Digital Cameras Are Everywhere These Days

A quality camera at a reasonable price is not hard to find today because every electronics manufacturer has their own range and the competition is fierce.

Unlike traditional cameras which used light sensitive film to capture images, digital cameras use its own set of light sensing technology to convert the world we see into a digital file at the touch of a button. This file is then stored to the camera’s internal memory or more often than not to a memory card that you will have to purchase in order to expand the camera’s picture storing capabilities.

The Cost of Storage Is Cheaper Than Ever Before

Most manufacturers give measly little built-in memory with their cameras because they want to keep the costs of their camera as low as possible so as to ward off the competition, and in the past memory cards with decent storage capacities were expensive.

Thankfully the price of memory cards for digital cameras has come down drastically.

You can now get 1GB or more for under a tenner, which is enough for at least a few 100 photos.

With a memory card installed you can usually just remove the card from your camera and insert it into your PC or laptop if it comes with a memory card reader, or as is more usually the case you can use the supplied USB cable to plug your camera straight into your computer to transfer images.

However, the one thing that you should be aware of in relation to memory cards in digital photography is that there is not one standard format of memory card that will work in all cameras.

Some manufacturers differ in their preference, so before you buy a camera it’s essential that you find out what type of memory card it requires.

Different Types of Memory Card

The most commonly used memory card format is the SD card, used by Samsung, Kodak, Panasonic, Pentax and many others. This means that it’s fairly easy to find cheap SD memory cards with good storage capacities either online or in an electronics store that will work instantly with your digital camera.

But beware…there has been a recent development in SD technology which has produced SDHC cards, with storage sizes of 4GB right up to 32GB. Most older cameras which take SD cards won’t be able to take advantage of these increased capacity SDHC cards, so check a new camera before you buy to see if it is compatible.

Sony cameras require a Sony Memory Stick, which is of course Sony’s own memory card format, and Olympus use XD cards which differ in size and shape from SD cards.

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Mum Says, Have Fun With Your Food

This year I came across Carl Warner’s fotographics: a set of photos where the scenescapes have all been made by vegetables or other food stuff!

The pictures are a real innovative take on the normal photo.

Photography Game: Spot The Vegetable

They are just amazing to look at! The more you study them, the more vegetables you find have been used to make up the picture. I’m not sure how long they take Carl to put together but I’m guessing a few days. I can spend a few days just looking at them!

You can view more of his foodscapes on Carl’s website. Just click ‘website’ and then ‘fotoscapes’.

Alternatively if you are looking for a photo gift for a food lover or something to keep you inspired in your kitchen, then you can buy prints over at Lens Wall.

Garlicshire is my favourite photo. What’s yours?

Please leave a comment.

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An Ideal Secret Santa Present

At £8, this mini digital photo frame could make an ideal secret santa present or stocking filler for someone that loves their photos. It can hold up to 107 photos for quick and fun viewing.

Read more about the TeckNet 1.5 Inch USB Mini Digital Photo Frame Keychain over at Amazon.

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Find Photo Ideas To Keep Inspired

I love photography and taking photos, but there’s some days where I just can’t be bothered to lug all my equipment around or indeed find the energy to seek out an interesting composition.

On such days I used to get out my old photography magazines.

However, now that I spend so much time at my computer and have grown increasingly lazy on my low energy days, I like to use the internet to be inspired by photos that others have taken.

Flickr Interestingness

Using the comments of users and the photos mostly added to favourites, Flickr’s Interestingness is an ideal place to seek inspiration.

Where do you get your inspiration from to go out and take photos?

Please leave a comment.

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Personalised Photo Cards - I Love ‘Em!

Last month my two nieces were being christened so I decided to invest in some nice greeting cards. Having seen the ads on the TV I decided to give Moonpig a go.

It wasn’t until I logged on that I realised you can upload photos to personalise your cards. I ended up choosing two cute ‘Me To You’ cards and uploaded a photo of each niece and their parents.

After finding a definition of each of my niece’s names through Google I was set. The cards arrived the day after and I couldn’t help but think what a neat service.

My sister later told me that my photo card was the only christening card that she has kept out!

Prepare Your Images First

If you are going to upload photos to make personalised photo cards, I’d recommend you:

• Upload the highest resolution possible (although I did experience an error uploading a 3mb photo and had to try again)
• Remember to remove any red eye from the photo first (it really spoils any photo, nevermind a posh card)
• Crop the photo so that the face is close up (you don’t want to print unnecessary detail)
• Make sure your photo is bright enough (again you don’t want a poor photo spoiling a nice card and more often than not they print darker than what they appear on screen)

Is anyone using Moonpig for their Xmas cards?

Please leave a comment.

