Photography Blog

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iPhone contains many useful features. One of them is build-in camera and Camera application system for making photos. It looks great but what about camera usage with native applications? iPhone SDK provides the capability of using camera through UIImagePickerController class. That’s great but there is a small disadvantage – you cannot create a full-screen persistent “live” camera view like the Camera application does. Instead of that you should use UIImagePickerController only in modal mode – show the pop-up modal view when you need a photo and close the view after the photo is made. You have to reopen this view again to take the next one. Moreover, that modal view contains additional panels and controls that overlay the camera view. Another disadvantage is – you cannot take a photo in one touch; you need to touch the Shoot button to take a picture and preview it, and then you need to touch the Save button to get the photo for processing. Probably it’s the best practice but I don’t like it and I hope you think the same way.

What about using the UIImagePickerController as an ordinal non-modal view controller under the navigation controller the same way as we use the other view controllers? Try it and you will found that it works! The camera view works and looks as it should. You can assign a delegate and process UIImagePickerControllerDelegate events to get and save the photo. Ok, touch the Shoot button, touch the Save button – great, you’ve got the photo! But just look at this – the Retake and Save buttons stay above the camera view, and they don’t work now when they are touched… This is because you cannot reset the view to take another photo after taking one and touching the Save button, the view is freezed and the buttons are disabled. It seems you need to fully recreate the UIImagePickerController instance to take another photo. That’s not so simple and not so good. And you still need to use the panels and buttons that overlay the camera view…

Now I have an idea! When we touch Shoot, the view stops refreshing and displays single image from the camera; then we have to touch Retake or Save button. Can we get that image and save it without using the UIImagePickerControllerDelegate and then touch the Retake button programmatically to reset the view and get another photo? Sure we can! If you explore the camera views hierarchy after touching Shoot you will find that there is a hidden view of ImageView type. This class is not described in the SDK, but we can explore its’ methods using Objective-C capabilities. We can see that the class contains a method called imageRef. Let’s try this… Yes, it returns CGImage object! And the image size is 1200 x 1600 – it’s definitely the camera picture!

Ok, now we know we can get the photo without UIImagePickerControllerDelegate. But in what moment should we do this? Can we catch the user touches on the Shoot button to start processing? It’s possible but not so good. Do you remember our main purpose – creating the persistent full-screen camera view like system Camera application does? It’s time to do it! When we explored the views hierarchy, we’ve found that there are number of views above the camera view. We can try to hide these views and create our own button below the camera view to take the photo in one touch. But how can we force the camera view to make the photo? It’s very simple – we can get the corresponding selector from the Shoot button and call it from our action handler!

Ok, we’ve forced getting the image. But it takes us few seconds. How can we detect that the image is ready? It occurred when the Cancel and Shoot buttons are replaced by Retake and Save ones. The simplest way to detect this is starting a timer with short interval and checking the buttons. And then we can get and save the photo, using the corresponding selector from the Retake button and calling it to reset the camera view and prepare it for making a new one. Here is the code:

