For more on digitAl photogrAphy, visit http://www.shortCourses.Com 27
Playback mode...
Almost every digital camera has an LCD monitor and a playback mode so
you can display and scroll through the images you have taken. Although very
useful, it’s difficult to make “keep or delete decisions” about images because
the size and resolution of these monitors is nowhere near those on high-qual-
ity computers. Despite this limitation here are some of the useful features to
expect in playback mode.- In-camera editing let’s you remove red-eye, adjust tones and colors,
reduce a photo’s size, add borders and use special effects. All changes are
made to a copy so the original image remains unchanged. This relatively new
feature will only grow in importance as more cameras are enabled to send
photos directly to photo sharing sites, printers and e-mail addresses. - Slide shows display your images one after another on the camera’s moni-
tor but many digital cameras have an analog video output terminal (NTSC
or PAL) so they can be connected to a TV using standard input or video-in
terminals. Some cameras use special effects such as dissolve to transition
from one image to the next and some even let you accompany a show with
music. However, unless you copy older images back into the camera, this is
only a transient benefit. Once you have erased images to make room for new
ones, you can no longer display them from the camera. However, you can
use software on your computer to create slide shows and save them on DVDs
that will play in a DVD player. Many cameras also let you playback video and
audio clips you’ve captured. - Photo albums. If your camera lets you store a selection of photos in photo
albums, you can display the photos in this mode. - Image management let’s you scroll through the images you’ve taken and
delete, rotate, rename, print, protect, copy or otherwise manage them. Many
cameras also display thumbnails of a group of images in index view so you
can quickly locate and select the images you’re looking for. Most also let you
enlarge an image to zoom in on details—a great way to check sharpness, col-
ors and tones. A few cameras now have touch-sensitive monitors so you can
manage your images with a stylus instead of dials and buttons. - Direct printing lets you use the monitor to select images for printing
when you bypass the computer to print directly from the camera. - An orientation sensor in many cameras detects when you turn the cam-
era vertically to take a picture and even knows which end is up. When you
then replay the image, it is rotated on the screen so you don’t have to rotate
the camera to view it or turn your head sideways if looking at it on a TV set.
(Auto rotation doesn’t work well when shooting straight up or down, so you
may want to turn it off.) The images may or may not be rotated when trans-
ferred to your computer because this depends on the software you are using.
You can also use a separate Rotate command on many playback menus to
rotate just specific images that you’ve already taken. - Information about an image can be displayed on many cameras. This
information, called Exif metadata, is stored in the image file at the time you
take a picture. It may include the date and time the picture was taken, shutter
speed and aperture used, and a small thumbnail image. Many cameras will
also display a histogram and highlight (overexposure) warning. Some cam-
eras let you select how much information is displayed so you can display it all
when reviewing images and turn it all off when giving a slide show.
The Kodak EasyShare
lets you drag and drop
photos into albums
using a stylus.
When you take a photo
in portrait mode (top)
it is rotated when you
view it in landscape
mode (bottom).
mETADATA?
metadata is data
about data. In digital
photography it’s
information inserted
into the header of
an image file that
describes what the
contents of the file
are, where it came
from, and what to
do with it. You are
already familiar with
two examples, an
image file’s name
and the date it was
created. other meta-
data includes the Exif
data created by most
digital cameras that
tells what camera
was used, what the
exposure was, and
whether a flash was
used.plAybACk mode