With the exception of really small or thin cameras, I have never seen a
camera without the female threaded tripod connector - including the
single-use ones from the convenience store. There are so many brands out
there, it's hard to make a recommendation. I have a Bogen, which is sort-of
the Mercedes of tripods, but mine is quite old, from a period when they
tried to capture the serious amateur. I don't think you can touch one for
under $300 now. Go to a camera shot and

Exposure Value Compensation allows you to "tell" the camera to over-, or
underexpose the shot, depending on the subject and background, and the
lighting conditions. Point-and-shoot cameras are set to give proper
exposure at the midpoint between black and white reflectances (AKA an 18%
gray). Typically, the camera's light metering tries for an average of the
whole frame. If you're trying to shoot a flower in a large display, the
"target" blossom may get lost in that average. Maybe an easier example is
shooting someone with snow-covered mountains in the background. The snow
reflects light so well that the camera will shorten the exposure, and the
face will be too dark. The EV compensation allows you to "play" with it, to
get it right.

When shooting flowers, I try to avoid using the flash, preferring natural
light. However, when forced to use artificial lighting, I typically put a
diffuser in front of the flash to "soften" it. Waxed paper and translucent
plastic (I have been known to hold one of my S/H pots in front of it) are my
diffusers of choice.

I use the ISO adjustment to compensate for the light level, as that affects
the shutter speed, hence degree of shake in hand-held shots. The higher the
ISO setting, the more pixelated the image will be - like being more grainy
with higher-speed film - but with the number of pixels in a camera these
days, unless you're blowing it up to poster size, you'll never see it. My
old Canon D30 is a 3 megapixel camera, and I have had photos blown up to 24"
x 30" and they look great.

The picture/scene settings are simply presets to adjust EV, aperture,
shutter speed, and in the case of my camera, whether it's a single shot or
burst mode of multiple shots. The auto mode allows the camera's "brain" to
do a super, all-over average, based upon what it sees. Generally speaking,
they all work pretty well, but sometimes if my "artistic eye" takes over, I
find myself going to aperture mode, opening it up or stopping it down to
control the depth of field, then I use the ISO and EV settings to control
the exposure.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"K Barrett" wrote in message
. ..
Stupid questions for the group:

Can any tripod mount to any camera? Is there a standard? Have you a
tripod recommendation?

What is EV compensation? Do you ever use it? If that's too difficult a
question just say so and I'll google it

Do you ever alter the brightness of the flash?

Do you ever set the ISO sensitivity?

Do you use the picture/scene settings or do you just set it on Auto and
forget it?

The most I ever do is set the focal length to Macro and decide whether or
not to use the flash. The bulk of my shots are macro and auto focus. I
do not set anything else. I don't use Flash +/-, EV+/-, scene selections,
etc. I shoot everything sized for the web (400 x 600?) I rarely shoot a
picture at full resolution.

I have a Nikon coolpix 7900 at my disposal which is really rather nice,
but it has so many options, icons for which all show on the LCD. They
make me pause to interpret them whilst I'm setting up a shot. So I
figured I'd ask to see if anyone really uses these options, so I'd know if
I had to commit the instruction manual to heart....

K Barrett



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
All:

We have a nice Panasonic digital and are very happy with it. What I'd
like to find is something very small and easily transportable (in a
pocket, fanny pack, etc.), and not complicated.

The Panasonic is terrific for many things, but it's a pain to carry and
for candids. Any suggestions? I'll take them and then go to the comp
site.

Diana