// Shot button on the toolbar touched. Make the photo.- (void)shotAction:(id)sender {[self enableInterface:NO];// Simulate touch on the Image Picker’s Shot buttonUIControl *camBtn = [self getCamShutButton];[camBtn sendActionsForControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];// Set up timer to check the camera controls to detect when the image// from the camera will be prepared.// Image Picker’s Shot button is passed as userInfo to compare with current button.[NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:0.2 target:self selector:@selector(savePhotoTimerFireMethod:) userInfo:camBtn repeats:NO];}// Return Image Picker’s Shoot button (the button that makes the photo).- (UIControl*) getCamShutButton {UIView *topView = [self findCamControlsLayerView:self.view];UIView *buttonsBar = [topView.subviews objectAtIndex:2];UIControl *btn = [buttonsBar.subviews objectAtIndex:1];return btn;}// Return Image Picker’s Retake button that appears after the user pressed Shoot.- (UIControl*) getCamRetakeButton {UIView *topView = [self findCamControlsLayerView:self.view];UIView *buttonsBar = [topView.subviews objectAtIndex:2];UIControl *btn = [buttonsBar.subviews objectAtIndex:0];return btn;}// Find the view that contains the camera controls (buttons)- (UIView*)findCamControlsLayerView:(UIView*)view {Class cl = [view class];NSString *desc = [cl description];if ([desc compare:@"PLCropOverlay"] == NSOrderedSame)return view;for (NSUInteger i = 0; i < [view.subviews count]; i++){UIView *subView = [view.subviews objectAtIndex:i];subView = [self findCamControlsLayerView:subView];if (subView)return subView;}return nil;}// Called by the timer. Check the camera controls to detect that the image is ready.- (void)savePhotoTimerFireMethod:(NSTimer*)theTimer {// Compare current Image Picker's Shot button with passed.UIControl *camBtn = [self getCamShutButton];if (camBtn != [theTimer userInfo]){// The button replaced by Save button - the image is ready.[self saveImageFromImageView];// Simulate touch on Retake button to continue working; the camera is ready to take new photo.camBtn = [self getCamRetakeButton];[camBtn sendActionsForControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];[self enableInterface:YES];}else{NSTimeInterval interval = [theTimer timeInterval];[NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:interval target:self selector:@selector(savePhotoTimerFireMethod:) userInfo:camBtn repeats:NO];}}// Save taken image from hidden image view.- (BOOL)saveImageFromImageView {UIView *cameraView = [self.view.subviews objectAtIndex:0];if ([self enumSubviewsToFindImageViewAndSavePhoto:cameraView])return YES;return NO;}// Recursive enumerate subviews to find hidden image view and save photo- (BOOL)enumSubviewsToFindImageViewAndSavePhoto:(UIView*)view {Class cl = [view class];NSString *desc = [cl description];if ([desc compare:@"ImageView"] == NSOrderedSame)return [self grabPictureFromImageView:view];for (int i = 0; i < [view.subviews count]; i++){if ([self enumSubviewsToFindImageViewAndSavePhoto:[view.subviews objectAtIndex:i]])return YES;}return NO;}// Grab the image from hidden image view and save the photo- (BOOL)grabPictureFromImageView:(UIView*)view {CGImageRef img = (CGImageRef)[view imageRef];if (img){// Taken image is in UIImageOrientationRight orientationUIImage *photo = [self correctImageOrientation:img];UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum(photo, nil, nil, nil);return YES;}return NO;}// Correct image orientation from UIImageOrientationRight (rotate on 90 degrees)- (UIImage*)correctImageOrientation:(CGImageRef)image {CGFloat width = CGImageGetWidth(image);CGFloat height = CGImageGetHeight(image);CGRect bounds = CGRectMake(0.0f, 0.0f, width, height);CGFloat boundHeight = bounds.size.height;bounds.size.height = bounds.size.width;bounds.size.width = boundHeight;CGAffineTransform transform = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation(height, 0.0f);transform = CGAffineTransformRotate(transform, M_PI / 2.0f);UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(bounds.size);CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();CGContextScaleCTM(context, - 1.0f, 1.0f);CGContextTranslateCTM(context, -height, 0.0f);CGContextConcatCTM(context, transform);CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectMake(0.0f, 0.0f, width, height), image);UIImage *imageCopy = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();UIGraphicsEndImageContext();return imageCopy;}

Another important question is: in what moment can we hide the overlaying camera views and controls and create our own button? Trying the viewDidLoad… Oops… The camera view is still not created. Trying the viewWillAppear… The same thing… Trying the viewDidAppear… Yes, the views have been created and can be hidden now. Ok, we hide that and create a toolbar with our Shoot button. It works, but the screen flicks – we see how the standard views and buttons are shown and then hidden. How can we prevent this? I tried a number of ways and had found the best one: we should hide the views before they are added to the camera view (when the addSubview method of the camera view is called). It’s possible using Objective-C capability to replace the method dynamically at run-time. Ok, let’s replace the addSubview by our own method. In our method we can check that the passed view is one of the camera view subviews and set its’ “hidden” property to YES. So, we replace the addSubview in the viewWillAppear before the camera view is created. And we create our toolbar and Shoot button in the viewDidAppear after the camera view is created. Take a look at the code below:

// Replace “addSubview:” if called first time; hide camera controls otherwise.- (void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {[super viewWillAppear:animated];if (toolBar != nil){// The view was already appeared; we don’t need to subclass UIView// but need to hide extra camera controls.UIView *cameraView = [self findCamControlsLayerView:self.view];if (cameraView){cameraView = cameraView.superview;int cnt = [cameraView.subviews count];if (cnt >= 4){for (int i = 2; i < cnt - 1; i++){UIView *v = [cameraView.subviews objectAtIndex:i];v.hidden = YES;}}}}else{// Subclass UIView and replace addSubview to hide the camera view controls on fly.[RootViewController exchangeAddSubViewFor:self.view];}}// Exchange addSubview: of UIView class; set our own myAddSubview instead+ (void)exchangeAddSubViewFor:(UIView*)view {SEL addSubviewSel = @selector(addSubview:);Method originalAddSubviewMethod = class_getInstanceMethod([view class], addSubviewSel);SEL myAddSubviewSel = @selector(myAddSubview:);Method replacedAddSubviewMethod = class_getInstanceMethod([self class], myAddSubviewSel);method_exchangeImplementations(originalAddSubviewMethod, replacedAddSubviewMethod);}// Add the subview to view; "self" points to the parent view.// Set "hidden" to YES if the subview is the camera controls view.- (void) myAddSubview:(UIView*)view {UIView *parent = (UIView*)self;BOOL done = NO;Class cl = [view class];NSString *desc = [cl description];if ([desc compare:@"PLCropOverlay"] == NSOrderedSame){for (NSUInteger i = 0; i < [view.subviews count]; i++){UIView *v = [view.subviews objectAtIndex:i];v.hidden = YES;}done = YES;}[RootViewController exchangeAddSubViewFor:parent];[parent addSubview:view];if (!done)[RootViewController exchangeAddSubViewFor:parent];}

The technique described above was used in iUniqable application available from Apple App Store (Social Networking section). Feel free to use.

