pixel camera that the images are not 5 megabyte. This is because most cameras compress the images before they store them on the cameras memory card. Usually they stored as a JPEG format. The process of compression is such that some of the information within the image is discarded.

Some cameras have the ability to save images in RAW format. That is like just as the camera sensor saw it or similar to a film camera negative. The disadvantage of RAW file formats (their is no standard for them) is that they take up lots of space and can not be viewed as such. They have to be converted in to some other format. The advantage is that because you have all the information the camera saw you are able to process it (equivalent to developing and printing film) any way you want.

The methods used to convert the RAW data to a JPEG file is beyond the scope of this workshop. However to give you some incite as to how it works consider a situation where every pixel across one row of a image, 2000 pixels wide is the same colour, say red. then their would be 2000 combinations of 255,0,0. Rather than having to store 2000 255,0,0's you could simple store 2000-255,0,5 ie 11 characters rather than 14,000 characters. A significant saving in space. This is not how JPEG compression works but gives you an idea how it can save storage space.

Unfortunately every camera is different because they are produced by different manufacturers and even within the same manufactured they have different features so requiring different ways of activating or using those features. Beside this most digital cameras have common functionality, such as taking photos and displaying photos, but the way they achieve is may be different for each model. Below I will attempt to explain how to achieve various functions of digital cameras, but will have to refer you to your camera manual so that you know which button, switch, menu item or whatever is required to activate or use the particular feature on your camera. If your camera manual has a diagram showing the parts of your camera it would be easier to have that part of you manual open whilst reading the rest of this document.

Most digital cameras require batteries to provide power to perform the functions of taking and viewing pictures. Their are basically two types of batteries. The manufacturers rechargeable batteries and general purpose batteries, usually AA batteries. The general purpose ones can either be one time use, throw them away when they are flat, or rechargeable. One benefit of the general purpose ones is that they you can buy them practically anywhere and so their is not need to carry the battery charger with you say when you go on holidays.

The manual will explain which type of batteries you have and how to install and change them. Usually this is via a small latch at the bottom of the camera.

All digital cameras have some way of storing the photos you take in a digital format. This is usually achieved via a small rectangular device called a memory card, although some cameras have built in non removable memory, but these are becoming far less common. The benefit of having removable memory is that when you have filled one memory card you can replace it with another one. Unlike the old film cameras your photos can be copied from the removable memory card to any other form of digital storage, such as a computers hard drive, CD's, DVD's external hard drives memory sticks and the like, and then the memory card can be erased and then reused. Also unlike the old film the normal process of digital copying can be preformed an unlimited number of times with absolutely no denigration in the quality of the images. That is a digital copy of a copy of a copy and so on will be identical to the original. A film image copied as above less than ten times will not be viewable.

Even though their are different types of memory cards they all have some way of copying the images from them to other forms of magnetic media and even though the media technology has and will change in the future their will always be some a way of easily copying you photos to the newer formats.

A new type of camera memory card is now (2012) available allows Wi-Fi computer networking to to be achieved independent of the cameras functionality. These memory cards, know as Eye-Fi memory card via a wireless function transfer the photos, just after you have taken them, to a computer or a web site. Details of how it works are here: http://www.eye.fi/

Most modern digital cameras memory cards are installed and removed under the same slot that the batteries are under. Refer to your manual.

Because digital cameras run on electrical power supplied by batteries they have to be switched on and off to conserve the batteries. In the the manual will be described how to switch on and off your camera. Because these switches are usually also digital you may have to hold the appropriate button down for a period of time, perhaps 2 seconds, to switch the camera on or off. This is done so that inadvertently pressing the button will not switch the camera on and so use up your batteries or switch it off just when you want to take a picture. If your camera does not come on, you should check that you have charged batteries installed and they are position the correct way. Most cameras have a zoom lens that will open when the camera is turned on and will also usually have a small light to indicate it is on.

Most modern digital camera have some form of power saving feature to prolong the life of the batteries, so that the lens may retract and the screen will go blank after a pre set period of time without it being used. Some may even switch them self off if not used for a period of time. Look in the manual for these features.

Some cameras can be switched on in playback mode, usually by pressing the button that switches from recording to playback mode, so further conserving the battery life because the lens does not have to be opened. If your camera can do this you may be able to change back to recording mode by half pressing the shutter button. Again refer to you manual.

One of the biggest differences between film and most digital cameras is the ability to view the photos as soon as you have taken been them. To be able to do this digital cameras have to be able to operate and switch between two different modes. Recording and playback. Recording mode is where you are able to take photos and is usually easily identified, in that what the camera is pointing at is being displayed on the cameras screen. Playback mode is where you can view the images you have taken and is identified by the image show on the display is usually not what the camera is pointing at but is showing a image that has been previously taken.

Your manual will explain how to change between the two modes. Usually it will via be a slider a button or a dial change of position or status.

A slight complication to the above is preview time. This is where after taking a photo in recording mode the camera with immediately change to playback mode for a pre determined amount of time, usually 2 seconds, to allow you to see the image you have just taken, and will then automatically change back to recording mode. You may be able to change the duration of the preview time or eliminate it completely. If so this will be described in the manual

Some cameras have a hold preview function whereby you can continue viewing the last photo you took by, for example with Canon cameras, holding down the shutter button. Only when you release the button will you return to recording mode.

