D.C.W

2 CDS ALL-NEW 3D CAMERA TOURS 2 £65 OF SOFTWARE NEW!
The definitive guide to better photos
132 pages of image editing

tutorials, kit reviews and more!
GET THE MOST FROM
PAINT SHOP PRO
NEW SERIES! Expert tips and techniques
to help you create better digital photos
HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH
LANDMARKS
Tips for buildings, architecture & statue shots
6 BRAND-NEW IMAGE
EDITORS COMPARED PHOTOSHOP
20
…and the winner isn’t what you think! ELEMENTS
TIPS
‘IMAGES
FROM NATURE’
CREATIVE PROJECT
7
Discover how to combine & resize images,
and alter colours for a fantasy effect GET LIGHT RIGHT!
Simple ways to use light & shadow to improve
CAMERA-ENABLED MOBILE PHONES your people, landscape and still-life pictures
The next big thing or useless gimmicks? We test 5 of the latest
2 What light works best for different subjects
2 Common mistakes and how to avoid them
2 How to use contrast, intensity & angles for top results
9 771479 001003
JANUARY 2003
EXCLUSIVE! 5 CAMERA
REFERENCE CARDS
7 7 7
CANON IXUS ON TRIAL NIKON COOLPIX 4300 6 CARD READERS TESTED
£4.99
card gives you

Take our reviews down the shop! Each
01
We reveal whether Canon’s In depth review of this Discover the best memory verdicts & more!
latest camera is for you tempting new Compact card reader you can buy pictures of each camera, specifications, PRINTED IN THE UK
British Landmark Series The Millennium Dome, London.
2
MEET
YOUR
TEAM 2 Our promise
to our readers
4
STARTHERE
Every month we will show you how
8
Nick Merritt
Managing Editor to capture and create better pictures,
give clear, independent buying
Nick’s background is technology and
recommendations on the latest kit,
image-editing related. He’s launched,
and deliver two CDs packed with the
managed and built some of the UK’s
best PC software.
leading publications in these areas.
We use boxes, tips, quick fixes, quality
8 Dylan Channon
Senior Art Editor
Happy New Year! photography, walkthroughs and diagrams
to show you how to improve your
photographic and image-editing skills
Dylan is a keen amateur We have a cast-iron policy of editorial
T
photographer and sits on the advisory
he problem with editing this magazine is that I want all the kit we review each
independence. All our kit is reviewed as-
board of Somerset College of Art month but can’t afford it. sold. We discourage our journalists from
and Technology. Of course, it doesn’t help that Christmas is just around the corner – traditionally a accepting gifts from advertisers.
time when sanity is straitjacketed, put into a little reed basket and floated down The Thames. We welcome your opinions on the
8
Roddy Llewellyn Christmas is for kids but it’s us adults who have the cash and I intend to spend it! (Until magazine, ideas for articles, photography,
Art Editor thoughts and questions.
interest rates rise next year and the house is repossessed.)
Roddy studied photography at Send them in today – see the email
So, egged on by the three spirits of Christmas – Argos, Dixons and Jessops – my thoughts addresses below.
university and is PPA Designer of the
Year for his work on Cre@te, a have turned to what digital camera I’m going to buy. But the options are endless! There’s so
much nice, shiny metal and lovely, glinting things, I hardly know where to start – and this is
c
magazine for creative professionals.
my job.
8
Tim Daly I do know I want quality and control. I want lots of megapixels and versatility. And I want
Photographer and writer to keep the price reasonable – I’m not taking more than £600 out of the kids’ college fund. Departments
Tim is one of the UK’s leading digital
Ideally I want a brand name, and a certain amount of future proofing – I don’t want to have
photography experts. He’s written We want your letters, ideas, photography,
numerous books on the subject and to upgrade my camera just because Microsoft decides USB is rubbish and its fancy new
articles, tips and more! Write in today to
his photographs have been exhibited spoon-based interface is the way forward. the following areas:
across Europe. Time’s up and I still don’t know what to do. I’ll stop my tortured rambling and let you Issues with your discs
know what I decided next month. Happy New Year! support2@futurenet.co.uk
8 Steve Bavister
Photographer and editor
Your letters
letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
Steve is one of the UK’s best-known Photos for our galleries
photographic writers, having edited gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
and published Practical Photography Events, ideas, places to visit
in the past. He now writes for a getupgo.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
variety of photography mags. For help and advice
help.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
Articles/ideas for publication
8
Steve Jarratt
Nick Merritt, Managing Editor editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
Photoshop expert and editor
editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk Visit our website today!
Our other Steve is one of the UK’s top
www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
magazine journalists. He is currently
group editor of Computer Arts, the In issue 4, we show
UK’s leading image-editing title. you how to take superb
portrait shots. Catch us on sale
8
Ed Davis on 16th January
Photo retouching expert
Ed is a commercial photographer of
many years’ experience. He is a
member of the National Association
of Photoshop Professionals.
8
Aidan O’Rourke
Technical expert
Are you an editor, deputy editor,
Aidan is a contributor to the
Manchester Evening News. He
art editor or designer working on
lectures on digital photography a photography magazine?
around the UK. Then turn to the back page now!
ISSUE 4 ON
;4
SALE 16TH JAN
DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE 003

Contents DCM#03
What’s hot inside your magazine this January
GET LIGHT
RIGHT!
All the tricks you need to create light and shadow in
your people, landscape and still-life photographs. We
reveal what light works best for different subjects,
when in the day to shoot and much more
Plus, discover how to add light to your images in

your image-editing program
STARTS PAGE
16
PAGE
Getup&Go Complete guide to
84 The best places to visit for great
canalside, birds, industrial and
Paint Shop Pro
Discover the features you
London landmark photos.
can use to improve your
Includes 9 top tips!
digital images in our
essential new series
Fantastic flash PAGE
We show you how to use your flash for
impressive, creative effects
PULL OUT
SECTION –
FIND IT
AFTER p50
72
004 DIGITAL CAMERA MAGAZINE
Kit reviews
The UK’s definitive reviews
Your 2 coverdiscs
2 FOREST LIGHT
PAGE 18
SUNSETS
PAGE 20
2
RED ARROWS
PAGE 52
THIS ISSUE WE
SHOW YOU HOW TO…
BETTER COMPOSITION
PAGE 86
1
package every month
TAKE BETTER PICTURES
Understand lighting angles, contrast, colour and intensity 16
Create different moods 18
Use a reflector 19
Improvise overhead cover 19
Capture a great sunset 20
CAMERA-PHONES CANON IXUS
PAGE 14 PAGE 28 PAGE Use the different levels of natural light
Use your camera’s white balance controls
21
24
SmartPix Manager
Helps you find your archived pictures in seconds!
122 Use the rear-curtain sync technique
Get more from fill-in flash
Understand symmetry
85
85
86
Use the rule of thirds 87
Every issue we bring you not one, but two CDs –
COOLPIX 4300
PAGE 30
PLUG-INS
PAGE 40
each one packed with exclusive full software. This
month, enjoy SmartPix Manager, Dreamy Photo, A
£ 63
OF FULL
Prevent parallax errors 88, 93
SmallerImage and File Recovery 3.0 – all to keep!

SOFTWARE IMPROVE YOUR IMAGE-EDITING SKILLS
ON DISC 1 ON DISC 2 IN TOTAL!
Use the lighting controls in Photoshop Elements 24
FULL SmartPix FULL A SmallerImage
Manager 4.3 FULL Dreamy Photo
Cast a ‘sun through window pane’ light across an image 25
PLUG-IN AutoEye 2.0
TRIAL SmartPix TRIAL PhotoImpact 8 PLUG-IN India Ink 1.7 Use Photoshop’s colour gradient tools 61
Manager 6.0 FREEWARE File PLUG-IN Light 1.0 Resize an image 68
CARD READERS IMAGE EDITORS TOURS 5 x 3D tours Recovery 3.0 PLUG-IN Ozone
PAGE 42 PAGE 45 TEST SHOTS for each of FREEWARE 9 more tools PLUG-IN PhotoGraphic Colour-correct an image 70
our main cameras PLUG-IN AFH Beveler Edges 5.0 Edit colour and contrast 72
Your images Fix highlights
Crop and frame
74
79
22 pages of image-editing tips
Regulars Get more from Photoshop Elements 2 76
USE YOUR PC BETTER

EYEWITNESS HELP AND ADVICE
Hotshots gallery p06 Photo Clinic p64 Email an image 96
Frontline news p12 Your questions answered p90 Create a gallery website 98
Camera phones p14 Calibrate your prints 100
ABSTRACT EFFECTS PHOTO FOLD-OUT SECTION AFTER PAGE 50
PAGE 58 RESTORING PAGE 64 Retrieve a deleted digital photo 125
2
YOUR PHOTOS & LETTERS 9 architecture photography tips
Reader profile p10 Capturing mood
Trailblazers p50 UK canals photos & maps
Day in the life
Viewfinder
p52
p54
London landmarks
Photographing birds HOTSHOTSTURNOVER
Industrial landscapes Every issue, we print the best digital photography we
OFFERS can find. Turn over now and see some of the shots that
Subscribe! p80 DEALER BANK have inspired us this issue…
PHOTO FIXES 20 ELEMENTS TIPS
PAGE 68 PAGE 76 Software upgrade offers p122 Pages p101-121

Hotshots
Images with impact
SHOT OF THE MONTH
WASP KLAUS HERTZ-LADIGES
“Shot on a Nikon Coolpix 5700 in macro mode,
holding a 2x magnifying lens in front of the camera.
The image was then colour managed and
sharpened in Photoshop.”
[w] www.pbase.com/kchl/europe
[e] Hertz-Ladiges@get2net.dk
02
03
04 02 NAOMI ROAR The Walcot Studio

“Shot in the studio for a recent Diesel clothing
advertising campaign.”
Nikon D1X, Studio lighting
[w] www.thewalcotstudio.co.uk
03 THESE BOOTS Barry Jackson

“Three photos turned into something
surreal.” Read the full story in our next issue…
Fuji 6900z
[w] www.etherealme.com
04 HOVIS HILL Julian Jefferson

“Gold Hill, Shaftsbury; scene of the classic
Hovis TV adverts. Taken just after rain, hence
the sparkle. Offending estate agent’s ‘For
sale’ signs removed in Photoshop.”
NEXT
Pentax Optio 430RS
[w] www.pembrokeshireimages.com
MONTH
We give you all the files
and techniques you need
to create this stunning
image

Preserve your
Memories
on CD or DVD
From your camcorder…
From your digital camera…
From your PC…
…to your TV.
The fun and easy way to share your home movies

and digital photos on CD and DVD
• Capture from digital cameras and camcorders
• Photo and video manipulation tools
• Create motion menus
• Automatic slideshow creation
• Automatically fit your slideshow to your music
• Automatic label creation
For more information call us on 01895 424228

or visit us at www.pinnaclesys.com/expression/digicam
www.pinnaclesys.com
05
06
07 05 MATTY MOFFAT Michael Chiu

“The vivid colours in this shot and direct
eye contact with the boy make for a
mesmerising image.”
Sony DSC-DF707
[e] ziptdodah@yahoo.com
06 STATE CAPITOL Melanie Kipp

“West Virginia State Capitol Building, August
2002. I shot it in colour and converted to B&W,
then added the Sepia in Photoshop 6.”
Minolta Dimage 7 with a Hoya IR72 filter
[w] www.caughtintimephotography.com
07 FROGS Bob Garas

“There’s no digital trickery at work here.”
Canon G1 with White Lightning 1200 strobes
[w] www.geocities.com/bgaras2001

2ProfileMe and my camera
Bob Jones
CONWY, N. WALES
www.bodafon.com
Based in Wales, Bob has been a keen
amateur photographer since he was a boy
and takes particular pleasure in capturing
the stunning scenery that surrounds him.
Bob went digital in 1999, shelving his

35mm gear in favour of a Kodak DSC240z,
but now mainly uses a Canon EOS D60 –
which is quite a jump in technology by his
own admission.
Bob tells us: “Without a doubt, the main

benefit of digital photography for me is the
01 ability to see my results almost instantly
and the control I have over them when
03 modifying the images on my computer.”
He concludes: “I feel my photography has

come a long way since my 35mm days. I
genuinely love digital photography and
would not return to film if for some reason
I could not continue with digital.”
@
NOW SEND US YOURS!
Email us a 100K JPEG thumbnail of your best
shots! The best wins a 128Mb Crucial
CompactFlash card each issue.
gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
01 COLD LIGHT OF DAWN 02 SWEET PEA!

Olympus E-10 with a light Tabac gradient filter Canon EOS D60 in macro mode
03 CHURCH IN THE SEA 04 SEASIDE PANORAMA

02 Canon EOS D60 with a grey gradient filter Olympus E-10, stitched together digitally
04

Frontline
It’s all gone quiet on the camera front as manufacturers ready their 2003 ranges…
5-MEGAPIXEL
CASIO
Cutting-edge technology from
the makers of the Exilm S2
■ See below
SMART
DISPLAYS
The wireless PC tech that
enables you to see your
pictures anywhere
■ See opposite
SPIDER-MAN
SNAPPED!
The world’s biggest superhero
is finally caught on camera!
■ See opposite
Canon’s New
Casio hits 5MP… QUICK
SHOTS
Year cheer
and sporty types too
UNDERWATER
MINOLTA Looking for a late Christmas
Fans of the Dimage
X and Xi digital
present for a fellow camera fiend?
cameras who want
If you are, Canon might have a
to use their camera
couple of options for you. If
Active lifestyles and high-end photography are both catered for as Casio underwater, can now
use Minolta’s new you’re buying a Canon Zoom
launches two new cameras at different ends of the market Marine Case. It also CAMERAS compact worth over £100, from
protects the camera the SureShot or IXUS ranges, there’s a
when used for
backpack in it for you. Or if you’re buying one
snowboarding, rock
C
asio’s newest creations are a competitive 5-megapixel market. Sitting at the top for under £100, you’ll get a hip bag. Both bags
THE 2- 2-megapixel GV20 and the 5-megapixel of Casio’s range, it can capture 2,560 x 1,920 pixel
climbing, kayaking
and more, and are available via redemption, from now until
MEGAPIXEL QV-5700. The GV20 is shock, impact, images which, Casio claims, puts it on a par with provides waterproof the end of January 2003.
GV20 IS dust and water resistant so you can shoot your film-based cameras. With a selection of manual access to all the
camera controls.
If, instead, you’re in the market for a
SHOCK, surroundings – wherever you are. It has been
designed to comply with the IEC 60529/IP 66/IP
controls, from exposure settings to light metering,
it should offer enough for experienced
More info at direct photo printer, Canon are bunging in
enough paper and ink for 72 photos for
IMPACT, DUST 67 standards of protection (find out what levels of photographers, while other modes make it easy to
www.minolta.co.uk
anyone buying their CP-100 unit. This connects
AND WATER protection those numbers afford – ie, whether you capture good results if you’re a less experienced MMC CARD
SHRINK
directly to Canon’s digital cameras, meaning
RESISTANT. can safely drop it in the bath – at user. Its Best Shot option enables you to get good
One of the standard
you don’t need to mess about with a PC to
AND HAS BEEN www.lighting4sport.com/iprating.htm).

The GV20 also has several features that are
results simply by selecting the image type on the
camera’s main menu. There’s also a digital soft
memory sard
formats for digital
output your images.
More information on this promotion
ESPECIALLY designed to help less experienced users take focus effect supplied. cameras, MMC, is to can be found at www.canon.co.uk, or on
CONSTRUCTED better pictures quickly, via a number of special Although well known for its Exlim range of shrink by
approximately half.
0870 770 0648.
FOR OUTDOOR program modes. Expect it to retail for around £300 products, Casio has had trouble shaking off its Each card is now
from Jessops and the Casio store on Carnaby Street old-fashioned image, so we look forward to
USE
2
14mm less wide
3
Information
in central London. getting our hands its new cameras – look out for a than previously. The supplied by
The QV-5700 is a more powerful affair and full review of the QV-5700 in next month’s issue, new format means www.dabs.com
the card format will
marks Casio’s first foray into the increasingly on sale on 16th January.
fit mobile phones as Best sellers
well as cameras.
Whether introducing
a new standard is BEST SELLER
CCD 1/1.8-inch CCD; 5.0 million effective pixels Fujifilm
enough to improve
Still images JPEG, TIFF, DCF standard, DPOF compliant FinePix A202
Movies AVI (Motion JPEG)
the take-up of MMC
£128
Memory CompactFlash Type I/II; Microdrive compatible cards remains to
Image sizes 2,560x1,920 pixels, 2,544x1,696 pixels, be seen.
SUB-£100
1,600x1,200 pixels, 1,280x960 pixels, 640x480 pixels Mustek
Lens F2.0 to 2.5 (34mm–102 mm 35 mm equivalent) NEW Gsmart II Mini
Zoom 3x optical zoom, 3.2x digital zoom COMPACTFLASH £45.82
Focusing Contrast-detect multi-area AF, manual focus, CARDS
spot AF mode, macro mode, infinity mode, focus lock
What is claimed as a
Approximate Focus Range 30 cm to infinity (normal) SUB-£300
Light metering Multi-pattern, centre-weighted, spot
faster CompactFlash Sony Cybershot
Exposure Full auto, program AE, aperture priority AE, card, has just been DSC-P71
shutter speed priority AE, manual introduced by Delkin. £257.32
Exposure Compensation -2 EV to +2 EV (1/3 EV units) According to
ISO sensitivity Auto, ISO50, ISO100, ISO200, independent tests,
ISO400, ISO800 SUB-£800
the eFilm PRO
Recording modes Single-image, Continuous Shutter, Canon
set the fastest Powershot G3
Movie, Panorama, AEB, Self-timer, Macro, Best Shot
read/write speeds. £598.07
Shutter speed 60 second to 1/1000 second, BULB
Aperture F2.0, 2.3, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0
The card is available
White Balance Automatic/fixed (4 modes), in 128MB-640MB
manual switching sizes. More info at
Flash modes (auto, on, off, red-eye), range 0.5-3m 0844 477 0121.

