As digital photography becomes more advanced, it becomes easier and easier to take great pictures. Improved technology has made it affordable for consumers to own high-quality digital cameras, to make excellent prints using dye sublimation or ink jet printers, and to post and send pictures over the Internet. Just a few years ago, it was an intricate process just to connect a digital camera to a computer, let alone learn how to operate one.

(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.)

This lesson is designed to illustrate the simplicity of capturing images with an Olympus C-750 Zoom digital camera, saving or deleting them on the camera, copying the image files to a computer, and preparing them for inkjet printing and for email attachments.


Topics Covered:

Equipment Used:

Camera/Media

Lighting Equipment



In this lesson, we used the Olympus C-750 Zoom digital camera (3.2 Megapixel), a 16MB xD Picture card (included with the camera) and rechargeable Ni-MH batteries.



BATTERIES
The C-750 Zoom comes with 4 Ni-MH rechargeable batteries and charger, but we recommend you invest in at least two sets of rechargeable AA batteries, as they will save you a lot of money in the long run (figures 1 & 2).
Figure 1

Figure 1

 		Figure 2

Figure 2


MEDIA
Digital cameras use media cards to store and transfer images to a computer, and can be used over and over again, eliminating your film and processing costs. The C-750 Zoom uses the new xD-Picture Card media, which is much smaller than other types of media and transfers data at a significantly faster rate. The maximum card size to date is 128MB, but this media has the potential of achieving an 8GB capacity in the near future! (figure 3)

 Figure 3

Figure 3


Figure 4

Figure 4

You can insert the xD-Picture card simply by opening the media door and inserting the card into the bay until it clicks into place. Be sure to orient the card correctly before insertion (figure 4).



Powering Up
To turn the camera on, simply press the red power button on the back of the camera. If the Main dial is set to a shooting mode (P, ASM, etc.) the lens will extend into position, even if the lens cap is attached (a big improvement over previous models!). If the Main dial is set to the Playback mode (green triangle), the lens will not extend (figure 5).

 Figure 5

Figure 5


Customizing The Camera Settings
Out of the box, the functions of the C-750 Zoom are set mostly to Automatic. While this allows you to start taking pictures immediately, it also limits the versatility of the camera. In the following steps, we will illustrate how to customize your camera to achieve optimal results.


Figure 6

Figure 6

This camera has several different shooting modes: Program (automatic), Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Custom, Movie, Night Scene, Landscape, Landscape/Portrait, Sports, Portrait and Self Portrait mode. For simplicity's sake, we set the camera to Program mode to focus more on the internal settings of the camera. To switch to Program mode, turn the Mode dial to P (figure 6).


Disabling The ALL RESET Function
Before you make any custom settings to your camera, it is important to know about the ALL RESET function, which is activated as a default setting. This feature clears and resets any custom settings you may have made to White Balance, ISO, Resolution, etc... To disable this function, first press the OK/Menu button to activate the LCD screen, then use the arrow keys on the back of the camera to scroll right to enter the MODE MENU (figure 7).

 Figure 7

Figure 7


Scroll down to the SETUP tab and scroll right to enter the ALL RESET menu. Scroll right again, choose OFF and press the OK/Menu button twice to exit the menu (figures 8 & 9).

Figure 8

Figure 8

 		Figure 9

Figure 9


WARNING: If your batteries run down and you don't exchange them with fresh ones within an hour, the camera will automatically activate the ALL RESET function when you go to power it up again.



White Balance
Since different sources of light vary in color temperature, it is necessary for a digital camera to have variable color capture settings. In a traditional camera, the type of film (Daylight, Tungsten), as well as filters for the lens, determine how the colors of a shot will turn out.

In a digital camera, you can adjust the White Balance (WB) setting to either balance or modify the colors in your shot. In the C-750 Zoom , you can either leave it on the AUTO setting (AUTO enables the camera to make its own interpreted setting) to color balance your shot, choose from a selection of icons that represent different Kelvin temperatures (for example, the sun icon represents the color temperature of daylight, which is approximately 5500 degrees Kelvin), or you can even create custom White Balance settings that will match any light source available. This function is useful when you are unsure as to which preset to use or if the color temperature you want to match lies somewhere in between, or beyond, the preset values.


Figure 10

Figure 10

Here, we set the White Balance to the Sun icon since we were outside on a sunny day. To select this preset, first press the OK/Menu button to pull up the Main menu and then press the Right arrow button to enter the CAMERA menu. Scroll down to the PICTURE menu to enter the White Balance menu. Scroll right past the PRESET tab, choose the Sun icon to match the color temperature of daylight and press the OK/Menu button three times to exit the menu (figures 10, 11 & 12).


Figure 11

Figure 11

 		Figure 12

Figure 12


To learn more about White Balance, check out two of the lessons on this site entitled, “White Balance Outdoors” and “White Balance Indoors”.

ISO
The term ISO (what used to be known as ASA) is used to measure the speed of photographic film. The higher the ISO rating the faster the film is, and fast film affords better exposures in low light situations. The offshoot is that the faster the film gets, the more the grain size increases. We have found that higher ISO numbers in digital cameras result in increased noise rather than larger “grain”.

Out of the box, the ISO setting in the camera is set to AUTO, which will allow the camera to make an interpreted setting, depending on the availability of light. In most instances, we keep the ISO set to 100 (its lowest), as this renders the best image quality. In order to modify the ISO setting, activate the main Menu and press the Right arrow button to enter the CAMERA Menu. Scroll down to the ISO menu to choose an ISO setting oof 50, 100, 200, 400 or AUTO (figures 13 & 14).