Feel free to visit the website of the developer www.enterra-inc.com

The first kind of home security camera is known as a dome camera. Obviously, this camera comes in the shape of a dome and it fits conveniently on the ceiling of your home or business. You will find the dome cameras often times in casinos where they are used to monitor the tables. You will also find home security at its most fashionable with the dome lens. There are dome cameras that can be placed outside, however, you must use a special armor type in order to do this kind of mounting. Sony carries two different types of dome security cameras and they are a leader in the industry. You can choose from the Verifocal dome camera, which has the highest resolution (420 lines) and an adjustable lens. You can also purchase Sony\’s Infrared Armor dome camera, which acts as a hidden camera and is the most durable of all of the dome cameras. Dome cameras are the most popular security cameras because they are impossible to detect which angle they are viewing unless you are at close range. They come in black or white and they all have adjustable lenses.

The second type of home security camera is the bullet camera. The lens is long and resembles a rifle, which is where the camera finds its name. Bullet cameras are easily visible and can be mounted to a wall or a ceiling. They use a 12V DC voltage, and the power cable should be included when the camera is purchased. Most of these cameras will film in color and then change their resolutions to black and white when the light levels are lower. The resolution during the day is much better with the bullet security systems, but if you have an alternate form of lighting, like a streetlight, people can sometimes be seen from up to 70 feet away. The most popular brand of bullet security cameras is the SPECO CVC-6805SX, which is color and has a fixed lens of 4mm.

Many businesses rely on a home security camera at night. However, it can be hard to see the footage when there is no light. The infrared camera has built in lights around the lens so you are able to view your taped footage with ease. However, the infrared lighting can cause a problem when it is used at a home due to the glare that is created from the windows. Some people will think that an infrared camera is the same as a night vision camera, although the night vision camera does not have built in lighting around their lens. Prices can vary on the infrared cameras, but the most affordable home security model is the QSVC422 CCD color outdoor camera made by Digital Peripheral Solutions.

The interesting journey of Canon cameras began way back at Japan in the 1930s. Starting with the vision to make the best camera for the world, Canon today is ranked 154th on Fortune 500. It is positioned 3rd on the top 10 corporations receiving U.S. patents 1998-2007.

The main products of the canon group of camera segment are Canon Digital Cameras, Canon Digital Video Cameras, Canon Interchangeable Lenses, and Canon LCD Projectors.

Canon also has its presence throughout the world. In India, Canon was set up in 1997, as a subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pvt. Ltd.; with an array of imaging products. The series of Canon cameras available across India are:

Canon EOS Series: The EOS series of Canon digital cameras offer photographers, the twin benefits of amazing image quality and outstanding performance. With exceptional speed, rugged durability and advanced features, Canon 35mm EOS cameras make every picture-taking experience feel like a professional one.

Canon FS Series: The FS-series Canon cameras are small, stylish, and provide a reasonably expansive feature set. The individual models in the FS series differ only by memory and color, with list prices that increment by $100.

Canon IXUS Series: The IXUS series of Canon digital cameras is based on the design of Canon’s IXUS / IXY / ELPH line of APS cameras, and is a line of ultra compact cameras. The cameras have high mega pixel resolution and come with the 3x optical zoom, DIGIC III image processors and the Face detection technology.

Other features include a dust, scratch and finger print resistant LCD screen, convenient touch wheel for easy photo capture, a resolution capability of printing A3 size images and an in-built slide show with entertaining effects.

Canon PowerShot Series: High-end Canon PowerShot digital cameras incorporate the creative performance of a professional digital SLR camera and the compact convenience of a point-and-shoot. The PowerShot products are a line of digital cameras, launched by Canon in 1995. The PowerShot line has been successful for Canon, and is one of the best-selling digital cameras worldwide.

The Canon’s PowerShot sub-series consist of: A Series: “Easy and Fun” budget cameras ranging from point-and-shoot to prosumer cameras,

E Series: design-oriented budget cameras,

G Series: flagship cameras with near dSLR functionality,

S/SD Series: (also known as PowerShot Digital ELPH): “Performance and Style” ultra compact point-and-shoot cameras,

S/SX Series: ultra-zoom cameras,

TX Series: hybrid camera / camcorders,

Pro Series: professional-level cameras slotting right beneath Canon’s dSLRs and

S Series: originally a series of compact point-and-shoot cameras, later a series of prosumer cameras slotting beneath the G Series.

