The Digital Photography Tutorial

You've taken some great photos.
Now What?
Follow the Digital Photography Tutorial

Took some pictures? If you're thinking Yes, but how do I get them out of the camera? then it’s time for the Digital Photography Tutorial!

Why, you ask? Although you did the "hard part" (figuring out how to use your camera), and actually got some folks to pose for you, we're not quite done yet.

There are still a few steps left between filling the memory cards and organizing, viewing, and sharing your photographs.

Don't worry though, our Digital Photography Tutorial will walk you through all the necessary steps.

Although you can move through each step in a logical sequence, feel free to skip around since each step does not have to be followed in an exact order.

Step #1 of the Digital Photography Tutorial...
Handling the Overflow

You are in the midst of a photographic paradise, with your entire extended family by your side. One photo opportunity after another fills the day.

Around 2 P.M., you see a "Memory Full" warning on your camera, so you calmly reach for that extra SD or CF memory card. Oh, #%$##**%! You don't have any more! Now what do you do? (AFTER you blame your spouse for not psychically knowing that you would need them.)

Time for step #1 of the Digital Photography Tutorial (in truth, the best time for going over the Digital Photography Tutorial would have been about 3 weeks earlier).

You will run into this situation whenever the number of photographs taken at a given file size exceeds the capacity of the CompactFlash memory card available.

Step #1 of the Digital Photography Tutorial addresses How to Handle the Overflow by offering three options:

1. Reduce the image quality (size) so that each image results in a smaller file size and therefore allows you to store more files on the memory card. (Of course, the QUALITY of each image will suffer.)

2. Delete unwanted images, thus freeing up some memory. Unfortunately, the only way to accomplish this is by using the less-than-ideal LCD display to figure out which images to delete. And that is a risky proposition.

3. If the above stop-gap measures are not desirerable, you will either need to quickly procure additional memory, OR have a temporary storage device on which to download your images, so you can delete them from your memory cards and continue shooting.

On the plus side, you already have one (if you don't, skip immediately to the next blue pushpin).

It therefore costs you nothing to use. The software that originally came with your digital camera can most likely be loaded on your laptop.

The viewing screen is more than sufficient to review your photo images. And, hopefully you have at least a few GBs of available file space left for images.

On the downside, the laptop is bulky and heavy. It's battery is limited, and it takes a minute (although it seems like an hour) to boot up. Before imagining having to lug this anchor around, let's look at other more lightweight solutions to this digital photography tutorial dilemma.



Portable Digital Storage Devices

With digital cameras being manufactured with higher mega pixel capabilities coupled with the cost of memory decreasing, we have reached an interesting point in the cost vs. convenience graph.

When memory was expensive, portable storage devices, such as listed here, made a lot of sense. As a personal note, in early 2003 I purchased my first portable digital storage device. I was going on a one week vacation and was positive my picture taking would exceed the memory cards I had. Therefore, the most cost-effective solution was NOT to buy more memory cards.

Today, memory is cheaper, external storage devices cheaper, and files are bigger. Basically, photographers are faced with the same dilemma, but the different options are not as expensive as they once were.

There are several types of popular storage devices available (with several manufacturers for each type). The first is represented by the image above. You remove the memory card from your camera, insert it into a slot in the storage device, and download your images. Once downloaded, the images are then viewable on the storage unit's screen.

Some units will also erase your memory card, making room for new images. If not, your camera can erase your card.

The second type of storage device is a CD or DVD burner. This device will download as many files as will fit on a blank CD or DVD.

If you need more, you simply burn another CD. This type of storage device is generally less expensive than the first type, but it also usually lacks a reasonably sized viewing screen.There are pros and cons on portable storage devices.

The main pro is convenience and the main con is cost.

Remember, however, that you need to evaluate the cost of the portable storage device against that of an equivalent number of SD or CF memory cards.

Recently, the speed of memory cards has taken on more importance.

This is especially true if you take photos at a "burst rate," which is keeping the shutter button depressed while photo after photo is captured.

The other main factor in memory card size and speed is the image file size. If you shoot images in RAW file size, they will be large. If your camera captures file sizes between 8 - 15 MB, the files will be huge (especially in RAW).

As far as whether your laptop, portable digital storage device, or memory cards is best for you... that is a personal decision beyond the scope of this digital photography tutorial.

Cost and convenience are the two biggest issues when making this decision. However, once you do decide, the best prices can usually be found on the net...

On the other hand, the easiest decision you could possibly make is to accept 2GB of free storage, compliments of Mozy, a reputable company with cheap, easy ways to protect your data.

Leave Digital Photography Tutorial and return to the Home Page