Figure 13

Figure 13

 		Figure 14

Figure 14


RECORD MODE
The C-750 Zoom offers a few Record mode TIFF and JPEG settings that ascend in both image size and quality. The following chart describes the differences between these different record modes.
Chart 1

Chart 1


RECORD MODE
This next chart illustrates the approximate number of images you can expect to record to a 16MB xD-Picture card at various Record modes.
Chart 2

Chart 2


If you prefer to shoot in the TIFF or SHQ modes, we recommend purchasing larger xD-Picture cards, as you will only be able to record a few images to an empty 16MB card (3 for the optimal TIFF setting and 5 for the Enlarged Size SHQ setting).

To select the Record Mode, activate the Main menu and press the Left arrow button to enter the Record Mode menu. This will bring you to a menu where you can select among the various JPEG modes. Select SHQ press the OK/Menu button twice to exit the menu (figures 15 & 16).

Figure 15

Figure 15

 		Figure 16

Figure 16

To learn more about Resolution, check out the lesson on this site entitled, “Photo Resolution & Printing”.


Taking Portraits Outdoors
Taking good portraits outdoors can be easy if you have some basic light modifiers on hand. A bright sunny day can render beautiful, vibrant colors but can also present a high degree of contrast: a primary concern when shooting portraits. To illustrate more effectively, we set up a typical backyard portrait set-up with our model. As the model faced the camera, she had to squint as she was also facing the afternoon sun. We zoomed all the way in on her face and took a shot (figure 17).

 Figure 17

Figure 17


Figure 18

Figure 18

Here's that contrast we talked about. In addition to the model's squint, notice how bright her forehead is compared to the shadows cast from her nose and chin in this result shot (figure 18).


To reduce the contrast, our assistant held a Photoflex 12" Translucent LiteDisc up to diffuse the sunlight falling on the model's head and shoulders. This eliminated the harsh shadows, but also darkened the lighting slightly. Had we been in the Manual shooting mode, we would have compensated by adjusting either the aperture or the shutter speed (to see how this process works, check out the other lessons on this site demonstrating Depth Of Field). But since we had the camera set to Program mode, we simply composed the shot and pressed the shutter all the way down. Notice how much more we can see the model's eyes, and that the shadows have diminished drastically (figures 19 & 20).
Figure 19

Figure 19

 		Figure 20

Figure 20


For a final touch, we had our model hold a 22" White LiteDisc just under her face to bounce sunlight up into the shadow areas. We took another shot and viewed it on the playback mode of the camera. The shadows under the eyes and nose have been eliminated, and the bottom LiteDisc has created a nice “sparkle” in the model's eyes (figures 21 & 22).
Figure 21

Figure 21

 		Figure 22

Figure 22

For a full body shot using this technique, you would simply use larger LiteDiscs.


Downloading
Before you download your images onto your computer to manipulate, email, or print them, you'll need to install the Camedia software that came with the C-750 Zoom .

After you've successfully installed this software onto your computer, use the USB cable (included with the camera) to connect the camera to your computer (figures 23).

 Figure 23

Figure 23


NOTE: It is also possible to use an xD-Picture Card Media Reader to download your images to your computer. This allows you a little more freedom with where the camera is situated. For instance, if you have the camera mounted to a tripod and you want to review the images before striking your set, you need to make sure the computer is within the relatively short USB cable distance to the camera. Otherwise, you have to remove the camera from the set to download the images. With a card reader, all you have to do is remove the card from the camera and insert it into the reader. We can't recommend them enough.

After a few moments, a card icon will appear on your desktop (for Macs) or as an external drive (for PC) allowing you to then view, edit, and save the images onto your computer (figures 24 & 25).

(IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep in mind that if you want to delete any images from the camera's card, it is best to do it while the card is in the camera and not in the Reader. Otherwise the card can become damaged.)


Figure 26

Figure 26

Once you have copied the images to your hard drive, you can prepare them for print, email, or web posting by starting up the Camedia software (figure 26).



TFor more tips and techniques on lighting and cameras, visit www.webphotoschool.com and sign up for access to the Private Lessons.


Emailing with Camedia Software
In this sequence, we're going to show you how to use Camedia software to send your new images in an email. After launching the Camedia software, follow this sequence: Click on the email icon (figure 27).

 Figure 27

Figure 27


To send an email you will need to enter the recipients email address and add it to the email (figures 28-31).

Figure 28

Figure 28

 		Figure 29

Figure 29
Figure 30

Figure 30

 		Figure 31

Figure 31


Figure 32

Figure 32

Next, enter a subject and your message (figure 32).


Next, you will need to attach any photos to be sent with the email. To attach a photo, click on the browse button and navigate to your desktop to locate the Camedia icon.

To add attachments to your email, you will need to browse for the files that are either in the media Reader or the USB-connected camera. You can only browse one folder at a time. If the images you want to attach are in more than one folder, you'll need to attach them from each of those folders (figures 33-36).

Figure 33

Figure 33

 		Figure 34

Figure 34
Figure 35

Figure 35

 		Figure 36

Figure 36


Once all the photos are attached and your message has been written, you are ready to send your email (figures 37 & 38).

Figure 37

Figure 37

 		Figure 38

Figure 38


Equipment Used:

Camera/Media

Lighting Equipment

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