Digital Camera Features

A digital camera, of course, does not use film, but instead employs a photosensitive device – typically a CCD, or (”Charged Coupled Device”), or CMOS (”Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor”) sensor – to capture light falling upon it, and create an image. The sensor is composed of hundreds of thousands, or millions, of individual picture elements, or “pixels”, and the total number of pixels determines the resolution of the camera. Generally speaking, the higher the number of pixels, the higher the quality of the finished image, but the higher the file size required to accommodate that image. So, while a 5Mp camera may be suitable for the production of, say, 6″ x 4″, 7″ x 5″, or larger, photographic prints, it may be less suitable for photographs to be sent by email, because of the file sizes involved.

A digital camera obviously needs to store digital photographs on some kind of storage medium, and this is generally a memory expansion card of one form, or another. The SD, or “Secure Digital”, card, for example is one of the most popular forms, offering up to 4GB of storage capacity. Depending upon the make, and model, of your chosen digital camera, other proprietary formats – such as Memory Stick, or Memory Stick Duo, for Sony digital cameras, or various types of xD Picture Card for Olympus, and Fuji, digital cameras – may be available. The important thing to remember is that the higher the resolution of the photographs you take, the more storage space they will require.

Pricing is obviously a major consideration when buying a digital camera or camcorder, and a simple, straightforward digital camera can be obtained, nowadays, for as little as £50, or £60. If you are looking for more manual control – over shutter speed, aperture, etc. – akin to that found in digital SLR (”Single Lens Reflex”) cameras, but without the hefty price tag, you may like to consider a compact digital camera, which typically costs somewhere between £100 and £250. For more serious – and, indeed, affluent – photographers, digital SLR cameras are available at the £400 mark, or less, but truly “professional” digital SLR cameras still cost in excess, and sometimes well in excess, of £1,000.

HELLO! is delighted to announce the launch of our inaugural Young Photographers Award as part of its 20th Anniversary celebrations this year. The award is open to photography students between the ages of 18 to 30 years, and has been devised and developed in conjunction with Nikon and Getty Images Gallery.

Judging the Award will be a panel of top photographers, comprising Lorenzo Agius, Mike Daines, Dave Hogan, Penny Lancaster Stewart, Terry O’Neill, Christopher Simon Sykes, Aidan Sullivan, John Swannell, Mark Thompson and former HELLO! editor Ronnie Whelan.

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The second year of the major ‘Landscape Photographer of the Year’ competition is
now under way and entrants have until the middle of July 2008 to submit their
photographs of the British landscape.

The idea of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, ‘Take a view’ offers
a total prize fund of £20,000, including £10,000 for the overall winner.

Following on from the success of the 2007 Exhibition, this year’s exhibition of
winning and commended entries will again be held over an eight-week period at
London’s National Theatre.

Charlie Waite says of ‘Take a view’: “The first year of the Awards exceeded all
expectations. The standard of the work was amazing and the exhibition was a
great success. The emails that we receive really show that the landscape is
something with which we all identify and get great pleasure from. I am very
pleased that my aim, to involve as many people as possible in making images
that symbolise our land and our times, has been met in the most positive way. I
can’t wait to see this year’s entries.”

Over recent months, Waite has been working closely with the nations and regions
of the UK who could benefit from links with a competition that showcases many
varied destinations to potential visitors. He is very happy to announce that that
the 2008 Landscape Photographer of the Year Award has the support of Enjoy
England, Visit Wales, VisitScotland, VisitBritain, Britain on View, VisitGuernsey,
Jersey Tourism, and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. He believes that “this is
the synergy that the competition needs. To work with people who are in the
business of heralding and promoting the Nation as the wonderful country that it
is, is more than I could have dreamed. ”

The 2008 book of winning entries will be launched at the opening of the ‘Take a
View’ exhibition, in the superb surroundings of the National Theatre on London’s
South Bank. The competition is fast becoming an annual event that reflects the
heart and spirit of Britain.

All entries must be uploaded via the competition website, http://www.take-a-view.co.uk and the closing date is 12th July 2008. Entry fees apply. Full terms and conditions can be found on the site.

LG Electronics this week launched their ‘Viewtyful World’ Photographic Competition in conjunction with Yahoo! and National Geographic Magazine.

The ‘Viewtyful World’ photo contest which will start from April 10 and run to June 11, will be carried out under the three themes of night view, retouch, and moments. LG will produce the eight-week contest in association with Yahoo, the top global Website with subsidiaries Flickr and Kelkoo, and National Geographic magazine which features the highest-quality photojournalism in the world.
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All the finalist and commended entries for the 2008 GPOTY competition have now been announced.

The winners will be announced at the end of May 2008 at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and on the GPOTY website. All of the finalists will also have their prints displayed at the exhibition at Kew, MAY to SEPTEMBER 2008.

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