Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing
One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is so they can share their photos with others. Even if you are just going to print your photos for yourself, you will want them to look their best. Here are some tips on getting your images ready for sharing or printing.
1. ORGANIZE YOUR PHOTOS
Delete the ones you don’t like or those that are near duplicates of others. No sense in clogging up your hard drive or CDs with junk. Use a good photo management software program like ACDSEE 7, Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album 5 to view, organize and name your images. These programs also let you batch rename so you can give more descriptive file names to a group of photos at the same time. You can add key words and tags to make finding your photos easier. Be detailed in your photo descriptions, not just “John and Laurie.” You’ll probably have hundreds of photos of your kids and it will be harder to find the one you’re looking for. Better to say “John and Laurie waterskiing on Lake Powell, May 2004.”
2. BACK UP YOUR ORIGINALS
Mistakes can happen. It is a good idea to back up all your images to a CD before you start editing or changing them. That way you always have the original to go back to if you accidentally save over an image or made changes to a photo that you later decide you don’t like. CDs hold lots of photos, making it cheap insurance.
3. ROTATE IMAGES
Trying to look at a sideways photo is annoying. Use your photo management or editing software to rotate photos as needed. And if you have any images that are a little crooked, you can fix that using your editing software. Most photo editors have an automatic “straighten” function, or you can manually rotate the image a few degrees to straighten the horizon line.
4. REMOVE RED-EYE
Even with your digital camera’s auto red-eye reduction function, your subject’s eyes may still have red-eye. Use your photo editing software to remove it. Zoom in on the eyes and it will be easier for you to correct the red-eye. I’ve tried a number of red-eye correction tools and find that the one that comes with ACDSEE 7’s photo editor is among the best. It zeros in just on the red eye and doesn’t darken the surrounding eye area like some other software does.
5. CROP YOUR PHOTOS
Crop out unnecessary or distracting backgrounds and focus in on your subject. Most photo editing programs will keep the aspect ratio, so when you draw a box around the area you want to focus on it will crop it as 4×6 or whatever you have specified. That way you won’t end up with an odd size photo. Kodak EasyShare Gallery also has a very good cropping tool for maintaining the proper print size. It comes with its free photo editor.
6. ADJUST LIGHTING AND CONTRAST
Some of your photos may have come out washed out or too dark. You can automatically adjust the color, brightness and contrast of your photos. The better programs like Photoshop Album 2.0, Jasc and ACDSEE also have tools for making manual adjustments for fine-tuning. Be careful not to overdo it, though, or your picture could come out grainy.
7. PREPARE TO SHARE
There are a number of ways to share your images. Several programs, like Roxio Photo Suite 7, ACDSEE7, Photoshop Album and Paint Shop Photo Album allow you to create digital photo albums or slide shows, complete with music, transitions and captions. You can burn them to CD or resize and optimize for emailing directly from the program.
Online photo services such as PhotoWorks, Shutterfly, Snapfish and Kodak EasyShare Gallery also let you share your photos on line, for free. You simply upload your images to their server into your own photo albums and add captions if you wish. Then email your friends with a link to your albums. With most of the online services your photos stay on their servers as long as you have an account with them, for free. Signing up for an account is free, you only pay for photos you choose to purchase.
For hardcore photo sharers, there are also dedicated photo sharing applications such as PiXPO v1.5.0, which lets you share photos right off your hard drive. This is a peer to peer software application that allows you to connect directly with your friends and family to share and view pictures online with no uploads. Unlike traditional photo sharing services, you have unlimited storage and you don’t have to upload your photos to a distant server or wait for friends to log onto some photo sharing site. The application is easy to install and use and it’s inexpensive, around $30. PC Magazine rated it an Editor’s Choice in their January 3, 2005 issue.
Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.
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7.1 Megapixels3x optical zoom4x digital zoom2.5″ LCD screen32MB memory card suppliedPictBridge functionUSB 2.0 Hi-Speed connectivityVGA movies and Time Lapse MovieRechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-4L (included)1 year warrantyDimensions (W
Amazon Price: ?125.90
Customer Review: A Gem!
I’m travelling Europe for 3/4 months and want to have plenty of photos to remember it by. I therefore spent a month researching as many cameras as possible to make sure I got the right one. This is the camera I decided upon and I’m glad I did. Pros: - The camera is small and sturdy, being made of metal. If you drop it you’re more likely to damage the ground than the camera. - The interface is easy to use; I was able to pick it up and use it without reading the manuals. - There is a viewfinder. You can switch off the LCD screen and use the view finder to save power. - Plenty of shooting modes including a great macro mode. - The movies are great quality and the sound is crisp and clean. - The camera is responsive and has a nice shutter speed to make up for the lack of anti-blur. - The zoom feature is easy to use, and being optical the pictures don’t end up grainy. Cons: - Lack of anti blur. - Face detect doesn’t work all the time, but it’s not too big a deal. - The included memory card is only 32mb so you’ll need to buy a new one. I’d like to note that I bought this camera without realising that the battery was li-ion. I was worried about how I might charge it in Europe but to my delight I discovered that the charger comes with a European plug as well. With the Amazon price being ?80/90 cheaper than it is in the shops I think that you owe it to yourself to buy one.
Customer Review: Super Camera
I ordered this camera with a 2GB SD card with Christmas money, it came today and I have had a play around to familiarise myself with all of it’s features. It is easy to use, takes fantastic pictures, compact and the features are great. The image stabilizer is great so you don’t have to worry about a child or a pet suddenly moving just as you take the picture and the colour accent feature is very nice.