Displays go portable
Don’t stay bound to your PC, go walkabout instead
A new type of wireless display Professional and a wireless card, and are
technology has just been released expected to cost around £1,000.
by Microsoft which enables users Find out more at www.microsoft.com/
HARDWARE to detach their screens from their windowsxp/smartdisplay
PCs and carry them around the house. These
Smart Displays are aimed at various types of
user, including digital photography enthusiasts
Behindtheimage
who want to show images to friends and family
without forcing them to cluster around their PC.
Smart Displays work by broadcasting
images from PC to screen using radiowaves.
Users can access information on their PC via
these screens, using a virtual keyboard or pen
tool. Based on the Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b)
networking standard, they enable connection
without wires up to 100m away from the PC.
Sadly the displays aren’t cheap with a full kit
comprising a Smart Display, copy of Windows XP
New plug-in improves JPEG

colour-matching Wait long enough and surreal events can
Elements and Photoshop plug-in delivers more accurate printed colours simply turn up on your doorstep…
If you’ve been following our printer, and it’s available as a free download.
series on printing, you’ll know PIM II optimises digital photos from The time: 25th Nov 2002. The place: River Thames.
getting the best quality images compatible cameras, offering noise reduction Last month, we featured a chap who climbed tall
SOFTWARE can sometimes be more effort and custom scene settings. It supports both the buildings without any ropes. This month, the real
than it first appears. TIFF and JPEG file formats. So far, around 20 Spider-Man (or at least, a giant inflatable replica)
A new plug-in from Epson aims to change manufacturers have supported PIM technology. swung in to take his place. He’s but the latest in a line
this with its new PRINT Image Matching You can find out more about PIM at of giant figures towed down the Thames for various
(PIM) II plug-in for Photoshop 6-7, and http://support.epson.com/webadvice/ elaborate reasons. The most famous previously was the
Elements 1-2 for both Mac and Windows PCs. wa0310.html, including a PDF manual, some giant statue of Michael Jackson to promote the launch
It enables you to import PIM II or EXIF 2.2 Print details and useful links to the download for of his modest HIStory album.
JPEGs and print them accurately on a PIM II Macintosh and Windows. This year, to mark the release of the DVD of the
successful film, it was the turn of a giant inflatable
Spider-Man to be wheeled – or rather, floated – out by
the movie’s PR agency.
WIDEANGLE
What’s happening around the world (but shorter)
Captured by Nils Jorgensen, a staff photographer at
the Rex Features picture agency, they show the huge
Spider-Man figure crawling along the length of a
Thames narrowboat as it sails past Tower Bridge. This
already slightly surreal effect is further amplified when
USA phone’s. Apart from that, it’s a standard juxtaposed against the destroyers in the background
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND… slim 2-megapixel unit. But we’re sure that (top picture). Most of the time, distorting scale is a case
Direct printing from digital cameras panel will make all the difference… of positioning small objects in the foreground so they
will grow to nearly 12 billion a year, look bigger than they actually are, and adjusting your
by 2005, according to a new study. This is USA camera’s settings appropriately. For once, this is the
up from 4.5 billion prints now. Printing via IT’S A FRAME-U real deal.
the net or high street will account for 47 Digital frames (photo-sized LCD Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features Ltd 2002
2
per cent of all prints by then. panels that display digital photo
slideshows) are increasingly popular in
JAPAN the US. Ceiva in the USA has created a
TALKBACK
1
NEW TOSHIBA SAYS SORA net-connected frame that enables family
Toshiba has announced a new digital members to upload pictures to frames
Tell us what you think! Our website forums at
camera, the Sora PDR-T15, which remotely. For more information head
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk are just the place. Add your
has a customisable panel like a mobile along to www.ceiva.com comments, ideas and more and join the Digital Camera club!

GADGETS PHONE-CAMERAS .
Talking pictures
The newest phones can capture and send photos up to 640 x 480 pixels in size. Paul Pettengale asks if they’re the next big thing
ong gone are the days when mobile phones were the size of bricks and the and sending it via MMS (multimedia messaging services) – which is far more expressive
preserve of the yuppie. Over the past five years, Britain has gone through a than a simple text message or a garbled phone call.
communications revolution, and the fuel for change has been the mobile. As interesting as these are, don’t believe the TV adverts – the pictures produced are
L
But the revolution is maturing to evolution, with more and more features being either too small or low res to even approach being useful, or at higher resolutions take
packed into these miniature devices, such as diaries, internet browsers and now digital ages to capture and send (and still lack quality). As second cameras, these still have some
cameras. Words have been joined by pictures; fun can be had by simply snapping a scene way to go. But as a pointer to one future for photography, they’re very interesting indeed.
NOKIA 7650 Q SONY ERICSSON T68i Q

t’s the phone you’ve seen on all the ads: the lthough not a camera phone in its natural form,
I Nokia 7650 was one of the first mobile phones to A this model from Sony Ericsson can become one by
feature a digital camera – this one’s capable of pictures plugging a camera module into the base. This module is
with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, which you can free with most contracts, which is a boon. Like most of
view on the 4,096-colour screen. The phone enables you this type of colour phone, you can assign images you’ve
to either MMS or email your images, so you’re not taken to people in your address book – a boon if you
limited to sending pics to other people with MMS- have trouble matching names to faces. It’s comparatively
capable phones, though you won’t like the battery life, long in the tooth now, but this phone is still a cracker,
which is just two hours of talk time. It’s a chunky beast, and comes in at the cheaper end of the market.
too, and hi-res pictures take ages to capture and send.
Price £230 (with contract) Price £100 (with contract)

£600 (without contract) £320 (without contract)
4 Contact Nokia: 0870 500 3100
www.nokia.co.uk
4 Contact Sony Ericsson: 0870 523 7237
www.sonyericsson.com
`
PANASONIC GD87 Q O2/SHARP GX-1 Q
he Panasonic camera-enabled phone is a beauty, vailable exclusively on the O2 network (that’s the
T featuring a clam-shell design and a wonderful, A one that used to be called BT Cellnet), the slinky
65,000 colour screen – that’s way more than the Nokia little GX-1 from Sharp has one of the best displays going,
and Sony Ericsson models. What’s more, it’s GPRS- which can show up to a massive 65,000 colours. The
compatible, so you can surf mobile websites quickly and phone’s camera is a powerful – it’s capable of five
easily, as well as send photographs via email. Of course, exposure levels and possesses a two-stage digital zoom
MMS (i.e.. picture) messaging support is there, too, if you for close-ups. There’s enough memory for 80 images in
have friends with other MMS-capable phones. Again, like total, each at a resolution of 640 x 480. Of course, email
all the phones here, low-res pictures are so small they’re and MMS support enable you to send your pictures. Not
hardly worth it and hi-res take absolutely ages to send. bad for a phone that weighs just 110 grammes…
Price £250 (with contract) Price £200 (with contract)

£500 (without contract) £500 (without contract)
4 Contact Panasonic: 0870 010 0464
www.panasonic.co.uk
4 Contact O2: 0870 850 0202
www.o2.co.uk
` `
8 Next month We reveal the best PDA-cameras on the market

FEATURE HOW TO USE LIGHT
YOUR GUIDE STEVE BAVISTER

Steve is a photographic journalist and freelance photographer. He is editor of The
Photographer, a leading magazine for pro photographers, and author of ten books
on photography including Digital Photography and Take Better Family Photos
bavister@easynet.co.uk PORTFOLIO STEVE BAVISTER
Get light right!

Many photographers take light for granted, and don’t give it a second thought. But, says Steve Bavister,
learning to make use of its many moods is the key to taking great pictures
I
t’s a common misconception among It’s not an exaggeration to say that light is the single most they combine through the day and in
photographers that certain kinds of light are important element in any picture. In many ways it’s our raw different weather conditions that gives
‘good’ while others are ‘bad’. They’ll often glance material. You can have all the cameras, lenses and choice and control.
out of the window, decide the weather isn’t suitable, and accessories in the world, but without light you won’t get One of the principal things to understand
pack their equipment away for another day. very far. The word ‘photography’ derives from the Greek in relation to light is that quality is far more
But all light is useful in certain situations – and the secret work, meaning ‘painting with light’ – which, even in this important than quantity. More doesn’t mean
4
of success in photography is simply a matter of matching digital age, is an accurate way to describe what it is we do. better – in fact, the opposite is often true.
the right subject with the right light. One of the best ways to develop and deepen your More evocative results are achieved when the
understanding of light is to pay attention to the many moods light is subtle and directional rather than
of daylight. You can do this at any time – not just when you intense and overwhelming.
WHY WE CHOSE
have your camera with you. You might find yourself noticing While bright sunny days have a lot going for
THIS PICTURE
how beautiful the light is on the shady side of a building, them – with the high levels of light giving the
coming in through a small window, or dappled by the option of fast shutter speeds and small apertures
Natural back-lighting creates a
subtle glow around the hair foliage of a tree. Store that awareness and knowledge away – the fact that everything is lit fully means the
for when you’re out taking pictures in the future. picture lacks shadows, which can bring subjects to
Refected light creates an attractive life. This is particularly true around noon, when
sparkle in the eyes
Understanding angles the shadows are not only short but also heavy.
Lighting from one side adds The most fascinating thing about light is its sheer diversity. That’s why, whenever possible, you should avoid
contrast and highlights features Contrast, intensity, colour and angle are the four attributes of the middle of the day – shooting instead early in
most interest to photographers, and it’s the ways in which the morning and late in the afternoon, when the

LIGHT FANTASTIC
Different light levels will produce different moods. Take meter
readings from different parts of the scene to see how the
mood changes – and remember to jot the best ones down

a
You can capture long rays of sunshine by positioning the sun behind a building or
other object so the rays fan out in a star shape. Use a narrow aperture setting and
watch through the LCD to capture the moment when the light fans out
2 CANDLELIT PORTRAITS
lower angle of the sun produces longer, more hold it in their lap just out of view. It also gives them
photogenic shadows. something to do with their hands.
In winter months, the sun sits low in the sky all With portraiture, the rule about quality being more
through the day, producing a characteristic ‘raking’ light, important than quantity is particularly important, and A great way to produce a romantic portrait is to use candles as illumination. The warm,
which is ideal for bringing textures and patterns to life. the most flattering light for taking pictures of people is soft, wraparound glow they produce is wonderfully atmospheric. Obviously, the more
This is particularly true of buildings and architectural directional but diffuse – the kind you get on a sunny day candles you use the brighter the light will be – and the places you can put them in order
details, which are great subjects for the winter months, with wispy clouds or indoors through a large window to give the best effect. If you have the option of switching off your camera’s white
along with the more barren landscapes you get this covered with a net curtain. Subjects are fully illuminated balance it’s a good idea to do so – otherwise all that attractive mood will be removed.
time of year with no foliage around. The way in which but the shadows are soft.
the light strikes the subject is also important. The However, the conditions under which we have to
narrower the angle, the more detail is revealed. take photographs are seldom ideal, and the results can
Another point to bear in mind is that the colour of sometimes disappoint. If the light is too harsh, one
light around lunchtime, although generally neutral in option is to find a shady area, perhaps under a tree or
tone, can sometimes suffer from an unpleasantly cool, canopy, where the pictures can be taken. Cutting out the
blue tint, especially in the shade. The nearer you are to toplight means you don’t end up with shadows under
sunrise and sunset, the more orange, and more the eyes, nose and chin, and the result is that all the
attractive, the light will appear, which helps subjects light comes in from the front and side, producing a
such as stonework look their best. really attractive effect.
That may not, however, be convenient, and another
Photographing people option is to improvise a little overhead cover by getting
Where you place people in relation to the light is someone to hold a blanket or sheet of card above the
extremely important. If you put the sun behind you they subject for a short while. Another option is to find a
will often end up squinting, while the shadows under building or wall in front of which you can shoot.
their eyes, nose and chin will be rather unattractive. Because the illumination in such spots is reflected,
Placing them sideways to the sun is often not much indirect, it’s wonderfully soft and gentle, and ideal for
better, as one side of the face will be in the shade. With most kinds of portraits – although if you want a
either option, using some kind of reflective material to ‘masculine’ character portrait a more contrasty treatment
bounce light back into the shadows will give a more will be necessary.
balanced result. Diffused lighting is great for close-ups, where you
The great thing about using a reflector is you can see want to preserve the maximum amount of detail.
precisely the effect it’s having. As you move it around – Garden photographers, for instance, tend to avoid sunny
going in closer and pulling away, lifting it up and down days in favour of more cloudy, overcast conditions. Some
and taking it to the side – you can see shadows change. even like to shoot when it’s raining!
Most of the time you want the reflector as close as
possible to the subject without actually appearing in the Still-life photography
picture. With portraits, it will tend to be tipped back at This is a great time of year to improvise some still-lifes –
an angle of 45 degrees. If you’re on your own, and by gathering together a number of related or contrasting
taking head and shoulders portraits, ask your sitter to items. Items of food can make up an appealing theme –
2 bread, fruit, vegetables – or you can have a go with
objects such as tools, crockery and jewellery. Simply find
THE KELVIN SCALE a suitable spot outdoors, spread out an old piece of
The colour of light is described by what is know as the material or sheet of card from an art shop, and arrange
Kelvin Scale, which goes from red at one end to blue your things on it in an interesting way.
at the other, with white light in the middle. While you When it rains, of course, or the mercury in the
might think it’s only of academic interest to know thermometer starts to drop, you’ll find it more
what temperature the light is, it can be useful when comfortable shooting indoors. Here your choice is
you want to compensate for it – and some cameras do between window light; flash and ambient lighting; and
feature Kelvin correction scales. You probably won’t room lighting. Of the three, window light is most likely
want to change the colour of a sunset, though, as to give you the best results because it’s the most
that’s what makes it appealing. controllable. You will, however, need a tripod or some
other means of support to avoid camera-shake.
KELVIN SOURCE Using windows is a great way to learn more about
10,000K Blue sky light, so experiment with various rooms and different
7,500K Shade under blue sky times of day. Large windows give a relatively soft
7,000K Shade under cloudy sky light; with small windows it’s more contrasty. If
6,500K Deep shade in daylight you’re into portraiture, try photographing the same
6,000K Overcast weather person in a range of settings, altering their position in
5,500K Noon daylight/electronic flash relation to the light. Or set up a still-life next to a patio
4,500K Afternoon sunlight door, and see what impact it has when you move
4,000K Fluorescent tube things around.
3,5000k Morning/evening sunlight It can also be fun to explore household lighting,
3,000K Sunset which generally features tungsten bulbs. Most digital
2,500K Tungsten household lamps cameras will compensate for the orange light these give
1900K Candlelight by using the white balance. Ceiling lights rarely produce

SUNSETS
With its warm orange light and long shadows,
sunset is the perfect time to capture architecture,
landscapes and people. You’ll have to hurry
though – as the light never lasts long

g
If you are photographing a sunrise or sunset, and want the sun in the picture, make
sure you take a meter reading of a sunless patch of sky – otherwise you will
underexpose your picture. And never view the sun directly
Raking light
When you find it: Early morning and late evening on a
2 STILL-LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
bright, sunny day, and in winter when the sun doesn’t The soft tones and shadows of diffused light are ideal for close-up pictures where they
get as high in the sky. expose every inch of detail (top photograph) and can be used to create a more dreamy
What’s good? It’s a photogenic light that produces long ambience (bottom photograph).
shadows that give a strong sense of depth to a picture.
Adds mood to many types of photography, and is
excellent for bringing landscapes to life.
What’s bad? Although not as extreme as harsh light,
raking light is still too contrasty for some subjects,
especially people.
Most suitable for: Texture and patterns, architecture,
landscape, nature, sport, travel.
Not recommended for: Portraits, glamour, close-ups,
weddings, fashion.
Making the most of it: The earlier you go out, and the
later you stay out, the longer the shadows will be – and
the longer the shadows, the more dramatic the shot.
Top tip: Be on the look out for pictures where the
whole point is the shadow.
Bright light with shadows

