| Easy as Point-n’-Shoot |
By
Lester V. Ledesma |
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“Nice
shot! What camera did you use?”
It’s
a sad fact but its true: most
people think that you need one
of those large, expensive, professional-looking
cameras to take good travel
photographs. We look at our
little point-and-shoot digicams
and think that they’re
only good for documenting family
pictures.
Nothing can
be further from the truth. While
P/S’s do have their technical
limitations, they can still
be potent picture-taking machines
in the hands of a good photographer.
Like that old adage says: “It’s
not the camera - it’s
the eye behind it, you idiot”
(incidentally, this is a good
answer to the above question).
Just keep these pointers in
mind, and leave the rest to
your artistic senses.
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Know
which modes to use |
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Before
anything else: read the
manual. Knowing at least
your digicam’s main
functions is half the
battle won, so to speak.
That being said, Sony’s
point-and-shoot digicams
have a number of picture-taking
modes that are used to
classify most photo situations
– these include
the portrait, landscape,
sports, macro and night
photography modes, all
of which are set to produce
good results according
to their uses. In fact,
it’s a good bet
you’ll get usable
(but not always spectacular)
photos if you stick to
these settings. Those
wishing for a more hands-on
approach to their photography,
though, should consider
using a one that features
aperture and shutter priority
modes, which set their
exposures based on user-selected
aperture or shutter values.
Believe me, the ability
to control depth-of-field
(via the aperture) and
motion (c/o the shutter
speed) is a big ticket
to a vast array of creative
options. |
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| Click
on the image to view
a larger picture. |
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Good
pictures
often make
creative
use of aperture
and shutter
speed. Using
the S (shutter)
mode on
the Sony
DSC-V3,
I chose
a slow shutter
speed (1/25)
and zeroed
in on these
trishaws
in Malaysia’s
Melaka.
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No
amount of
high-tech
wizardry
in a camera
can match
the stability
that a tripod
provides.
With the
ISO set
at 100 to
minimize
noise, I
placed the
DSC-V3 on
my tripod
for this
stirring
dusk shot
of the Petronas
Towers. |
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Using
flash wisely
means knowing
when not
to use it
as well.
Thinking
it would
ruin the
mood in
this photo
of churchgoers
in the Philippines,
I turned
the flash
off and
left the
exposure
to the DSC-V3’s
multi-pattern
metering. |
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No
complicated
setups here,
folks –
just activate
the macro
mode on
the DSC-V3
and shoot
away. Thanks
to the digicam’s
LCD, there
was no need
to worry
about parallax
error. |
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Unsure
of which
mode to
use? Stick
to P (Program)
mode –
it is like
an autopilot
for the
camera,
and it computes
for the
safest combination
of aperture
and shutter
speed. |
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Read
your camera’s
manual to
know its
capabilities
and limitations.
Since the
DSC-V3 features
a monochrome
sepia mode,
I thought
I’d
use it for
this still-life
shot of
brooms and
an old wall..
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Sony
P/S digicams
carry a
buffet of
features
for those
who know
how to use
them. With
the color
saturation
on the DSC-V3
set at high,
this captured
image of
a trishaw
literally
bursts with
color. |
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The
landscape
mode on
your P/S
isn’t
just effective
for landscapes.
In fact,
you can
use it whenever
you need
lots of
depth-of-field,
whatever
your subject
may be “lah”!
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| Click
on the thumbnails
below to view. |
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