Digital zoom: best avoided

Whenever I'm asked for quick tips for better smartphone photos, I usually proffer the same advice that I give to any other type of photographer: get closer and tuck your elbows into your body. But with smartphones (or indeed with some point-and-shoots) that first pointer in augmented with an admonishment to avoid digital zoom. So that's do get closer, but don't get closer using the capability that manufacturers have baked into their devices to accomplish it. Get closer, but nix the digi-zoom.

The truth is, digital zoom sucks. One day it might not, but right now it does. It sucks because digital zoom is nothing more than a glorified cropping tool. Whereas optical zoom relies on the physics of lenses to ensure that what you see appears larger or closer, digital zoom simply crops away the extraneous pixels and enlarges those remaining in the picture. While this might get you closer to your subject—and that's rule number one—it has an unfortunate effect on your images.

Get closer!

By enlarging the pixels that are on display, you've degraded your picture quality. You're spreading your information more thinly over the same surface area. It's the technological equivalent of spreading one teaspoon of jam over a slice of toast rather than two. Even if the processor is clever enough to use interpolation to enlarge the image, there's probably still some degradation.

Don't believe me? Have a look at these examples and tell me which is superior. I'll bet you a friendly pound that you prefer the image where I've got closer to my subject using my hands and my feet rather than the slider on my iPhone.

The first step in the art of getting closer is to do so physically: walk in, reach in, lean in. Getting optically closer is your next step. And if you're still not close enough, take the photo with what you've got and crop in after the fact. You'll still be spreading those pixels more thinly, but at least you'll have better control over the final image.

Get really close with an Easy-Macro band

And if you want to get really close, try an Easy-Macro band. It's $15 well spent.

Bridge cameras - what are they and who are they for?

In the early hours of this morning (if you're in Europe), Ricoh announced a new bridge camera, the Pentax XG-1. But what exactly is a bridge camera, and who constitutes the target market?

Spanning the gap

It's all in the name, really. A bridge camera spans the gap from small compact cameras with fixed lenses to larger and heavier dSLRs with interchangeable lenses. They're fixed lens cameras that enjoy impressive optical zoom capabilities—in the case of the XG-1 a 52× zoom or the 35mm equivalent of 24 to 1,248mm—and the full manual control that you'd expect from a dSLR. However, although they might share a similar shape to a dSLR with its characteristic pentaprism hump, they don't share the mirror and the optical viewfinder mechanism. They function akin to compact cameras, making them smaller and lighter than their dSLR cousins.

Benefits of bridge cameras

Although a bridge camera usually comes in bigger and heavier than a compact camera, they're smaller and lighter than dSLRs; this means you get the advantages of manual control and impressive telephoto prowess but without the bulk. As the lens with all the optical zoom is built into the camera body, there aren't any expensive, bulky lenses to schlep about, either. You can switch from wide angle to telephoto with the movement of a button, rather than the inconvenience of a lens change and the potential of subjecting your sensor to dust and dirt. If you're shooting in dirty or dusty conditions, a bridge camera might be preferable to an interchangeable lens model.

Bridge cameras present you with control and magnification in a neat, cheap package. The new Pentax XG-1 is priced at £250 £280*; the Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, and Olympus equivalents aren't too far off that mark and have generally similar specs.

Drawbacks to bridge cameras

My 70-200mm zoom lens doesn't extend nearly as far as the 1,248mm of the Pentax XG-1. But it does have a fixed maximum aperture of ƒ/2.8. So whether I'm zoomed in or out, I can open my aperture as wide as ƒ/2.8. This isn't usually the case with bridge cameras. At its maximum zoom, the XG-1 has a maximum aperture of ƒ/5.6. (When it is zoomed out, the XG-1 has a maximum aperture of ƒ/2.8.) While this might not be a terrible state of affairs where depth-of-field is concerned because the magnification factor is so high, it can be an issue with respect to letting in sufficient light.