When you find it: On a sunny day with light cloud..
What’s good? Although still contrasty, it produces softer
The cool blue light of the evening sky is the shadows, and a tonal range that can be accommodated.
perfect foil for the orange glow of the floodlit It’s bright enough to allow small apertures and fast
cathedral and streetlights shutter speeds for maximum creative control.
What’s bad? Nothing really – it’s one of the most
attractive results, but give them a try and see what you versatile kinds of light there is, though it doesn’t
think. If you’ve got a number of table or standard perhaps have quite enough ‘bite’ for some subjects,
lamps, you can arrange them as a mini ‘studio’ around where a hard-edged treatment is more appropriate.
your subject to create some great compositions. Most suitable for: Architecture, sport, textures,
Although it’s quick and easy to use, the built-in portraits, nature, close-ups, glamour, landscape, fashion.
flashgun is probably the least satisfactory approach from Not recommended for: Suits most subjects.
a lighting perspective. There’s plenty of light, but since Making the most of it: This is light that it’s hard to go
you have virtually no control over it, the quality is poor. wrong with. Remember, though, it’s still reasonably
All you can do is vary how far you are away from the contrasty, so you may need reflectors when
subject, but as the illumination will always come from photographing people.
the front and be a neutral white, there’s little in the way Top tip: Get out and make the most of this light.
of shadow or colour to add interest.
Diffused light
Know your light When you find it: On a day when the sun is covered
Harsh light by light to medium cloud, in the shade of a building or
When you find it: Between 10.30am and 2.30pm on a under a tree on a sunny day.
bright, sunny day without clouds. What’s good? It’s soft, even in tone, but still produces
What’s good? Bright sunlight brings colours to life and soft shadows that give some sense of depth.
provides plenty of illumination to allow use of small What’s bad? Light levels are lower, restricting shutter
apertures and fast shutter speeds. speeds and apertures unless you are using a tripod.
What’s bad? With the sun’s high in the sky and very Most suitable for: Portraits, still-lifes, white objects,
intense, contrast is extreme, and too great to be able to flowers, weddings, close-ups, glamour, fashion.
record all shadow and highlight tones. Shadows are Not recommended for: Texture and patterns,
shallow, but very dense. landscapes, architecture, sport.
Most suitable for: Architecture, travel, landscapes, Making the most of it: This is great for photographing
textures and patterns, sport. people. They won’t have to squint, and there are no
Not recommended for: Portraits, close-ups, weddings, nasty shadows under the eyes, nose and chin.
glamour, white subjects. Top tip: Diffused light can sometimes be slightly blue,
Making the most of it: Don’t set up with the sun so you might need to warm up the image later.
behind you – the shadows fall away from you and
produce flat and lifeless pictures. Shoot side-on, or into Flat lighting
the light, to get more modelling. When you find it: On an overcast day, when heavier
Top tip: When photographing people in this light, either clouds fill the sky.
shoot into the light, or side-on with a reflector or flash What’s good? Lack of contrast means tonal range is
fill-in to soften the shadows. easily handled, so no detail whatsoever gets lost. 8

2 YOUR CAMERA’S WHITE BALANCE CONTROLS

Pete Bobb reveals more about your A major advantage of digital
camera’s white balance controls: photography is being able to switch film
types and invent brand new White Balance
Typical outdoor daylight or studio conditions settings for every picture taken. Whether
can frequently be handled by the camera’s you want to create a golden glow by
automatic white balance setting, but shooting your incandescently-lit subject
sometimes you need to take manual with a ‘full sun’ white balance setting, or
control over it. When you have night you want accurate colour capture, the
subjects illuminated with several different control is in your hands.
types of light, or unusual light, and none of The first six settings (below) are factory-
the pre-set equivalents to the conventional installed settings. The seventh and eighth
types of film meet your needs, the ‘custom’ shots use custom White Balance settings.
white balance setting can be used to adjust Typically, a custom White Balance setting is
the camera to the available light. created by filling the camera view field
To use the ‘custom’ white balance with a white surface such as a piece of
setting, point the camera at a white surface paper. Then the CCD measures the light
illuminated with the available light so that so that it knows how to record white
the white surface completely fills the field light correctly. However in this case,
of view. The CCD can then record the white instead of using white paper to fill the view
light correctly. But using a coloured rather field of the camera, the CCD was ‘tricked’
than white surface has an effect very by using first, a green sheet of paper [7],
similar effect to using a coloured filter on and for the second custom setting, a blue
the camera lens. sheet of paper [8].
8 What’s bad? It’s flat, with no shadows at all, and Natural light from windows is one of the
it can have pronounced blue bias. Lower light levels limit photographer’s greatest tools, creating warmth,
use of fast shutter speeds and small apertures. highlights and interest to this long cathedral corridor
Most suitable for: Close-ups, details.
Not recommended for: Architecture, weddings, people light swamps all other colours.
pictures, landscape, textures & patterns, sport, glamour. Most suitable for: Shots where atmosphere and mood
Making the most of it: The way to bring a picture to are more important than in-yer-face visual impact.
life under flat lighting is to use bright colours, which can Not recommended for: People pictures, landscapes,
reproduce as very saturated, especially if fill-in flash is sport, close-ups, nature, texture and patterns, glamour,
used to increase contrast. architecture, weddings.
Top tip: It costs nothing to take a few shots – get out Making the most of it: You need to choose a suitable
and practice! location in advance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Top tip: The blue light period of dusk quickly folds into
Warm light night – so illuminated subjects such as floodlit buildings
2 FUN WITH WHITE BALANCE When you find it: Late in the evening of a sunny day.
What’s good? It’s a beautiful warm light that bathes
everything in a golden orange.
can work well.
Indoor lighting
daylight to fluorescent. The resulting image What’s bad? Light levels are often low, so care must be When you find it: Inside buildings when light is low.
has an eerie, ghostly quality with the pale, taken to avoid camera-shake. What’s good? It’s better than no light at all!
overexposed subject shown in stark contrast Most suitable for: Most subjects. What’s bad? Often lights are on the ceiling, and the
to the much darker background. Not recommended for: Subjects requiring long lens illumination is like that you get midday outside,
settings and fast shutter speeds, such as sport producing hard, contrasty, downward shadows. Tungsten
Making the most of it: Warm light sometimes doesn’t and fluorescent give orange and green casts respectively.
last long, and you have to race to beat the sun as it sets. Most suitable for: Can be good for close-ups and
Top tip: To enhance the effect, use increase saturation portraits if care is taken.
in the computer. Not recommended for: People pictures, sport,
close-ups, nature, texture and patterns, glamour,
The first picture is shot Cool light architecture, weddings.
normally with some fill When you find it: After the sun has set. Making the most of it: Adjust your white balance
flash. The second is What’s good? Has a magnificent blue tone, giving an for Tungsten or Fluorescent – or use flash if it’s
overflashed, but the icy cast to all it falls on. too unattractive.
camera’s white balance What’s bad? Light levels are extremely low, often too Top tip: If possible, switch off ceiling lights and use
control is also changed from low for hand-holding, and a tripod is required. The blue standard or table-top lamps instead.

Creating lighting effects

in Photoshop Elements
You can easily correct poor lighting by using the Adjust Lighting
command in Adobe Photoshop Elements
Help is on hand
M
ost of us prefer to shoot photographs outdoors The Fill Flash command is effective at lifting detail
* ON OUR
COVERDISC in bright sunlight because colours are richer
and the sky is blue. And this is despite the
Two useful features in Photoshop Elements can help
address this problem. Found under the Enhance8Adjust
from deep black shadows caused by bright sunlight. The
Adjust Backlighting command works wonders on pale,
PHOTOSHOP 7 fact that varying levels of bright and dark cause even Lighting menu, Fill Flash and Adjust Backlighting work by washed-out skies, making a darker and richer result in
Although this tutorial is for
Elements, you can use our the best digital cameras to make an exposure that selectively brightening and darkening down areas of one, easy stroke.
Photoshop trial to perform the compromises image quality – most digital compact light your image. Although both commands can be applied to Below there are two examples of how to use Fill
same techniques
meters are influenced by the brighter parts of your the whole image (which is useful if you’ve got a Flash and Adjust Backlighting to improve your pictures –
subject and may not produce the kind of photograph severely dark or bright result), they are best put into one is shot against a bright blue sky; the other shot under
you expected. practice in small, selective areas. tricky lighting conditions…
0 EXPERT TIP
TIM DALY
PHOTOSHOP EXPERT
APPLY A FILTER
If you can’t get the pattern to
blend in perfectly with a multi-
coloured photograph, apply the
filter to a smaller area rather than
the entire image.
ANALYSE YOUR PROBLEM USE THE DIALOG BOX THE FINAL RESULT
01 This image was shot against a bright blue sky
02 Apply the command to the whole image. Go
03 After a gentle application of the Fill Flash
and shows a classic exposure mistake. The to Enhance8Adjust Lighting8Fill Flash and command, the final image looks better and
camera’s lightmeter has been influenced by the dominant make sure the Preview option is selected. Drag the dialog detail has appeared in the previously dark shadow areas.
0 EXPERT TIPS sky and has exposed it perfectly – but at the expense of
the figure in the foreground.
to one side, so you can see your changes and move the
Lighter slider to the right until your image looks better.
Be careful not to overcook your image and keep your
Lighter slider less than 20 steps.
TIM DALY
PHOTOSHOP EXPERT
WARM UP
AFTERWARDS
After using the Fill Flash
command over the whole image,
the result may look slightly colder
and less appealing. Warm your
image up by choosing the Color
Variations dialog box and the
Decrease Blue option.
USING LEVELS
Once you’re confident about
using these two processes, try
using the Levels dialog box to
adjust image brightness within SPOT THE ERROR MAKE THE SELECTION THE END RESULT
smaller areas. Drag the small 04 This dramatic rainbow landscape was shot 05 Use the Lasso tool and draw a careful selection 06 After editing the pale sky, the final result
grey triangular Output mid-tone
under changeable lighting conditions, but around the sky. Next apply a 30-pixel Feather shows a much more moody tone, which helps
slider to the right to make your
image darker, and to the left to
shows a weak sky that fails to emphasise the rich colours to soften down the impact of the next edit. Choose to concentrate your eyes on the centre of the photo. It’s a
make it brighter. of the rainbow. When working in a small area like this, Enhance8Adjust Lighting8Adjust Backlighting and move much better idea to darken down the edges of your
you need to make a selection first. the slider until your image looks better. photographs to help emphasise your main subject.

NEXT MONTH
; 4 LOOK OUR FOR OUR TOP

FEATURE ON PORTRAITS,
ON SALE 16 JANUARY
Using the Light! plug-in

to create effects
You can now apply a fascinating range of natural light patterns using a
sophisticated plug-in for Adobe Photoshop – and it’s on our CD!
S * ON
hadow and lighting effects can turn even the as an additional filter option in Photoshop’s filter menu. The trial version – available as a free download at OUR
most prosaic of shots into something much The plug-in works by using a library of 60 www.digitalfilmtools.com – comes with several sample COVERDISC
more dramatic and inspiring – and you don’t predetermined light and texture files to add subtle pattern images that mimic the light from Venetian
need a legion of pro photographer tools like gobos daylight effects to your image by simulating how that blinds, Georgian windows and shutters. To get you LIGHT!
Try these techniques for yourself
(black screens placed around a camera lens to keep out light might fall onto your subject – such as when it started we’ve put together a simple walkthrough to with our Light! trial on CD 2
unwanted light) to help you achieve it: all you need is a passes through a latticed windows frame or set of show you how straightforward and rewarding applying
little help from the Light! plug-in for Adobe Photoshop shutters. Light! can even be used to simulate fog, mist the Light! plug-in filter can be, although you can also
from Digital Film Tools. and glow effects to help you add or enhance the easily achieve similar effects yourself using Photoshop’s
Reviewed in issue one, Light! has been built to work atmosphere and ambience of landscapes. own transfer mode and displacement filters.
* WEB LINKS
DIGITAL FILM TOOLS
www.digitalfilmtools.com
You can download a free trial
version of Light! from the Digital
Film Tools website on
www.digitalfilmtools.com. Once
downloaded, the application needs
to be uncompressed using Stuffit
Expander or WinZip.
STARTING POINT OPEN THE DIALOG SELECT THE PATTERN

01 This image is a rather bland still-life shot taken
02 Open your image and then go to Filter8Digital
03 Select the light pattern that you’d like to use.
in the studio. It lacks any sensitive and Film Tools. The Light dialog box presents you In the Shape section of the dialog, click on
atmospheric lighting, so the plan is to introduce a with a range of tools for blending, resizing and moving Select and pick one of the sample patterns. If you are not
patterned window light to mimic the look and feel of a the light pattern within your image. Check the Output immediately pointed to the Patterns folder, you can find it
natural shot. option, found at the base of the preview image window. in the Plug-Ins8Adobe Photoshop Only folder.
THE LIGHT AND MATTE DIALOG DEFINE THE SHAPE THE END RESULT
04 Find a way of blending the pattern with your 05 Next, use the tools found in the Shape section 06 After much tugging and tweaking, the
original image. First, experiment with the to manipulate the pattern shape to the size preview image has been perfectly tailored to
blending options found in the Use drop-down menu in and position you require. Experiment with the opacity fit in with the original background and the still-life object.
the Matte section. Choose the one that shows the pattern slider until it blends in with the surroundings. If it looks too This effect was applied to a single layer image, but you
most without changing your original image such as Hue. sharp, apply a slight X and Y blur to soften it down. can also work on individual layers, too.

SECTION #01 REVIEWS
Section highlights…
KIT REVIEW PAGE
28
CANON DIGITAL IXUS
This swish camera updates the classic Ixus range but
is it enough to extend its life?
KIT REVIEW PAGE
36
NIKON COOLPIX 5700
With its slick design and 5-megapixel resolution, this
camera promises a great deal. Will it deliver?
PLUG-IN REVIEW PAGE
40
IMAGE DOCTOR
A Photoshop-compatible plug-in that removes spots,
scratches and unwanted scenery from your photos
LAB TEST PAGE

KIT REVIEW
45
IMAGE EDITORS
NIKON COOLPIX 5700 We reveal the best options around for an image
SEE PAGE 36 editing program, in our comparative test
PAGE PAGE PAGE
28 40 45
Kit reviews
The latest digital photo gear, reviewed and rated
Reviews you can trust! Contact our reviews team
f #
Our aim is to inform you fully about a product’s best and magazine hits the newsagent Authoritative: Every review If you have a comment about our reviews, or a product
worst features. To this end, we guarantee each review is includes the manufacturer's range, other options, test shots, you would like us to test, please email us at
Independent: We have a cast-iron policy of editorial 3D tours, plus links to buy online Clear: We use diagrams editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk. Visit our website at
independence. Suppliers never see a review until the and boxes to ensure each review delivers a definitive verdict digitalcameramagazine.co.uk for reader verdicts
REVIEWS 2 MEGAPIXEL SUB-COMPACT
CANON DIGITAL IXUS V2
Price £329
Resolution 2 megapixels
Lens f2.8-4 2x zoom
Memory 8Mb CompactFlash
Battery Life 150 shots monitor on, 420 monitor off, 100 minutes replay
Contact Canon 0800 616 417 www.canon.co.uk SAMPLE IMAGES ALL THESE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CD
Canon Digital Ixus v2

You think small is beautiful? Then the Digital Ixus v2 will leave you agog, cramming some
serious photographic potential into a super-slim body
1
W
hen the Digital Ixus first appeared, it was
* ON OUR
COVERDISC a revelation. Half the size of rival cameras,
(measuring just 87mm x 57mm x 26.7mm),
with a build quality that put the rest to shame, it
3
was love at first sight. The modest 2-megapixel
resolution and a comparatively high price tag were the
only problems.
A couple of years down the line, the Digital Ixus
range has developed and grown, but the original
2
VIRTUAL TOUR
Try before you buy! Rotate and model is still here, re-released in ‘v2’ form. The small
view this camera on-screen with but effective 2x optical zoom remains, as does the
our unique virtual reality tour
amazing build (feels like solid steel to us) and fine,
positive switchgear.
ON OUR But in a market increasingly populated by jumped-up
C WEBSITE webcams and iffy imaging chips, is the Ixus in danger of
dropping off the bottom of the picture quality ladder?
OPINIONS & SHOPPING
Post your views, see what other It doesn’t take long to dispel that worry – just long
readers think then buy this camera! enough to take one shot and examine it close up, in
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk/ fact. Tiny though it is, the Digital Ixus extracts every last
ixusv2
ounce of quality out of its 2-megapixel CCD, backing it
up with accurate autofocus, excellent exposure control, 7 7 7
great colour and top-drawer contrast and saturation. This LENS BUILT-IN FLASH SWITCHGEAR
DIGITAL RANGE is as good as 2-megapixel images get. The lens is a handy The Ixus’s integral The shutter release,
little beast, with a max flash includes red- zoom control and
CANON aperture of f2.8 at the eye reduction and the power switch
POWERSHOT S45
Photographic options wide-angle end slow synch modes are top-quality
Price: £549 In a camera this small, surely something’s got to give?

Megapixels: 4 It’s not image quality, so maybe it’s photographic
control? True, the Digital Ixus isn’t designed with enough photographic control here to keep more They’re well-planned, too. If you want to apply some
DIGITAL IXUS V3 professionals or even advanced amateurs in mind, but it advanced users happy, too, so the Ixus would make a exposure compensation, for example, you just press one
Price: £400
has all the features that you’d expect in a decent mid- good second camera for popping in a pocket. button and use the navipad to choose the level of
Megapixels: 3.2
range camera. compensation. This is in marked contrast to many other
DIGITAL IXUS 330 In Auto mode, there’s very little to do except Controls miniature digital cameras that offer the same features
Price: £349 compose the shot and shoot, but in Manual mode you We’ve found that with other sub-compact digital but bury them in the menus.
Megapixels: 2 can adjust the white balance (you can even calibrate it cameras, ergonomics and accessibility sometimes suffer The same button offers access to the white balance
DIGITAL IXUS V2 manually), apply exposure compensation, use long at the expense of image quality. This is not the case settings and photo effects (two presses and three
5
Price: £329 shutter speeds, change the ISO rating and flash mode, here. The Digital Ixus is a very small camera, but its presses respectively). Meanwhile, the navipad’s
Megapixels: 2 apply image effects (Sepia, Vivid and Neutral colour, rectangular design (no protruding lens barrels or grips directional buttons double as flash, metering pattern,
black and white) – the Ixus really is very well-featured. here) means the surface area available for the controls focusing and self-timer controls when you’re taking
POWERSHOT A40
£ Price: £230 It even offers to auto-rotate portrait format shots for is actually quite large. This means that the camera’s pictures. This duplication of functions isn’t confusing in
5 Megapixels: 2 replaying on the LCD.