Their are many functions that are accessed via menus (list of things you can do) on the screen of your camera. However their are two broad categories of menus, the record menu that can only be accesses when you are in the record mode and play back menu that you can only access when you are in the play back mode.

The record menu allows you to change settings for the taking of photos whereas the play back menu allows you to change settings for the viewing changing and deleting (removing of) photos.

Most modern digital cameras have an fully automatic mode called automatic or simple mode or something to this effect. On some cameras you change it to the automatic mode by turning a dial and others by selecting it from a menu on the cameras screen when in recording mode. See your manual for how to change to the automatic mode.

The important thing to understand about digital cameras is that before you take a photo the camera has to sense the lighting and viewing (focus) conditions so that it can set itself up to take the photo. See concepts of photography. This is usually done when the shutter button is first or fully pressed. If you are used to just pressing the shutter button on your camera and have noticed their is a delay before the photo is taken. This is because the camera has to sense the conditions and make it internal adjustments before it takes the photo. To overcome this delay problem most cameras have what is called a half press function of the shutter button. That is you can press it half way down which forces the camera to sense the lighting, adjust the focus make the calculations to determine the optimum settings and them make those setting ready for you to take a photo.

When the camera has made its settings it may indicate this to you by making some sound, displaying something on the screen, showing some coloured lights or a combination of all of these ways. It may also indicate that the conditions are not suitable for taking a photo or that the camera should be on a tripod. This should be be described, but is not usually explained, or explained why, in the manual.

So to take a photo without any setting:

1. Switch on you camera
2. Set the camera to its automatic mode
3. Point the camera at what you want to take a photo of
4. Look at what the camera is seeing by looking at the cameras screen
5. Press the shutter button half way down
6. Gently squeeze the shutter button the rest of the way down
7. If you camera has a preview function and it is switched on look at the photo you have just taken via the cameras screen

Note in the above steps that it says to gently squeeze the shutter button the rest of the way down. This is because it will reduce, but not eliminate, the possibility of getting blurred photos because of camera movement especially in low light conditions. Because modern cameras are so small the pressing of the shutter button can easy cause the whole camera to move within the period of time that the camera is absorbing the light and result in a blurred photo. There is less likelihood of this happening if you gently squeeze the shutter button rather than quickly pressing it.

Most digital cameras have a screen that allows you to see and so compose what you are taking and also have a viewfinder. You can use either to compose your photo. However unless you are using what is called a SLR digital camera what you see via the viewfinder may not be exactly what you are taking. This is simply because the viewfinder is not in the same position on the camera as the cameras lens and cameras take what they see in the lens, not the viewfinder. The screen on most digital cameras shows you information that you often can not see in the viewfinder. For these reasons therefore it is better to use the screen to compose you photos. This is now so common, that some digital camera do not have viewfinders

The best way to take a photo is not to hold the camera at all but to have it on a fixed surface or mounted on some device like a tripod. However this is not practical most of the time so that you have to hold it in you hands. If doing so and you are standing it is better to stand with one leg in front of the other. You are less likely to sway , and get blurred photos, this way than having both feet together

1. Switch on your camera
2. Set it to Automatic Mode
3. Point the camera at something, look at the screen and press the shutter button half way down only. What happened?
4. Release, do not press, the shutter button. What happened? What is different on the screen now than what it was before? Why?
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 a number of times.
6. Point the camera at a something that is very bright or brightly lit and press the shutter button half way down only. Note what information is displayed on the screen
7. Point the camera at a something that is very dark, and press the shutter button half way down only. Note what information is displayed on the screen and how it is different from what it was in the previous step.
8. Point the camera at something quite some distance away and press the shutter button half way down only.
9. Whilst still holding the shutter button half way down point the camera at some writing, like this text, only about 300 mm from the camera. Why is the text blurred?
10. Whilst still pointing at the writing release, let go off, the shutter button. What happened? Press the Shutter button half way again whilst still pointing at the writing. What happened?
11. Try pressing the shutter button half way down whilst pointing a different objects different distances from you and then letting go of the button to see what happens.
12. If you have a pop-up flash pop it up now.
13. In a very brightly lit area press the shutter button half way down and then gently squeeze it the rest of the way. Did the flash go off? Why?
14. In a very dark area press the shutter button half way down and then gently squeeze it the rest of the way. Did the flash go off? Why?
15. What is the purpose of having a half press function on your camera?

Most Digital cameras have a fully automatic mode where you point the camera at what you want to take and the camera makes all the decisions as to what setting have to be made. See concepts of photography. This will give you good results most of the time but restricts your ability to take creative photos. Additionally many cameras may not allow you to alter the setting when in a fully automatic mode. To determine if this is the case you need to refer to the cameras manual. Some manuals for each of the functions that can be set, indicate which mode you have to be in before using that function, others don't and it can often be trial and error to see it which mode you can perform what functions.

Not all camera manufacturers use the term Automatic Mode. Other terms are simple mode, Intelligent Mode, Intelligent Auto mode or some other term. Again you will have to read you manual to see how it is described. The Non fully automatic modes are all other modes other than the fully automatic modes.