With such an enormous zoom, camera shake is a big issue for bridge cameras and to help mitigate that, you need a fast shutter speed assisted by a large aperture. Most bridge cameras do have image stabilisation to help prevent camera shake making itself obvious in your photos, but that smaller aperture at maximum zoom can be problematic.

The huge zoom can you close to the action with a bridge camera, but they don't always enjoy lightning fast autofocus and the EVF can be slow to refresh if you're shooting action scenes. That might mean the difference between shot made and a shot lost, particularly if you're trying to photograph sports or anything fast-moving.

Most bridge cameras use a 1/2.3" sensor. Although that gives them more klout than many compact cameras, they aren't as well endowed as dSLRs, which come with APS-C or full-frame sensors. This can be detrimental to image quality, with noise rearing its ugly head in images.

Bridge cameras versus EVIL cameras

While both bridge and EVIL cameras tend to be smaller than dSLRs, there remain significant differences that set apart the two groups. EVIL cameras come with a range of different sensor sizes, but they need separate lenses. They're also more expensive than bridge cameras, particularly when you factor in lenses, which doesn't place them in direct competition.

So bridge cameras are meant for...

People who want the flexibility of manual controls, incredible zoom, and a lightweight camera are the ideal consumers for bridge cameras. They're excellent for travel, even if they can struggle in low-light and be a little slow to focus. Bridge cameras don't require an arsenal of lenses, but do get you close to your subjects. And they tend to be afforable, too.

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* We received a price correction from Ricoh on Tuesday 22 July

What is zoom?

Z is for zoom. We couldn't finish off our alphabetical meander through photography's fundamentals anywhere else, could we? I've had a few people ask me, over the years, what's the difference between zoom and telephoto, and indeed is there one. Yes, yes there is a difference.

The simple explanation

Simply put, a zoom lens is one that benefits from variable focal lengths. For example, the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with an entry level dSLR is a zoom lens. At its widest point it has an 18mm focal length; at its narrowest, it has a 55mm focal length, and you can shift it to any focal length between the two. This means it spans from wide-angle to 'normal' focal lengths, giving it a fair degree of flexibility and making it useful as a first lens.

Telephoto lenses can be zoom lenses, too, for example a 70-200mm lens. Or you can have wide-angle zoom lens, for example a 17-35mm lens. Then there are zoom lenses with focal length ranges that stretch from wide-angle to telephoto, for example 24-105mm.

Whether the focal length range is wide-angle, telephoto, or spans the two is irrelevant; it's the fact that the lens covers a range of focal lengths that makes it a zoom. If you want to put it another way: a zoom lens is the opposite of a prime lens, which has a fixed focal length.

Advantages and disadvantages

The obvious advantage of a zoom lens is that it offers you flexibility. Being able to zip from 70mm right in to 200mm with the twist of the wrist is very handy, so is having wide-angle and telephoto capability in one place. And of course they let you mess around with zoom-bursting, which is always good fun.

However, that flexibility comes at a cost. The moving parts required to give zoom lenses their zoom can compromise their sharpness, give them more noticable aberrations, and limit their apertures. Whereas you'll readily find prime lenses with fast apertures, zoom lenses tend to be a bit slower and they often have variable maximum apertures.

The 18-55mm kit lens that we spoke earlier won't have a fixed maximum aperture across its focal range. Instead, it will have a maximum aperture of ƒ/3.5 at 18mm and at 55mm its maximum aperture will be ƒ/5.6. That's a bit of a difference to a 50mm prime lens that has a maximum aperture of ƒ1.4, isn't it? (There are zoom lenses with constant maximum apertures, a 70-200mm ƒ/2.8, for example, but they're much more costly than variable aperture zooms.)

Finally, the more moving parts that you have, the higher the chances of something breaking. That's not limited to photographic lenses, but just about anything that you can build. In this case, however, zoom lenses are more susceptible to damage or failure than prime lenses are.