For what’s essentially a snapshot camera, there’s
backplate isn’t really that cluttered – the controls are
well-spaced, well labelled and crisp and positive to use.
practice, and makes the control layout both simpler and
more direct.

CAMERA REVIEW REFERENCE CARD

Price £329
Lens f2.8-4 2x zoom
Battery life 150 shots monitor on, 420 monitor off,
100 min replay
Contact Canon 0800 616 417
www.canon.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
7 VIEWFINDER 7 NAVIPAD 7 LCD PANEL
The Ixus is tiny, It’s a small camera, but The LCD panel offers access
but its optical viewfinder the controls are still well- to the camera’s various
is one of the best around spaced and easy to use photographic options
CANON DIGITAL IXUS V2 FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Sensor 2 megapixel, 1/2.7-inch 2.1MP CCD Image storage CompactFlash
1
Lens Canon, f2.8-4, 2x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion NB-1LH 3.7V
Focus Auto, 10-57cm macro mode AC adaptor Supplied
Exposure modes Program AE Weight 180g (without battery or CF card)
Metering Evaluative, spot Dimensions 87mm(w) x 57mm(h) x 26.7mm(d)
Monitor 1.5-inch 120,000 pixels Transfer USB
AE compensation +/- 2EV, 1/3EV increments OS Windows 98/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 8.6-9.2,
Flash Auto, on, off, slow synch, red-eye OS X 10.1
Video output NTSC or PAL switchable
Movie recording AVI
Other features PC connected shooting, Stitch Assist
panoramic mode
2
MINOLTA KODAK PANASONIC FUJIFILM
WORTH DIMAGE X LS420 LUMIX DMC-F7 FINEPIX 401
A LOOK £300, 2MP £250, 2MP £260, 2MP £350, 2.1MP
FEATURES 78 1
This is still a IMAGES 80 1
miniature jewel
Verdict
BUILD 95 1
of a camera VALUE 70 1
75%
When it first came out, the Digital Ixus
had no rivals. Other makers are now
FINAL
producing excellent all-metal sub-
SCORE
miniature models, but the Digital Ixus
remains a beautifully-made classic
1
Closeup
CANON DIGITAL IXUS V2
TURN THE PAGE TO PERFORMANCE
COMPARE TEST SHOTS
2 SKIN TONES
4
5 PRO Very good colour rendition is carried through
into skin tones which look natural and healthy
1
6 CON Exposure is sometimes on the generous side,
so watch out for bleached-out highlights on skin
3
2 OUTDOOR SHOTS
7 7 7
VIEWFINDER NAVIPAD LCD PANEL
The Ixus is tiny, It’s a small camera, The LCD panel offers
but its optical
viewfinder is one of
but the controls are
still well-spaced and
quick access to the
camera’s various 5 PRO Great exposure control, colour, contrast and
saturation. Excellent point-and-shoot results
the best around easy to use photographic options
6 CON The short-range (2x) zoom means that long
shots are out
We also have to mention the camera’s optical changed, and although the Ixus produces great Spend a little more and you can find even more
2 INDOOR SHOTS
viewfinder, which (we’ll stick our necks out here), is results, it’s still only a 2-megapixel camera. What’s tempting propositions. The £400 Konica KD-400, for
surely the biggest, brightest and best optical finder more, wonderful build quality notwithstanding, it’s example (reviewed in issue one) is scarcely any
on any current digital camera. competing in price with higher-resolution rivals – for bigger than the Canon, and has an impressive all-
this money, you can get a 3.3-megapixel model or metal construction to rival that of the Ixus. The main
Software solutions even a budget 4-megapixel camera. You won’t get point being, though, that you get 4-megapixel
The Digital Ixus’s smart control layout is similar to
that of other Canon digital cameras. Canon’s also
assembled a good software suite to go with its For what’s essentially a snapshot camera,
digital models, including ZoomBrowser EX for
there’s enough photographic control here to 5 PRO Flash balances well with ambient light, and
skin tones are reproduced well
6
browsing your images and carrying out modest CON Watch out for red-eye in slow synch mode
and camera shake when shooting in low light
manipulation. The PhotoRecord application,
meanwhile, lets you assemble photos into keep more advanced users happy too 2 IMAGE QUALITY
albums for printing at specific sizes and layouts.
One of our favourites, though, is the PhotoStitch
panorama-creation program. This works in the same compactness and even pleasure of images. That’s the difference between the 8 x 6-
conjunction with the camera’s special ‘stitching’ ownership, mind, but the fact is that the Digital Ixus inch enlargements which are as far as the Ixus can
mode (available on the Ixus). Here, the display isn’t great value by any standards. really go, and full-bleed A4 photos fit for hanging on
changes to show a smaller version of the shot So what of its rivals? Kodak, Panasonic, Casio and the living room wall.
you’ve just taken so that you can overlap and align Minolta have all had a bash at producing high- But maybe the real competition comes from
the next one in the panoramic series. quality sub-compacts, and the overall level of build within the Canon’s own ranks. The 3.2-megapixel
Despite all these amazing qualities, though, it’s quality in this market has certainly shot up. The Digital Ixus v3 is otherwise identical to the v2, and
hard to recommend the Digital Ixus unreservedly. Digital Ixus no longer holds the unassailable position costs just £70 or so more. Given that, the Digital Ixus
The two drawbacks to the original model haven’t it once did. v2 only becomes tempting if the price is right. 5 PRO If you were expecting quality compromises
from the miniature design, think again
6 CON The limitations of the 2-megapixel CCD mean

that enlargements soon start to break up
CANON DIGITAL IXUS V2 FULL SPECIFICATIONS 1 This is still a

miniature jewel
FEATURES
IMAGES
78
80
1
1
Verdict
Sensor 2 megapixel, 1/2.7-inch 2.1MP CCD Image storage Compact Flash

Lens Canon, f2.8-4, 2x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion NB-1LH 3.7V BUILD 95 1
Focus
Exposure modes
Auto, 10-57cm macro mode
Program AE
AC adaptor
Weight
Supplied
180g (without battery or CF card) of a camera VALUE 70 1
Metering Evaluative, spot Dimensions 87mm(w) x 57mm(h) x 26.7mm(d)
75%
Monitor
AE compensation
1.5-inch 120,000 pixels
+/- 2EV, 1/3EV increments
Transfer
OS
USB
Windows 98/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 8.6-9.2, OS X 10.1
When it first came out, the Digital Ixus FINAL
Flash
Video output
Auto, on, off, slow synch, red-eye
NTSC or PAL switchable
had no rivals. Other makers are now
producing excellent all-metal sub-
SCORE
Movie recording AVI
Other features PC connected shooting, Stitch Assist panoramic mode miniature models, but this latest
incarnation of the Digital Ixus remains
2
MINOLTA KODAK PANASONIC FUJIFILM a beautifully-made classic
WORTH DIMAGE X LS420 LUMIX DMC-F7 FINEPIX 401
A LOOK £300, 2MP £250, 2MP £260, 2MP £350, 2.1MP

REVIEWS 4-MEGAPIXEL COMPACT
NIKON COOLPIX 4300
Price £450
Lens f2.8-4.9 3x zoom
Battery Life 90 minutes
Contact Nikon 0800 230 220 www.nikon.co.uk SAMPLE IMAGES ALL THESE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CD
Nikon Coolpix 4300

The new Coolpix 4300 is a compact camera with hidden depths. The trouble is, are
they just a bit too hidden away?
T
he chief designer at Nikon must have very
* ON OUR
COVERDISC small hands. And a good manicurist. With
your right hand holding the moulded grip on
the right of the body, your fingernails are perpetually
scraping the lens barrel. It doesn’t damage the camera,
your nails or your photographic results in any way, but
it’s just annoying.
And it could put you in a poor frame of mind for
judging the rest of this camera’s design. Even the most
2 1
VIRTUAL TOUR
Try before you buy! Rotate and forgiving users are going to agree that the grey,
view this camera on-screen with rubberised finish of the buttons on the backplate is
unappealing, and that the four-way navipad feels 3
generally stiff and ‘dead’. However, it’s a body shape
ON OUR that Nikon has been using for some time (in its Coolpix
C WEBSITE 880, 885 and 775), so it must be popular. As you’ve
probably gathered, it doesn’t do much for us.
OPINIONS & SHOPPING
Post your views, see what other
readers think then buy this camera! Photographic results
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk/ And that’s a great pity, because the first set of shots you
coolpix4300
take with this camera reveal that it’s a cracker. The lens
and the 3.3-megapixel CCD in the outgoing 885 model 7 7 7
seemed little better or worse than those in any number LENS HANDGRIP MODE DIAL
DIGITAL RANGE of other 3.3-megapixel digital cameras, but the swap to The 3x zoom looks like The 4300’s handgrip Concentrates most
that on the older 3.3MP leaves your of the 4300’s more
NIKON a 4-megapixel CCD in the 4300 has changed all that. 885 model, but the fingernails too close advanced functions
Indeed, despite the higher 5MP resolution of the Coolpix results are razor-sharp to the lens barrel in the manual mode
COOLPIX 5000
Price: £800 5700, also reviewed this issue, the 4300 produces the
Megapixels: 5 crisper shots.
We know what you’re thinking: maybe the 4300 we don’t know, but we got more camera shake dropping these now) means that you’ll rely on it for all
COOLPIX 4500 uses some kind of super-aggressive in-camera with the Nikon than with any of the other cameras the Nikon’s various settings and photographic options.
Price: £600
sharpening that also brings unwanted noise and edge on test. Bright light won’t pose any problems, but And because this is a pretty sophisticated camera, there
Megapixels: 4
effects? Not as far as we can see. Indeed, you can run a when the shutter speeds fall to 1/60sec or below, are a lot of settings.
COOLPIX 4300 Sharpen filter over the 4300’s images and make them you could face problems – camera shake will creep in
5
Price: £450 that little bit crisper still without the image edges before the Nikon’s auto-ISO function starts ramping up Tools and options
Megapixels: 4 breaking up unduly. the CCD sensitivity. The main mode dial is pretty straightforward to use, and
COOLPIX 3500 Round the back of the camera, things aren’t a lot hints at how this camera’s controls have been
Price: £350 Everyday handling better. The optical viewfinder does the job, but it’s not categorised for different types of user. In auto mode, for
Megapixels: 3.2 This outright image quality makes the Nikon’s handling especially big and the same can be said for the 1.6-inch example, you don’t need to do anything except point
problems even harder to bear. You have to shift your LCD. It’s crisp and responsive, though, and lacks the the camera and shoot.
COOLPIX 775
£ Price: £280 right hand away from the optimum gripping position alarming reddish hue of the Coolpix 885. It needs to be The scene mode’s quite interesting. Most digital
5 Megapixels: 2 to get your index finger on the shutter release.

Whether it’s this, or the button’s fairly heavy action,
good, mind, because the lack of a separate mono LCD
status panel (more and more digital cameras are
cameras have a small selection of scene settings for
portraits, night shots, landscapes and the like, but the

Nikon Coolpix 4300

Price £450
Battery life 90 mins
Contact Nikon 0800 230 220
www.nikon.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
7 MODE DIAL 7 NAVIPAD 7 LCD
Concentrates most of the A bit heavy and spongy- There are lots of buttons
4300’s more advanced feeling, the navipad below to leave you flicking
functions in the manual mode lacks precision through the manual
NIKON COOLPIX 4300 FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Sensor 4 megapixels, 1/1.8-inch 4.13MP CCD Image storage CompactFlash
1
Lens Nikkor, f2.8-4.9 3x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion EN-EL1 7.4v
Focus Auto, minimum 4cm in macro mode AC adaptor Supplied
Exposure modes Program AE, scene modes, manual Weight 230g (without battery or memory card)
Metering 256-segment matrix, centre-weighted, Dimensions 95mm(w) x 69mm(h) x 52mm(d)
spot, AF spot Transfer USB
Monitor 1.5-inch 110,000 pixels OS Windows 98SE/Me, 2000 or XP, Mac OS
AE compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3EV steps 9.0-9.2, OS X 10.1.2
Flash Auto, on, off, slow synch, red-eye
Video output NTSC or PAL
Movie recording QVGA 15fps
Other features 12 scene modes
2
KONICA OLYMPUS PANASONIC MINOLTA
WORTH KD-400 CAMEDIA C-4000 DMC-LC40 DIMAGE F100
A LOOK £400, 4MP £450, 4MP £470, 4MP £400, 4MP
FEATURES 90 1
A good camera IMAGES 95 1
that’s spoilt by
Verdict
BUILD 70 1
its handling VALUE 72 1
82%
Terrifically sharp results combined
with great exposure control and
FINAL
photographic options – which is what
SCORE
makes the 4300’s unappealing finish
and design even harder to bear
Nikon Coolpix 4300
1
Closeup
NIKON COOLPIX 4300
COMPARE TEST SHOTS
2 SKIN TONES
5 PRO Accurate flesh tones outdoors, that are

natural looking and have good tonal rendition
3 6 CON Flash shots taken indoors can lend a slight

magenta/pinkish hue to skin tones
4
2 OUTDOOR SHOTS
7 7 7
SHUTTER RELEASE LCD NAVIPAD
The shutter release There are lots of A bit heavy and
seems to leave the
camera prone to
buttons below to
leave you flicking
spongy-feeling,
the navipad 5 PRO Contrasty, saturated and very sharp results.
Good exposure control in varied conditions
shake at slow speeds through the manual lacks precision
6 CON Prone to more camera shake than the other
cameras, so low light brings a higher risk of blur
Coolpix 4300 has no fewer than 12. These include bracket for white balance and use Nikon’s clever controls, the Coolpix 4300 really is a very good
2 INDOOR SHOTS
portrait, party/indoor, night portrait, beach/snow, Best Shot Selector. Using the latter, the camera camera. But it all comes down to the handling and
landscape, sunset… the list goes on. With each of keeps taking shots for as long as your finger ergonomics, and this is where it starts to get very
these settings, the focusing, white balance, presses the shutter release, then compares them subjective. Compared with many of its rivals, the
saturation and exposure are carefully set to match all for sharpness and saves only the sharpest to Coolpix 4300 just isn’t very nice to use.
that specific subject. The scene modes offer an the memory card, which is handy, given the And although it’s a very powerful camera, its
element of photographic control that is missing in
simple point-and-shoot mode, but without requiring
any real photographic knowledge. Despite the higher 5MP resolution of the
We have to say, though, that even with its 12
Coolpix 5700, also reviewed this issue, the 5 PRO Quite good balance between flash and
ambient light in slow synch mode
6
scene modes, the Nikon can’t come close to CON The wideangle zooming isn’t that wide, so
cramped interiors could prove a challenge
matching the amazing Casio QV-R4, which offers 33
scene modes, each with attractive thumbnail 4300 produced the crisper shots 2 IMAGE QUALITY
representations, brief notes/instructions and the
ability to add your own modes.
high degree of camera shake we experienced with options aren’t particularly easy to get at, and you’ll
Hands on this camera. need to spend some time with the manual to be
Scene modes are all very well, but keen Your delight in discovering the 4300 has a full able to find your way around this camera in
photographers will want to keep a much closer tab manual mode, where you can control shutter speed anything approaching a hurry.
on what the camera is actually doing, and that’s and aperture independently, might be tempered by If this camera came from a less well-known or
where the manual mode comes in. the fact the lens has only two apertures – wide open budget brand, we’d probably be a lot kinder about
You can use the 4300 for point-and-shoot and stopped down for maximum depth of field. it. As it is, though, it faces tough rivals from big
photography in this mode, plus you can apply With a range of metering patterns, focusing brands that are cheaper and better – notably the
exposure compensation, auto-bracket on your shots, options and all its other advanced photographic Olympus C-4000 and the Minolta DiMAGE F100. 5 PRO Shots are crisp and sharp and some the best
we’ve seen from a 4-megapixel camera
6 CON Not the steadiest shooting platform, so in low

light think about using a tripod
NIKON COOLPIX 4300 FULL SPECIFICATIONS 1 A good camera

that’s spoilt by
FEATURES
IMAGES
90
95
1
1
Verdict
Sensor 4 megapixels, 1/1.8-inch 4.13MP CCD Other features 12 scene modes

Lens Nikkor, f2.8-4.9 3x zoom Image storage Compact Flash BUILD 70 1
Focus
Exposure modes
Auto, minimum 4cm in macro mode
Program AE, scene modes, manual
Batteries
AC adaptor
Lithium-ion EN-EL1 7.4v
Supplied its handling VALUE 72 1
Metering 256-segment matrix, centre-weighted, spot, Weight 230g (without battery or memory card)
82%
Monitor
AF spot
Dimensions
Transfer
95mm(w) x 69mm(h) x 52mm(d)
USB
Overall, this delivers terrifically sharp FINAL
AE compensation
Flash
+/- 2EV in 1/3EV steps
OS Windows 98SE/Me, 2000 or XP, Mac OS 9.0-9.2,
OS X 10.1.2
results combined with great exposure
control and photographic options –
SCORE
Movie recording QVGA 15fps which is what makes the 4300’s
unappealing finish and design even
2 harder to bear
KONICA OLYMPUS PANASONIC MINOLTA
WORTH KD-400 CAMEDIA C-4000 DMC-LC40 DIMAGE F100
A LOOK £400, 4MP £450, 4MP £470, 4MP £400, 4MP

REVIEWS 4-MEGAPIXEL COMPACT
PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-LC40
Price £470
Lens f2-2.5 3x zoom
Memory 16Mb SD
Battery Life 150min LCD on, 180min LCD off
Contact Panasonic 08701 505 610 www.panasonic.co.uk SAMPLE IMAGES ALL THESE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CD
Lumix DMC-LC40
Leica optics, 4-megapixel resolution, chunky design and in-depth photographic controls…
but is this camera less than the sum of its parts?
P
anasonic’s recent partnership with top
* ON OUR
COVERDISC photographic brand Leica has produced some
interesting cameras. Leica has brought its
optical expertise to the relationship, while Panasonic
brings its experience in electronics. The result is that the
Panasonic digital camera range sports Leica-branded
lenses, and Leica has a new digital camera in the form
of the £750 Digilux 1.
We looked at Panasonic’s £550 DMC-LC5, reviewed in
VIRTUAL TOUR
Try before you buy! Rotate and last month’s issue, and those who get the opportunity
view this camera on-screen with to compare this and the Leica side by side might decide
that apart from some minor cosmetic differences, the
two cameras appear nigh-on identical, from the lens
used to the positioning of the controls. We couldn’t
3
ON OUR
C WEBSITE possibly comment.
With this in mind, the DMC-LC5 looks a good deal at
OPINIONS & SHOPPING
Post your views, see what other £550, but the LC-40 reviewed here is £80 cheaper still,
readers think then buy this camera! despite sharing the same lens and 4-megapixel CCD.
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk/ Does this make it the best bargain of all?
lumixlc40
Design and usability 7 7 7

Not necessarily. There are a number of factors to take 3X ZOOM LENS FLIP-UP FLASH MODE DIAL
into account when choosing a digital camera. Price is The Leica-developed The flip-up flash With a range of
lens offers sharp keeps the flash tube scene modes, the
important, and so is the quality of the results. But results and good low- off-axis, but adds to LC-40 is well-specified
you’ve also got to enjoy using it, and it’s this factor light performance the fiddle-factor for the money
which can easily get overlooked.

