Digital Focus
October 12th, 2004
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PC World
Technology Advice You Can Trust
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Photography expert Dave Johnson's tips will enhance your digital
camera, printer, and image editing expertise with recommendations on
digital challenges from shooting techniques to digital publishing,
answers to reader questions, and a photo contest.
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October 12th, 2004
In This Issue:
- Feature Story: More About Capturing Action Photos
- Dave's Favorites: Shoot Tabletop Objects With LiteRoom
- Q&A: Where Can I Find Photo Montage Software?
- Contest: Submit Your Best Photo, Become Famous, and Win a Prize
- Newsletter Trivia: Reading Back Issues, Helping Friends Subscribe
* Feature: More About Capturing Action Photos *
I recently had the opportunity to photograph a junior soccer
competition. The field was alive with kindergarten-age competitors,
and I was using a friend's digital camera to record the action. The
event reminded me just how hard it can be to take good action
shots--especially when you're working with a digital camera. In last
week's newsletter, I talked about the basics of taking action photos:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755809/0/
This week it's time to go a step further and learn tricks that will
make your sports photos come alive.
Master the Focus Controls
Take your camera's focus controls, for instance. Most digital cameras
lock in the focus the moment that you apply slight pressure to the
shutter release. Last week I recommended that you do just that to help
reduce the inevitable shutter lag you get with most cameras.
That may not work all the time, though. The camera I was using at the
soccer game, for instance, worked a bit differently. In its action
mode, which I used because it delivered the fastest shutter speed, the
lens continued to autofocus continuously, right up to the moment of
exposure.
That can sometimes be good--but more frequently, it's going to be
really bad.
If you're trying to capture a single, fast-moving object that's very
close to its background, this kind of focus can be helpful, especially
if the camera-to-subject distance is changing continuously. A car race
comes to mind as a perfect use for this mode.
But in a situation like my soccer game, it's dangerous to rely on
continuous focusing since, just as you try to take the picture, it's
likely that another player than your subject will dart into the focus
zone and steal the camera's attention. Or if you aren't careful, the
subject might leave the middle of the frame, and your camera will
refocus on the more-distant background. If either of those things
happen, your intended subject will suddenly go blurry.
The moral of the story? Know your camera's behavior and use the right
mode at the right time. For a sporting event with a lot of people on
the field, I'd prefer to lock in the focus before the shot, so that
would mean not using this particular camera's action mode.
Turn on Your Virtual Motor Drive
Even if you minimize shutter lag, it can still be hard to catch the
action when you're shooting a sporting event--or worse, a scene with
kids and pets. That's why some digital cameras (particularly ones with
notoriously long shutter lag) come with the digital equivalent of a
high-speed motor drive. Switch to this mode--usually called "sequence"
or "high-speed"--to catch a series of pictures at a rate of about two
or three frames per second. Get ready, press the shutter down, and
hold it there--then keep tracking the action as the camera takes and
stores a slew of pictures. The theory is that lag may prevent you from
getting that one perfect shot, but you can probably get one or two
good shots in a high-speed sequence.
Freeze the Action
When I showed the soccer pictures to my buddy (the proud dad of the
little girl I was there to photograph), he asked me a really good
question: What shutter speed is fast enough to stop action?
Here's a rule of thumb: To get sharp pictures without a tripod, use a
shutter speed that's "one over" the 35mm-equivalent focal length. What
does that mean? Suppose your 3X optical zoom is equivalent to about
200mm (check your camera specs to find out). The slowest speed you
should use when zoomed all the way is about 1/250 second. Is there
action in the scene? Double that number.
That recommendation is just a bare minimum; you'll want to go with the
fastest speed your camera allows. Usually, action photographers like
to use 1/1000 second or faster. But don't dial in the speed with your
digital camera's manual mode; it's too hard to simultaneously adjust
the aperture to get a good exposure. Instead, use either action mode
or shutter priority.
Panning for Motion
What if your shutter speed is too low to freeze the action? Then fall
back on my favorite time-tested technique for conveying the impression
of motion in a photo: panning.
Imagine you're taking a picture of a race car that's speeding past
you. Instead of freezing it in a moment of time, set the shutter speed
a bit slower (say, 1/60 second) and track the moving vehicle in the
viewfinder. Keep it centered in the viewfinder, and as it passes right
in front of you, take the picture. Be careful to follow through, as
you would if you were trying to toss a football to a crossing
receiver: Continue to track the car even after the shot is complete.
With a little practice, you can get a razor-sharp subject with a cool,
motion-blurred background.
Next week, I'll wrap up our discussion of action photos with a
technique for "painting" motion into photos on your PC.