Canon Cameras have an extensive product line and digital solutions that enable businesses and consumers worldwide to capture, store, and distribute information. Canon continues to take new challenges, turning today’s effort into tomorrow’s growth…Digital Cameras – Infibeam.com is an exciting new online destination and community that focuses on selling latest Mobile Phones, Cars, Health Equipments, Jewellery, Canon Cameras and Bikes at guaranteed lowest price.

Underwater digital cameras are a special designed digital camera make for still and video photography to capture the wonderful marine life flora and fauna. The underwater world offers so many opportunities object to capture once in your lifetime photos of undersea life, vivid colors of coral reefs. This time, underwater digital cameras give you clean and crisp pictures that truly reflect the images of marine and plant life of depths underwater.

With underwater digital cameras you are possible to capture images in a life-like picture that can be shared with friends or you sell it professionally. Adorned with multi-flash function, color correction filter and macro lens, the underwater digital camera offers superb image quality.

If you nosy  which model of underwater digital camera to choose, what features to consider, then here is a briefly guide and tips on the features of the most demanding  underwater digital camera models. Right now you can find so many popular underwater digital cameras such as  Intova IC-700 7.0MP, Sea Live DC800, Nikon D3 plus housing Sea&Sea MDX-D3, Panasonic SDR, Sony A200 Digital SLR Camera combine with Ikelite housing, o Xacti VPC, Pentax Optio W30, Canon G10  and Olympus SW series

Intova IC-700 7.0MP digital camera with underwater housing, available in an affordable price. This underwater digital camera features 7 megapixels, macro mode and built-in flash that can reach up to five feet underwater.

The SeaLife DC800 underwater camera offers sleek, modern design with high-tech functionality. Come with 8-megapixel camera now you could have the best possible photographs, both in and out of the water. This new type promise give the easiest step to set up a graphic on-screen, expand the camera with wide angle lens and Digital Pro Flashes accessories. This camera also have long lasting lithium battery for all day of diving, automatic focus from 2″ to infinity, large format continuous video recording with sound,  depth tested to 200ft,  fully rubber armored for shock protection and 1-year warranty covers the underwater housing and camera.

If you looking for popular underwater digital came among professional diving photographers, the answer is Nikon D3 underwater digital cameras. This camera is top line in technology and prize in front of its competitors. Released with a perfect auto exposure, huge viewfinder and accurate auto and fast, Nikon D3 completed with ergonomically Sea&Sea MDX-D3 housing. This 10-megapixel camera has features specifically designed to allow for the best possible photographs, both in and out of the water.

Panasonic SDR-SW20 is compact model for you if you want an easy-to-use and lightweight device. Include 10x optical zoom and MPEG-2 format up to 10 Mbps, this is one of the best digital cameras available for video recording. But, with only 0.3MP 640×480 still imaging capability, the still imaging options are basically non-existent in this model.

Combine with Ikelite Housing Sony DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Cyber-shot digital Camera is an entry level digital camera that could captures enough detail for photo quality prints. It has solid construction and offers all of the essentials in an affordable package like an auto-focus system, a large view finder, wireless flash control and gives details at the lowest sensitivities. Its also built-in multimode auto electronic-flash Real Imaging Processor provides natural color, accurate picture quality and faster response 2.0 High-Speed USB Memory Stick media, Memory Stick(R) PRO media compatible PictBridge capability for plug-and-print convenience . Sony DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Cyber-shot(R) with Ikelite housing  will give you a compact, clear underwater  with corrosion-free performance and deep under.

Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 is the one of the best designed underwater  digital camera for up to 5feet depth of water. It has  4GB card, and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 at 640×480 powers, the Xacti E1 could work with an approximate record time of over 5 hours. This camera also offers a solid 5x optical zoom with a 6MP CCD at up to ISO1600 power for still images, Flip out view screen is a special key feature of this underwater digital camera which will saves you from the risk of bumping in with underwater objects while swimming around.

Pentax Optio W30 is another underwater digital camera you should consider. Released with 7MP – ISO1600 and 3x optical zoom image recording feature, Optio W30 supported with both SD and SDHC, videos in this model is of 640×480 in MOV QuickTime MJPEG format.

The Canon  G10-WP combine with DB28 housing is a Canon’s most advanced compact cameras with ability to work under water till 130 feet deep. With well-rounded underwater digital camera package Canon G-10  will gives you richly detailed and high resolution images, It is also has an excellent LCD,  wide-angle lens and many dedicated controls, it gives you good performance like serious photographers.

Olympus SW series may be the best well rounded underwater camera at the moment. This camera completed with 10 Megapixels, ISO1600, and a 3.6x optical zoom feature and you could dive with this camera  as depth as 6.6 feet.

