Many young photographers just getting started are shocked to think there was a time when every photo had to be manually setup, with light, location and after affect taken into account.

Today, I want to talk a little about Aperture.

Aperture refers to the amount of light that the lens lets into the Camera.  Aperture works much like the human eye in many ways.  In bright light, the human eye will reduce the size of the pupil, therefore letting less light into the eyes.  In the dark, the pupil increases in size, allowing more light in.

Aperture is measured in f-stops, and range from 2.8 (low) up to 16 or 22 (depending on your camera / lens).  For each f-stop step, the amount of light in is doubled, so f2.8 for example will let in twice as much light as f4.

The best way to learn how Aperture works is to try different settings and see how your photos turn out.  This method isn’t really feasable if you have an older film camera, but if you do have a digital camera, don’t be afraid to go a bit crazy and try new things.  As you will soon learn, having the correct Aperture setting is vital to getting great photos.

Here is a great 2 minute video from youtube that explains Aperture.

It is important to remember though that Aperture is only half the equation, as you also need to take into account Shutter Speed (tomorrows article).

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At first you might think this is impossible. If that is so, Pentax have performed a miracle in their Pentax Optio v10.

Completely revolutionizing the point-and-click camera, Pentax have created a camera less than 2cm wide, which packs more punch than many of it’s competitors.

To acheive this, Pentax have re-designed the camera from the ground up, making changes to the body of the camera, right through to the inner electronics.

From Pentax: A little digital with a three inch LCD monitor
The Optio V10 is an ultra-slim compact digital camera equipped with an impressive 3.0 inch LCD monitor for enhanced usability and easy viewing. This little beauty features 8 megapixels, a 3X optical zoom, easy operations and an abundance of features in a slim, stylish, affordable body.
- Pentax.com.au

As users have come to expect from all Pentax Cameras, quality of the end product has been carefully thought of with the creation of this Camera.

Specifications of the Pentax Optio V10:

LCD/Viewfinder

• 3″ Low Reflection TFT Colour LCD Touch Panel, 230,000 pixels

Physical Dimensions

• 96.5 x 58 x 18 mm

Special Features

• Automatic Face Recognition
• High Quality Video Capture
• Shake Reduction
• Shake Reduction in video recording mode
• Simple automated modes for snap shots
• Ultra slim

Image Sensor

• 8 megapixel

Optical Zoom

• 3 X Optical Zoom

Battery Type

• Lithium Ion Rechargeable Battery

Weight Loaded

• 145g with battery & memory card

Storage Media

• Internal Memory: 52.1MB
• Secure Digital (SD)
• Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC)

- Pentax.com.au

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The vast majority of comments I hear are that either the pictures come out dark, or as more often is the case, they come out blurry.

Getting a good shot of fireworks requires a few key essentials.

Research

Before you can even begin to set up for your shots, you need to do a sweep of the area and find a location where you want to take them from. While finding a location where you are alone may be impossible, you should try and find somewhere that gives you a little extra room with preferable nobody in front of you. Nothing ruins a photo faster than a strangers head. To avoid lens flare you want to try and find somewhere away from glaring lights and out of the wind & rain. Wind can blow smoke into your photos, so take into account the wind direction also when choosing your location. If you can’t

find somewhere away from lights, try practicing a few shots with something to screen the glare. Your camera may have a lens cover designed for this already.

Tripod

Because you’re going to be using a slow shutter speed, your camera must be kept absolutely still the whole time. You may think you can hold it still, but even a fraction of movement can distort and otherwise great photograph.

You don’t necessarily need a professional, full of gadgets tripod either. Just your basic beginner level tripod will do fine. The vital point here is to keep the camera dead still while taking the photo.

Patience

“Good things come to those who wait”. A classic saying that could not be truer when getting that perfect shot. Fireworks photography is all about timing & patience, and it may take you a lot of attempts to get a shot you are happy with. Never give up, you will get it.

Optional - Shutter Remote

Shutter remotes are small add ons for your camera that allow you to take the photo without having to touch the camera itself. This removes any camera shake that may otherwise occur. If you have a shutter remove, definitely use it.

Now that you have your camera, your tripod & you’ve chosen your location, it’s time to start shooting.

As I mentioned already, in order to get a perfect shot you are going to need a slow shutter speed. Depending on the type of fireworks you are trying to capture, anything between 1 and 4 seconds will be required. You can now see why a tripod is essential to getting the perfect shot. The speed you use will depend on the size and length of the fireworks you’re trying to shoot. This is where a LOT of practice shots and adjustments will come into play. You may also try reducing the shutter speed by using ISO 50. Anything higher than ISO 100 and you will start having problems.

Chances are your camera is a digital and uses a memory card. Make sure you have a number of backup memory cards with you. You’re going to want to take a LOT of shots during the fireworks display and you wont have time to edit or delete them on the fly. The best process is to simply keep shooting and do all the deleting later on when you get home.

Don’t cheat yourself on quality

Make sure before you start to set your photo quality settings to the highest possible. This will result in large images with large file sizes (hence the need for multiple memory cards) but will also guarantee the highest possible quality images. It is vital that you do this, as night time photography and fireworks photography need the highest quality image settings to come out good.

Shoot

Initially shoot and check the image. Get a feel for the shutter speed and adjust as necessary. The more photos you take, the better your chance of getting that perfect shot.

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These sales days are historically a very good day for the sale of electronic goods, and always a hot purchase item are cameras and camera equipment.  Search engine trends tend to increase this time of year as people do their research as to what camera to buy, and which to avoid.

According to Imaging-Resource, the Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi is the top selling Digital Camera on the market right now.  This 10.1 megapixel camera tops the list and retails between $500 and $700 depending where you shop.

Shawn Barnett or Imagine-Resource reviewed the XTi and in summary, had this to say:

“Ultimately, the Canon Rebel XTi is an improvement of an already superb camera — the Rebel XT — with Canon’s latest and greatest innovations to make digital SLR photography more like you remember from the film days and more versatile to boot. For my money, the greatest improvement to the XTi is the addition of the 30D’s autofocus array. More pixels, a bigger LCD, and dust reduction are welcome, but faster AF is the true benefit to the Rebel XTi, because you can get shots that you couldn’t with the XT. Now I can say that Canon’s flagship consumer camera has it where it counts: fast, accurate autofocus and the best imager you can get for the money. All the rest is gravy.”
- Article

Rounding out the top 10 selling Digital Cameras are:

1. Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi
2. Canon PowerShot A720 IS
3. Canon PowerShot A570 IS
4. Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH
5. Nikon D40
6. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
7. Canon PowerShot A560
8. Nikon D40X
9. Canon PowerShot S5 IS
10. Canon EOS 40D

Canon are dominating the market this year.  With the Festive Season over,  and the Post-Christmas sales in full swing, I imagine there are more than a few of these flying of the shelves.

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