How to Buy a Photo Printer

How to Buy a Photo Printer For a long time digital photography seemed to somewhat ignore probably the most prominent part of the activity – photographic prints. Things have changed a lot since those times, and digital photographers are now offered an overwhelming amount of different photo printers that are jam-packed full of useful, and sometimes not-so-useful features. But which photo printer is the best choice for you? This article takes a closer look at the different types of photo printers available and will help you to choose the most suitable photo printer to cater for your needs. Some of the photo printers available in the market Inkjet Printers for Photos Generally providing a combination of fast printing speed and photo-quality printing, inkjet photo printers range in price from as little as $40 (if you look hard enough) to around $400. Most of these printers offer good quality output for printing standard size photos, but pay attention to the detail because not all inkjet printers provide good quality output for larger photos. Although most inkjet printers produce a similar quality - the majority providing the maximum dpi (dots per inch) of 1,200 X 4,800 – spending more on an inkjet printer will most likely provide you with more features or a faster printing speed. Keep in mind that many photo printers use color ink cartridges to produce black and white, or grayscale images, which can lead to photos printed with a colored tint, so try to stick to inkjet printers that use black or gray inks if you want to print many black and white photos. Photo Printers for Professionals What separates professional photo printers from consumer models is that the professional variety can produce quality images at much larger sizes. Depending on your needs, printers accepting paper sizes from 24-inches all the way up to 60-inches wide are available, but because they are targeted towards professionals, many convenient features such as printing from your digital camera will not be available on professional printers. If you want to create large quality prints of your photos, maybe even posters, then a professional photo printer may be the choice for you, if you can afford it – professional printers range in price from around $500 to anywhere in the thousands. Photo-only Printers While many inkjet and professional printers can also double up as printers for reports and other documents, those dedicated to printing photos alone are often much more compact and offer faster printing speeds. Print size is often limited to 4x6-inches but the quality remains high, and larger models do exist if you are prepared to pay a higher price. Although the dpi tends to be low on these types of printers, the output quality is high due to the use of thermal-dye technology that utilizes primary printing colors in several hundreds of shades, meaning no need for dithering like inkjet printers do. Another great thing about these printers is that their reduced size makes them very portable - some can even be battery-powered! Standard Printers Maybe you don’t need a printer for the sole purpose of creating prints of your digital photos, and would like a little more freedom with what you are able to print. If this is the case then there are many printers available to you that can fulfill your needs – standard inkjet and laser printers, and consumer printing services – all of which can be excellent choices if you are not too concerned about exceptional quality or do not plan to print a lot of photos. Both standard inkjet and laser printers can provide good quality photo printing even if they are not exclusively designed for it, but make sure to choose your printer carefully because photo quality can vary wildly on standard printers. Printing Supplies One of the factors that people often overlook when choosing a printer is the type of paper and ink they will be using to print their photos and how the price of these supplies adds up in the long-term. It’s not just the price to take into consideration either - choosing the right paper and ink cartridges will also make sure that the photos you print are of the best possible quality. While ink cartridges made by a company other than the printer manufacturer may cost less, they will more than likely produce lower quality prints and can also cause photos to fade faster. Most printer manufacturers also create paper for their specific printers, and although it may not seem as important as ink, testing a sample of paper that isn’t made by the printer manufacturer is advisable before making a large purchase. Conclusion Many new photo printers come with useful features like being able to connect your digital camera directly to the printer, or allowing you to print from memory cards directly – both cutting out the time needed to print your photos. It’s also important to remember that most of the photo printers out there can produce excellent quality photos, and many have very attractive price tags to match. Also make sure that your printer will be able to create large or small enough prints, and once you have made a purchase make sure to test with different types of paper to find the best compromise between quality and price. I hope that this article has helped you to understand the difference between the types of photo printers available and the important factors to take into consideration when making a purchase. Share Your Pictures at SmugMug If you've tons of digital photos to share and but are not sure which photo sharing site to choose, then do take a look at SmugMug. I've been a happy user of their photo sharing service for two years now and I've been most impressed by it. The service allows you to upload, arrange and share your photos, as well as buy prints or burn picture CDs.

How Many Megapixels Do You Really Need in a Digital Camera?