If you camera has a dial you can set it in the fully automatic mode by turning the dial to that mode as it is described in the cameras manual. If you do not have a dial you usually have to set the camera in fully automatic mode by selecting what ever its called from the menu See Using the Menus on you camera

1. Read your cameras manual on how to set it to automatic mode or its equivalent.
2. Switch you camera on and note what information is displayed on the screen
3. Change your camera to a non automatic mode. What is different about what is displayed on the screen now?
4. Change your camera to automatic mode. What is different about what is displayed on the screen now?
5. Repeat the above 3 steps a few times and note any other things that change on the screen.
6. Place you camera on a fixed surface like a table pointing at a few objects on the table and beyond the table
7. Change your camera to automatic mode and take a photo whilst it is still on the table. See Take a photo without making any settings
8. Without moving the camera change it to a non automatic mode and take a photo.
9. Without moving the camera change another non automatic mode and take a photo.
10. Repeat the above step for all the non automatic modes your camera has.
11. Change your camera to playback mode and view the photos you have taken above. Note how each photo is different and try and work out why. It would be preferable to put the photos on your computer and view how they are different.

Because digital cameras allow you to change various setting in relation to taking photos and aspects of digital photography they have to have some way of achieving this. This is typically done via menus (list of things you can do) that are displayed on the cameras screen. You usually have to press the Menu key on the camera to display the menu on the camera screen. Once any menu is displayed on the screen their is usually a a set of navigation keys on the camera that allow you to move through the menus or activate a function within a menu. Typically these navigation keys are a cluster of 5 keys, 4 in a circle and one in the middle. Often, the middle key is the Set key and the 4 surrounding keys are the up, down, left and right navigation keys. The top key is up, the bottom down, the one to the left, left and the one to the right, right.

Usually when within a menu pressing the down key will move down to the next menu line below the current line while pressing the up key will move up to the next menu line above the current line. Pressing the right key will either activate the function or bring up a sub menu, pressing the left key may change to a higher level menu. To activate a function of a menu press the Set key and to exit a menu press the menu key.

Some cameras also have a function set button that provides the ability to set functions in addition to the menu button. In this case a function menu will appear and you navigate through it using the same navigation keys described above

If you are unsure what you have or have not set on menus some cameras have a reset to defaults or reset all menu option which will put all the menu functions back to how they where when you first bought the camera

The above is only generalised, so you should check you manual to be sure.

These exercises are to practise how to use the menus in your camera, it is not necessary for you to understand what they do at this time

1. Switch you camera on and make sure it is in record mode
2. Press the menu button. What happened? Note what is displayed on the screen. You don't need to understand what is displayed
3. Press the menu button again or whatever the manual say to exit from the menu. What happened and why?
4. Change the camera to playback mode
5. Press the menu button. What happened? Note what is displayed on the screen. How is it different from what was their in step 2 above and why?
6. Press the menu button again or whatever the manual says to exit from the menu.
7. If your camera has a Function Set button press it. What is displayed on the screen. How is it different from what was their in previous steps above and why? How many menu categories are their and why? See Why it's important to know which mode you are in
8. Exit any menu you may be in
9. Change the camera to record mode and press the menu button
10. Press the down button, What happened. Press the down button again. What happened? Continue to press the down button until you are at the last menu line. What do you think will happen if you press the up button? Try it. How would you get to the first menu line? Try it. ie use the up button. Exit the menu
11. Repeat the above step this time with the camera in playback mode. Exit the menu.
12. If your camera has a Function Set button press it and the repeat the up and down parts of the previous steps.
13. Read you manual on how to use the menus and try any ways of accessing other menus that are not described above.
14. Make a note of any items you saw in the menus above that you would like to know more about and see if you can find out about them in the manual.

Before covering how to do this you need to understand that using flash will not give you an image that looks natural simply because you are introducing artificial light and that it is possible to take a photo where their is very little light, without a flash. However their are times when you will want to use a flash and in some cases, even when their is a sufficient light, to still use a flash.

Your manual will show you how to switch on or off the various flash modes. Some camera have a button to do this in which case it has may have a icon that looks like a lightning bold next to a button.

Some cameras have a pop up flash. If yours does, you have to have the flash up to use it and down to not use the flash. Additionally with some cameras you can only make it so that flash does not go off when the camera is not in automatic mode. See Fully Automatic and non Fully Automatic modes

If your camera is in automatic mode (see Fully Automatic and non Fully Automatic modes) the camera will automatically, based on the amount of light in the scene being taken, either operate or not operate the flash.

If your camera is not in automatic mode you can determine if you want to flash to go off or not. The usual modes you can select in relation to using the flash are: Automatic, Flash Off, Forced Flash and Red Eye reduction. Automatic is where the camera automatically senses if their is sufficient light and if their is not, it fires the flash. Flash off never fires the flash regardless of how little light that exists. Forced flash always fires the flash regardless of how much light their is. Red Eye reduction fires the flash twice, once before the picture is taken and then when the picture is taken.

If you do not want to have to make a decision as to when to use the flash or not then automatic is the flash mode to use.

It is worth noting that most camera flashes only have a range of a few metres. It is therefore not worthwhile trying to take a photo using a flash in dark situations if your subject is more than a few metres away. You will be just shortening your battery life and not getting the results you want. You may get a better result by turning the flash off.

With the flash off mode you can still take photos even if their is only very little light. However this requires what is called a long exposure so that, during that relative long duration of time, if you move the camera only the slightest or the subject moves you will end up with a blurred image. To overcome this you should use some method to keep the camera dead still and only take photos of non moving objects. Some cameras will indicate that you need to keep the camera still by displaying a symbol of a camera with brackets around it (indicating shaking) on the screen. The best way to keep the camera still is to use a tripod a mono-pod or have the camera on a still surface. However even then if you are in very poor lighting conditions, so making the exposure time quite long, the pressing or releasing of the shutter button or the beating of your hart can be enough to move the camera and so end up with a blurred image. In this case it is best to use a automatic timer of say 2 seconds. See Self Timer . That way the camera get a change to steady before the shutter automatically goes off.