Digital cameras are risky to use in water, as they will malfunction. This deprives those who love diving and spending time in water, the pleasure of taking photographs underwater as well as around water (in the fear that the camera might fall into water and malfunction). Therefore, waterproof digital cameras also called underwater cameras, provide a chance to photograph the underwater world which would have been otherwise inaccessible with normal digital cameras.

The following is a list of some waterproof digital cameras that are commonly used for underwater photography.

The first one of waterproof digital cameras reviewed is Sea and Sea DX-1 G Compact Digital 10.0 MP camera with underwater housing set. This waterproof digital camera has ten megapixels (which is pretty good photo quality), a polycarbonate underwater housing (which makes it waterproof) and a ‘sea and sea’ mode which optimizes digital photography under water. It also has some other features that are advanced, such as manual control over exposure and focus, an extra flash light and the camera also has the ability to shoot videos.

Intevac IC700 7.0 MP Digital Camera with Underwater housing falls under waterproof digital cameras, which provides a pretty good image quality (with seven megapixels) and is affordable as it is under the $300 price range. It is considered a good waterproof camera and is rated for underwater photography to a depth of 180 feet. To emphasize this opinion, the camera comes with features such as macro mode with a built in flash which can reach up to about five feet when underwater.

Olympus SW series may be the best well rounded waterproof camera at the moment. This camera completed with 10 Megapixels, ISO1600, and a 3.6x optical zoom feature and you could diving with this camera as depth as 6.6 feet.

Pentax Optio W30 is another waterproof digital camera design you should consider. Released with 7MP – ISO1600 and 3x optical zoom image recording feature, Optio W30 supported with both SD and SDHC, videos in this model is of 640×480 in MOV QuickTime MJPEG format.

Another one of waterproof digital cameras is Sealife SL320 Reef Master Mini underwater digital camera. Weighing about eight ounces, and being a compact camera, this is very useful for those who want a light weight, easy to use waterproof digital camera. The camera has underwater exposure and sea modes and has six megapixels. The shutter speed of this camera is within a range of 1/60th to 1/1000th of a second. This waterproof digital camera has a rating of 130 feet depth for underwater photography.

With an underwater photography rating of 50 feet depth, VuPoint DC-WPC-ST531TBLK-VP Underwater digital camera is another recommended waterproof digital camera. It has five megapixels and also has video capturing ability. It features digital zooming and has the ability to shoot in macro settings and control aperture settings. Also, it is less expensive compared to other waterproof digital cameras.

One of the best designed waterproof digital camera for up to 5feet depth of water is Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1. With 4GB memory card, and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 at 640×480 powers, the Xacti E1 could work with an approximate record time over 5 hours. This small and easy to handle video camera also offers a solid 5x optical zoom with a 6MP CCD at up to ISO1600 power for still images, so beside video you can also take a pictures every moment. With flip out view screen and special key feature of this video digital camera will saves you from the risk of bumping in underwater objects while diving around.

By choosing wisely from the wide range of good waterproof digital cameras available in today’s market, you can chose a good quality waterproof digital camera at an affordable price, to make the next underwater experience – an unforgettable one.

Camera hut has kept up their repute in the bazaar as the basic destination to get the paramount cameras of all the forms. Camera hut, has always succeeded in achieving their aim of providing the newest cameras having the assorted technological novelty at a great reasonable price.It is the household name for all the photographic fans across the world mainly due to their diversity of cameras and their linked abettor. In simple words, camera hut is an accepted, endorsed and the appointed distributor of the top camera brand creators, and they right away buy the latest cameras in large volumes in order to candidly cater the needs of the patrons from all across the country. Moreover, as they promptly get from the producers, they are largely benefited from the sorts of discounts they get and also feel great in distributing their products to the patrons as well in the discount rates. This is the secret key of their massive patrons that they always offer the cheapest prices in the bazaar. You can find a large store of the widest array of great photographic cameras which includes the most recent versions of the digital cameras like the Olympus, Nikon, Canon digital SLR, Canon EOS, Chinon, Yashica, Casio, Sony, Pentex, and the many other world class digital SLR cameras. Besides the digital still cameras, they are also flooded with the large range and all forms of movie and video cameras like JVC handycams, Hitachi, National, and many other superior world well-known brands. Moreover, along with their wide variety of products, they have also gained a status for the proper repairing and the maintenance of all the branded cameras with their professional technical staff.They also supply the huge amount of spares and other camera related abettor like diverse kinds of camera lenses, filters, flash guns, connectivity cables, camera rolls, expandable memory cards for the digital cameras, camera cases and carry bags, camera belts, tripods, trolleys, top quality photo albums, frames and many other gifting abettor. In the field of photography, digital cameras are a unique revolution. Through the best digital SLR cameras, photography was never this simple. newest version of digital cameras presents the better result than the standard cameras with their new technologies. The complete atomization of the digital cameras has made the photography more efficient and effortless with just a click. Once the memory card is full with the images the cameras proposes the amenity to off load all the shots either on the digital video disc or the hard disc of the computer. Thus, you can also edit your shots in the way you want very straightforwardly and thus get the expected result.Thus through the digital cameras and its various facilities, you can now make your picture perfect and also view the shots right away after your clicks

