Solving problems with digital photography:
New technologies can help you freeze the action and store those valuable images
by Gary Clites
Originally published in the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund's Adviser Update, Winter 2005
Developments move fast in the new digital world. Two years ago, I wrote extensively on digital photography for school publications in this space. Recently, there have been tremendous developments in both digital camera technology and in systems available for digital file management that every up-to-date adviser should know about.
Digital Cameras
Two years ago, I pointed out that since most commercial printers do not use the highest resolutions offered by digital cameras, advisers could save money by buying slightly lower resolution models that would give them all the resolution they could need for newspapers and yearbooks. That is still certainly true, but recent developments in digital cameras may make moving up market in your camera choices a sensible decision.
The biggest improvement is designed to solve the biggest problem in digital photography. Ever stood on the sidelines of a football game, zoomed out to the field and clicked the shutter just as an athlete caught a pass... only to hear the shutter click seconds later when the receiver was already flat on his back on the field? That problem is commonly known as shutter delay, and until recently, it was an unavoidable element of all digital camera and a particular problem for photojournalists whose job is to capture the action. Digital cameras commonly suffer from delays of 1 to 3 seconds.
Shutter lag is primarily caused by the auto focus systems in digital cameras, and the problem can be at least limited in some models by pressing the trigger halfway in advance of the shot, allowing the camera to pre-focus, then pressing the rest of the way just before the action. That might help, but it’s certainly not a perfect solution. Over the last year, manufacturers have applied two approaches to making shutter lag less of an issue.
Some have focused on simply speeding up the auto focus operation. A number of high-end digital single-lens-reflex (SLR) cameras have picked up technologies that have lowered lag to well under a second, an amount of time most photographers can easily account for. Unfortunately, the new systems were initially put only on the most expensive models. This year, cost for some fast SLR’s has fallen way under the $1,000 mark, making them a more likely choice for school publications.
The other innovation in this area is the introduction of burst shooting technology on cameras. Burst shooting essentially allows you to depress the trigger, hold it, and allow the camera to take a series of shots in quick succession. A useful tool when you are trying to shoot action. Until recently, this was available only at the top end of the market, but recently prices have fallen radically for the feature. Burst does not guarantee an end to lag, but using it can allow you to capture action must more effectively after the first shot even on a slow camera. Combined with lower lag time on a good camera, it can make the lag problem nearly null and void.
Some manufacturers have focussed on lowering the lag time of lower priced models. In mid-2004, Olympus introduced TruePic Turbo technology on its full line of cameras, even the under $300 point and shoot models, at least lessening lag issues. Kyocera introduced its similar RTune technology on two cameras, and claims its Finecam S5R has the fastest has burst mode of any 5-megapixel camera.
Other manufacturers are speeding up their cameras and offering burst on more and more models. When shopping, compare burst times (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and shutter lag speeds. High end digital SLR’s usually offer the highest speeds, and often also give the shooter greater control over the shutter. They are essentially a traditional SLR around a digital CCD pickup. Once priced in the two-to three thousand dollar range, late 2004 saw many SLR’s break well below the $1,000 mark with prices still falling.
File Management
One of the most common questions I am asked is whether digital pictures will last, or just fade away with time. The answer is that digital photos are not archival quality. In fact, pretty much nothing related to computers is designed to last. As far as digital prints, most printers, whether laser or inkjet, use dye inks which begin fading as soon as they are printed, with most showing perceptible fading as soon as a year later (printers which use pigment inks produce more stable images, but are very expensive). Journalists may look upon their images as raw materials for publications, and may not care, but some scholastic journalists also recognize their role as including serving as historians for the school. Also, you never know when an image in a photo archive might come in handy for future publications. Anyone who has ever tried to put together a school anniversary issue knows what I’m talking about.
So, if the prints we create won’t last, the answer is to archive the digital image files themselves. The large size of image files has, until recently, made them tough to hang onto. Recently, though, new technologies and growing storage capacities have made archiving the large number of images we deal with both practical and affordable.
In mid 2004, SanDisk (www.sandisk.com), one of the largest producers of memory cards, introduced what it calls “Shoot and Store Memory Cards.” Normally, the strategy is to shoot a card full, print or upload photos to a computer, erase the disk and start over. SanDisk wants to redesign that system. By offering low priced stable flash memory cards, they suggest you shoot, use and then store images on their cards indefinitely. The cards, including CompactFlash, SD, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Cards, start at a suggested retail of only $14.99 for the 32-MB and $24.99 for the 64MB. That’s about 25-cents to shoot and store a single image on the 64-MB (higher capacity cards cost less per photo), a reasonable price to move to using flash media as archives. Better, at press time, some websites were offering the cards for under $10.
Another simple solution is to burn image files to disks, but the process of copying hundreds and thousands of images to disks using a computer can be seriously time consuming. Kanguru Solutions (www.kanguru.com) recently began offering its KanguruFC-RW, a CD-player sized box designed to copy flash card images directly from card to CD, with no computer involved. Priced at under $200, it works with CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Sony Memory Stick and other popular cards.
Want more capacity? Alera Technologies (www.aleratec.com) just released a similar box called the DVD/CD Digital Photo Copy Station designed to do the same job while copying files to much higher capacity DVD’s. Expect one to cost around $600.
Whether you are interested in shooting better photos or finding better ways to store and use them, recent technologies combined with consumer demand are solving many of the problems of digital photography. With prices driving ever downward, now might be a good time to putting the new technologies to work in your newsroom.
© Gary Clites, 2005
