Hobby Photography Tips – Resource for Learning Photographers

One question I hear quite often is people asking about how many mega-pixels they should have in their new camera. There is of course no right and wrong answer here; it all depends of what you are thinking of doing with the pictures you are going to take.

Let us just make sure everyone know for sure what a pixel is. In the world of digital prints, a pixel is just a dot of a color that ultimately makes up the image. Therefore one megapixel is equal to one million pixels. It is important to be aware of that the more pixels your camera has, the more information it will record into every image. Said in a different way; the more detail your images will have.

If you are having trouble deciding how many mega pixels you need, you should think about what size prints you will most likely be using. If you are not planning on printing out your images at all, but just want a camera to share pictures on the internet, then you won’t need more than a one mega-pixel camera. You could also use it to print out 4 x 6 images with such a camera, with an acceptable quality. One mega pixel is today of course very cheap.

If you think about printing out 5 x 7 images, then a 2 mega pixel camera will be what you are looking for. It will produce good quality 5 x 7, but can also be used for 8 x 10 prints with a fair quality. Should you want to print 8 x 10 with excellent quality, then a 4 mega pixel camera is a obvious choice. A 5 mega pixel camera will of course do even better, and is meant for pictures that will print high quality 11 x 17 prints.

Most families will find that a 4 mega pixel camera will suit their needs just fine, and could be considered the best choice for families. Here the quality of both 5x 7 and 8 x 10 prints are very good, but also the file sizes that these cameras will create, are not so large that you need to worry about available space on your computer.

Cameras that have 6 mega pixels or more, are really unnecessary for all, but are more suited for those more serious photographers. Like professional photographers will most likely want something above 7 mega pixels, because they are planning on printing out very large images, like post-size prints and similar sizes. When this is said, the choice is yours to make. We will also advice you to buy a camera that maybe has less mega pixels, but increased optical zoom. The conclusion is however to buy a camera that you think will fit your need now and in the future.

Today some of the least expensive digital cameras have only automatic focus, meaning the camera does all the work on bringing your subject or object into the best possible focus. There are usually three different types of focus modes when it comes to digital cameras, and they are: manual, single auto focus, and continuous auto focus. This post will address these three.

Let’s start with manual focus. It is when the camera stays out of the focus equation and you, the photographer, will make all the important decisions regarding this. If you are one of those who would like complete control on the finished product, this will be your best focus option. This setting is located in different places in different cameras, so please take a look in the manual that came with you camera. In the single auto focus mode, the camera will automatically focus when you start pressing the shutter button. It will begin either when you press the shutter button all the way down or half way down to shoot a photo. It is arguable best to only go half-way down, so that your camera gets the chance to lock the focus. Probably the best situation use this focus mode is when shooting static objects.

The third and final focus mode is of course the continuous auto focus mode. It is were the camera will continuously focus on the subjects in the photo. The good thing about this is that the camera will continuously correct the focus on your subjects when the distance from the camera changes. If you now think that this mode is best to use on moving objects, you are of course right. If you are watching for instance a race of some sort, or even airplanes during an air show. Then this mode is the way to go. You would then start pressing the shutter button half-way down, and then start moving the camera, and try to follow the object you are trying to take a picture of, while the camera will continuously keep your selected object in focus.

Like any other camera function, there are pros and cons to each function. Really the best way of learning about these three focus modes are to experiment with them, now that you understand what they were designed for.