In this flash mode the flash always fires regardless of how much light is available. Its most commonly used for what is called a fill or fill in flash. That is compensating for parts of the scene that would otherwise be in shadow. Typically this happens where the subject you are trying to capture has strong light behind it so producing a silhouette effect. The camera may sense their is sufficient light and would not otherwise fire the flash so that no, or very little detail of the subject is shown. However by using forced flash the flash lights up the subject so filling the shadow area with light and giving detail to the subject and eliminating the silhouette effect. See Digital Camera Workshop Forced Flash

When you take a flash photo of people or animals you may end up with the pupils of their eyes being red rather than black. This is the camera capturing the blood vessels at the back of the eye, ie in side the head. Red eye reduction attempts to reducing this happening by firing the flash twice. The first time to force the subjects pupils to reduce in size and the photo is not taken and the second time to take the photo. Notice the function is called red eye reduction, not elimination, so it does not always work. Sometime it may be better to not use a flash at all. Additionally some cameras have a red eye removal function or you can use computer software to remove the red eyes.

1. Read you manual on how to switch on and off the various flash modes
2. Switch on you camera, switch to a non automatic mode and switch off the flash
3. Whilst holding the camera take a photo of a subject that is quite dark. Place the camera on a fixed surface and take a photo of a subject that is quite dark.
4. Change to playback mode and compare the two photos you have taken. How are they different and why? Change back to recording mode
5. Set up a test area where you can control the light from very bright to completely dark and the have the camera on a fixed surface, preferably on a tripod
6. With the flash off take a series of photos with the subject very bright, progressively darker through to completely dark.
7. Review the photo you have taken, preferable on a computer. How dark did it have to get before their was nothing on the image? Even though the camera was fixed where some of the photos blurred. why? See Self timer
8. Using the same test area you set up in point 5 above set your camera on automatic flash and take a series of photos with the subject very bright progressively darker through to completely dark. At what darkness point did the flash go off? Review the photos taken. Which photos look better, those where the flash went off or those where the flash did not go off?
9. Set up a test area with a subject with a strong light source behind it.
10. Take one photo using automatic flash, another with flash off and another one with the flash on (forced flash)
11. Review the photos. How are they different and why?
12. Take a photo of a persons face straight on in low light conditions with the flash on automatic.
13. Set the flash to red eye reduction and take another photo of the persons face straight on. What was different from what happened from the previous photo. The flash should of flashed twice.
14. Review the two photos. Have they got any red eyes?

This is called exposure compensation. Look it up in your manual to see how to get into this function. It may be via a menu function or by pressing a specific key. If it is via a key the icon associated with it usually is a box with a diagonal line dividing it in two with a + symbol in one half and a - symbol in the other half.

Usually when within the function you will be shown a bar on the screen with minis setting to the left and positive on the right. Pressing the left and right arrow keys will change the setting. A minus setting will result in the photo being darker and a positive setting will make it brighter, often the adjustment will be shown on the screen, ie the entire image will become darker or lighter. To exit the function, leaving the setting as you changed it to you press the same button that got you in to it or follow the screen display that says exit. ie press the appropriate exit key.

Be aware that some cameras will retain the exposure compensation setting even if you switch the camera off, so make sure that you set it back to zero after you have taken the photos where you want this compensation. Most cameras in capture mode show a + symbol over a - symbol with the set setting on the screen so that you can see if you have set the exposure compensation. if it has not been set it will be show a 0 (zero). If you do not have it sat to zero all photos take from will be darker or lighter.

Basically you use exposure compensation when you can not get the result you want without using it. That is you take a photo look at how it looks on the screen and if its not what you want make it lighter or darker. An example could be where you want to show the beams of sun light coming from behind a cloud. Without exposure compensation you are unlikely to see this, but by making making the image darker you will show the beans of light. See Digital Camera Workshop Exposure Compensation

1. Read your manual on how to get into and change exposure compensation.
2. Set up a test area that has moderate lighting and the camera on a fixed surface or on a tripod.
3. With the camera in a non automatic mode and with the flash switched off take one photo
4. Change the exposure compensation to one position to the minus setting and take a photo. Reduce the exposure compensation another position to the minus setting and take another photo. Continue doing this until you get to the most minus setting.
5. Repeat the above step only with positive exposure compensation settings.
6. Review the photos you have taken. Why are they different?

Doing this is called zooming and requires that your camera has a zoom lens or be able to do digital zoom. Zooming is usually achieved by either a zoom lever or a zoom slider. Check you manual as how to activate it. Often the icon on the zoom lever or slider will show a single tree or magnify glass for zooming in (makes the subject appear closer) and a group of trees or box with hatch pattern on it for zooming out (make the subject appear further away.

The benefit of being able to zoom is taking close up photos without having to physically move closer to the subject and is epically useful where you are not able to get close to the subject.

What is the difference between digital and optical zoom?

