Improve your shooting skill with Preview and Review
Improve your shooting skill with Preview and Review | ||
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Being able to take a photo and immediately see it is one of the more significant benefits of using a digital camera. If you want to take the best possible photos, you need to learn about those features your camera offers for both 'previewing' and 'reviewing' photos to assess the technical as well as compositional aspects of your 'just-taken' photo. After you get used to using these features, you'll have one more reason why you will want to shoot with a digital camera instead of a film camera! Digital cameras have many different features to pre- view and review photos. There are also many different ways in which you access these features. A 'preview' feature allows you to take a look at an image on an LCD monitor before you press the shutter release button and to have a quick visual check of the camera settings and composition. A 'review' feature allows you to look back or to review an image after the photograph has been taken. Some of the new Minolta and Sony digital cameras have gone one additional step forward — they actually allow you to view 'after' image and exposure information before you've taken the photo! This means that you can make all the settings adjustments you want to get the photo you want, before taking a single photo! Depending on your camera model, the differences between the preview and review features can be substantial. Once again, you should consult the documentation that came with your camera. Look for features that 'replay,' 'preview,' or 'review' images. Also, check to see whether your camera offers a histogram. I have known many digital camera owners who have had their cameras for months and were not aware of the many useful features that could be used to substantially improve their photos. Don't be a part of this group! Check out your documentation. Assuming that you have sufficient battery power and that your camera has a 'review' feature, set it to display an image for a couple of seconds after a shot has been taken. This quick review is good enough to get an idea of how close you were to getting the shot you wanted. Usually, these review modes also let you read a few other important camera settings on the monitor as well as the number of photos you've taken and the number that you can take based upon current camera settings. Not every digital camera allows you to preview a photo until you change to a 'preview mode,' which takes you out of shooting mode. If your camera has a review mode, you should also check to see whether it has alternative review modes. Some are simply views of the image, while other modes show shot information on the screen, too. The use of some LCD monitors can rapidly drain power from batteries. Consider turning off any 'automatic review' features that your camera may have when you need to conserve on battery power. Some of the older digital cameras can consume a set of four new AA batteries in under an hour when the LCD monitor is used while shooting. | ||