Remember, the companies tell you only about those features of their products, they want you to know about. A layman is not technically adept to go into the details of the digital cameras. A flashy marketing campaign is enough to allure the customers and sell the products. But you can easily get the best with in your budget by just knowing a few basic essentials for shopping a digital camera. This basic knowledge enables you to purchase the right camera, according to your choice.

The first thing to look out while shopping around for a digital camera is the number of mega pixels. You must have come across the advertisements boasting well on the more mega pixels of their digital cameras as compared to any other camera. Mega pixels are actually one million pixels. Pixels are small squares that form a picture on a camera screen. All the pixels have a particular color assigned to them. The pixels are building block of the picture.

Commonly, people presume that the larger is the number of mega pixels in a digital camera, the clearer the image is. This is a wrong notion. The pixels make a picture big or small. A 10,000 MP camera will not give you clearer image than an 8000 MP camera. But it will yield a larger image. So while purchasing the camera, be sure that you know how much pixels you want in your digital camera.

The sensors in your digital camera determine its efficiency. While you shop around for your digital camera, always pay attention to the types of sensors employed in it. Sensors are used to capture the image before transferring it to the main memory of the camera. This makes the camera ready to capture further images instantly.

Basically, you have two types of sensors. They are CCD and CMOS. The CCD is Charged Couple Device. It is found in expensive cameras. This sensor gives a great image quality. The other one i.e. Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor does not provide a good image quality. This sensor is mostly found in the cheaper cameras. If you are not a professional photographer, you can afford to buy some cheaper cameras with CMOS sensors.

The selection of a digital camera largely depends on the type of photography you like to do. The market is flooded with different varieties of digital cameras for various purposes. If you are inclined towards wild life photography, look for a camera with Center-Weighted metering. Center weighted metering is a feature by which the light reflected by the object is measured accurately with in the digital camera. The camera is focused at the center of the object.

Surveillance Camera Systems come in all shapes and sizes and trying to figure out which surveillance system that will fit your needs can be very frustrating, but most cameras and systems today requires very little experience to install and operate. This article describes several factors to consider before purchasing a surveillance camera system.

General things to ask yourself:
– Should I buy Wireless or Wired surveillance cameras? Wireless is much easier to install than wired. – How many cameras should you buy? Using too many cameras will be expensive, not enough will only give me limited coverage. – Should I use Indoor or Outdoor type cameras? – Does my application require recording of the surveillance activity? If not, the cost can be reduced because a DVD recorder will not be necessary. – Does my surveillance system require that I can monitor over the Internet when away from my business or home.

Let’s describe the different types of surveillance cameras and systems which will be helpful to determine which one to buy depending on the type of use.

Hidden Cameras: These types of cameras are for indoor use only and come in a variety of different kinds of ordinary looking objects. For instance a small hidden camera are embedded in everyday objects like an Alarm Clock, Air Freshener, Fan, CO2 Detector or even a vanity Mirror. They are usually installed in one room and used to catch any suspicious activity in the room installed. Most of them use a 12-hour rechargeable battery pack with no wires or cords to plug in. Most all of these type of cameras are wireless but some can be wired. By far, you are better off choosing a wireless kind, which takes minutes to set up. To view or record the activity a 2.4 GHz Receiver attaches to your TV or VRC or DVR, which also only takes just a few minutes.

Surveillance Camera Systems: For business type applications you make want to consider a bundled system that includes all the components need to watch you business when you are there or way from it. Your business may need 4, 8 or 16 cameras also referred to as channels. For instance a small but location may need 8 cameras or as many as 16. They can be wireless or wired. If you are looking for an easy installation choose wireless, that way no messy wires to deal with.

A 4 Channel Wireless Complete System is also perfect for a small business or even a small house. A wireless surveillance camera system will allow you to install 4 wireless cameras to digitally record all the activity in your business. These types of systems come with a DVR with full networking capability and use a GeoVision DVR card, which allows you to view live video surveillance on the Internet. This type of system is designed strictly for indoor use only, and the perfect video recording system for smaller areas. You now have the flexibility to leave and still record activity and store and retrive for later viewing. Many businesses have a panic button they press when they see a would be thief in their store and now have the proof stored if needing to use in it in court.