Digital zoom is a computer way of zooming and is achieved via the computer program within the camera and so is far less expensive for camera manufacturers to implement. This is why most digital cameras have a digital zoom either only or combined with an optical zoom. The disadvantage of a digital zoom it that the more you zoom the more the image becomes pixellated. That is it becomes blocks of colour, rather a smooth transition of colour, so that the image does not look natural.

Optical zoom is achieved via the mechanical movement of the camera lens. Two or more lenses move towards or away from one another. Hence this costs more to produce and is reflected in the price of the camera. Higher zoom cameras cost more than lesser ones. Optical zoom does not does not suffer from the same problems as described above for digital zoom. That is you can zoom to the maximum optical zoom and the image will still be clear.

Some cameras can combine optical and digital zoom so resulting in the a higher combined zoom. However usually via a menu the digital part of it can be switched on or off. Also when on, the optical zoom is performed first and when at maximum optical zoom then the digital zoom is implemented. This can be observed when zooming, in that the lens will move until it's at fill zoom, accompanied by a mechanical noise, and then the digital zoom will take over where the lens does not move so it will be silent. Some cameras also show a bar on the screen with a mark part way across it indicating where the optical zoom finishes and the digital zoom starts. The digital zoom part of a combined optical zoom and digital zoom suffers from the same problem, blockey images, as does digital zoom only, but only at the point where the digital zoom commences. See Digital Camera Workshop Optical Vs Digital Zoom

1. Read your manual on how to switch on digital zoom and switch it off.
2. Read your manual on how to zoom in and out
3. Select a subject that is some distance away and take a photo of it
4. Zoom in one quarter the extent of the optical zoom and take a photo
5. Zoom to half, three quarters and full optical zoom and take a photo in each case.
6. If your camera has digital zoom, digital zoom 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full and take a photo in each case.
7. Review the photos taken and note the difference between each one. How are they different

In addition to a having fully automatic mode most digital cameras have specific pre-set modes such as portrait, landscape, night, snow, kids, etc. In these modes generalised setting are replaced with the specific settings for those conditions. For example in the night mode the camera will take a longer time to take the photo so as to capture more light, than it would otherwise do.

Some cameras allow you to select these pre set modes by turning a dial whilst other by selecting it from a menu. Consult your manual to see how to do it for your camera and to see the meaning of each mode. It is important to make sure you are in the correct mode before you take each photo as it will have a dramatic effect on the photos you take. eg. Taking a photo with a night or fireworks setting in bright sunlight will result in overexposed, washed out, images. If you camera has a dial make sure it is on the correct dial setting before taking photos as it can be very easy for the dial to move to different position when the camera is put in to or removed from a camera bag.

1. Consult you manual for how to set your camera for specific conditions and note each of the settings and what condition it applies to.
2. Set up a test situation for each condition and preferably the exact opposite to the condition (eg for night shot take one during the day) and take a photo for each.
3. Review and compare the photos taken especially the opposite ones and see what effect it had.
4. Ensure you have the specific conditions set off.

Some camera show an icon for each pre-set mode on the screen when it is on so it is worth while noting what icons mean. This can be achieved by going through each of the pre-set modes.

Because the computer inside your digital camera processes the image before it stores it on the memory card it is able to produce special effects on the photos such as making them black and white, vivid, neutral, Sepia and the like. Some can even individually change the combinations of the base colours that make up images. You should be aware that these effects are applied as the photo is taken so can not be reversed. Also with the appropriate computer program these same effects can be achieved in your computer where you can keep the unaffected image as well as the effected one.

Usually you set these effect via a menu or function set button. Your manual should explain how to set them and what each effect does. Some cameras may call this My colours

It is important that you know how to switch off these effects and if they are on or off as they may be applied to all the photos you subsequently take even after switching the camera off and on again You most likely would not want say, have ALL your photos to be black and white.

Some camera show an icon for the effect on the screen when it is set so it is worth while noting what icon means what on your camera by going through each of the setting

1. Read you manual on how to set and unset effects in you camera
2. Set each effect in turn and take a photo so you end up with one photo for each effect
3. Review each photos you have taken. What is the difference between each effect?
4. Switch off the effects

Most modern digital cameras in addition to taking still photos can take videos. The is achieved by turning the dial to the Movie mode, changing a switch to movie mode or selecting it from a menu function. Again refer to your manual. To start recording a movie usually you press and release the shutter button. Usually their will be some indication on the screen that you are recording and how long you have been recording and how much recording time you have left. To stop recording press and release the shutter button.

You may be able to set the quality of the video in terms of the size of the video that get recorded eg. 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 and normal play or long play. This is usually done via a function set or menu button when you are in movie/video mode. Some of the newer cameras can record video in high definition (better quality than normal TV quality)

Some cameras have restrictions as to what you can do whilst videoing, like, not recording sound, not automatically adjusting the brightness when moving from light to dark areas and vice versa, not being able to zoom or only digital zoom and limiting the time of the video. Your manual may indicate these restrictions

You can play back a movie by switching to playback mode. There will usually be some indicator on the screen to distinguish between still images and movies and then you press additional keys to play back the video. Again see your manual.