And what about digital zoom?

So far, we've talked about optical zoom, or a change in focal length that is achieved by moving parts and adjustments to lens elements within the lens body. Some cameras, however, don't have optical zoom capability and instead rely on digital zoom to bring you closer to your subject. Digital zoom is standard in smartphone cameras, but you'll often find it in compact cameras as an augmentation to their optical zoom capabilities.

Digital zoom isn't really anything other than cropping: the centre of the frame is enlarged and the edges are trimmed away. As a consequence, images that are digitally zoomed are of lower quality than full resolution photos. If at all possible, avoid using digital zoom; it won't do your photos many favours.

TL;DR

• A zoom lens is a lens with a variable focal length
• Zoom lenses can be wide-angle, telephoto, or span the range
• The advantage of a zoom lens is its flexibility, but disadvantages can include lower image quality and slower apertures
• Digital zoom isn't really zoom at all, but a form of cropping. It's best avoided.

White balance << Photography Fundamentals >> Aperture

If you want to read a much more detailed explanation of lenses, do have a look at Haje's extensive Everything about camera lenses article.

Christmas is coming: zoom bursting!

The twinkling lights and glittering decorations of our Christmas tree are always far too good a photographic opportunity to pass up. Last year they were my testing ground for a Pentax X-5 that I had to review. This year, I decided to play around with zoom bursting, to make it appear as if the lights are bursting out of the image. While the abstract motion effect of a zoom burst might look as if it's a pain to achieve, it actually isn't that hard. You definitely need a zoom lens on your camera and preferably a tripod; then you just need a bit of patience to get it right.

Compose your frame and focus on your subject. It's actually one occasion when centre-focusing really does work and doesn't leave your composition feeling flat and dull. But of course, it's whatever works for your photo. You'll probably find it easiest to zoom in as close as you can and then lock your focus or set it manually.

In order to achieve the motion effect you'll need a slow shutter speed, so that you have sufficient time to turn the zoom ring on your lens. If you're not confident using full manual control, do flick your camera into Shutter Priority (S or Tv) mode. For this series of photos I experimented with exposure times ranging from one-and-half seconds to ten seconds. The optimal speed seemed to be five seconds, but of course it is going to to vary depending on your subject.

I kept the aperture fairly small and the ISO relatively low. Being a long exposure shot, there was a strong possibility that it would come out over-exposed if I adhered precisely to the camera's meter, so I under-exposed by a stop-and-half. If I'd been shooting in Shutter Priority mode, I would have achieved the same effect by applying exposure compensation.

When you're ready, depress your shutter button, or use a remote release to help avoid camera shake, and then steadily zoom out throughout the course of the exposure. If you'd like to ensure a little more definition for your subject, don't begin to move the zoom ring immediately, but let it rest for about a quarter of the exposure time and then start to move it.

In most cases, you will probably want to zoom out to give the impression of the subject bursting forth from the image. I also played around with zooming in and rather liked the effect. It's all going to depend on what works for your photo.

Once you have the basics down, it'll be a case of playing around to see what looks best. Have fun!

Get the eyes in focus.

The very first thing you need to know about getting people to look awesome, is that their eyes have to be in focus. This is absolutely, completely non-negotiable. If they have their eyes open, get them in focus. If they have them closed – get them in focus. Is your model wearing sunglasses? Well, get them in focus. You see where I'm going with this.

The reason for focusing on the eyes is simple: Whatever your photo, this is really where you want your audience to be looking. In a good portrait, the eyes are a window into the soul, and if you want to move people with your shots, it's important to get (make) that 'connection'.

As you are starting out on your journey of improving your portraiture concentrate 100% on getting the eyes right. Trust me: everything else will eventually fall into place.

Focusing and composing your portraits

If the eyes are so incredibly important, how can you ensure that you get them in focus? Taking a photo is a multi-step process. First of all, check your camera settings. Is your camera in the right file format? Are you in the correct auto-focus mode? Is your camera in the camera mode you were planning to use? Is your ISO set correctly?