DIGITAL RANGE
And while the LC-40 is refreshingly chunky in a
PANASONIC market populated increasingly by sub-miniature time you use the navipad and menu system, you think fire unless you manually slide the switch on the side of
LUMIX DMC-LC5 cameras, it still manages to be a bit of a fiddle to use. there’s something wrong with it. The navipad itself is the body. And once it’s up, there’s no switching it off
Price: £550 The handgrip’s not quite big enough and, as with the very dead-feeling and unresponsive, while the menus until you click it shut again. You’ll get used to this way
Megapixels: 4
Nikon Coolpix 4300, you find your fingernails scrunched respond with a sluggishness that makes you press the of working soon enough, but it’s a quirk which just
LUMIX DMC-LC40 against the lens barrel. pad repeatedly because you think it hasn’t registered seems a bit odd and unnecessary.
5
Price: £470 The main mode dial is simple enough, though, and properly. However, there was nothing wrong with our
Megapixels: 4 offers fast access to the principle shooting modes, but camera. This is common to other LC-40s we’ve used and Features and results
you can’t help feeling that if a couple of options had the LC-5 we reviewed last issue. It’s woolly, imprecise Handling is a subjective thing, and there may be many
LUMIX DMC-F7
been dropped to make space for the playback and and you’ve got to get used to it. who love the LC-40’s looks and controls. In any event,
Price: £260
Megapixels: 2 continuous shooting modes, you wouldn’t need the While we’re in moaning mode, there’s that novelty there’s no arguing over its raw specifications. In
extra rotating collar mounted underneath. pop-up flash. Lots of other cameras have pop-up flashes particular, you get a very good lens for the money. The
£ LUMIX DMC-LC20
Things don’t get much better on the back. On a too, and there’s nothing wrong with them. But on other 3x zooming range is ordinary enough, but the f2-2.5
5
Price: £220
Megapixels: 2 camera this size, there’s no obvious reason why cameras, the flash pops up automatically when you maximum aperture isn’t. This is the lens (it looks like it,
the buttons should be so small and heavy, and the first need it. Not here. On the LC-40 the flash isn’t going to anyway) fitted to the Canon PowerShot G2 under

Lumix DMC-LC40
Price £470
Lens f2-2.5 3x zoom
Memory 16Mb SD
Battery life 150 mins LCD on, 180 mins LCD off
Contact Panasonic 08701 505610
www.panasonic.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
7 MODE DIAL 7 NAVIPAD 7 MEMORY CARD
With a range of scene The navipad and the SD cards are still more
modes, the LC-40 is well- sluggish menus are the expensive than their
specified for the money LC-40’s Achilles’ heel CompactFlash rivals
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC40 FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Sensor 3.9 megapixel. 1/1.8-inch 4MP CCD Image storage SD
1
Lens Leica DC Vario Summicron, f2-2.5, 3x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion CGR-S602E 7.2v
Focus Auto, 6cm minimum in macro mode AC adaptor Supplied
Exposure modes Program AE, aperture-priority, shutter- Weight 400g (with memory card and battery)
priority Dimensions 105mm(w) x 77mm(h) x 65.6mm(d)
Metering Multi-pattern, spot Transfer USB
Monitor 1.8-inch 110,000 pixels OS Windows 98/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9, OS X
AE compensation +/- 2EV in 1/4EV steps
Flash Auto, on, off, slow synch, red-eye
Movie recording QuickTime Motion JPEG
Other features Voice annotations
2
MINOLTA CANON PANASONIC OLYMPUS
WORTH DIMAGE F100 POWERSHOT G2 LUMIX DMC-LC5 CAMEDIA C-4000
A LOOK £400, 4MP £650, 4MP £550, 4MP £450, 4MP
FEATURES 88 1
Good value, but IMAGES 85 1
awkward despite
Verdict
BUILD 72 1
the chunky looks VALUE 83 1
82%
You get a good, fast lens for the
money, and results you’ll find hard to
FINAL
beat. The picture-taking experience is
SCORE
dulled, though, by poor design
Lumix DMC-LC40
1
Closeup
LUMIX DNC-LC40
COMPARE TEST SHOTS
2 SKIN TONES
5 PRO The Lumix’s slight tendency towards

underexposure reduces burnt-out skin highlights
6 CON Slightly granular rendition causes skin tones

to look coarse at high magnifications
3 2 OUTDOOR SHOTS
4
7 7 7
LCD PANEL NAVIPAD MEMORY CARD
It’s quite large and The navipad and Growing in popularity,
sharp, but the LCD
panel is a bit dim in
the sluggish menus
are the LC-40’s
SD cards are still more
expensive than their 5 PRO Punchy, contrasty, colourful results that will
help to lift colours even on the dullest of days
bright lighting Achilles’ heel CompactFlash rivals
6 CON The Lumix underexposes a little too readily,
meaning that many shots will need a little lift
another name, where it performs very well – so, not well-enough specified to give the more expensive or Canon’s PowerShot G2. You won’t necessarily see
2 INDOOR SHOTS
surprisingly, the LC-40 turns in some very good LC-5 a run for its money. There’s no full manual any improvement in image quality with these more
results, too. mode, and you don’t get the LC-5’s colossal 2.5-inch expensive rivals, but you will find them easier
Like the Lumix LC-5 reviewed last issue, shots LCD, but you do get auto-bracketing (over three or and better to use. In this respect they have the
are very crisp-looking, if a little granular when five shots), white balance control (ahem), a movie edge over the LC40 – whose controls will annoy
viewed close up. We doubt you’ll find a 4-megapixel mode and everything else you’re likely to need. some users despite the quality of its prints. The
digital camera which gives you significantly crisper
results than this, and while the exposure system
is inclined towards underexposure now and again, The menus respond with a sluggishness that
this will at least cut down on the incidence of
makes you press the pad repeatedly because 5 PRO The high sharpness and fast f2.0 lens make
for good available light shots and still lifes
6
blown out highlights – a general problem with CON The slow-synch mode gives too little
emphasis to the available light
digital cameras.
Don’t be fooled by the slight yellow cast visible in you think it’s not registered properly 2 IMAGE QUALITY
our sample shots, by the way. They were taken
before we spotted our test camera’s white balance
was set to Cloudy (we checked everything else first, The LC-40’s pretty soundly made, it has a Nikon Coolpix 4300 (reviewed on page 30), suffers
but not that – darn it!). Subsequent shots show a removable lens collar so that you can add telephoto similar drawbacks – it does the job but in
neutral colour balance and good saturation. and wideangle converters, and it does all this at a a generally unappealing way.
price that undercuts that of most serious rivals. And all 4-megapixel cameras face a stiff
Why pay more? challenge from an outsider coming up on the rails.
With its selection of scene modes (Macro, Portrait, So can you do better? The Minolta DiMAGE F100 doesn’t have such a fast
Lanscape, Sports, Night shots) and its addition of If you’re looking at chunky 4-megapixel cameras lens as the Lumix LC-40, but it’s cheaper, smaller,
aperture-priority and shutter-priority automation to with lots of photographic tools aimed at serious better-made, and better-specified. That’s got to be
the standard programmed AE mode, the LC-40 is users, you’d also be looking at the LC-5 (£550 more) worth considering… 5 PRO Excellent sharpness and contrast, in common
with the LC-40’s stablemate the LC-5
6 CON Granular tonal structure at high

magnifications, undermine the intrinsic sharpness
PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-LC40 FULL SPECIFICATIONS 1 Good value, but

awkward despite
FEATURES
IMAGES
88
85
1
1
Verdict
Sensor 3.9 megapixel. 1/1.8-inch 4MP CCD Image storage SD

Lens Leica DC Vario Summicron, f2-2.5, 3x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion CGR-S602E 7.2v BUILD 72 1
Focus
Exposure modes
Auto, 6cm minimum in macro mode
Program AE, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
AC adaptor
Weight
Supplied
400g (with memory card and battery) the chunky looks VALUE 83 1
Metering Multi-pattern, spot Dimensions 105mm(w) x 77mm(h) x 65.6mm(d)
82%
Monitor
AE compensation
Transfer
OS
USB
Windows 98/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9, OS X
You get a good, fast lens for the FINAL
Flash
Video output
NTSC or PAL
money, and results you’ll find hard to
beat. The picture-taking experience is
SCORE
Movie recording QuickTime Motion JPEG
Other features Voice annotations dulled, though, by poor design. An
older camera which stands up OK
2
MINOLTA CANON PANASONIC OLYMPUS against newer models
WORTH DIMAGE F100 POWERSHOT G2 LUMIX DMC-LC5 CAMEDIA C-4000
A LOOK £400, 4MP £650, 4MP £550, 4MP £450, 4MP

REVIEWS 3.2-MEGAPIXEL BUSINESS-IMAGING DEVICE
RICOH RDC-i500
Price £610
Resolution 3.2 megapixels
Memory 8Mb internal
Battery life Not available
Contact Johnsons Photopia 01782 753 300 www.ricohcameras.co.uk SAMPLE IMAGES ALL THESE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CD
Ricoh RDC-i500
Do you dare to be different? Ricoh does with its radical RDC-i500. It’s not just a camera, it’s
an interactive, connected, business tool…
R
icoh made a very bold decision a couple of
* ON OUR
COVERDISC years back. It saw the need for a new
kind of digital camera – one aimed at busy
business users rather than amateur photographers.
It targets these cameras at users who need to take
shots that fit specific briefs, can be taken in a hurry,
and then uploaded to a website or sent back to the
office straightaway.
There’s only one snag with Ricoh’s vision of a
VIRTUAL TOUR
2
Try before you buy! Rotate and connected mobile imaging solution: take a look at the
view this camera on-screen with RDC-i500’s small print and you’ll discover that although
it has the firmware and software to do all this, you have
to pay for a CompactFlash slot-compatible plug-in
ON OUR modem/communications card in order to be able to
C WEBSITE complete the connection.
OPINIONS & SHOPPING
Post your views, see what other Smarty pants
readers think then buy this camera! On top of this, a study of the RDC-i500’s manual and
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk/ online help reveals that its business tools, clever though
rdci500
they might be, are technically daunting. It’s probably for
this reason that the RDC-i500 and its more expensive 7 7 7
sibling, the i700, have failed to make a noticeable LENS MICROPHONE SHUTTER BUTTON
DIGITAL RANGE impact on the market. Boasts a maximum The built-in mic The shutter release
aperture of can record audio looks awkwardly-
RICOH Which is a shame because it’s a great idea in f2.6-3.4 and a 3x memos and sound placed, but it works
principle – and not just for business users. If you’re on zooming range for movie clips well in practice
RDC-I700
Price: £864 holiday, for example, what could be neater than
Megapixels: 3.2 emailing your holiday snaps back to your relatives,
straight from your camera? It would certainly solve the But what about the camera? Like other digital cameras, you can compose images
RDC-I500 problem of memory card storage – just upload your The i500’s design is certainly every bit as novel as using an optical viewfinder or LCD panel. Although the
5
Price: £610
images to an FTP server, maybe using the web space its communications functions. Reminiscent of the i500’s optical finder is larger and better than on most
Megapixels: 3.2
allocated to you as part of your internet account. old-style 110 cameras, its flat shape means that it will cameras, you may find that the bridge of your nose
CAPLIO RR-1 fit into any briefcase, handbag or coat pocket. In that scrapes the mode dial that’s positioned alongside it.
Price: £687 Other options sense it’s far more portable than the vast majority of The LCD is mounted on the top plate, and flips up to
Megapixels: 4 However, the i500’s solution isn’t the only option digital cameras. reveal a set of control buttons underneath. These feel a
CAPLIO RR30 that’s available. If you’ve got access to a computer This doesn’t really compromise its usability, either, bit cheap and plasticky, operating through a single
Price: £280 with an internet connection while you’re away, you and it’s a reminder that digital cameras offer scope for membrane overlay, but the LCD itself is a revelation.
Megapixels: 3.2 don’t need the i500’s communication tools. And inventive design. It’s interesting to note that most Measuring two inches across the diagonal, it’s larger
CAPLIO RR120 business users will almost inevitably have a laptop, manufacturers follow the design of conventional film than all but a handful of those found on other cameras,
£ Price: £200 which will provide both mobile storage space for all cameras, which are hamstrung by the need to and with 200,000 pixels, it’s sharper and clearer, too.
5 Megapixels: 2.2 those digital images, plus a far more effective platform
for mobile communications.
accommodate longer optical paths and bulky film
transport mechanisms.
Images can be hard to see in bright daylight, but in
all other conditions, the i500’s LCD offers breathtaking

Ricoh RDC-i500
Price £610
Resolution 3.2 megapixels
Memory 8Mb internal
Battery life Not available
Contact Johnsons Photopia 01782 753 300
www.ricohcameras.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
7 LENS 7 BUTTONS 7 SHUTTER BUTTON
Boasts a maximum A rather naff set of buttons The shutter release looks
aperture of f2.6-3.4 and lurks under the LCD panel awkwardly-placed, but it
a 3x zooming range on a plastic membrane works well in practice
RICOH RDC-i500 FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Sensor 3.24 megapixel, 1/1.8-inch 3.34MP CCD Movie recording AVI
1
Lens Ricoh, f2.6-3.4, 3x zoom Image storage Internal, Compact Flash
Focus Auto and manual, 1-24cm in macro mode Batteries Lithium-ion DB-20L 3.7V
Exposure modes Program AE AC adaptor Included
Metering Multi-pattern, centre-weighted, spot Weight 295g (excluding battery)
Monitor 2.0-inch 200,000 pixels Dimensions 141.9mm (w) x 78.2mm (h) x 30.3mm (d)
AE compensation +/- 2EV, 1/4EV increments Transfer USB
Flash Auto, flash off, forced flash, OS Windows 98/Me or 2000, Mac OS 8.6-9
Slow synch, Red-eye
Video output NTSC/PAL switchable
Other features Voice memos, email and image
upload capability
2
RICOH CAPLIO NIKON COOLPIX FUJIFILM FINEPIX MINOLTA
WORTH RR-1 4500 M603 DIMAGE XI
A LOOK £586, 4MP £600, 4MP £600 3MP £350, 3.2MP
FEATURES 75 1
The business slant IMAGES 81 1
disguises a very
Verdict
BUILD 80 1
able camera VALUE 57 1
73%
The i500’s connectivity tools are
complex, expensive and, without
FINAL
extra hardware, incomplete.
SCORE
Underneath, though, is a
fascinating and capable camera
Ricoh RDC-i500
1
Closeup
8
THIS MONTH
Getup&go
Where to go, what to shoot January 2003
UNFOLD
THIS 8-PAGE
SECTION!
■ UK waterways
■ Top photo tips
■ Places to visit
■ Pocket guide
BASED ON ORDNANCE SURVEY

