A digital camera that projects? Nikon S1200PJ

Nikon Coolpix S1200PJ is a digital camera with a difference, till all cameras come with a similar feature – projector.

This is a 14 MP camera with 5x zoom. It comes in pink and black colors. At about Rs. 13500 [$ 370] we find it slightly expensive, but if you like to [or if it is your professional requirement] to project photos and videos in up to 4x3 feet sizes on any plain flat surface, it is the camera you’d love to have.

Moreover, the projected image is sharper and brighter as compared to similar projection cameras primarily due to use of three-lamp projection.

These colorful digital cameras: will they become fashion statements?

One noteworthy trend of late is the use of vibrant colors on camera body. So much so that often that the tiny cameras look like fashion accessories. When I asked ladies in my company whether they’d go for the bright colored digital camera if they were to buy a new one, the replies were mixed. 

My impression, so, is that people still want to go for the formal camera colors. Yes, they look professional. When even high-end cameras start coming in bright colors, the overall perception would change and more people would go for colorful pocket cameras.

Fujifilm FinePix SL series cameras

Fujifilm’s FinePix SL series cameras come with a great zoom lens that is reported to get fine pictures even at very high zoom levels.

All these cameras are new and come with high zoom ranging from 24x (SL 240) to 30x (SL 300). Yet they are not too high priced. For example, SL 300 is available in Delhi for around Rs. 18,000 [$360].

These cameras also come with high ISO range going up to 6400, so you can take pics at very dull light conditions too. The CCD for SL 300 is 14.3 megapixel, 1/ 2.3 inch in size.

You can record movies in 1280X720 pixels at 30fps, which is quite good. Moreover, you can use optical zoom in video mode, which is often not available in pocket cameras.

We won’t talk about the numerous shooting modes, picture stabilization and other stuff that is available routinely in this range of cameras. The build quality and shape of the cameras of this series [for that matter, all Fuji cameras] is quite professional.

Overall a very good camera in this price range.

Selectiong a digital camera: similar Nikon, Sony compared

How different it is to make digital camera selection!

For a non-professional camera buyer, the range of compact / pocket cameras available in the market from top brands is so confusing that making a decision becomes quite a burden on the brain. Even if you take a professional photographer with you to the store, he might not be of great help when the specs are so nearly matching, or pros and cons are evenly balanced.

Here we compare the two cameras of the same price bracket [present Delhi price around Rs. 13000]:

Nikon Coolpix L120 and Sony Cybershot DSC-HX7V

The Nikon camera is much heavier [about 400 g] than the Sony [about 200 g].  Both look equally trendy, though Nikon gives a feel of professionalism more than the Sony piece.

Both have many similar specs when it comes to standard settings, aperture, speed, sensitivity, back display, connectivity, dimensions etc.

Both have similar censor sizes and nearly same megapixel counts: Nikon 14.1, Sony 16.2.

The biggest difference is in the zoom: while Nikon comes with an amazing 21x optical zoom, Sony has respectable but lower 10x zoom. This can make a great difference if you go for shoots that require zoom, such as wildlife photography.

Another difference worth mentioning is the video size: Sony can take videos in 1920x1080 size at 60 frames per second, but Nikon’s maximum is 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. Both are decent for a pocket camera but Sony is a clear winner here.

Nikon cameras take heavy duty AA  batteries that can be easily purchased at departmental stores and can be recharged with universal battery chargers. Sony cameras come with their proprietary batteries and these can be charged only with their own chargers. It is also worth remembering that the charge in Sony batteries lasts longer than a pair of AA batteries. 

Now, decide which digital camera  you want out of the two?

Difficult, isn't it. As for me, other considerations being nearly similar, I’d go for the Nikon camera for its built, zoom and use of standard batteries. 

Do not edit photos in camera itself

Many cameras these days come with editing software that claims to edit photos beautifully. We’d quickly advise three things regarding editing:

One. Do not do in-camera editing. If you need to edit photos, use a good editing software. If the camera came with a CD / DVD of an editing software, it would do fair amount of day-to-day editing. Such editing would include cropping, cutting from edges, minor color corrections, red-eye removal [when people show up with red eyes in photos], flipping the photo horizontally or vertically [to correct photos when taken from a tilted camera], turning into black-and-white, etc.

Two. If you need to edit photos for color correction, fine editing of objects in a photo, etc, go for only professional editing software such as Photoshop (very expensive) and Gimp (free for download). Do not edit the photo too much unless you have some sort of expertise on these software.

Three. Save a copy of the original photo before editing it. Editing often plays with the intrinsic quality of the photo, as explained in other posts on this website.

The rule of thirds: one fine rule of photo composition

In the fields of photography, graphic designs and drawing-painting, the rule of thirds is one of the first lessons taught. So, this rule is also one which people throw at you to show they know more than you.  However, you must know the rule so that you compose photos properly. Later, when you are an expert, you can break the rule if that would lead to even better composition.

It has been found through research that our eyes are not focused at the middle of a drawing, painting  or photo but at some distance from it. The rule of thirds defines those places.

What the rule says is as follows: If you divide a driving into three parts horizontally and vertically, the main lines should be aligned with these lines and main objects should generally be at the intersections of these lines.

Look at the drawing here. The vertical object is aligned with the first vertical line. In a photo with a standing person, tree or tall building, you should try to keep these prominent  objects near the first or the second vertical line. Now see the horizontal line. This is aligned with one of the two horizontal dividers. You should keep the horizon, especially when it is near straight [e.g. sky over sea] on either the upper or lower horizontal divider. Now look at the round object. It is at one of the intersections. The rule of third says that prominent objects [e.g. the sun, a flower, a human head] should be at these intersections. 

Hidden information in digital camera photo

What all information does my photo store?

 Have you ever thought that it is not only the colors and light that your camera captures when it takes a picture? Of course, capturing the information about colors and light intensity is the bread and butter of any camera, but a typical pocket camera captures much more information about the photo when it clicks it. The information on colors and light itself is kept in relation to each pixel with numerous attributes, but we are not talking here about the image technology – that is very complex. Camera, in addition, contains information that you can use for learning the required settings and other aspects of digital photography. For example, you would be interested in knowing which camera was used for taking that photo... what were the shutter speed and aperture... whether flash was used, and if so what was its intensity... and so on. It is easy to get this information from a digital camera photo. Let’s tell how:

What we did was to start Irfanview, a simple but very useful picture viewing software that has some editing capabilities also. You can download it for free from here.

We opened a picture taken from an ordinary digital camera. We then went to the Image menu and then information sub-menu.

The first screen that came out gave us a lot of information about the picture and when we went to the ‘EXIF info’ menu within this screen, it gave us enormous information about the camera and the numerous settings used by the camera while taking this picture!