1. Read your manual on how to switch to movie taking mode
2. Note what is on the screen. Switch to movie taking mode. What appears on the screen now? What do you think it means?
3. Point your camera at something that is moving and making some sound and press the shutter button. Now what appears on the screen. What does it mean?
4. Press the shutter button again to stop recording. What is now appearing on the screen and why?
5. Press the shutter button again to record another movie. Whilst recording move to a brightly lit area and then to a dark area. Stop recording
6. Press the shutter button again to record another movie. Whilst recording zoom in and then zoom out. Stop recording
7. Press the shutter button again to record another movie. Note how long you can record for. If the recording is goes longer then one minute stop recording.
8. Read you manual on how to set the size and or quality of the movies
9. Press the shutter button again to record a movie for each size and quality of movie
10. Review each of the movies you have taken

This function can be called continuous shooting or burst mode. Often it is achieved by pressing the function button or by selecting the item from a menu, however sometimes their may be a dedicated button for it who's icon appears as number of cascaded rectangles. Check in your manual for how to switch it on and off. With it switched on if you hold down the shutter button the camera will continue to take photos until you release the shutter button.

When using continuous shooting you will find that it will initially take photos relatively quickly and then later slow down. This is because it will first fill the relatively fast cameras memory but then have to start writing (copying) that memory to the memory card. Having a faster memory card may speed up this process. Also using continuous shooting whilst using the flash will dramatically slow it down because the flash had to be recharged between each photo.

Continious shooting is often used in action situations in an attempt to get a specific photo at a specific point, for example in a horse race, when the winner crosses the finish line. By taking continious shots you are more likely to get the photo exactly as the horse crosses the finish line.

1. Read you manual on how to set you camera for continious shooting and make that setting
2. Find a good test situation such as cars moving along a road
3. Press and hold down the shutter button and count the number of photos the camera takes. When it gets to 10 release the shutter button. What happened? At what point did the camera slow down in taking photos?
4. Review the photos you took.
5. Whilst still on continious shooting switch to forced flash. Press and hold down the shutter button and count the number of photos the camera takes. When it gets to 5 release the shutter button. What was the speed difference from taking them without the flash. Switch off forced flash.
6. Try using continious shooting to capture someone jumping or the exact instant a stone hits water.
7. Switch off continious shooting

Other than holding your camera at arms length this is done with the camera self timer which is usually activated via a menu function or by pressing a specific button thats icon is a circle broken at the 11 o'clock position with a line coming from the centre of the circle and a dot at the 12 o'clock position. Check you manual at to how to set it.

Most cameras have a 10 second timer with some also having a 2 second timer and others again a adjustable time and adjustable number of photos that can be taken.

For taking a photo of your self set the timer at 10 seconds, place the camera on a flat surface or have it mounted on a tripod, compose what you want to take making sure their is enough space to fit yourself in the scene and press the shutter button. Their will be some indication that the timer is operating by a light flashing, a sound or both. You now have to move into the scene within the 10 seconds. Some cameras indicate the 10 seconds is almost up by the light and or beeping going faster, so that is the time to smile. Make sure you switch off the self timer function off when you no longer need is other wise you will have to wait the 10 seconds after you press the shutter button.

So what is the 2 second timer for, you ask? Its to quick to get to in front of the camera. When you take a photo in very dark conditions without a flash the pressing and even more so the releasing of the shutter button may cause the camera to move even if it is on a very stable tripod or surface so resulting in a blurred photo. However if the photo is not taken for 2 seconds after you release the shutter button this movement no longer happens because the 2 seconds is long enough for any vibrations to have dissipated, so a non blurred photo.

1. Read your manual on how to set the self timer and set it for 10 seconds
2. Place the camera on a solid surface and press the shutter button.
3. Move to the front of the camera. Note the lights and sounds from the camera. What where they?
4. Examine the photo you took
5. If you camera has other self timing functions experiment with them.
6. Switch off the self timer function

Without a special function called macro your camera can not take photos of small items because when you move close to these small items they will become blurred. The macro function when switched on allows you to get very close to the item you wish to take photos off without then getting blurred. The method of switching on and off the macro function will usually be either by a menu function or by pressing a button. The icon for the macro function is usually a flower.

1. Read your manual on how to switch on and off the macro function
2. With the camera in a fixed surface such as a table take a photo of an item that is about 400 mm away from the end of the cameras lens. Now progressively move the camera closer to the item and take photos until the photo becomes blurred. Leave the camera in that position
3. Switch on the macro function
4. Take another photo. Was it blurred? Again progressively move the camera closer to the item and take photos until the photo becomes blurred. How far from the item is the camera when the image became blurred and how is this different from when the macro was not switched on.
5. With the macro function still switched on progressively move the camera away from the item and take photos until the photo becomes blurred. How far away from the item is the camera? You now know the distance from objects you can use the macro function
6. Switch off the macro function.

Before discussing the subject you should be aware that in may not be necessary to have the date and time in the photo itself. This is because with digital photography every photo has the date and time embedded in the information contained with the photo. To see the date and time that the photo was taken you need a photo Program on your computer that shows this information. An example of such a programme would be Irfanview.

As The camera will take the date and time from its internal settings and put it within the photo file, it is important that the date and time the set correctly. This is usually done as one of the cameras settings from a menu you function. See Using Menus. Because of the above some cameras do not allow you to in-bed the date and time within the image but do allow the date and time to be printed on the photo

However there may be times when you may want to have the date and time the photo was taken embedded within the graphic of the image. Check your manual to see how this is done.

With some cameras this can only be done on certain image sizes. E.g. Canon cameras only allowed dates and times to be embedded in the photo on postcard size images.