* Dave's Favorites: Shoot Tabletop Objects With LiteRoom *
Every few months, I sell odds and ends on EBay. But for a surprising
number of people, the site isn't just an occasional garage sale--it's
a home business. And since nothing contributes to sales like good
pictures, there are a number of gadgets springing up to help folks
photograph small items on a tabletop.
Photoflex sells a small lighting tent called the LiteRoom for just
this sort of application. The LiteRoom is big enough to photograph all
sorts of objects--coins and stamps, to be sure, but I could easily use
it to shoot subjects as large as books, camera equipment, and plastic
models. The tent comes in two sizes. The smaller one, which I've been
using, measures 32 by 26 inches at the base and stands 17 inches high.
It's small enough to fit on a table, but far larger than other
lighting boxes I've used. (The larger model is about 30 percent
bigger.) The LiteRoom is made of a white, fabric-like, translucent
material and is held together with a handful of flexible metal rods.
In other words, it's just like a real tent.
You can use the LiteRoom on its own, without any additional lighting.
Ambient room light is diffused through the walls of the tent to create
even, soft, and shadow-free lighting. Or you can poke flash units or
studio lights through a variety of Velcro-sealed openings to add more
light as needed.
Photoflex sells the LiteRoom for $175 or $250, depending upon size:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755810/0/
That makes the smaller unit a bit less expensive than the molded
plastic Cloud Dome, another tabletop lighting box that I recommended
about a year ago. Both are good products. The LiteRoom has the
advantage of working with additional lights, and it can collapse down
to a fistful of fabric and a few metal rods. The Cloud Dome, however,
hogs space even when you're not using it. If you do a lot of small
object photography, you should definitely give the LiteRoom a look.
* Q&A: Where Can I Find Photo Montage Software? *
In the last few years, I've seen a number of pictures made from a
collage of many photos where each photo is used like a pixel in a
larger, tiled image. I have been scouring the Web for some type of
software that would do this from a folder of digital photos on my
computer, but can't seem to find anything helpful. Is there any?
--Indi Sellers, Pensacola, Florida
That's a great question, Indi; I've looked for just such a program
myself from time to time. I've found a few interesting sites, such as
this one (complete with a few sample images) by an enthusiast who is
developing his own montage generator:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755811/0/
I've also found an online service that promises to make custom
montages for you from up to 1600 individual digital images:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755812/0/
But I also found what you're actually looking for: a montage-making
application. To the best of my knowledge, there's only one program on
the market: ArcSoft PhotoMontage. It costs $40 and is available
online:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755813/0/
Do you know of any alternatives? Send me a note and let me know. My
e-mail address is:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
* Hot Pic of the Week *
Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite
reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality, and
technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize
valued at between $10 and $100.
A gentle reminder, folks: We disqualify some really wonderful pictures
every week because the submissions don't follow the rules. Be sure to
include everything we ask for in your e-mail message, including a
description of your picture and your complete contact information, or
your entry is wasted!
Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format at a
resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Our e-mail address is:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If
necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of
your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo
along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't
forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before
entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and
regs at:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/95/0/
This Week's Hot Pic: "Easter Dew," by Doug Killebrew, Lutz, Florida
About this week's Hot Pic, Doug says: "I shot this picture on Easter
morning this past spring. It was a beautiful morning with fresh dew
and a great sunrise. I saw a leaf and moved in closer. I angled my
camera (a Sony digital camcorder with a 1-megapixel still frame
option) so that the sun would pierce the dew just right."
To view the photo, go to:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755814/0/
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* See Dave Johnson's previous Digital Focus Features at:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/237289/0/
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Top News From PC World
* Canon Introduces LCOS Projector
New lens technology creates a versatile sub-$5000 projector good for
home theater or business.
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755794/0/
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=====================================================================
Editors' Picks
Free Games: Ruthlessly Claw, Blast, and Shoot Your Opponent
>From the sublime to the absurd, these games are sure to entertain--and
they're free to keep.
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Chicken-Fight v1.0
Claw and scratch your opponent in this silly chicken fight game.
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Desert Combat 0.7 Full Install
The full-sized, 620MB Desert Combat installer for Battlefield: 1942.
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Tribes: Vengeance multiplayer demo
Try out the multiplayer gameplay in this latest addition to the Tribes
family of first-person shooters.
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World Wind
A highly detailed 3D map of the Earth enhanced with live satellite
imagery.
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Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 demo
Take a spin at building your own amusement park, rollercoasters and
all.
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For a full list of this week's Editors' Picks, go to:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/247769/21421679/755796/0/
=====================================================================
* Reviews *
* Top 15 Desktop PCs
Our chart has eight newcomers this month, including speed champs from
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* Top 10 Monochrome Laser Printers
This month's chart presents an all-new lineup of printers, and the
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Check the latest prices on Printers:
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