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Amazon Price: ?649.99
Customer Review: Great Camera but think before you buy
I’m fairly new to Photography but have recently upgraded from a Canon S3 IS to the Nikon D80 and am I glad I did so? You bet. The D80 can produce very high quality images, it’s sturdy and well built and the controls are very sensibly placed. The rear LCD is of very good quality and a good size and the menu system is easy to use and offers a huge number of options to enable you to set the camera up just how you like it. So if you are an enthusiast then this camera should be on you short list but if you just want to take good pictures without becoming too serious then look at the D40 or D40+. Hindsight is a great thing and there are a couple of points that I would have taken into account had I known better. My limited experience of Canon cameras indicates that their images are generally sharper straight out of a camera than that of the D80. Also the saturation of colours straight out of a Canon is more intense than out of the D80. So if in general you want to lessen the editing burden so that you can bang out some great snaps then a Canon may make more sense. One of the D80s advantages is its low noise levels at high sensitivities so if you are going to take a lot of photos in low light conditions or use the lower price and hence slow telephoto lenses than it may have the edge over competitors. Any vibration reduction resides within the Nikon lenses and not within the D80 body, whereas for Canon cameras it sits within the camera body. This means that if you intend to buy third party lenses (I have a Sigma 50 -500) then you may get some vibration reduction for free from a Canon but not from a Nikon but please check this before you buy. This smacks of Nikon locking people into buying their lenses. I am becoming aware that post processing is a great leveller when it comes to quality of images, especially if you shoot in RAW format. Therefore I would now tend to concentrate more on purchase cost, usability, reliability and cost of accessories than ‘out of the camera’ image quality as I don’t think there is much in it. So before you buy the camera body look at the price of the accessories and lenses that you will buy with it, and in the future. Also try to handle the cameras on your short list to see which “feels” right for you. Finally if you are still unsure if a full Digital SLR is for you then in my opinion my Canon S3 IS digital camera takes as good, if not better Jpeg images straight from the camera (even after playing with the D80’s jpeg image quality) and its a third of the price of a standard D80 set up!. Therefore if you’re not going to devote a lot of time to editing your images it may be worth considering a super zoom or digital prosumer model. And don’t forget you can spend the money you have saved to purchase lens converters to give you more telephoto, macro and wide angle capabilities and all for less than the price of a basic D80 lens and camera bundle. So in conclusion the D80 is a great camera, however if you require a range of lenses such as wide angle, macro and especially telephoto and you haven’t robbed a bank recently then you will probably be looking at third party lenses and it may be that a Canon camera makes more sense. If you already have Nikon lenses then stick with a D80. Otherwise if you think that you may upgrade from the D80 level to a semi pro camera then it is likely that you may want to have the flexibility to choose from a range of manufacturers lenses and hence it could mean again that a Canon with its on board vibration reduction makes sense. Whatever choice you make if you end up with the D80 you won’t be disappointed. One last piece of advice, some of the online companies are importing kit that does not have a manufacturer’s warranty so make sure that if this is the case that you get a warranty from the supplier. Happy snapping.
Customer Review: So good it seems pointless to review it.
It does seem pointless I feel to review this camera, as if you have got this far you’ve already read oodles of reviews in all the magazines and they will have said how fantastic this camera is. BUT if you are thinking about buying it online, now, without going into a shop as I did, then this really is the one for you. Ignore all the fantastic features, ignore the sensor robbed from its bigger expensive brother, ignore the 11 point focusing system, (or better the movable 11 point single focus) ignore the enormous crisp LCD, the bright well laid out top mounted display, the gorgeous crisp bright viewfinder, ignore all those well placed buttons. The simple fact is, if you are toying with this or the Canon equivalents (as most will be) then buy this for the glorious build quality, the weight and the way you wonder if the Nikon designers have the same sized hands as you (and anyone you pass this camera to) as its simply the best in build quality and ergonomics, the smaller Canons (350 & 400) just feel like plastic toys, and unless you have very small hands you’ll find your last finger flailing around with no-where to go, whereas the bigger ones (20 & 30) are built like a brick outhouse, but sadly look and feel like a brick outhouse. This is what it boils down to, on spec for ? they all run a photo-finish, on build and handling this ones has got them all well and truly licked.
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Amazon Price: ?59.99
Customer Review: simple and effective
My grandson got this camera bundled with the printer/docking station and loves it to pieces.The only gripe is a measly internal memory and miniscule ink in the printer..Otherwise a cracking camera for those uneasy with digital technology and fidgety controls..
Customer Review: Kodak Easyshare C613 Digital Camera - Black
I was looking for a low cost camera with good quality pictures which was very easy to use. This camera is an excellent choice! Great value, idiot proof to use and looks fab. All the buttons you need to use for simple picture taking are all clearly labelled on the back, and the menu has an info button which explains everything in the menu options so editing pictures on the camera and changing camera settings couldnt be simpler! the camera is small and light, and i got mines in black; it looks very impressive. The internal memory takes just over 10 photos so definately invest in a memory card to make it worth while.
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Amazon Price: ?84.70 
You will receive one Power Rechargeable Battery. This Rechargeable Battery 100% fits and is properly matching !
Hybrid DVD/HDD Camcorder with 30GB Hard Drive, Multi Format DVD, 30x Optical Zoom 
Customer Review: Very Nice To Look At But Very Bad Quality