1. Check your cameras manual on how to set the date and time and make sure the date and time are set correctly
2. Take a photo with just the normal settings and in the playback mode note the date and time it was taken. You may have to change the replay settings to see the date and time, this is often done by pressing the the display button on the camera.
3. Check your cameras manual on how to set the date and time in the photo and perform this setting
4. Take a photo and in playback mode make sure that the date and time are in the image.
5. If there are multiple settings for date and time try out each setting
6. Switch off the embedding of date and time in the photo

All digital cameras have a certain megapixel size. That is the number of pixels, explained later, in millions, that make up each photo. A pixel is a single dot in a photo. The sum of the number of pixels across by the number of pixels down divided by a million is the megapixel size. Generally the larger the megapixel of the camera the better the images will be. However increasing the number of megapixel beyond three will not be noticeable unless you printed pictures that are beyond the small normal 5 x 4 size. Unless you intend to print photos larger than 5 x 4 There is no benefit in having a higher megapixel camera.

Although cameras will have a maximum megapixel sizes most can reduce that maximum so that you can store more photos on a given size memory card.

Usually images are compressed before they are stored on the memory card and most cameras allow you to change the extent to which the images are compressed. Compression simply means the size of the file on the memory card is less than the megapixel size of the image. As an example a three megapixel image may only take up one megabyte on a memory card. Some cameras allow you to not compress the image at all. This is known as RAW mode or sometimes called a digital negative.

Your cameras Manual will explain how to set the size and quality of the photos you take. Often you will find it on a function button.

After you have taken photos if you wish to make images smaller for emailing then here are two videos I created that show how to do this:

Making Multiple Photos smaller to email them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npZMGQs6-fU

Making a group of Images Smaller using Irfanview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EMn75YT-Q

1. Check your cameras Manual to see how to set the size and quality of photos
2. Ensure your camera is set for the maximum size and best quality photo
3. Set the camera so you'll be taking the same photo each time
4. Take one photo
5. Change the cameras setting so that it takes the next size photo down
6. Take another photo
7. Repeat the above two steps for each size photo that the camera is capable of taking
8. Review each of the photos taken, preferably on your computer, note the differences.
9. Ensure your camera is set for the maximum size and best quality photo
10. Take one photo
11. Change the cameras setting so that it takes the next level of quality down
12. Take another photo
13. Repeat the above two steps for each quality photo that the camera is capable of taking
14. Review each of the photos taken, preferably on your computer, and note the difference. You may not notice the difference unless you zoom in on the photos
15. Ensure your camera is re-set back to the maximum size and best quality photo

Most modern cameras automatically focus, however in some cases this may not work. Examples are: taking a photo through a window, where something in the foreground is predominant but you wish to focus on the background and when photographing small objects.

Some modern digital cameras have the ability to manually focus. This is usually achieved by either pressing a button that has MF on it or via a menu function. Once the Manual focus function is activated you view the item you are going to photograph and adjust the focus by pressing certain keys or by turning a certain dial. Check your manual for instructions on how to do it.

1. Check your Manual to see how to enter the Manual focus function and activate that function
2. Place an item a few inches away from the camera
3. Use the manual focus function to focus on that item and take a photo of it
4. Without moving the item focus on something beyond the item and take a photo
5. Place a number of items in front of the camera
6. Manually adjust the focus so that each item is in focus and take a photo of it
7. Review each of the photos that has been taken

Most modern digital cameras have the ability to adjust their sensors sensitivity to light. This is called ISO adjustment. ISO stands for international standard organisation.

Normally you would have the ISO set on auto meaning that the camera automatically adjusts the ISO setting. However in situations of low light conditions where you are not using a flash or are unable or not allowed to use a flash increasing the ISO setting to a higher value may give you a better picture.

The ISO settings are usually set by pressing a button or via a menu function, check your manual as to how it is done with your camera

1. Read the Manual in your camera on how to set the ISO.
2. Set up a test area to photograph with low light conditions
3. Set your camera to the minimum ISO setting and take a photo
4. Set ypur camera to each of the ISO settings and take a photo
5. Review each of the photos that you have taken to see how each ISO setting effects each image
6. Change your camera back to auto ISO

Modern digital cameras automatically sense the type of light that the photograph is being taken in. That is If it is overcast, sunny, indoors with fluorescent lights or incandescent lights. This is called automatic white balance.

However sometimes the automatic white balance function of your camera may not work as you desire and consequently the colours may not be represented correctly in the image you took. To overcome this problem you can set the white balance manualy. The setting of the white balance is usually a menu setting. Checked in the manual of your camera to see how to set it.

1. The exercises for white balance setting should be performed both indoors and outdoors.
2. Read your manual as to how to make the white balance setting
3. Set white balance to any setting other than auto and take a photo
4. Continuing this for each of the white balance setting
5. Repeat the above procedures both indoor and outdoor
6. Review each of the photos that you have taken and note in the difference that each setting makes
7. Change the camera back to auto white balance

To see the photos that you have taken you have to be in playback mode. See switching from recording to playback mode. When in playback mode, depending on your cameras settings, your will see either the last photo you took or the last photo you looked at.

To go back to the last photo you took you usually press the left arrow button, to go to the next photo you took you usually pressed the right arrow button. Some cameras have quick ways to jump to the first photo or last photo or a specific photo. Check your cameras manual to see if it has those functions

1. Review the manual of your camera on how to show photos taken
2. Change camera into playback mode
3. Go back to the previous photo taken
4. Go back through the photos until you are at the first photo taken
5. Move to the next photo taken and continue until you get to the last photo taken
6. Change back to recording mode

Even though you can review the photo you have taken on the camera screen, because of this shear small size of the screen it can be difficult to see the detail of any photo. Fortunately most digital cameras have the ability to Magnify (zoom) the image.