MAPPING © CROWN COPYRIGHT, ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED: AM134/02
HOW TO
CAPTURE E
ARCHITECTUR
Fold out this
ts
guide to find lo
of top tips!
UK WATERWAYS
We cruise Britain s canals in
search of misty towpaths
and outlandish houseboats
WINTER WILDLIFE
Geese in flight or the
humble robin in your
garden — you choose
INDUSTRIAL
London calling
Power stations cut an eerie
figure but are transformed LANDMARKS Pete Martin gets out and about in the capital and is clearer, with less haze, especially after rain.
at sunrise and sunset Tripods are banned on board but the trip is
assesses the view from the mighty London Eye smooth enough for handheld shots.
You re free to move around, so get all the
ince it opened at the beginning of 2000, statue, help give a sense of place and add depth. different views from the windows, then pull back
S the London Eye has become a magnet for Then cross Westminster Bridge to the South Bank to silhouette fellow passengers against the light,
photographers, both as a landmark in its own for more intimate views from in front of the Shell if you want.
right and as a platform for unique views across Building, with the Houses of Parliament and Big At night, longer exposures and a tripod will
the capital. Its modern design provides a Ben in the background. enable you to capture both the floodlit wheels
dramatic contrast to the surrounding classical From here you can also silhouette the wheel movement and its reflections in the blurred
architecture, and you ll get great photographs against the sunset. Close up, the Eye towers water of the Thames.
here at any time, night or day. above you, stark against blue skies. Look for Overcast weather can be good for this, as the
LONDON LOCATIONS Picture opportunities start almost the moment sweeping lines within the steelwork, as the city lights reflect off the clouds to give more
The London Eye provides you exit the Underground at Westminster, with capsules plunge towards you. colourful night skies that contrast well with the
great photo opportunities good panoramic shots of what from the Pick your time carefully to ride the Eye. blue lighting. If you want sharper images of the
on and off the wheel Embankment. Distinctive landmarks in the Booking in advance guarantees a place but not wheel, wait until after it has stopped, at about
foreground, like Cleopatra s Needle or Boadicea s good weather. Winter is a perfect time as the sky 8pm in winter.
Detach this section and take it on your travels!
8 8 8 GET SOME INFORMATION [w] www.londoneye.com The official site has a photo gallery of the Eye, plus booking information and behind-the-scenes info on the history and design
Side A Side A This is side A. Turn over for side B
the best each month!
to fold this booklet: architectural details. better than contrast.
about the shoot, and we ll print
8 8
like stone gargoyles or sometimes consistency is
8 How
around into a square in half horizontally from rest of section
with your name and a few words
on the buildings you shoot, history. Be careful though —
STEP 3: Now fold STEP 2: Fold this side STEP 1: Detach sheet getupgo.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
pick out interesting items tells a story of London s
Email a small JPEG to
Use your optical zoom to Here the old next to new
boat culture ■ Now send us your pictures! FOCUS IN ON DETAIL THINK ABOUT CONTEXT
best shots of Britain s canal
pitch up river-side, for the conditions on-scene.
planner of the best places to or to enhance lighting
give you a detailed route
5 We
either to correct colour casts,
how to get there filters. Use them
■ Detailed maps of supports it, consider
If your camera 03
2 COLOURED FILTERS
together in Photoshop later.
panorama and putting it all
Alternatively, try creating a
2 CANAL BANKS OF BRITAIN
SIDE B: NAVIGATING THE
caused by lens distortion.
converging verticals problem
statue photos However be aware of the
for fantastic architectural and
we reveal the ideal methods angle so you can fill the frame.
great photographs in London — changeable lenses, try a wide-
WATERWAYS/ARCHITECTURE
the best places to capture supports inter-
5 Visit
If your camera 02
■ Dos/don ts WIDE ANGLE LENS
■ Equipment
■ Tips slow ISO setting.
INDEX: you ll be using, because of your
the longer exposures
Get a tripod out for 01
2 PHOTOGRAPH ARCHITECTURE TRIPOD
SIDE A: 9 TIPS ON HOW TO
get the sharpest images.
WHAT S IN THIS ISSUE
better results You ll need a small aperture to
of fine detail at a very fine grain.
TOPICS COVERED
This enables you to capture lots
>
three items for

EQUIPMENT: USE A SLOW ISO SETTING
TEAROUT FACTSHEET NO.3 D JANUARY 2003
Dos and don ts
GETTING IT RIGHT: CAPTURING MOOD
DETACH HERE
FOLD ALONG THIS LINE SECOND

6
Getup&go
FOLD ALONG THIS LINE FIRST
.
Getup&go HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH ARCHITECTURE
Just because the of the picture is as fine as in this scenario or some other your image, which will need to a specific part of the picture
weather s taking a possible, so start with it as low way of securing the camera to be offset. Tungsten lights — shadows surrounding a 08 FILL THE FRAME
When capturing smaller
turn for the cold as your camera will go. Use a so that there s no vibration may introduce a yellowy- highlighted object can often monuments, try to fill the
and rainy, don t put your large depth of field so that or wobble. orange colouration while act as a frame. entire frame. Simply aiming
8 every part of the image is in fluorescent lights add a
camera away. The blitz of upwards will distort the result,
new architecture that s hit sharp focus — use a very small greenish tinge. Either use LIT so instead stand back a bit and
aperture for this. However, a
04 PHOTOGRAPHING
INSIDE filters to warm up or cool
07 CAPTURING
BUILDINGS AT NIGHT
Britain over the last 20 years use the zoom. If you can, try
means there s a huge array combination of slow film with When photographing inside down those colours, or As with the previous tip, a to elevate yourself by standing
of quality subjects to aim small aperture means you ll a brightly lit building, be post-shoot, use Photoshop or brightly lit building or statue on a box, or on some steps so
your camera at. And even if need to take a longer aware that the nature of Elements to add colours via against a night sky can there s less of the gazing up
you can t get to London to exposure using a slow shutter artificial lighting may the Image Adjust, Variations produce some spectacular effect. Or, if your camera has
photograph the London Eye speed. A tripod s a good idea introduce a colour cast into menu option: add magenta results. At ISO 100, try a an LCD which folds away from
or some of the more to greenish images, and add second exposure with an f/8 the main body (like the Ricoh
traditional landmarks like cyan to orangy images. aperture, or 1-2 seconds at in this month s reviews),
Westminster Abbey, there s f/5.6. Try capturing the same unfold it, and hold the camera
still a range of easy ALL THE scene during the day and up in the air looking up at the
05 USE
ELEMENTS night for a bit of added fun.
techniques you can use LCD to frame the shot.
around your own local When shooting architecture,
architectural triumphs. think about how you can use
elements like roads, trees,
doorways, arches etc. to
01 THE RIGHT CONTEXT make your eventual viewer
When photographing
read the photo in a certain
buildings, try to think about
way. For instance, bushes
how surrounding scenery adds
can be used to frame an
to or subtracts from the
image, keeping a viewer s
context. For example, when
eyes on specific parts of a
capturing an older structure,
photo. Or roads or footpaths
you may want to crop out the
can act as strong lines
Burger King next to it.
03 UPGRADE YOUR KIT leading viewers eyes from
Alternatively, capturing a For top quality pictures, you ll need a tripod. If your the edges of a picture into
farmhouse would require camera s got a zoom, you can focus on architectural details or the middle.
some idea of the outlying flatten the perspective and pick out interesting patterns. If
buildings, animals and fields. you re using a wide-angle lens, you may notice the edges of tall
buildings becoming distorted. (See Q&A pages in issue 1). While 06 LIGHT AND SHADOW HORIZON LINES
Shadow will help your 09
this produces an eerie effect which looks effective on older If you re capturing industrial buildings like power
02 THE RIGHT SETTINGS images look moodier, while a
The best results will be gothic buildings, you can fix it by backing away from the subject stations and want to get a horizon in the picture, try to ensure
shaft of sunlight makes them
obtained by using the slowest or, post-shoot, using the Transform tool in Photoshop to stretch it s even and horizontal. Some cameras include a grid so you
look more dramatic. Use this
possible ISO setting — ISO 50 these converging verticals back into a parallel plane. have a useful reference point.
effect to draw the viewer s eye
for example — so that the grain
Getup&go to… CENTRAL LONDON LONDON
LONDON EYE
8
AIM FOR LONDON
By train: to Paddington or Victoria, then
take the Tube to Waterloo or Westminster
By coach: to Victoria then Tube as above.
HOW TO GET THERE
8
PICCADILLY
8
The bright lights of the West End look great when all that neon reflects in the wet
pavements of the city streets. Who said winter was all bad?
© CROWN COPYRIGHT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: AM134/02

OLD AND NEW
8
The traditional architecture of the older City

buildings contrasts well with the stark,
BASED ON ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPPING

modernistic lines of Richard Rogers Lloyds Building
DETAILS
8
WHAT IS IT?
Apart from the more traditional sights
of London, one of the greatest photo
opportunities is the London Eye. It took
seven years to plan and build on its
South Bank site alongside County Hall.
The 30 minute ride in one of 32 capsules
whisks you 450 feet into the air above
the Thames, offering a view across to St
ST PAUL S CATHEDRAL
Paul s or the Houses of Parliament and
8
Eerily deserted night shots of St Paul s Cathedral can be made using long time exposures
beyond, as far as Windsor on a clear day.
to ensure that any traffic passing through the frame disappears
NEAREST TUBE STATION?

Underground to Waterloo or Westminster.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Adult £10.50, child 5.00
MILLENNIUM DOME OAP £8.50, Fastrack booking £30.
8
Despite proving a huge white elephant for

the government, the Millennium Dome still WHAT ARE THE FACILITIES?
makes for great pictures for the rest of us. For the best Caf facilities at the Booking Office, and
viewpoint head to the Royal Victoria Docks north of at nearby County Hall or the Royal
the Thames and shoot across the river in the late Festival Hall.
afternoon light
EXPERT ADVICE
POST-SHOOT
8
Manual focus: focus manually for

views from inside the Eye to
prevent the camera s autofocus
INTENSIFYING COLOURS
The pale steelwork of the London Eye is
from latching on to the glass.
Pete Martin best photographed against a vibrant
specialises in
blue sky. You can intensify the latter by
photographing Polariser: a polariser lens will
UK cityscapes using a polariser as you shoot it, or by
reduce reflections in the curved
using Photoshop s Hue and Saturation
glass when shooting from inside
controls. There are too many intricate
the capsules. Be careful with flash,
parts to cut round, so instead select the
as it will bounce back off the THAMES BARRAGE sky by using the dropper tools in Colour
5 8
curved sides and create hotspots. The Thames Barrage is Londons answer to the Sydney Opera House. Here, a long lens Range, under the Select menu item.
Set a fast shutter speed (125+) to compresses individual structures into a tighter, dramatic composition
reduce vibration — you may need a
faster ASA setting to compensate LEFT: THE LONDON EYE
for a polariser. Londons newest landmark can t fail to deliver the goods. A variety of viewpoints of the
London Eye enable you to capture all manner of picture angles and styles.
Getup&go to… DIDCOT OXFORDSHIRE
IMAGES © JON BOWER

DIDCOT POWER STATION
8
AIM FOR OXFORD
By car: Follow A34 south from Oxford.
After Abingdon take A4130 to Didcot.
HOW TO GET THERE


LANDSCAPE TOWERS OF POWER
Environmental scientist Jon Bower thinks power stations can be things of beauty
DETAILS
8
o the casual observer, power stations the day, exaggerates the form of the
T LIGHT FANTASTIC WHAT IS IT?
are blots on the landscape, their
towers belching forth toxic plumes,
curvaceous cooling towers associated with
Ferrybridge, Drax or Didcot. The low sun also
5 The crisp morning sunlight softens the
colours of the fields and cooling towers
Didcot A is one of a number of coal-
fired power stations around the UK.
epicentres for the incessant rows of pylons highlights the plumes of steam they pump Commissioned about 20 years ago, it
shares the same stumpy cooling
marching across the land. But to the out, creating striking cloud formations tinged It certainly pays to talk to locals to find out tower design with stations such as
photographer, the juxtaposition of the harsh with golden edges at sunset or sunrise. when the light is best. And despite increased Ferrybridge and Drax in Yorkshire.
manmade form against the delicate beauty Longer exposures can smear these at times security measures, it s always worth asking if There are a number of classic views,
of nature can be compelling. to great effect. Towering pylons are perfect you can get permission to come in close. mostly from across the water
meadows to the north and west, with
To make the most of these icons of the for silhouetting against the setting sun.
good potential for backlit shots. A
industrial age, you need to pick your time. These shots always work best from a EXPERT ADVICE recently inaugurated cycle path runs
Winter s clearer atmosphere, combined with distance, using a long lens to compress the Exposure: expose for the ground past the site perimeter. It s possible to
the strong sidelighting that exists much of long rows of pylons and enlarging the sun. to keep plenty of detail there, or tour the power station on occasional
take a reading from the sky, guided visits. Call for details.
avoiding the sun, to make more
Jon Bower s
work as an of the plumes. A graduated LOCATION?
environmental neutral density filter will even Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 7HA.
scientist takes
his camera all out the exposure range between Tel: (01235) 512 291.
over the world the two. Take your reading from
the ground before fitting the WHAT ARE THE FACILITIES?
filter, aligning its step edge Visit www.oxtowns.co.uk/didcot for
along the horizon. tourist information.
Lens: use wide angle lenses in COST?

close to create a sense of space Nothing.
TRUE BLUE
5
between structures and
Polarising filters deepens the blue of
exaggerate the height of the
the sky to contrast with the steam
towers. A telephoto, in contrast,
will isolate details and pull
elements closer together. Try
using this lens from further back
to magnify atmospheric haze
and give softer, more muted
colours. Polarising filters deepen
the blue of the sky with the sun
behind, creating greater contrast
between sky and steam. They
increase the exposure needed by
a couple of stops, so you may
BLACK OUT STEAMY need a tripod in low light,
5 Back-lighting creates this effect, while

controlled lens flare adds a focal point
5 The low angle of the winter sun side-
lights Didcot’s great plumes of steam
especially with longer lenses.
GET SOME INSPIRATION [w] www.ironbridge.org.uk This is the website of the Ironbridge Museum (an outdoor museum) all about the Industrial Revolution in the UK
PULLOUT NO.3
Getup&go... routeplanner
UK waterways near you
Our country is criss-crossed with canals which puts them in easy reach for anyone looking to capture some great photographs
ip out to a canal on a
N fresh winter s day and Leeds and Liverpool
you ll be surprised by the
number of riverboats out on
the water.
But there s more to Britain s
waterways than boating, with
canalside walks, locks and
riverside pubs to help you
make a day of it.
Knowing where to go to
2 1 NORTH WEST LEEDS AND LIVERPOOL
At 127 miles, the Leeds and Liverpool is
capture a good photo can often the UK s longest canal, linking the North
be a problem. Below, we ve
and Irish seas. It mixes the industrial
reproduced a map of central
landscapes of Blackburn and the cotton
England s main waterways
mills of Burnley, with the beautiful
(thanks to Lockmaster Maps)
countryside of the Pennines.
which show you where the best
places to go are close to you, Canal highlights: the Bingley 5-Rise locks around Bingley,
with particular areas of interest West Yorkshire have just been restored and offer some
highlighted. Below, we ve dramatic photographic opportunities.
included details of castles, (www.penninewaterways.co.uk/ll/ll37.htm). Or there s the
aqueducts and museums you village of Skipton — the canal runs straight through it. Check
may encounte r out Skipton Castle which is one of the best-preserved
medieval castles in England. To get to Skipton, see
www.skiptoncastle.co.uk/findus.htm
Family friendly? Skipton Castle is open during the winter
Kennet and Avon Canal from 10am to 4pm. Admission for adults is £4.60 and £2.30
for children (under 5s get in free). The castle itself offers a
banqueting hall, bedchambers and dungeons to explore, and
there are woods and tea rooms to relax in afterwards.
Grand Union Canal
2 2 SOUTH WEST KENNET AND AVON CANAL

Opened in 1810, the Kennet and Avon
2 CANALS KEY 2 3 SOUTH EAST GRAND UNION CANAL

Canal was restored and re-opened in
1990. It begins in Bristol at Brunel s
Key explaining what type of Floating Harbour and ends in Reading, Opened in 1806, the Grand Union Canal
canal is provided on the map taking in 86 miles of waterway. Passing links the Thames at Brentford to the
7 Narrow canals with through Bath, a key point of interest is the Oxford Canal around Braunston, then
locks 7 feet wide Caen Hill system of 29 locks around nearby Devizes. These climbs up through Leamington Spa to
7 Broad canals with locks take over a day to navigate, if you re on the water. Birmingham, some 137 miles in total.
over 7 feet wide Canal highlights: there s the Dundas Aqueduct between Bath Canal highlights: as a canal complex
7 Non-tidal rivers and Bradford-on-Avon which carries the canal over the River covering so many different regions, there s no shortage of
Avon, and the village of Crofton, which has a working highspots. The Paddington Arm and Regents Canal section
steamboat engine. Dundas Aqueduct is a richly detailed pass close to the centre of London and London Zoo. A
7 Tidal rivers
piece of Georgian architecture which is falling into some particular point of interest is the Canal Museum in Stoke
disrepair; however it offers plenty of scope for some creative Bruerne, just off Junction 15 on the M1. The museum
photography with its balustrades, and triple arch design. includes a living canal exhibit and also has videos, models,
Family friendly? Museums and tours are closed over 3D displays and more showing 200 years of the canal s
Christmas, but there are Santa Cruises over the Christmas history. There s also a couple of canalside walks.
period from Devizes (01380) 729489, Bradford on Avon Family friendly? The museum is open during the winter
MAP © LOCKMASTER MAPS 2002.
(01225) 782080, or Hungerford (01488) 683 389. Tuesday-Sunday, from 10am to 4pm. The canalside walks are
These are three of 1 7
the biggest canals tarmac, for wheelchair and buggy access. Admission charges
covering most of are £3 for adults, £2 for children. There s a family rate (two
2 73
7
the country
adults, two kids) of £8. Find out more on 01604 862 229. BASED ON ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPPING
© CROWN COPYRIGHT, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED: AM134/02
Getup&go to… MARTIN MERE WIGAN
ALL BIRD IMAGES © MARK HAMBLIN

