:Forest Folk

Casio digital cameras were introduced in 1995 with the QV-10, the first compact digital camera with an LCD screen. In 2002 the Casio Exilim digital cameras line, featuring megapixel technology, debuted with the EX-S1. About the size of a credit card, and at 11.3mm, it was the thinnest digital camera in the world.

Tiny but Powerful

Casio’s latest card sized digital camera entry is the EX-S500. Just over half an inch thin, it sports 5.0 megapixels, 3X optical zoom and a 2.2″ LCD screen. Additional features include anti-shake digital signal processor and the ability to record over an hour of VGA quality video at 30 fps. With over 200 pictures per battery charge in a rugged stainless steel body, this is truly a go-anywhere, do-anything camera.

Another highly rated versatile model is the Casio Exilim EX-Z750 with 7.2 megapixels, 3X optical zoom and a 2.5″ LCD screen plus optical viewfinder. The Z750’s long life Li-ion battery allows up to 325 shots or nearly 3 hours of continuous video on a single charge. Measuring just 3.5 x 2.3 x .88 inches, the EX-Z750 features aperture and shutter priority AE as well as manual exposure controls.

Casio Prosumer Digital Cameras

In addition to pocket sized digital cameras, Casio offers the sophisticated Exilim Pro models like the EX-P600. Still compact at 3.8 x 2.7 x 1.8 inches, this feature-rich camera includes 6.0 megapixels, a Canon 4X optical zoom, both auto and manual exposure controls and more for the serious photographer.

For compact size and versatility, Casio’s digital cameras are hard to beat. Reviewers and consumers alike consistently rate them among their favorites.

Digital cameras information from A to Z: camera types & features, how they work, accessories, photo printers, comparisons and more - plus digital photo processing tips and info at A-Z Digital Cameras.com, Your Complete A-Z Resource for Digital Cameras, Accessories and Information.

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A lot of fuss is made over exposure and it can get really complicated. No more … read on!

Put bluntly, exposure is just the right combination of factors needed to make a decent image. A correctly exposed image needs just the right amount of light to fall on the sensor.

The amount of light falling on the sensor is determined by the shutter speed and the aperture.

The shutter speed can be seen as the amount of time the sensor is exposed to light (the faster the shutter speed the less light falls on the sensor). The aperture can be seen as the amount of light that can be let in through the lens (the bigger the aperture the more light comes in).

In average conditions, the faster the shutter speed the bigger the aperture that is needed to let light in. Conversely, the slower the shutter speed the smaller the aperture needs to be.

You can put this the other way around - for a big aperture you need a fast shutter speed and for a small aperture you need a slow shutter speed,.

If too much light comes in the image is “overexposed” - whited out. If too little light comes in then the image is very dark.

Don’t worry - your camera will do all this work for you if you put it on automatic mode (program mode). But sometimes the camera will be fooled into giving the wrong exposure (especially in very bright or very dark condition). In this case you can override the exposure by using aperture priority, shutter priority or manual mode. Check your camera instruction manual for further details and experiment.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com

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There are also some excellent online courses available and some of them are free, just type “Photography free online courses” into your search engine. Morguefile is an example they offer sound technical advice on a variety of subjects, as well as aspects of types of photography, it is a good point to start with, showing the resources Jodie Coston, a freelance photographer, has made available online, after a series of classes she gave. The New York Institute of Photography offers an online course over a period of about eight months, with a few hours work a day at your own pace, they offer courses in Photography and digital photography. Whilst they state they have been teaching photography for a hundred years, they do not quote their prices online, you have to contact them direct. They offer the information that most of their students are mature. Photo seminars offer a free workshop and a free lesson, so that you may you may evaluate the course before you buy. The enrolment cost is 39.00. U.S. dollars. They also offer links and resources. Better Photos, also offer a wide range of courses at different prices, with differing lengths, the subjects are either technical or cover “How to take more dramatic photographs”. For these courses you need to transfer the photographic assignment you were given to a web page on their site, so you need access to a computer.

There are times when the free courses cannot teach you any more and you have to pay for further knowledge. There are excellent resources in the forms of e books that give you invaluable practical information.

If you are just starting digital photography, you will find that you need skills that are not covered in analog photography. You will need to learn how to use an editor Adobe Photoshop, which is the industry standard for desktop imaging. Whilst Adobe produce their own official training manual’s, they are not the easiest resource for total beginner’s (my apologies to the author, but they are hard), there are on line courses available at Beren Patterson is a professional photographer who offers free online courses at his Sister site tribalcog, most of his work is in the travel area, but he has interesting tips about telling a story with your photographs.

There are excellent resources for the committed photographer, as well as the passionate hobbyist offered by the Kansas public Library, they offer galleries, informative articles, history resources, and general photographic resources. It is a very easy place to lose yourself for a couple of days; it is certainly worth more than a cursory glance.
As well as on- line courses there are excellent resources available to the photographer.

There are several sites for the professional photographer. The American Society of picture professionals is an association of professional who sell photographs overseas and at home. They have four types of members, and their fees range from 25.00 to 100 U.S. dollars. The American site of Media Photographers, have three aims. To protect and promote the interests of photographers whose work is for publication, to promote professional standards and ethics, as well as the promotion of friendship between photographers. They also have several classes of membership, as well as buying and selling photographs. The National Press Photographers Association has available some interesting free reports, and you do not have to be a member to read them.

There are an assortment of lessons both free, and paid for and also those available only to member’s at the Web Photoschool, they offer a tour around their site, so you can familiarise yourself with its feel. The lessons cover all levels of experience from beginner’s to professionals.

The Epsom Online Experience offers a unique and innovative course, for the digital photographer. For $29.95 you will receive five new video lessons per week for 12 weeks. It is run by professional photographers, Greg Gorman, Jay Maisel, and Bruce Dale.

They are available to teach you how the techniques, that they utilised to get their award winning shots. There is a library of “how to” that you have access to, as well as tutorials on how to use the scanner and printer to the best effects. Previews of the video are available on their site.

For those of you that feel you learn better under tutorial guidance, the School of photography offers courses 24/7 for you to work at your own pace. The courses are from beginner to the professional with a course on “how to freelance”. They have a free course available on aspects of night photography, which is in three parts.

Exposure 36 specialise in photographic education, most of their courses are in centres in Canada and the U.S.A. but they offer CD’s and also offer training on a one to one basis, or for yourself and a group of friend to set up a photographic workshop. They also have a series of articles aimed at all levels that are available for purchase.

For the nature lover in the U.S.A. there are online newsletters available that cover all aspects of photography in America, they are an invaluable introduction to the photographer who wants to explore new areas. The newsletters have been published for fifteen years, and back issues are available.

Not only are their online courses available, but also for those who need to brush on specific techniques, such as marketing - there are electronic books (e-books) available, most of these are written by professional photographer’s already making money in a competitive market. These books cover how to market a small business, photographic techniques, and photographic markets.

Better Photos offer a wide range of courses aimed at all levels; they offer courses on techniques such as lighting, as well as courses on marketing aspects. Each week you are sent a lesson via electronic mail. Contained in this lesson is a practical assignment, which has to be completed within a fortnight.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography business. It can be viewed at http://www.profitable-photography.com. Other related and reviewed services & research sources can be found at http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/ The information on this and adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing all information remains unchanged and the article and all pages remain as they are found here in its current font size & image with all links in tact.

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