Capturing the Little Things With a Digital Camera

Have you ever wondered how a photographer gets such clear, detailed photos of things like flowers or insects?  Capturing such close-up pictures is most often done with a setting that comes as an option on many digital cameras--the macro setting. 

What the macro setting on your camera essentially does is focus on a very small area.  The background often appears unfocused to further bring out your intended subject.  Getting in close to capture all the detail of a small object is nearly impossible with the regular setting on a camera.  Anything closer than about three feet becomes blurred.  The macro setting changes the distance your camera will be able to focus and often allows you to take clear pictures from as close as two or three inches.

How Many Mega-Pixels Do I Need?

One of the confusing things in choosing a digital camera is deciding how many mega-pixels you should look for.  The answer depends on what you plan on doing with the finished pictures.

First, you need to understand what a pixel is.  In terms of digital prints, a pixel simply means a dot of color that makes up the image.  A mega-pixel is equal to one million pixels.  The more mega-pixels a camera has, the greater the amount of information it records. 

Focus Modes in Digital Cameras

While some of the least expensive digital cameras have only automatic focus, meaning the camera does all the work on bringing your subject into the best possible focus, most SLR digitals offer three different focus modes:  manual, single auto focus and continuous auto focus.  All three of these will be addressed here.

Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom

Many digital cameras offer both digital and optical zoom.  These two often confuse the average camera buyer, until you know what you’re looking at.

Optical zoom works much like the zoom lens on a 35 mm film camera. It changes the length of your camera’s lens and draws the subject closer to you.  The optical zoom keeps the quality of the picture. Digital zoom works differently. It simply takes the picture and crops it then enlarges the part that is left.  It causes the quality of the photo to be reduced, sometimes greatly.

Digital Camera Terms To Know

It helps when learning to use your new digital camera to also know what some of the more common terms mean.  Below you will find many of these common terms defined.

Automatic Mode : a setting that sets the focus, exposure and white-balance automatically.

Burst Mode or Continuous Capture Mode : a series of pictures taken one after another at quickly timed intervals with one press of the shutter button.