NOCCC Beginner's Digital Photography SIG

See you on January 8, 2012. Any suggestions for the meeting?

This is the second time I’ve put up a chart of various sensor sizes. I stole this one from a new site by Thom Hogan. It’s called byThom sans Mirror.

Covering the new breed of interchangeable lens cameras: m4/3, NEX, NX, and Nikon 1

Many camera owners weather they’re Point-and-Shooters or Digital SLR owners have been considering one of the cameras in this category but for very different reasons.

So head over to the site and take a look. You just may find a camera that fits your needs. If you already know what you want head over anyway just to get a very knowledgeable person’s opinion.

Where's My DATA? It's In The Cloud

December 2011 Meeting NOCCC Beginner’s Digital Photography SIG

SIG Leader: John Krill #3160

NEW Room Science 131A: We have moved our meeting location from Science 127 to Science 131A. To repeat we will be meeting in Science 131A from now on. Science 131A is next door to Science 127. Clear?

Buying A Digital Camera? How Do I Find Just What I Need.

One of the members e-mailed me asking that I recommend a camera to him. He gave me a list of requirements for a camera and asked me to name a camera model.

First here is the e-mail:

I need your recommendation of a Nikon Camera that will fit in my USCG uniform pocket using a eye view instead of a screen view that can record in RAW while I am bouncing around in the ocean providing assistance of a vessel in distress. Working with the Nikon D700 just isn’t practicable while in action.

His list of requirements: Nikon; small light weight; record RAW images; eye level viewfinder.

Note: The eye-level Viewfinder is what you find on SLRs and expensive rangefinder cameras. Recently a new technology has been developed. It’s called Electronic Video Viewfinder or EVF. In the viewfinder is a small LCD screen that shows the exact same image that you see on the cameras large LCD screen. Cameras using a EVF generally are referred to as Mirrorless Digital Cameras. Certain models of Sony NEX and Nikon 1 digital cameras use a EVF.

The Search Process

The first step is to find as many cameras as possible that match his criteria. He made it a little easier because he limits his search to Nikon cameras only. If you wanted you could go to the NikonUSA web site and just browse their cameras but even that method may not get the results you want.

For me the first stop is B and H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/) They have a very easy method for searching for product. At their home page click on the Digital Cameras and Gear icon. At this new page click View More under Digital Cameras.

From this page you can select all the criteria for your camera choice from the left sidebar. First click the box next to Nikon under the Brand listings. If you have no idea what cameras have an eye-level viewfinder or record RAW images you could review all the cameras listed under Nikon. Other search options are camera price and type of digital camera – DSLR, Point and Shoot, etc.

Finally B&H has a special search box (At the bottom of the left sidebar.) that lets you search JUST the items listed.

Go through the list of cameras and find those that fits your criteria.

Once you finds the camera(s) you’re interested in you can go to Digital Photography Review (www.dpreview.com) and see if they have reviewed or tested any of the cameras you found at B&H.

Lastly find a store that has the best price or deal. We all know how to do that!

PS: I did find a camera that just may fit his criteria: A Nikon 1 V1 with the 10mm – 30mm kit lens. This camera is so nice I may start saving for one myself.

Amazons’ Daily Gold Box Deals

I’ve memtioned this before but it’s worth repeating. Amazon has daily Gold Box deals that can be the very item you’ve been wanting for months and now here it is at a very low price. They send out a daily email with the Gold Box deals. Sign-up. You never know. Just recently they had the Pansonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Digital Camera for $269.00. That’s a $100.00 discount. A very good deal indeed.

Android Pad Users I Need A Volunteer

I would like to demostrate Adobe’s new Photoshop Touch App (http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-touch-apps/what-is-adobe-photoshop-touch/) I will pay you to install the software App on your Android ($10.00). Anyone interested?

Standard Stuff That Is Always In This Report

This report should be up on the SIG’s blog. I may go into greater detail and I will include screen shots as well.

If you have a special request for information regarding digital photography let me know. E-mail me using the address listed below.

Check out the SIG Blog for other information and maybe info on what we will discuss at the next meeting.

As always we will answer any and all questions.

If you have a special request for information regarding digital photography let me know. E-mail me using the address listed below.

We had 13 members at our SIG meeting.

See you at the next meeting.

Note: I am using a new Web location for the photos I take at the meeting. I now upload the photos I take to Microsoft SkyDrive. A link will be put here every month to the folder with that months photos.

SkyDrive Photos for the December 2011 Club Meeting: http://tinyurl.com/cwcb4av

PS: If you saw the actual link to the photos you would think it never ended. It’s the longest link I’ve ever had to deal with. Solution is the TinyURL web site. Give it a really long link and they give you a nice short one. That’s the link you see above.

SIG Blog: http://nocccbgphotosig.wordpress.com/

Email: noccc.bgphotosig@gmail.com

Today only Amazon Gold Box special is featuring the Pansonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Digital Camera. Check it out here.

Remember this is for today only or until supplies last – whichever comes first.

From the manufacture: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 is a unique compact digital camera offering photo enthusiasts the ideal way for capturing professional-quality photos and High Definition (HD) video. With an ultra-bright F2.0 ultra-wide-angle 24mm Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens, the Lumix LX5 minimizes image distortion, resulting in stunning, true-to-life images with outstanding resolution and detail.

The 24mm wide angle lens offers extraordinarily large viewing space and now the optical zoom is extended to 3.8x (90mm) making the LX5 even more versatile.

The F2.0 lens is twice as bright as a F2.8 lens, making it easy to produce beautiful photos with a soft-focused background thanks to the shallow depth of field provided by the extra light.

In addition to the newly-designed lens, the Lumix LX5 features an image processing engine that combines technologies resulting in professional-quality photos, especially in low-light situations. Like its predecessor, the Lumix LX5 features the highly-acclaimed 10.1-megapixel CCD, but it has an expanded dynamic range by increasing the sensitivity and the saturation.

Remember this is a one day special. Act now if you always wanted this digital camera.