How Many Megapixels Do You Really Need in a Digital Camera? If you're out buying a digital camera, then one of the key deciding factors is the number of megapixels supported. The number of megapixels determines the how good your photos turn out. If you have too few megapixels, then your pictures will turn out crappy. Investing in a camera with too many megapixels, on the other hand, is an unnecessary waste of money. Personally, I feel that if you have unlimited funds, then, by all means go for that high end 8 megapixel camera. Otherwise, you certainly don't want to waste money on extra megapixels you don't need. The 8.5 megapixel Canon EOS-20D A golden rule to bear mind: a camera with more megapixels isn't always better. If your camera supports more megapixels, then each photo you take will be larger. This means that you'll use up more space on your memory cards and computer's hard drive. The 4.2 megapixel Kodak EasyShare DX7440 If you have trouble deciding how many megapixels you need (I know I did when I bought my first digital camera), then the guide below will help. Essentially, you need to ascertain what size prints you want to get and what your budget is, before deciding on how many megapixels you want. So here we go: * 1 megapixel or less: Cameras in this range (e.g. web cameras or cell phone cameras) have very low image resolution. Don't expect to be able to print high-quality photos using these cameras. You can, however, email the photos or post them on your web site. The good thing about such cameras, of course, is their low price. * 1 to 2 megapixels: My first digital camera was a Canon PowerShot S110 which only had a 2 megapixel sensor. Cameras in this range are pretty decent though - you can expect to print out great 4x6 prints at this resolution. Of course, if you want larger, blown-up protraits of your birthday party or holiday in Italy, then I would certainly recommend getting more megapixels. Cameras in this range should sell for around $100 currently. * 3 to 4 megapixels: Most new point-and-shoot cameras these days tend to have at least 3 to 4 megapixel image resolution. Bring these images to the lab and they'll be able to develop great looking 4x6, 5x7 and even 6x9 printouts. Expect to pay slightly more though - we're looking at around $250 for a good model. * 5 megapixel and up: The more advanced cameras tend to have image resolutions of 5 to 8 megapixels. Newer point-and-shoot cameras have 5 megapixels, while the newer digital SLRs come with 8 megapixels. The quality of images shot by these cameras is simply stunning. Of course, their price tags are equally stunning . In this megapixel category, expect to pay around $300 for a 5 megapixel camera and up to $1800 for an 8 megapixel SLR. Conclusion Well, now you know roughly the number of megapixels you should be shooting for depending on your intended usage and budget for the camera. My general advice is, if you're just an amateur photographer, then don't buy cameras above 5 megapixels. When you are really serious about digital photography and want to go professional, then consider buying a super high megapixel camera. Learn to Take Beautiful Photos If you want to improve your digital photography skills, you may want to take a look at Digital Photography Success. This e-book package includes excellent step-by-step instructions on how to take pictures of beautiful landscapes, people, nature, fireworks, night scenes, etc. Learn how to shoot professional photos - just like those you see in glossy magazine covers.

5 Things You Need to Know About Shutter Speed

5 Things You Need to Know About Shutter Speed If you’re new to photography, you may be struggling with some of the terms used in the industry. Well, one of the most fundamental principles in photography is that of shutter speed. Learning to control the shutter speed is critical to taking good pictures. This article will highlight 5 important facts about shutter speed, which you must understand to take good photographs in a wide range of conditions. 1. What is shutter speed? Let’s begin with a basic definition of shutter speed. Now, the shutter in a digital camera is a thin sheet covering the CCD (think of the CCD as ‘film’). When this shutter opens, it exposes light from the exterior onto the CCD, hence allow a picture to be taken. The length of time that the shutter remains open is termed the shutter speed. A key concept here – the longer the shutter remains open (i.e. the lower the shutter speed), the greater the amount of light that is allowed into the camera. And vice versa, the faster the shutter closes (i.e. the higher the shutter speed), the smaller the amount of light that is allowed into the camera. 2. How is shutter speed expressed? If you look at modern digital cameras, shutter speeds are usually expressed as 1/8th of a second. The range of shutter speeds can be expressed as: 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, with each one being a fraction of a second. Each speed in this series is roughly half that of the one on the left. 3. Choosing the Correct Shutter Speed Here’s the important question. How do you select the correct shutter speed when taking photos? Well, if you have a point-and-shoot camera, then it may not matter too much. Simply set the camera to automatic mode and snap the picture. The camera’s in-built auto exposure settings will take care of the shutter speed settings for you. If, however, you like to play with manual settings and have a more advanced camera, then the choice of shutter speed clearly matters. What you need to remember is this – shutter speeds are very closely linked to movement. City street photo taken with a slow shutter speed Use a slow shutter speed (say 1/60 or lower) if you want to introduce some blur in the picture to display speed in the subject. Remember, however, that a slow shutter speed will mean you need to hold the camera totally still for a longer period of time. If you can’t do this, your image will usually turn out bad. To work around the problem, use a tripod or steady your arms somewhere before taking the shot. As a general rule, if the shutter speed is 1/30 or slower, I’ll definitely use my tripod to steady the camera. An passing car taken with a fast shutter speed Use a fast shutter speed (say 1/125 or higher) if you need to capture a fast moving subject. Good examples include a passing car or a bird in flight. Now, one problem with fast shutter speeds is that you can totally miss the shot because the shutter opens and closes so fast. To workaround this, you can try one of two things. First, avoid the camera LCD - look through the viewfinder with one eye and use the other eye to spot the subject crossing the camera’s field of view. Second, you can try uses a lens that increases the field of view, allowing you more time to take the picture. 4. Make Use of the Light Meter Another thing I find useful is to make use of the light meter in your camera. Most advanced digital cameras should have this feature. The light meter can tell you if there is too much or too little ambient light. If it’s too bright, then you can set a fast shutter speed like 1/250 - the shutter will quickly open and close so that too much light doesn't get in. If it’s too dark, then do the reverse – use a slow shutter speed to give the camera time to absorb light into the camera. 5. Direction of Movement OK, besides the speed of your subject, the direction of movement of your subject is also important. Look at the diagram below which I use to explain this concept. For a given shutter speed, if your subject is running perpendicular to the camera, then you need a faster shutter speed to capture the shot. If your subject is running at an angle towards the camera, then a slower shutter speed would suffice. An example is a photo of your pet dog. A dog running towards you would require a slower shutter speed then a dog running across you. Conclusion I hope you now understand shutter speed a little better. When I started out in digital photography, I was simply snapping pictures without understanding the concept of shutter speed. Bad mistake! Take the time to understand the fundamentals of shutter speed and you’ll be surprised how much your photography skills will improve.