September 3, 2007 HelpLine Getting Back To Backups, Part II
Q) I appreciate your recent advice on keeping files backed up (the June and September issues of PCPhoto). I'd add one more caution: If you're using an automated backup program (i.e,. one running automatically on a schedule), be sure that the program is actually running and that there's still room on the drive to which you're backing up...
|
August 27, 2007 HelpLine Getting Back To Backups, Part I
Q) You mention the importance of backing up files frequently. I'd like to share my solution to this "problem." The cost of external drives has been going down as the size of these drives has been going up. (I recently purchased a 500 GB drive for about $200.) I do an automatic backup of my critical files to this external drive every day...
|
August 20, 2007 HelpLine Macro Flash On The Cheap
Q) I've been playing around with the macro feature on my compact digital camera. I have some nice shots, but now I'm trying to work with a flash. All of the shots I have so far are pretty disappointing. The right edge of the scene always seems to miss the flash. What can I do?
|
August 13, 2007 HelpLine Making Basketball Shots
Q) My son will be playing varsity basketball this coming senior year. I started shooting his basketball games a year ago and have gotten some good images. I know they don't want flashes going off under the basket during games. I've seen some photographers use strobes mounted high up, at least 15 or so feet in the air on special tripods. They usually have two set up, one on each corner of the basket and fired wirelessly. What do you call these contraptions? Where can you buy them? What's the best setup for a Canon EOS 5D that I'm thinking of buying?
|
July 23, 2007 HelpLine ISO For Real?
Q) When I bump up the ISO setting in my camera, am I changing its sensitivity? If it does, couldn't I just leave it there and adjust my aperture or shutter speed?
|
September 2007 HelpLine Play Nicely With Photoshop Files Compatible Savings Q) Often, I work with transparencies, making a montage by cutting parts of a photo in Photoshop and mixing them with other shots. Sometimes, I can't see them in other programs such as ACDSee or Bryce. Instead of the picture with the transparency, I see a black square in which it says: "This layered Photoshop file was not saved with a composite image!" I just can't figure out what I did wrong and why it's different from my other transparencies! How can I change these files into "composites"? I'd immensely appreciate your tips to resolve this problem! |
July 16, 2007 HelpLine Shooting With Flair
Q) My new lens came with a weird-looking lens shade. When do I use it? I'm told I should use it to avoid flair with the sun. Is that the only time?
|
July 9, 2007 HelpLine When Is A Tripod Not A Tripod?
Q) I feel kind of silly asking this question, so I thought I would send you an e-mail and plead that you keep my last name out of it. Someone recently talked to me about a video tripod. Isn't a tripod a tripod? I suppose there's something to do with weight with some of those bigger video cameras, but some are pretty lightweight, too. So my "stupid" question: Is there such a thing as a "video" tripod?
|
July 2, 2007 HelpLine White Balance Revisited
Q) I'm shooting RAW and my friends tell me to ignore white balance because I can fix it on the computer. Is that right?
|
July/August 2007 HelpLine Light Matters
Capturing Fireworks
Q) I thought I'd try to experiment with taking pictures during the 4th of July fireworks displays this year. A friend thought I should use film to do this. I'm thinking that I should be able to use my digital SLR. Who's right? And what's the best way of photographing the fireworks display?
|
June 18, 2007 HelpLine Dirty Pictures
Q) Since I've been using my digital SLR, I'm getting more and more worried about dust. I've noticed some of the newer cameras have some sort of dust-removal feature. I'm not able to get one of the newer cameras right now. What's the best way to avoid getting dust in the camera?
|
|