Next, Check your exposure. If you're shooting in Program, Aperture-priority or shutter-priority mode, you need to ensure that you haven't changed the exposure bias. If you have ventured into manual exposure, you should check whether you've dialed in a useful aperture. And if you are in a fully automatic mode, you should buy my book and turn to chapter 3 - and be deeply ashamed of yourself.

The final steps are to focus and compose your image:

Step 1

The first step to get your focus right is to zoom in all the way on the eyes of your subject. This helps the camera's focusing mechanism get the focus right, and it reduces the risk of the camera focusing on the wrong thing. Obviously, if you are shooting with a prime lens (i.e. a non-zoom lens), this step doesn’t apply.

Step 2

Now, half-press your shutter button. Your lens will attempt to focus. Since you've zoomed all the way in, it will be very clear when your subject is properly in focus. If your lens gets it wrong somehow, let go of the shutter button and half-press it one more time. Once your subject is in focus, keep the shutter half-pressed.

Step 3

Now, whilst keeping the shutter button half-way down, you can zoom back out, and compose your photo. Take your time, there's no rush.

Step 4

When you're happy with the way your photo looks through the viewfinder, all you need to do is to press the shutter all the way down, and your camera will take the photo.

Finally, you edit your photo to your liking, and bonza - you're ready to go. How you can edit your portraits for best effect is, of course, also covered in Focus on Photographing People.

Like this quick tip?

If you enjoyed this quick tip, there's loads more where this came from. My newest book, Focus on Photographing People, is chocker-block with hundreds of photos, tons of tips, and fist-fulls of advice: All to help you become a better Photographer of People. Find out more about the book on my website, and then head to your nearest brick-and-mortar or online bookshop to buy yourself a copy!

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© Kamps Consulting Ltd. This article is licenced for use on Pixiq only. Please do not reproduce wholly or in part without a license. More info.

iPad version 2; with cameras x 2

Apple made us wait for a camera on the iPad, but when it came, they gave us not one, but two of them. Yep, there’re both front- and back-facing cameras on the new tactile tablet. Self-portraits, video-calls (or Face-Timing, in Apple-speak), and photos taken with a device measuring 24×17.5cm are go. And so is Photo Booth. I do like Photo Booth. I can turn myself all Andy Warhol.

The back camera has a 5x digital zoom and 720p HD video recording capability to 30fps with audio. The front camera gives you VGA-quality stills and VGA video at 30fps with audio. Exposure is touch-controlled, and when you want to manipulate your Photo Booth images that’s done with touch, too.

Seeing as you can make videos on this here iPad2, you can edit them with iMovie. Makes sense. Then you can share them on YouTube or Vimeo or FaceBook or, or, or…

Front- and back-facing cameras for 'Face-Timing'

I was terribly restrained when the original iPad came out and repeatedly told myself that no, I really didn’t need one. But I’m not so sure I can convince myself otherwise with this shiny beast. Especially as Apple have said that it’ll be shipping at the same price as iPad version 1. And it comes in white from day 1. And it’s 33% thinner than the original one. And I’m just going to shut up now.

iPad2, available 11 March 2011, starting at $499. All the details from Apple.

Fisher Price's new kid-proof camera

That I’m pretty much evangelical about kids using cameras is no secret. I’m always on the look out for cameras that I think are suitable for them and ideas that I think will get them hooked on photography. But, I’m not so enamoured by the idea of cameras designed specifically for children, much the same way that children’s menus in restaurants make me cringe. However, when I read about the new Kid-Tough See Yourself camera from Fisher Price, I was intrigued.

My interest definitely wasn’t piqued by its either garish (black and white) or insipid (pink and lilac) colour schemes, more because it has a rotating lens that allows kiddies to take pictures of themselves easily. Not that I want to encourage narcissism, but it seemed pretty nifty. Think about it this way: it might be the perfect solution when you want pictures of you and your friends on a messy, drunken night out: it’s tough, it’s durable, and you’ll be able to get everyone in the shot.