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Make High Quality Christmas Presents With Your Own Photos

If you’re similar to me and like to give personalised presents for Christmas, then a photo book or calendar of memories is the ideal solution.

I’ve been producing Christmas photo calendars for the last 6 years. There are easy and fun to make; all you need is 12 photos, easy software and a quality photo calendar printer. And the presents are loved to bits by all family members!

With two weddings in the last few years and two young babies now in the family, I’ve been looking for that extra special print quality and feel.

Bob Books has come to my rescue with their Swiss made products.

I like Bob Books because what they say on their website is true:

• Their products are to a VERY high standard, ideal for presents
• The finish of the products is the best I’ve seen
• The books that go completely flat have a definite WOW factor

Bob Books Are Currently Offering a 10% Discount*.

Create your own photo book or calendar using your digital photos by downloading the free software:

1. Go to www.bobbooks.co.uk
2. Select ‘Your gift certificate’ on the software
3. Enter the code PHOTOLATE

*Please note offer is for photo books and calendars only and is not valid in conjunction with any other offer, gift vouchers and flickbooks

Bob Books have some very clever, free, personal publishing software that lets you design and create your own bespoke premium photo book with your digital photos, designs/illustrations and text.

Bob Books is also the one of the only photo book companies that allows you to create your very own high quality cover design and do fantastic finish double page spreads with your best photos.

If you give them a go, we’d love to hear what you think.

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Where Do You Find A Photographer For Business PR?

For those of you in business, or who use high profile images in your work, it might be worth knowing about the Press Association (020 7963 7156) .

If your business has a strong national, or international story, they could provide you with photographer for free.

Seems they offer the following services:

• Search one of the most extensive editorial picture resources
• A dedicated team providing research and licensing expertise
• Specialist photographers for commissioned events
• A network of international image partners

Have you had contact with the Press Association Photographers before?

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The New eBay For Cheap Cameras?

I just clicked on an ad that brought me to a website called Swoopoo.

I clicked on it because it was promising a Canon EOS 450D dSLR plus lens for under £50! According to the site, Archie007 won the auction, and a new Canon EOS 450D dSLR for just £44.24, saving £600!

Can this be true?!

Has anyone used Swoopoo before for camera purchases?

Please leave a comment with your experience.

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What To Do When Your Beloved Camera Develops A Fault

My Canon 350D SLR broke the other week. I could take a few photos, but then it would put a black line across the top of my photos, suggest there was no battery power, and flash at me error 99.

With no ability to take further photos, I want to share with you my experience in repairing my camera and getting to the bottom of error 99, which it turns out is a common error!

What is Error 99?

Error 99 is a common error that basically means there is something wrong with one of the various processes involved in taking a photo. This could be:

• no battery power
• faulty writing to the memory card
• the lens not being corrected
• shutter problems

Error 99 points to a problem with a third party accessory. Therefore try the following fixes before thinking there is something more seriously wrong with the camera itself.

Quick Camera Fixes

Since error 99 is caused by abnormal operation, try the following fixes:

• turning the camera on and off
• changing memory cards
• changing batteries
• changing lenses
• rubbing the gold contacts on the lens and camera body with a pencil eraser (explained well here)

If not of those work then I suggest taking your camera into a repair shop. As it turned out, my error 99 was pointing to a faulty shutter - supposedly they have a life span - and needed to be fixed by a technician.

Camera Repair Shops in London

Helpful London SLR Repair Shops

I’ve found Sendean Cameras in Soho and Fixation to be really helpful. They will look at your camera for free and will try to fix your camera ASAP i.e. in less than a week.

Other repair shops, although friendly and helpful, were charging to send the camera off to an authorised camera repair dealer.

Canon Repair Centre

If you want to go directly to Canon you must send your camera directly to the service centre. I’ve phoned them twice and am no nearer to knowing where to post it to. They will charge you £30 to investigate the problem and supposedly it can take 1 or 2 months to complete the repair.

Have you recently had your camera repaired? Did it go OK?

Please leave a comment.

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5/5 To Eamonn McCabe’s Exhibition “Artists And Their Studios”

It’s currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery and is a small and sweet, yet great insight into the world in which others - artists - work. It features photos of Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst amongst other less well-known artists.

It’s well worth a visit if you are in town. You can whizz round the 14 portraits probably in 14 minutes, giving time to stop off at the cafe just next door :) It’s on until the end of the October.

McCabe Began His Photographic Career In The 1970s.

He joined the Observer in 1976 and was voted Sports Photographer of the Year four times between 1978 and 1984. In 1988 he moved to the Guardian as Picture Editor and became the chief photographer of the Guardian profile portrait. In 2000 he left the picture desk to concentrate on photographing people in the arts.

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