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DSLR News - February 2007 Since I'm getting a break at the moment from the wave of digital SLR camera releases (I don't expect this to last), I am turning my attention toward lenses. It doesn't surprise me one bit that lenses are confusing for new digital SLR camera buyers - the more I read about them the more I find there is to learn. Part of the problem is that in order to truly appreciate what a lens can do for your digital photos, you need a crash course in optical lens design. People often ask me "why does lens A cost SO much more than lens B?" There is no simple answer to this question, because the answer lies in the GUTS of the lens itself. If you just compare lenses from the outside, it's pretty hard to tell why there is any difference in price. For the most part, more expensive lenses capture higher-quality images. Sometimes a less expensive lens will have the fidelity of a lens that costs twice as much, but these are few and far between. This brings us to a key point: if you're not happy with the clarity and color of your digital images, don't immediately blame your digital SLR camera. If you spend $800 on a new digital SLR, and then pop a bargain-basement lens on the front of it, this can have more impact on your photos than you might suspect. The following might come as a surprise. A lens can affect ALL of the following qualities of a digital photograph: color, contrast and clarity. This means that a $100 lens can make your images look washed out, with poor focus and unappealing colors. By simply making the switch to a $300 lens, you should see a dramatic improvement in image quality, even though you're still using the EXACT SAME digital SLR camera body. This has been the long way of saying something quite simple: coming soon, you won't have to obtain an intimate understanding of lens optics to find the best lenses. I am in the process of compiling information about which lenses are the best for different photography styles. The first one I've completed is a list of the best portrait lenses, and on this page you'll find recommended lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Olympus if portrait photography is what you really enjoy. In the next couple of months, keep an eye out for the best landscape, low-light, wildlife and action lenses. About The Guide The Digital SLR Guide is equal parts passion and persistence. It's something I do in my spare time because I love photography and cameras and want to share my knowledge with others. The icing on the cake is that it's turning into a real online business. Have you ever had a dream about sharing your passion or starting your own online business? It can be done, and it's easier than you might think. The Story Behind the Digital SLR Guide

In This Issue The Best SLR Lenses The Aperture/Shutter Speed Balance Sensitive Light Composing For Large Prints PMA is Coming! The Nikon D80 UV Filters Latest SLR Guides Nikon D40 Sony ALPHA A100 Digital SLR Terms Megapixels Anti-Shake ISO / Image Noise Sensor Dust Crop Factor RAW vs. JPG Continuous Photos Autofocus Points Aspect Ratio Recent Updates Digital SLR Prices 10 Megapixel SLRs Best Pentax Digital SLR DSLR Photo a Day

Digital SLR Q & A

Learning Resource

This learning resource is less about education and more about inspiration.

I believe that there are three fundamental ways that you can learn how to take better photos:

1. Read educational photography articles - like the ones in this newsletter! :)
2. Practice, practice, practice
3. Find other photos that inspire you and try to copy them

The learning resource for this month falls into the third category, since the photos on the site are not only amazing, they're also inspirational.

The site is called Sensitive Light, and it's an online gallery of a fellow named Graham Jeffery.

Whenever you find an interesting photography site like this one, I suggest you follow these steps if your end goal is improving the quality of the photos you take:

1. Study the images and find the ones you really like
2. Determine what it is about your favorites that you really like - color, composition, creativity?
3. Pick several different images, then try to copy them on your own

For example, I was quite taken with the colored smoke gallery, and that inspired me to try capturing my own photographs of smoke.

While my initial results were less than spectacular, I learned a great deal about what it takes to photograph smoke (it's a LOT harder than you might think) and I was able to practice taking a wide variety of photos - which is never a bad thing!

How and When

This month's How and When focuses on...

How to Take Photos For Large Print Sizes.

Let's get this out of the way first: the dimensions of most digital SLR sensors are identical to the dimensions of a 4x6 print (see photo at right).

The relationship between the long and short side of your digital SLR sensor is called aspect ratio, and is typically expressed like this: 3:2. This indicates that the sensor is shaped like a rectangle. If it were square, the aspect ratio would be 1:1.

You'll notice that if you multiply both number of the sensor aspect ratio by two that you get a nice match with a 4x6 print: 6:4.

This is why when you make 4x6 print of photos captured by your digital SLR, you don't lose any part of the image. The photo that you take is the photo that will print.

There are some notable exceptions to this rule: any digital SLR camera made by Olympus. Rather than a 3:2 aspect ratio, all of the Olympus sensors are set at 4:3. If we multiply this aspect ratio by 1.5, we wind up with 6:4.5. Since this does not match the dimensions of a 4x6 print, it means that every 4x6 print you make from an Olympus digital SLR will crop off approximately a half inch of the original image.

But what does this all have to do with large print sizes? I'm just about to get to that.

Let's say that instead of a regular size 4x6 print, you've got a photo that's worthy of a blow-up. You decide to make two prints, one at 5x7 and the other at 8x10.

Let's get back to our 3:2 aspect ratio. If we multiply this by 2.5, we wind up with 7.5:5. See where I'm going with this? If you make a 5x7 print of a photo taken with a 3:2 sensor, you're going to have to cut off about a half an inch from the original image (view photo).

But an 8x10 is even worse. Multiply the 3:2 aspect ratio by 4, and you wind up with 12:8. You guessed it - when you make an 8x10 print of this, you're cutting off a full two inches from the original image.

Imagine that your original image is a portrait and that you got up nice and close to your subject, completely filling the 3:2 frame. This image looks great on your monitor and it's going to print well at 4x6. But if you intend to print it at 8x10, you're going to severly cut in to your well-composed portrait - maybe even losing part of your subject's head (view photo).

What's the solution to this problem? There's two parts to it:

1. Compose your photo as you'd like to see it captured in the final image
2. Take one giant step AWAY from your subject (view photo)

The end result here is that you've just given yourself more breathing room around the edges of your digital image. If you do decide at a later date that an 8x10 print will look spectacular up on your wall, you've got plenty of room to crop out those 2 inches while maintaining the flavor of your original composition.

Cameras and Accessories

In Conclusion

The PMA buzz is already building - just today I read about the "upcoming" release of no less than 3 new digital SLR cameras.

If you're on the verge of buying a new digital SLR camera, I urge you to WAIT.

In just one short week the new cameras will be announced, and at that point you can decide whether or not it's worth it to buy a camera now, or to wait for the next greatest model once it's released.

Thanks for reading, and happy picture-taking!

--Chris Roberts, Your Digital SLR Guide