GO TO MARTIN MERE
8
AIM FOR WIGAN
Martin Mere is six miles from Ormskirk
and ten miles from Southport. Situated
off the A59, it is signposted from the
M61, M58 and M6.
HOW TO GET THERE

WILDLIFE BIRDS OF BRITAIN
Winter times perfect for photographing native birds, reckons Mark Hamblin
DETAILS
8
he winter months bring many of A warm winter sun makes plumage FLY-BY-NIGHT WHAT IS IT?
T
8
Silhouettes against the sun always

our feathered friends down into colours sparkle, while a bright overcast In winter, huge numbers of ducks,
make strong images
our back gardens, within easy reach of a sky highlights feather detail and saturates geese and swans gather into
spectacular feeding flocks at the
camera. You need only put out a few the colour. Keep such a sky out of frame, A VERY BRITISH BREED Wildlife and Wetland Trust centre at
8
crumbs to have robins, tits, finches, as it could cause flare that will degrade Use a wide aperture lens to isolate Martin Mere in Lancashire. Special hides
thrushes — even woodpeckers if you live your images. birds from the background enable you to photograph the birds in
near woods — dropping in. Set up your shot in advance, natural wetland landscapes.
Put up a feeder table and arrange a prefocussing on the perch ready for the
WHEN S IT OPEN?
natural landing perch nearby in good action. Some birds, such as tits, need Open daily 9.30am-5.30pm (5pm
light and with a suitable background. The quick reflexes while blackbirds will give November — February).
idea is that the birds queue on the perch you more time to fine-tune the picture.
awaiting their turn at the feeder. A No back garden? Your local pond, even HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Adult £5.50, OAP £4.40, child £3.30.
proper hide will get you in closer, and is if it s frozen over, should have widgin,
especially useful with shorter lenses, but mallards and pintails skating about — and LOCATION
a nearby window or shed will be fine. they re easy to get close to. Further The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Give it a few days so the birds get used afield, there are Wildfowl and Wetland Burscough, Lancashire, L40 0TA.
[T] 01704 895 181
to them, and your props get a seasonal Trust centres all over the country, where
[e] martin.mere@wwt.org.uk
dusting of snow or frost. Natural light is you can photograph geese, ducks and
best, preferably with the sun behind you. swans aplenty at this time of year.
WILDLIFE PHOTOS
8
USE A TRIPOD
A tripod is essential. Long focal length
lenses are best combined with a wide
aperture, these will defocus a
conflicting background. Birds move
quickly so use as fast a shutter speed
as the light allows.
POST-SHOOT
© LAURIE CAMPBELL
If your lenses aren t long enough, crop

the picture, diffuse the background to
concentrate attention on the bird. Cut it
out then use Gaussian blur (Filters) to
soften the background. Feather (!) your
SWAN LAKE DUCKING AND DIVING selection by 2 pixels for a natural edge.
8
If you’re photographing large flocks of birds, it’s a good idea to Don't settle for the conventional. Bird behaviour is as diverse as
crop in tight so that the shot has more impact our own, so it’s worth waiting for that quirky shot
WILDFOWL INSPIRATION [w] www.wwt.org.uk The main WWT website links to all the centres around the UK, with details of attractions, specific events and facilities at each
©BIRMINGHAM PICTURE LIBRARY
Getup&go to… KENNET AND AVON CANAL

EXPERT ADVICE
Overcast: bright but overcast skies
cause flare and do nothing to
enhance a scene, and are best
kept out of the picture. Use
Colin Palmer
specialises in overhead branches or the arch
photographing of a bridge to hide the sky, or
UK cityscapes
concentrate instead on details of
boats and reflections.
Post PC: use the Hue and

Saturation control (Levels) in
Photoshop to beef up the
saturation of colours and make
them more punchy, but don t
overdo it. A 10 per cent increase is
enough as a rule, any more and
colours might start to look unreal
when you print. You can use the
same control to desaturate the
scene and make colours more
muted, applying a Grain filter also
to simulate the large grain of
faster films.
Waterways
of Britain EXTERIOR DESIGN
8
Vibrant colours and bold, traditional patterns ensure that narrow boats are t
brightest thing on the water on a dull winter’s day
CANALS Pete Martin dons his best walking shoes to discover the photographic
attractions of Englands inland waterways
here are apparently now more boats on Englands days are best for this, saturating the colours for bright
T network of canals than during the heyday of the graphical shots of painted namesigns or the ubiquitous
Industrial Revolution. Though more a leisure craft today decorated tin teapots and coal skuttles. Look too for
than a working one, the traditional narrowboat is colourful reflections in the still waters.
undoubtedly the most popular, its long lines picked out in Architectural features like aqueducts and bridges offer
bright primary colours, and every loose object aboard alternatives to boats and canalscapes, and you ll often
gaily decorated in the traditional roses and castles style. come across colourful lockkeepers cottages or old
The origins of this folk art may be obscure, but the results pumping stations full of gleaming ancient engines. But
are certainly colourful, making canal boats attractive it s at the locks that you ll find the action, with people
subjects on dull winter days. struggling to open the huge wooden gates that separate
No matter whether your local canal is city-bound or the different water levels, and boats rising and falling
runs through open country, a gentle stroll to work off the amidst great gushes of water.
New Year excesses will take you past many of these You can often get unusual perspectives from walkways
craft. Some will be laid up for the winter in huge basins, on top of the gates — just take care when you re leaning
others overnighting alongside the towpath, a thin plume out over the water! Boats often queue for the larger
of smoke rising from a chimney, while others will be locks, such as the Caen flight on the Kennet and Avon
resolutely chugging their way toward the next lock. Canal, enabling you to crop in tightly on boats moored LAZY DAYS ON THE RIVER
8
Modern bargees are generally friendly folk, and happy alongside each other. But don t worry if you re nowhere A peaceful mooring basin in Bath on the Kennet and Avon canal. In the win
for you to photograph their artistic endeavours. Overcast near it — see our map opposite. moored up for the night by mid-afternoon
CANAL INSPIRATION [w] www.britishwaterways.co.uk Activities, specifications and history of our inland waterways network from the governing authority [w] www.canaljunction.com This colourful site is a virtual o
WILTSHIRE

GO TO BRADFORD ON AVON
8
AIM FOR WILTSHIRE
By car: Bradford on Avon is on the A363
from Bath to Warminster. Turn off in
Bradford onto the B3109.
HOW TO GET THERE

CITY LIVING
8
Back lighting is a dramatic
effect but may cause flare.
Try to shield the lens from the sun
DETAILS
8
with a convenient shadow
WHAT IS IT?
8 LIFE AS ART
Bargees live and work on
The Kennet and Avon Canal is 87 miles
long, linking the River Thames to the
the water so there’s always Avon in Bath. Despite John Rennie s
people shots to be had, such as this impressive aqueduct that carries boats
canalware artist over the river at Avoncliff, the highlight
is his magnificent Caen Flight , a series
of 16 stepped locks that form part of a
two mile ascent at Devizes that can take
boats most of the day to navigate.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

PHOTO OP Nothing!
8
the Locks are great places to

take photos LOCATION
Bradford Wharf, Frome Road, Bradford
on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 2EA.
FACILITIES
Tea rooms/toilets/bike hire at the
upper and lower wharfs.
CANAL PICTURES
8
LOW LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

A big problem with dull days is low
light, often leading to shutter shake if
you shoot in a program mode. Set a
shutter speed of at least 1/125th sec to
keep things sharp without a tripod. This
leads to a smaller depth of field so
focus carefully. Emphasise misty winter
scenes with soft focus filters (or an old
stocking) to mute the colours further
and soften the image. Use the curve of
a canal bank to draw your eye into a
shot and onto a strong focal point.
nter time boats are often
one stop guide to the canals of England, packed with facts and pictures. Also check out www.barge-holidays-uk.co.uk
RICOH RDC-I500
COMPARE TEST SHOTS
3 2 SKIN TONES
3
5 PRO Colours are maybe slightly subdued, but
that’s better than garish, inaccurate skin tones
6 CON Our flash shots tended to warm up skin

tones, producing a slightly tanned effect
2 OUTDOOR SHOTS
4
7 7 7
BUTTONS CF CARD SLOT MODE DIAL
A rather naff set of The i500 has 8Mb of The mode dial also
buttons lurks under
the LCD panel on a
internal memory,
but you’re more
incorporates a
power on/off 5 PRO When used outside, the Ricoh produces a set
of bright, sharp, colourful images
plastic membrane likely to use CF cards button in the centre
6 CON The shape and handling take a little getting
used to, and the LCD isn’t easy use in a hurry
quality. That’s your first hint that this is a real places where only a Digital Ixus or one of a handful macro setting, so you’ll only need the LCD for
2 INDOOR SHOTS
camera, not just a hybrid business tool. of other miniature cameras can go. menu options.
The next comes when you take a closer look at It’s here that you’ll find the exposure
the photographic controls and the lens. The body And there’s more compensation option (shame it isn’t more
might be slim, but the front element of the lens What’s more, its flat base and flip-up LCD make it accessible), a choice of three metering patterns (oh,
(protected behind a rectangular glass window) takes ideal for placing on a desktop to photograph yes) and optional manual focusing – and note the
up nearly all its height. It’s got a very respectable
maximum aperture and zooming range, and when
you take a close look at the results from the i500, If you’re on holiday, what could be neater
you see that it’s a top-quality optic.
than emailing your holiday snaps back to 5 PRO The i500’s flat base and (excellent) hinged
LCD make it perfect for table-top shooting
Photographic results 6 CON A fiddly lens cap and quirky controls make it
less adept at grabbing candid shots
True, 3.3-megapixel CCDs are a bit passé these your relatives, straight from your camera? 2 IMAGE QUALITY
days, but don’t forget that they’re not far behind
4-megapixel units in outright resolution. Certainly,
the images produced by the Ricoh will stand a good meetings, presentations, still-life shots and portraits. i500’s extraordinary macro mode, which can focus
bit of enlargement – just as much as those from Camera shake? Never heard of it. right down to an amazing 1cm.
other 3-megapixel cameras, in fact. This Outdoors, you might expect the Ricoh’s design The i500 is a good camera, but its business tools
demonstrates that offbeat though it might be, the to make things a little more awkward. True, the push the price beyond the point where it’s
i500 is a camera first and a business tool second. flip-up LCD does feel rather fiddly and unnatural competitive next to similarly-specified rivals.
Sharpness, exposure control, saturation and colour in the teeth of a raging gale, but the optical What we really need, of course, is a cheaper,
balance are all first-rate. The Ricoh’s not compact in finder really is good enough to make it unnecessary. higher-resolution version. Which is why we can’t
terms of weight or overall dimensions, but its A selection of buttons on the top enable you to wait to get our hands on Ricoh’s newer 4-megapixel
slimline design is the key, and means it can go to adjust the flash mode, image quality/resolution and Caplio RR-1… 5 PRO 3.3-megapixel CCDs might be old hat, but
they can still deliver the goods
6 CON At this price, you’re going to expect more

resolution than the i500 can provide
RICOH RDC-i500 FULL SPECIFICATIONS 1 The business slant

disguises a very
FEATURES
IMAGES
75
81
1
1
Verdict
Sensor 3.24 megapixel, 1/1.8-inch 3.34MP CCD Image storage Internal, Compact Flash
Lens Ricoh, f2.6-3.4, 3x zoom Batteries Lithium-ion DB-20L 3.7V BUILD 80 1
Focus
Exposure modes
Metering
Auto and manual, 1-24cm in macro mode
Program AE
Multi-pattern, centre-weighted, spot
AC adaptor
Weight
Dimensions
Included
295g (excluding battery)
141.9mm (w) x 78.2mm (h) x 30.3mm (d)
able camera VALUE 57 1
73%
Monitor
AE compensation
+/- 2EV, 1/4EV increments
Transfer
OS
USB
Windows 98/Me or 2000, Mac OS 8.6-9
Over-priced and the the i500’s FINAL
Flash
Video output
Auto, flash off, forced flash, Slow synch, Red-eye
NTSC/PAL switchable
connectivity tools are complex,
expensive and, without extra
SCORE
Movie recording AVI
Other features Voice memos, email and image upload capability hardware, incomplete. Underneath,
though, is a pretty fascinating and
2
RICOH CAPLIO NIKON COOLPIX FUJIFILM FINEPIX MINOLTA capable camera
WORTH RR-1 4500 M603 DIMAGE XI
A LOOK £586, 4MP £600, 4MP £600 3MP £350, 3.2MP

REVIEWS 5-MEGAPIXEL 8X ZOOM
NIKON COOLPIX 5700
Price £1,000
Battery Life 90 mins
Contact Nikon 0800 230 220 www.nikon.co.uk SAMPLE IMAGES ALL THESE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR CD
Nikon Coolpix 5700

It’s the camera with everything – the brand name, the optics, the resolution,
the photographic controls… what could possibly go wrong?
A
re 5-megapixel digital cameras better than
* ON OUR
COVERDISC 4-megapixel models? They produce bigger
images, certainly, but do they record more
detail? Our experiences with Nikon’s Coolpix 5000
suggest that some models can indeed produce
something like the 25 per cent improvement in detail
rendition that you might expect, but the test shots taken
with our 5700 tell another story.
If you were to take the same shot on a decent
VIRTUAL TOUR
Try before you buy! Rotate and 4-megapixel camera, then interpolate it in Photoshop to
view this camera on-screen with produce a 5-megapixel file, we’re not convinced the
Coolpix 5700 would be significantly sharper. And one of
the reasons we’re not convinced is that we’ve actually
ON OUR tried it. 3
C WEBSITE The far cheaper Coolpix 4300 (also reviewed
this issue), produces visibly crisper images than the
OPINIONS & SHOPPING
Post your views, see what other 5700, even when interpolated in this way. A double
readers think then buy this camera! dose of the Sharpen filter restores the 5700’s honour,
digitalcameramagazine.co.uk/ but only at the expense of edge artefacts you’re unlikely
coolpix5700
to tolerate.
We maybe need to put this in perspective at this 7 7 7
point. The Coolpix 5700’s images are very good indeed, LENS SLR VIEWING LCD STATUS PANEL
DIGITAL RANGE judged in isolation and in absolute terms. Set against The lens crams an There’s a through- A mono status
8x optical zooming the-lens SLR-style panel for shutter
NIKON those of good 4-megapixel cameras, though, the results range into a solid- view and an speed, exposure
aren’t significantly superior. Sorry, but if you’re looking feeling body electronic display and other info
D100
Price: £1,700 for a camera to convince you to make the expensive
Megapixels: 6.1 jump from 4 to 5 megapixels, this isn’t it.
To say this is a disappointment is an understatement. the 5700 just seem to fall into place that bit better. gets from one end of the zooming range to the other
COOLPIX 5700 Apart from the 5700’s £1,000 price tag, this camera is And the metal construction, finish and build quality pretty quickly.
5
Price: £1,000
beautifully made and a delight to use. It’s such a are superb. Ditching chrome, aluminium or stainless The 5700 even beats the DiMAGE 7’s zooming range,
Megapixels: 5
shame, but you’re not going to pay this much money steel for a matt black finish, Nikon’s kept the classy look with an 8x zoom rather than the Minolta’s 7x optic.
COOLPIX 5000 without expecting every last vestige of resolution, and and feel but produced a much ‘grippier’ body. The Having said that, we’d rather have the extra width
Price: £800 the fact is that the 5700’s images just don’t have switches are meant to be used, not just admired, and (28mm equivalent) of the Minolta’s lens than the extra
Megapixels: 5 enough bite. aside from the rather small navipad, they’re well- telephoto capability of the Nikon.
COOLPIX 4500 positioned, well-weighted and the right size. The 5700 makes for an interesting contrast with the
Price: £600 Build and design cheaper Coolpix 4300. Are they really from the same
Megapixels: 4 You so want this camera to be good. It’s not much Zooming in on the details company? Where the 4300 is awkward and plasticky,
COOLPIX 4300 larger than the Coolpix 5000 (not as tall, but deeper, The 5700’s arch rival in this market, the Minolta DiMAGE the 5700 is svelte and wieldy. Where the 4300’s
£ Price: £450 thanks to that long lens), but it’s much nicer to handle. 7i, has a zoom that is operated manually using a sleeve handgrip jams your fingernails against the lens barrel,
5 Megapixels: 4 Where the controls on the 5000 feel cramped and

awkward, the ostensibly similar buttons and wheels on
on the barrel, but while the Nikon uses a slower
solution in the form of motors and rocker switch, it still
the 5700’s leaves it perfectly positioned for grip and
even one-handed shooting.