For Personal Home Surveillance Camera System, there is the 4 Channel Wireless VISEC Surveillance System that is perfect for monitoring 4 rooms in a small house. The cameras that come with type of system work in day or night because of the high quality digital CCD chips that automatically switches from color to black & white in low light conditions. This type of a system requires what known as a ‘quad’. A quad is an accessory to your surveillance system that splits a video monitor into 4 screens. Without a quad viewing would only be able possible with one camera at a time. This type of a system also comes with a GrabBee II. It allows wireless or hidden cameras to connect your camera(s) to your computer. The GrabBee II is the bridge between the wireless or hidden camera and your computer. This device converts analog video signal to digital through a USB port.

Designed For Simple Personal Use, there is a camera called the Cyber Eye. This infrared B/W digital surveillance camera takes pictures automatically whenever someone moves in front of it and then digitally stores the pictures within the micro-camera. You can then extract the images later on just by plugging the camera into your TV/VCR to either view or record. This type of camera is great for catching someone snooping around your house. It is so small and compact you can even put it in your car and aim it out the window. This personal surveillance camera works by changes in the picture and not motion. Video images can be even taken through glass and the wireless surveillance camera will still work like a charm. The pictures are taken at 1-60 second intervals (UP TO 680 pictures). Video images will even have the time and date stamp added to each picture.

For Outdoor Surveillance Cameras, Dome cameras are used in many places including retail stores, restaurants, casinos and apartment buildings. You can even see them at your local McDonalds restaurants. Dome cameras are simply board cameras built into a weatherproof dome housing. In addition to these surveillance cameras being weatherproof, many of these types of dome surveillance cameras are vandal-proof dome and built with protective casing that can withstand the direct hit of a sledgehammer or other brute force means to disable it. Dome Surveillance Cameras are generally wired and can be connected to a Digital DVR to record all suspicious activities.

Surveillance Camera Recording – One of the most important pieces of a surveillance system is the surveillance video recorder. Whether you have one, four, eight or sixteen cameras you have to take what those cameras see and store that video for reference or possible evidence. Obviously DVR system can record much longer than old style VCR tapes. Generally these recorders come in 4, 8 and 16 channel models. Channels refer to amount of cameras that can be attached for recording. Some units are small, some large and have different features. One of the best DVR portable surveillance camera recorders perfect for body worn & covert applications and fits easily into a purse, pocket or backpack is the DVR-9800 touted as the Worlds Smallest Wearable DVR Recorder. This recorder can record a whopping 40 hours of video and about 910 hours of audio.

This article gives you the basics on what to look for when shopping for a surveillance camera system for either personal or business use. In a future article, we will discuss detailed directions on how to connect and set up the most common types of surveillance camera systems.

Digital cameras, which employ reusable memory cards instead of film, give you far more creative control than film cameras can. With a digital camera, you can transfer shots to your computer, then crop, adjust color and contrast, and add textures and other special effects. Final results can be made into cards or T-shirts, or sent via e-mail, all using the software that usually comes with the camera. You can make prints on a color inkjet printer, or by dropping off the memory card at one of a growing number of photofinishers. You can upload the file to a photo-sharing Web site for storage, viewing, and sharing with others.

Like camcorders, digital cameras have LCD viewers. Some camcorders can be used to take still pictures, but a typical camcorder’s resolution is no match for a good still camera’s.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE

The leading brands are Canon, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Olympus, and Sony; other brands come from consumer-electronics, computer, and traditional camera and film companies.

Digital cameras are categorized by how many pixels, or picture elements, the image sensor contains. One megapixel equals 1 million picture elements. A 3-megapixel camera can make excellent 8x10s and pleasing 11x14s. There are also 4- to 8-megapixel models, including point-and-shoot ones; these are well suited for making larger prints or for maintaining sharpness if you want to use only a portion of the original image. Professional Digital cameras use as many as 14 megapixels.

Price range: $200 to $400 for 3 megapixels; $250 to $400 for 4 and 5 megapixels; $300 to $1,000 for 6 to 8 megapixels.

IMPORTANT FEATURES

Most Digital cameras are highly automated, with features such as automatic exposure control (which manages the shutter speed, aperture, or both according to available light) and autofocus.

Instead of film, digital cameras typically record their shots onto flash-memory cards. CompactFlash and SecureDigital (SD) are the most widely used. Once quite expensive, such cards have tumbled in price–a 128-megabyte card can now cost less than $50. Other types of memory cards used by cameras include Memory Stick, Smart Media and xD-picture card. A few cameras, mainly some Sony models, use 3 1/4-inch CD-R or CD-RW discs.

To save images, you transfer them to a computer, typically by connecting the camera to the computer’s USB or FireWire port or inserting the memory card into a special reader. Some printers can take memory cards and make prints without putting the images on a computer first. Image-handling software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop, Microsoft Picture It, and ACDSee, lets you size, touch up, and crop digital images using your computer. Most digital cameras work with both Windows and Macintosh machines.

