Controlling Your Digital Camera
How do I take a photograph with my digital camera?
The easiest way to take a picture with your digital camera is to start in the green auto, or idiot proof, mode. Turn the camera on, in the green auto mode, press half way down on the shutter release (the picture button) until you see the camera focus. Then press all the way and take the picture. If you want to use the zoom button to get closer or farther back, go ahead and do that when taking your digital picture.
How do I use the zoom function on my digital camera?
You use the zoom lens on your digital camera to frame the picture. The basic rule is, use wide-angle for group shots and scenics, telephoto for portraits and distance shooting. But what I tell people, is use the zoom lens until your subject fills the frame. If it's a big subject, you're going to zoom back for the wide-angle; if it's a small subject, zoom in with the telephoto. Use the zoom lens to make the subject fill the frame.
When should I turn off my digital camera's "image stabilizer"?
Image stabilization is an important feature on your digital camera, and there are some times when it's best not to use it. The first time it's good not to use it is when you want to show the blur of your motion. So a lot of times I take pictures with a slow shutter speed while I'm driving in the car or panning or moving the camera, but I want to show a blur. That's number one. Number two is the image stabilizer is really designed to stop my handheld motion. If I'm in a car, in an airplane, or on a tripod, that's not handheld motion, so you need to test to see what picture looks best. And quite often I'll take two: one with the stabilizer on, one with the stabilizer off. If you're shooting in low light, you definitely need to turn the image stabilization off, because with a camera on a tripod, the image stabilizer will actually move slightly during the exposure and cause you to get a blurry picture. So once again, in low light on a tripod, image stabilizer off.