This is usually achieved by the zoom lever, the same one used to zoom when taking photos. Check your Manual for how to magnify the taken photos

1. Check your computer's Manual on how a to magnify images taken
2. Switch your computer to playback mode so that you can see a photo
3. Using the magnify function magnify the photo
4. Notice what else is displayed on the screen
5. Magnify the photo further
6. Notice again what else is displayed on the screen
7. Change the magnification back to the way it was

When you have a number of images stored on you memory card it can be hard to find a particular image by moving through them one at a time. However some digital cameras allow to show more than one photo at a time on the screen so that the time taken to find one photo is reduced. The camera may allow you to show 4, 16 or what ever number of photos on the screen at the one time.

This function is usually achieved by moving the zoom leaver, that is normally used to zoom in recording mode, in the un-zoomed direction when in the playback mode. However it may be done some other way on some cameras. Consult your camera's manual

Make sure you have a number of images stored on your memory card before doing these exercises

1. Review the manual of your camera on how to show multiple images at the one time
2. Change camera into playback mode
3. Used the function to show multiple on the screen at the one time
4. Note what else is displayed on the screen
5. Use the function to advance to the next photo. What happened?
6. Use the function to advance to the next group of photos. What happened?
7. Use the function to go back to the previous photo. What happened?
8. Use the function to go back to the previous group of photos. What happened?

Some digital cameras allow you to record a sound, like you talking, against an image you have taken. This can be very handy to remind you what, where, or why you took the photo. The sound is usually a separate file that has a base file name the same as the image taken but with a files extension of .WAV. eg For a image file name of Img000123.JPG the voice memo file would be Img000123.WAV

The usually method of recording a sound for an imaged is to select this function from a menu when in playback mode

1. Review the manual of your camera on how to record a sound for an image and play it back
2. Change to the playback mode
3. View an image
4. Note what else is on the screen
5. Use the record a sound for an image function to record something
6. Note what is different about the display of the image now
7. Use the playback function to listen to what you have recorded

This function is useful if you want to make sure that photos can not be deleted from your cameras memory card. It is also can be used if you want to delete all the photos except for a for a few because the protected photo will not be deleted if you use the function to delete all the photos from your camera. This would be faster then having to delete individual photos except for a few.

The usual way of protecting photos is via a menu function when in playback mode. A protected photo can later be unprotected

To do these exercises you need to have a number of images that you dont mind if they are deleted

1. Review the manual of your camera on how to protect an image
2. Change to or make sure you are in playback mode
3. Note what is displayed with the image
4. Use the protect image function to protect the image
5. How is what is displayed with the image changed?
6. Try to delete the image. What happened?
7. If you are able to, use the function to delete all images. Where all the images deleted?
8. Use the function to un-protect the image you previously protected.
9. Delete that image. What happened?

Sometimes you may take a photo sideways so that when you view it on the cameras screen it appears sideways compared to other images. You can usually have the camera rotate the image so that it appears the correct way up. Whilst in the playback mode you can usually rotate an image via a menu function. Your manual will have specific instructions on how to activate this function.

Some cameras have built in movement detection and automatically know if a picture has been taken sideways and so record this information with the image and automatically rotate the appropriate images when in playback mode or with the appropriate software on a computer screen

1. Read your manual on how to rotate images in playback mode
2. Take a number of photos normally, some with the camera on it left side, some with it on its right side and one with it upside down
3. Switch the camera to replay mode and review the photos taken.
4. Use the rotate function to show each image the correct way up.

Their are two situations when you can erase one image. When in preview time, where you can see and so delete the lase image taken and when it playback mode. In both cases the procedure is the same. However preview time usually only lasts a few seconds before returning to recording mode so requires you to change to playback mode to delete an image just taken.

The normal method of deleting the currently displayed image is to press the delete button which is usually represented by a rubbish bin icon. You normally have to confirm that you wish to delete the shown image. Your manual will have instructions on how to perform this function

To do these exercises you will need a number of images that do not matter if they are deleted

1. Check you manual on how to delete a single image
2. Take a photo and if in Preview Time perform the function of deleting the photo. Is the photo still on the memory card?
3. Take a photo and wait until the camera is ready to take the next photo
4. Switch to playback mode
5. Select the last photo you just took
6. Perform the function of deleting the photo. Is the photo still on the memory card?
7. How was the last method you deleted a photo different from the first method and why?

After you have copied all your photos to some other media you can erase them all from your memory card so that you can have the space available to take more photos. This is achieved by using the Erase All Images function that is often accessed via the menu when in the playback mode. After confirming the function all the non protected images will be deleted. See your manual for how to use this function.

It is also possible to erase images using you computer and this may be more convenient if you have the camera or its memory card connected to a computer to copy the photos to other media.

Only do this exercise if you don't want to leave any of the images on you memory card

1. Read how to erase all the images in your manual
2. Switch the camera to playback mode
3. Note the other information on the camera display other the currently displayed image
4. Use the erase all images function
5. Note what is displayed and how it is different from before the images were erased

Most people are able to do this without to much difficulty.

All Photo Blurred Part of Photo blurred

This document is not complete and is an ongoing project