The file format commonly used for photos is JPEG, which is a compressed format. Some cameras can save photos in uncompressed TIFF format, but this setting yields enormous files. Other high-end cameras have a RAW file format, which yields the image data with no processing from the camera.

Digital cameras typically have both an optical viewfinder and a small color LCD viewer. LCD viewers are very accurate in framing the actual image you get–better than most of the optical viewfinders–but they use more battery power and may be hard to see in bright sunlight. You can also view shots you’ve already taken on the LCD viewer. Many digital cameras provide a video output, so you can view your pictures on a TV set.

Certain cameras let you record an audio clip with a picture. But these clips use additional storage space. Some allow you to record limited video, but the frame rate is slow and the resolution poor.

A zoom lens provides flexibility in framing shots and closes the distance between you and your subject–ideal if you want to quickly switch to a close shot. The typical 3x zoom on mainstream cameras goes from a moderately wide-angle view (35mm) to moderate telephoto (105mm). You can find cameras with extended zoom ranges between 8x and 12x, giving added versatility for outdoor photography. Other new cameras go down to 24 or 28 mm at the wide-angle end, making it easier to take in an entire scene in close quarters, such as a crowded party.

Optical zooms are superior to digital zooms, which magnify the center of the frame without actually increasing picture detail, resulting in a somewhat coarser view.

Sensors in digital cameras are typically about as light-sensitive as ISO 100 film, though some let you increase that setting. (At ISO 100, you’ll likely need to use a flash indoors and in low outdoor light.) A camera’s flash range tells you how far from the camera the flash will provide proper exposure: If the subject is out of range, you’ll know to close the distance. But digital cameras can tolerate some underexposure before the image suffers noticeably.

Red-eye reduction shines a light toward your subject just before the main flash. (A camera whose flash unit is farther from the lens reduces the risk of red eye. Computer editing of the image may also correct red eye.) With automatic flash mode, the camera fires the flash whenever the light entering the camera registers as insufficient. A few new cameras have built-in red-eye correction capability.

Some cameras that have powerful telephoto lenses now come with image stabilizers. These compensate for camera shake, letting you use a slower shutter speed than you otherwise could for following movement. But an image stabilizer won’t compensate for the motion of subjects.

Most new 6- to 8-megapixel cameras come with full manual controls, including independent controls for shutter and aperture. That gives serious shutterbugs control over depth of field, shooting action, or shooting scene with tricky lighting.

HOW TO CHOOSE

The first step is to determine how you will use the camera most of the time. Consider these two questions:

How much flexibility to enlarge images do you need? If you mainly want to make 4×6 snapshots, a camera with a 3- or 4-megapixel resolution will be fine. Such a camera will also make an 8×10 print of an entire image without alteration that looks as sharp as one from a 6- or 8-megapixel model. But to enlarge the image more or enlarge only part of it, you’ll want a 6- to 8-megapixel camera.

How much control do you want over exposure and composition? Cameras meant for automatic point-and-shoot photos, with a 3x-zoom lens, will serve snap shooters as well as dedicate hobbyists much of the time. The full-featured cameras in the 6- to 8-megapixel range offer capabilities that more-dedicated photographers will want to have. Two of the more important capabilities are a zoom range of 5x to 10x or more, which lets you bring distant outdoor subjects close and also lets you shoot candid portraits without getting right in your subject’s face, and a full complement of manual controls that you determine the shutter speed and lens opening. ‘

Once you’ve established the performance priorities that you need from a camera, you can narrow your choices further by considering these convenience factors:

Size and weight. The smallest, lightest models aren’t necessarily inexpensive 3-megapixel cameras. And the biggest and heaviest aren’t necessarily found at the high end. If possible, try cameras at the store before you buy. That way, you’ll know which one fits you hand best and which can be securely gripped. In our tests, we have found that some of the smallest don’t leave much room even for small fingers.

Battery type and life. All digital cameras can run on rechargeable batteries of one of two types: an expensive battery pack or a set of AA batteries. In our tests of the cameras, neither battery type had a clear performance advantage. The best-performing cameras offer upward of 300 shots on a charge, while the worst manage only about 50. We think it’s more convenient to own a camera that accepts AA batteries. You can buy economical, rechargeable cells (plus a charger) and drop in a set of disposable lithium or alkaline batteries if the rechargeable run down in the middle of the day’s shooting.

Camera speed. With point-and-shoot cameras like the ones we tested, you must wait after each shot as the camera processes the image. Most models let you shoot an image every few seconds, but a few make you wait 5 seconds or more. They may frustrate you when you’re taking photos in sequence.

Your other cameras. If you’re adding a camera to your lineup or trading up to a more versatile model, look first for one that’s compatible with the other cameras. If it is, you can share memory cards and batteries. Designs within a camera brand line are often similar. So staying wit the brand you have lowers the learning curve on the new camera for family members who switch between cameras.

Copyright © 2002-2006 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.

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