Written By: Dozuki System...This guide demonstrates how to select the appropriate professional camera and equipment for your guides. High quality photographs will make your how-to

Selecting Professional Camera EquipmentThis guide demonstrates how to select the appropriate professional camera and equipment for

your guides.

Written By: Dozuki System

Selecting Professional Camera Equipment 2019-11-24[major]V1.0Release:Guide ID: 6372 -

This document was generated on 2020-10-12 07:16:34 PM (MST).

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INTRODUCTION

This guide demonstrates how to select the appropriate professional camera and equipment for yourguides.

High quality photographs will make your how-to guides stand out and enable your readers to followprocedures more easily. This guide will walk you through picking out the right camera equipment tocreate professional quality guide images.




Step 1 — Selecting a Camera

The most important component fortaking pictures is, of course, thecamera. We highly recommendedthat you use a digital single lensreflex (DSLR) camera to takeprofessional quality guide images.

When it comes to cameras,megapixels aren't nearly asimportant as manufacturers wantyou to believe they are. DSLRs havesignificantly larger image sensorsthan point-and-shoot cameras,which allows them to capture morelight and yield larger, higherresolution images. Colorreproduction and image sharpnessalso tend to be much better whenusing a DSLR.




Step 2 — Choosing the Settings

Nearly every digital cameramanufactured today is boxed upalready set on an Auto function.Any DSLR received in such a settingshould be switched off of Autoimmediately, but to which setting?

Aperture priority (denoted by an Aor Av, depending on your camera'smanufacturer) provides the bestworkflow when shootingphotographs for guides. Additionally,you should set the ISO to the lowestpossible value.

"Aperture priority" means that youselect the camera's aperture andit automatically adjusts the shutterspeed in order to achieve thecorrect exposure. If you find yourimages are coming out too darkor too bright, you may adjust theexposure compensation (EV).

For a full explanation of the differentcamera settings and when youshould change them, check outiFixit's Camera OperatingInstructions article.




https://help.dozuki.com/Info/Edit/Camera_Operating_Instructions

Step 3 — Camera Features

A key feature of an SLR camera isthe ability to select whatever lensyou would like to use when takingphotos. You want to be able tocapture large subjects and alsozoom in on small ones. A zoom lenswith focal lengths spanning theballpark of 20-100mm should beable to handle most situations.

The lens shown here is a basic18-105mm lens that comes withmost high-end Nikon consumerDSLRs.

Step 4

An all-purpose zoom lens should take care of the majority of photos that you will take, butsometimes you need to get close to the action—really close. This is where a macro lens comes in.

Unlike the 18-105mm lens that came with the camera—which cannot focus on objects closer thanabout 1.5 feet away—a macro lens, like the one shown here, can focus on objects that are only afew inches away. This kind of close-up photography is crucial if you're documenting things likecircuit boards or the pattern on a butterfly's wing.

Look at all the scratches on George Washington's neck! There's no way this quarter is still worth25¢.




Step 5 — Selecting a Tripod

Every hand-held camera is prone toshakes and vibrations that causeblurry photos. Keep your imagessharp by using a tripod.

Selecting the right tripod ultimatelyboils down to how you plan to useyour camera.

Most of the tripod's height shouldcome from its legs, rather thanthe center column. Raising thecenter column makes the tripodless sturdy and should only beused for quick, temporary heightadjustments.

If all of your photos are going tobe shot with the camera sittingperfectly horizontal, then astandard 3-way panning head ismore than adequate. If yourphotography requires funkyangles, though, look into a ballhead-type tripod.

Make sure that your tripod israted to hold however muchweight you're going to bemounting on top of it.




The weight of the tripod itself maybe a factor if your work requiresyou to move around a lot or trekthrough the great outdoors. Youmay find that a tripod made withlightweight materials, such ascarbon fiber, best suits yourneeds.

Step 6 — Creating Sharp Images

When it comes to cameras, even the slightest nudge can take a perfect composition and turn it intoa blurry mess. Luckily, there are a number of features and techniques you can utilize to ensureconsistent quality throughout your guide photos.

Turn off any sort of image stabilization on the camera and/or lens when it is mounted on a tripod.This may seem counterintuitive, but those features actually introduce small vibrations that aremeant to cancel out the blur due to a photographer's shaking hands. The exception to this rule arelenses that have a "tripod" setting for image stabilization.

Even pressing the shutter button can cause the camera to shake. Use a remote shutter release oryour camera's self-timer to keep yourself from jostling the equipment.

For the best professional quality studio images, consider using a tethered shooting program, suchas Nikon's Camera Control, Canon's EOS Capture, or a third-party application like Sofortbild (Maconly). Connect your camera directly to the computer, have one person model and compose theshot, and have a second person fire the shutter while sitting at a desk.




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Written By: Dozuki System...This guide demonstrates how to select the appropriate professional camera and equipment for your guides. High quality photographs will make your how-to