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Tech Tips

Tech Tips

OP Expert George Lepp tackles your technical photography questions in Tech Tips.


Beware Of The Sun?


A Burning Question • What’s A Pro Camera? • Prints From The Dark Side • When Things Get Wet



Beware Of The Sun?Q I recently “went digital” with a Nikon D90. While exploring the user’s manual, I was surprised to read a warning to keep the sun well out of the frame when shooting backlit subjects. It stated on page XIV in the “For Your Safety” section, “Keep the sun well out of the frame when shooting backlit subjects. Sunlight focused into the camera when the sun is in or close to the frame could cause a fire.”
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Shooting Under Paradise


Getting Wet • HDR On Moving Subjects • JPEG Sources • Viewing Video On Your LCD



Shooting Under ParadiseDuring a recent foray to Hawai’i to give seminars and workshops for the Canon Explorers of Light, I knew I’d be doing some snorkeling. (Hey! Somebody has to do this job!) I’ve previously used PowerShot compact digital cameras with underwater housings.
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Do I Need Permission?


Commercial Vs. Editorial Uses • Sharp To The Edges • Extended Macro • TILT!



Do I Need Permission?In the August 2009 issue of Outdoor Photographer, you discussed the difference between commercial and editorial uses of images and the need for releases. Please expand on the definition of editorial uses. Would I need a signed permission from the owners of the properties I photograph to use the images in a book?
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When It Goes Wrong


Hit By Lightning • Hydrate! • Bad Rocky Mountain High • Sooooo Cold • Lost Going To The Devils Postpile• Bugs In The Amazon • All Images Lost



When It Goes WrongAnytime you get a group of professional photographers into close proximity, you’ll find them gathered ’round the campfire (or in the local pub) to swap stories and talk shop.
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The Perfect Solar Storm


Chasing The Aurora • The Full-Frame Advantage • The Silent Click • Please, Release Me



The Perfect Solar StormI saw your photograph of the looping aurora borealis as one of the wallpapers within Microsoft Vista OS. Where did you take that photograph, and what’s the best time of year to try to capture the aurora?


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Taming The Skies


Bringing The Sky Down To Earth • Real Real-Estate Images • Extended Autofocus • Film Everywhere, But No Place To Process • Gauging Filter Effects



Taming The SkiesMy true love is landscape photography and, in particular, I love sunset landscapes. One of the big problems I have in post production is optimizing both the sky and the land (and, sometimes, water).
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Scanning For The Big Print


Keep Scanning That Film • Charge It • Pocket Pro • Comparing Sensors • Volunteer Photographers • Shameless Self-Promotion Department



Scanning For The Big PrintKeep Scanning That Film
Q When using a film/slide scanner, what resolution (dpi) should I use to produce good-quality prints in the 8x10 to 11x14 range?
M. Thompson
Via the Internet

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The Lowdown On Zooms


Digital And Optical Zooms • How Many Clicks Do You Get? • The Color Of sRGB And Adobe RGB (1998) • Film Vs. Digital Vs. Sensor Size...Again



My son has a digital point-and-shoot camera with an 18x zoom, but when you zoom to the extreme end, the viewfinder displays a message that it’s a digital zoom, and the resulting quality isn’t very good. Is it also true that zoom lenses on D-SLRs don’t work well at their maximum ends? My 200mm zoom telephoto has a 1.6x factor. How does this relate to the digital vs. optical zoom on my son’s point-and-shoot?
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Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away


Scanning Kodachrome • Choosing Quality Lenses • Best ƒ-Stop Revisited • Large-Format Printing



Don’t Take My Kodachrome AwayQ I’m using a Nikon Coolscan V to digitize some of my film images into versions I can display or market online. I choose good, technically correct slides to convert. Typically, E-6 images (Velvia, Ektachrome VS, Ektachrome G) look fine as .jpg or .tif files with little extra work. But I’m often disappointed with the results of scanned K25 or K64 Kodachrome slides. What should I do?
C. Toops
Marshall, North Carolina

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