If you’re wondering about the camera’s spec, it has a 1.2 megapixel sensor, a 4x zoom, an SD card slot, and runs on four AA batteries. All for around $70.

(Headsup to Engadget, who have all the groovy pictures, too.)

Seeing double?

Fabulous! You can now record your concentration-skewed face at exactly the same time as you focus on recording your nephew cycling without stabilisers and hoping that he manages to avoid the pigeon that’s just landed in front of him, with Ion’s twin lens video camera. One lens faces forwards, the other points backwards, and it can record audio in both directions, too.

It’s hand-held, rechargeable, has a 3x optical zoom, and is USB-connectable. You can switch between looking at what you’re filming, or admiring your own mush on the LCD screen when you’re recording, but you can’t see both simultaneously. Ah well. Can’t have everything, I suppose.

Available from Amazon UK for £119 and Amazon US for $130.

(Headsup to Geekologie.)

A camera in the attic

If you follow Small Aperture on Twitter, where we’re known as smallaperture, you might have noticed my incredibly enthusiastic announcement last night that we found a Canon Auto Zoom 518 Super 8 movie camera in the attic of the Small Aperture mansion. Then again, I’m surprised people the other side of the city didn’t hear me squeeing. It was certainly the most exciting thing that happened to me yesterday.

Anyway, now that I’ve calmed down—if only marginally—I have a 1967, or thereabouts, home movie camera in my possession. Apparently it has a 9.5-47.5mm f/1.8 lens, shoots at 18 frames per second normally as well as having a slow motion option, has manual and automatic settings for aperture, and a super-zoom. It’s in its cute carrying case and everything.

It comes in a cute case and everything!

But I don’t have any super 8 film cartridges, hence my task is to locate some of those. I don’t think it’ll be too difficult, though. Then, I need to find out if this baby still works. Although she isn’t exactly antediluvian, it looks as if she’s been up there, amongst decades of accumulated junk and curios, for quite some time. It gets me thinking about what she might’ve shot, too, and maybe if any of the films are up there in random boxes.

Definitely a camera in there

Okay, I know that there isn’t exactly a great deal to tell you all right now, but I was far too excited to keep this to myself. I shall doubtless keep you updated on progress!

My new toy!

When the revolution comes...

The cameras that we use today, the ones that we think of as digital. They’re not quite as digital as they wish they were.

Oh, they’re cameras, yes, definitely, they paint pictures with light and everything, but they’re not digital. Our ‘digital cameras’ so far have been film cameras that have been adapted for digital sensors. One expert claims that the real world of digital photography awaits.

In the next five years, we’ll see f/0.5 lenses, digital zoom that’s better than its optical equivalents, extremely high sensitivity sensors, and ludicrously high dynamic range.

Ladies and gentlemen… we present the revolution of the digital camera…

The days of films have been numbered - and flat digital sensors might be next against the wall...

You see, very often it’s easier to adapt something that you have and already know and understand to integrate new technology than it is to re-invent the whole genre for your new development. And in many ways, that’s just what has happened with camera technology. When film cameras were first being used, it was important that things were flat. It made them easier to transport. And there’s been a huge hang over from that obsession with the flat as cameras have become more widely used, and entered into the digital realm. Digital sensors in cameras are flat.

And when you stop to think about it for a minute, that’s a bit, well, silly. Our eyes, which at the moment are definitely more powerful than a camera lens, are curved. So why aren’t we making curved sensors? Oh yeah, because we’ve always made them flat. (Mmhmm, we’re having a bit of a ‘No, we’re not going to sail off the edge of the earth moment here,’ aren’t we?)

Can we make curved sensors? Well, Gary Sutton reckons that we can.

Let’s take a look at what he has in mind…

Video – in 5 parts