Nikon Coolpix 5700

Price £1,000
Battery life 90 mins
Contact Nikon 0800 230 220
www.nikon.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
7 CONTROL WHEEL 7 LCD PANEL 7 LENS
Nikon’s trademark control The LCD opens out, flips, The lens crams an 8x
wheel speeds up many rotates and even clips optical zooming range
camera options back in facing outwards into a solid-feeling body
NIKON COOLPIX 5700 FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Sensor 5 megapixel, 2/3-inch 5.24MP CCD Movie recording QVGA 15fps with sound
1
Lens Nikkor f2.8-4.2 8x zoom Other features Flexible Program mode, auto-bracketing with
Focus Auto, manual, minimum 3cm in macro mode 3 or 5 shots, electronic SLR-style viewfinder
Exposure modes Program AE, aperture-priority, Image storage CompactFlash
shutter-priority, manual Batteries Lithium-ion EN-EL1 7.4v
Metering 256-segment Matrix, centre-weighted, spot, AC adaptor Supplied
spot AF Weight 480g (without battery)
Monitor 1.5-inch 110,000 pixels Dimensions 108mm(w) x 76mm(h) x 102mm(d)
AE compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3EV steps Transfer USB
Flash Auto, on, off, slow synch, Night Portrait, OS Windows 98SE/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9.0-
red-eye 9.2, OS X 10.1.2
2
MINOLTA OLYMPUS FUJIFILM CANON
WORTH DIMAGE 7I E-20 FINEPIX S602 POWERSHOT G3
A LOOK £800, 5MP £1,300, 5MP £595, 3.1MP £700, 4MP
A great camera FEATURES 95 1

IMAGES 79 1
let down by a
Verdict
BUILD 96 1
lack of bite VALUE 80 1
88%
The Coolpix 5700 is so well made,
so well designed and so great to
FINAL
use that you really want it to produce
SCORE
class-leading images. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t. It’s good, but just not
good enough
Nikon Coolpix 5700
1
Closeup
NIKON COOLPIX 5700
PERFORMANCE
1
2 SKIN TONES
4
1
5 PRO Very good, accurate skin tones, with no tonal
shifts or exaggerated colour
6 CON Outdoor shots are subtle to the point of being

undersaturated – complexions can be tinged grey
2 OUTDOOR SHOTS
3
7
7 7
CONTROL WHEEL LCD PANEL NAVIPAD
Nikon’s trademark The LCD opens out, Like many of the
control wheel
speeds up many
flips, rotates and
even clips back in
Nikon’s controls, the
navipad is a bit too 5 PRO The zooming range of the 5700 is great for
sports, plus action, distant and detail shots
camera options facing outwards small for comfort
6 CON Colours can be muted, and you’ll often find
yourself tweaking the Levels later in Photoshop
However, unlike the E-20 from Olympus, which is thinking that maybe the whole camera would be to its full potential. What makes it more complicated
2 INDOOR SHOTS
a genuine ‘optical’ SLR, the 5700 uses a digital a lot better if everything was scaled up by just is the control wheel on the top plate, which
viewfinder. As a result, the image isn’t sharp enough 10-20 per cent. duplicates actions found in the menus and can be
for manual focusing, and the colours and tones used to provide rapid access to many of the
aren’t that accurate. Creative controls photographic options.
Quite often you’ll want to use the LCD panel You can’t fault the 5700’s photographic options. With
instead of the viewfinder, and the one fitted to the programmed auto-exposure, shutter-priority, Take your time
5700 is smaller than you might be expecting. aperture-priority and full manual control, it’s the Yes, it does make things more complicated, but if
you spend enough time with this camera you
Sorry, but if you’re looking for a camera to

come to appreciate that, in the long run, it repays
5 PRO The big zooming range is useful distance with
macro shots and tightly-framed still-lifes
6
the extra learning time with faster access to key CON The extra width of the 28mm wideangle on
the Coolpix 5000 would have been good
controls. This is a very powerful camera, that’s also
convince you to make the expensive jump going to prove rewarding to those people who take
2 IMAGE QUALITY
their photography seriously.
from 4 to 5 megapixels, this isn’t it If only those images were sharper. We do keep
going on about it, but without that extra dimension
Yes, it does fold out, rotate, flip around and clip keen photographer’s dream. If that doesn’t convince in quality, the Coolpix 5700 is just a nice but
back just like those on the Coolpix 5000 and Canon you, maybe the multiple-metering patterns and expensive alternative to equally capable cameras
PowerShot G2, but at just 1.5 inches and 110,000 focusing options, exposure and white balance costing up to £500 less.
pixels, it’s a tiddler. Compare this with the enormous bracketing, noise reduction, Best Shot Selector, Quick There’s an awful lot to like about the Coolpix
2.5-inch LCD fitted to Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LC5, Review mode and optional 3:2 35mm format picture 5700, but Minolta’s DiMAGE 7i still rules the roost
reviewed in last month’s issue – now that’s what ratio will. This camera’s got the lot. amongst the 5-megapixel digital cameras on the
we call a proper compositional tool. Admirable Not surprisingly, this means that there’s a good market at the moment. Not only is it better, it’s
though the 5700’s design is, the little LCD starts you bit to learn if you want to be able to use this camera £200 cheaper, too… 5 PRO The 5-megapixel resolution and the giant
zooming range give the 5700 class-leading specs
6 CON Somewhat soft fine detail that’s hard to

improve significantly with unsharp masking
NIKON COOLPIX 5700 FULL SPECIFICATIONS 1 A great camera

let down by a
FEATURES
IMAGES 79
95 1
1
Verdict
Sensor 5 megapixel, 2/3-inch 5.24MP CCD Other features Flexible Program mode, auto-bracketing with 3 or
Lens Nikkor f2.8-4.2 8x zoom 5 shots, electronic SLR-style viewfinder BUILD 96 1
Focus
Exposure modes
Auto, manual, minimum 3cm in macro mode
Program AE, aperture-priority, shutter-priority,
Image storage
Batteries
CompactFlash
Lithium-ion EN-EL1 7.4v lack of bite VALUE 80 1
manual AC adaptor Supplied
88%
Metering
Monitor
256-segment Matrix, centre-weighted, spot, spot AF
Weight
Dimensions
480g (without battery)
108mm(w) x 76mm(h) x 102mm(d)
The Coolpix 5700 is so well made, FINAL
AE compensation
Flash
Auto, on, off, slow 0synch (Night Portrait), red-eye
Transfer
OS
USB
Windows 98SE/Me, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9.0-9.2, OS
so well designed and so great to
use that you really want it to produce
SCORE
Video output NTSC or PAL X 10.1.2
Movie recording QVGA 15fps with sound class-leading images. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t. It’s good, but just not
2
MINOLTA OLYMPUS FUJIFILM CANON good enough
WORTH DIMAGE 7I E-20 FINEPIX S602 POWERSHOT G3
A LOOK £800, 5MP £1,300, 5MP £595, 3.1MP £700, 4MP

REVIEWS IMAGE-EDITING SOFTWARE
MICROSPOT PHOTO TOOLS SUITE

Manufacturer Microspot
Price £39 (PhotoFix) £39 (PhotoXtra) £17 (Printmix)
Contact 01622 687 771
Website www.microspot.co.uk THE TOOLBAR Selection, Magic Wand, Image rotate, Painting and Erase
Microspot PhotoTools
This suite of photo-editing, organising and printing programs for MacOS X is a keenly priced and
competent little program for enthusiasts – problem is, it’s up against the might of Adobe says Geoff Harris
A 2 USING PHOTOFIX
dobe’s Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
may dominate the market for image editing
software, but that doesn’t stop smaller firms
having a pop with carefully targeted alternatives. Okay, so this Photo Tools program is quick and relatively cheap – but is its PhotoFix
One such contender is Microspot’s PhotoFix, the main option really a credible alternative to Photoshop Elements?
program in the Photo Tools suite. It offers a lot of the
power of Photoshop Elements but at a fraction of the
price -– £39 as opposed to £80 for Adobe’s best-seller.
As well as packing in lots of similar photo editing tools
for less money, PhotoFix’s big selling point is that it’s
OS X native. In other words, it’s written to run on the
latest versions of the Macintosh operating system,
and won’t even tolerate OS 9.2. No Windows version
is available as yet.
Install PhotoFix and it has a similar look and feel to
Photoshop Elements, but with a cleaner, simpler
interface. Many of the tools will be instantly familiar,
such as crop and clone, and a quick browse through
the PDF manual soon gets you up to speed. It’s
slower to open and edit images than Elements, but
this is not an issue if your photo processing needs Image change Going straight
are straightforward (if you aspire to be a graphics
01 For basic image correction, PhotoFix works extremely well.
It’s a fast, cheap and provides a good alternative to Mac
02 Straightening an image shows the program’s versatility.
You can either do this automatically via the Image menu, or
graphics stalwarts such as GraphicConverter or typical manually, the latter offering a fine degree of control via
professional, sorry, your only choice is to shell out 600 budget shareware with a horrible interface. The pointers and crosshairs. It’s only when you get to complex
PhotoFix PDF manual is really superb too, and gets you up to speed layers and channels that the program’s limitations become more obvious –
quid for Photoshop proper). in a matter of minutes. though you can’t complain too much for 40 quid.
What you can do

In terms of basic photo enhancement, everything that
x FEATURES can be done in Elements can be done in PhotoFix, hard to fault this program. Image brightness and contract seems a bit steep at £39 when so much freeware and
though you do miss the image effects libraries and can be automatically corrected from the Image menu, shareware is available for creating albums and
CRASH PROTECTION recipes after a while. That said, PhotoFix comes with and it’s very easy to do this manually for a finer degree slideshows. Printmix is a handy utility for printing out
■ As well as handling everyday
some very useful extras that Adobe would do well to of control. arrangements of multiple photos on a single sheet, and
photo editing, PhotoFix is able to
automatically save and reload an emulate. You can recover unsaved data, for instance, by Working with photo montages and masks is made is harder to resist at only £17.
image if your Mac crashes or turning on the ‘When Quit Special’ option – invaluable if easy via the Magic Wand tool, and the manual shows It’s true that Photoshop is widely viewed as the Don
there’s a power cut. your Mac crashes during a heavy photo manipulation you how to replace the sky in a photo in a matter of of photo editing software and is the tool of choice for
session, or you get a power cut. PhotoFX also lets you seconds. When it comes to layers and channels, you can digital media professionals, so for this reason it’s hard to
HOST REQUIREMENTS specify up to 32 levels of Undo, though it recommends progress so far, but Photoshop Elements is still the see PhotoFix making a huge dent in Photoshop
■ Macintosh: G3 processor or six levels as a realistic figure for everyday use. The superior program when it comes to more complicated Elements’ market share.
higher, Mac OS X, 128Mb of RAM, interface is very intuitive, with handy tools for zooming layer manipulation, being able to borrow so many tricks If you want quality editing
80%
125MB of hard disk space. FINAL
and changing resolution at the bottom of every PhotoFix from its big brother. The Photo Tools family includes two software that won’t break the SCORE
■ Windows: Not available
window. Cropping, and working with colour and text, is related programs, PhotoXtra and Printmix. PhotoXtra is a bank then PhotoFix will give
a cinch too. If you want to correct photos in a hurry, it’s fancy photo organisation and presentation suite, which good results. A sound buy.

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Requires Photoshop 5.5+, Elements or Paint Shop pro 7
Manufacturer Alien Skin
Website www.alienskin.com WEBSITE www.alienskin.com
Image Doctor
A new Photoshop-compatible plug-in that enables you to remove unwanted objects, spots and scratches with a
click of a mouse? Sounds impressive. But how well does it do the job and, at £85, is it worth the investment?
* ON P 2 IMAGE DOCTOR IN ACTION

hotoshop and its image-editing ilk are the
OUR
COVERDISC Stalinist revisionaries of this digital world,
erasing blemishes and unwanted features
10 PHOTOSHOP PLUG-INS from your photos, with the merest of mouse-clicks. How to use Image Doctor to play around with Mother
Try our collection of top plug-ins,
including Dreamy Photo, for some To further complement Photoshop’s existing range of Nature. The results are quick, but are they any good?
handy one-click fixes tools comes Image Doctor, a suite of four filters
designed for use with any Photoshop-compatible
program, such as Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro. The full
set consists of Smart Fill, Scratch Remover, Spot Lifter
and JPEG Repair.
How do the filters work?

The first, and most appealing of these filters, is Smart
Fill. Like a version of Photoshop’s Clone tool on steroids,
it aims to intelligently replace your selection with
surrounding background detail, eradicating unwanted
objects. So if, for example, you want to remove an
object from a field, simply draw a selection around it,
apply Smart Fill, and it should – in theory – disappear,
leaving nothing but random grass in its wake.
Certainly, the filter works best in instances where you
have a clearly defined object set against a chaotic
Smart fill Spot Lifter
background – grass, trees, clouds, gravel paths and so With very little effort, we’ve ‘de-bodied’ this deer. However, you Spot Lifter is used to remove this giraffe’s markings. Again, this is
about the best result we could get, and though the results are
on. It works less well on subtly graduated areas, like a can see where Image Doctor has sampled the slightly brighter,
rapid, it still requires further work to make it completely seamless.
out-of-focus grass – this image will still need some touching up.
clear sky, and works poorly, if at all, when the
surrounding image is recognisably non-random, such as
people or buildings. And if you have a variety of
x FEATURES background images, then you’ll need to make separate

selections for each one.
selection, cut ‘n’ paste and Clone tools. And if you’re
lucky enough to have Photoshop 7, the new Healing and
pointless: if your camera produces horribly compressed
images, you’d be better off buying a new camera.
WHAT IT DOES The Scratch Remover filter is designed for long, thin Patch tools pretty much make Image Doctor redundant. Overall, we had varied success with Image Doctor.
■ Smart Fill objects like telegraph poles or rips in a scanned image. The final filter, JPEG Repair, is used to hide the With anything less visually complex than foliage,
Removes objects, replacing them Again, successful removal depends on using selections artefacts found in images that are too heavily Smart Fill required further work to hide seams. Scratch
with a selected background to demarcate areas that are different in colour or detail. compressed: shots from low-end cameras or pictures Remover and Spot Lifter were more immediately
■ Scratch Remover Spot Lifter works on small areas, blending in the taken off the web. Obviously, there’s no way the filter successful, although smaller blemishes are also easier to
Just as it sounds!
surrounding texture to remove blemishes. can reproduce detail that’s not there any more, so JPEG remove by hand.
■ Spot Lifter
Repair is kind of a fudge, employing blur and sharpen At roughly £85, this is still quite an investment
Blends in surrounding textures to
remove small blemishes Intelligent tools? algorithms to remove blockiness and smooth the image. for filters that the average digital camera owner
■ JPEG Repair All three filters work, but they’re at their most useful As with the other filters, it works well enough, but will use sparingly at best, and
67%
FINAL
Hides JPEG artefacts by cleverly when the image is most easily fixed. And while this you can replicate the effect yourself with cumulative use can probably replicate SCORE
blurring them out sounds obvious, it means that you could, in most of Photoshop’s Gaussian Blur, Despeckle, Median and themselves with a little time
instances, fix the problem with your application’s own Sharpen tools. We found JPEG Repair to be kind of and experimentation.

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REVIEWS CARD READERS
JESSOPS 6 IN 1 JESSOPS FLASHPATH SANDISK SMART-

CARD READER FLOPPY DISK MEDIA IMAGEMATE
2 2 2
With the size and styling of an OEM mouse, the Jessops 6 If your PC is more than about four years old, there’s a SanDisk is the world’s largest supplier of flash memory
In 1 reader is the most anonymous reader on test. It’s tiny, good chance it won’t even have a USB 1.1 port, let alone products, manufacturing all formats of cards and readers –
very cheap looking and has a single LED and non-slip foot. But in USB 2.0 or FireWire. In that case – or if you need a reader that the ImageMate also comes in a CompactFlash flavour at the
terms of functionality, it’s one of the best on test, reading and can double up as a large capacity floppy – you might consider same price and MultiMedia/Secure Digital format for just a few
writing to all main formats via the USB port at up to 1.5Mb/s the Flashpath. The same size and shape as a 3.5-in floppy disc quid more. There’s even a parallel port version available if your
(USB 1.1). And, boasting just two slots and a minuscule 100 x 72 (90 x 93 x 3mm), the Flashpath is a solid-feeling device finished PC runs on elastic bands and steam power. The ImageMate is
x 34mm footprint, it won’t take up valuable desk space, either. in brushed aluminium. It’s powered by two 3V Lithium batteries made of rugged white ABS and is the most solid feeling of any
The 6 In 1 can be used with any Windows PC from 98 on and (supplied) and the SmartMedia card slots neatly into one corner. of the readers on test. The teardrop 75 x 30 x 91mm unit should
Macs with OS 9.x+. Installation is straightforward and an Jessops supplies Windows 95+ software on a mini CD-ROM, fit snugly anywhere – from on top of the PC to perched on a
extremely comprehensive 59-page PDF manual is supplied on although we did find one (non-critical) file missing on monitor – thanks to the long USB cable that’s supplied.
disc. Also included on the disc is Pixology’s basic Piccolo image installation, while Mac and NT users will have to visit the Jessops Connection is USB 1.0 only and the ImageMate installation
viewer, Jessops’ own Print@Net online print ordering software website for drivers. Piccolo picture viewer (handy for a quick disc comes with drivers for Windows 95+ and Mac OS 8.6+. For
(for UK customers only) and a neat package called Dazzle peek at your images) and Jessops’ Print@Net software for online such a basic reader, the installation disc is impressive, including
OnDVD. This enables you to create VCD slideshows of your ordering are included on the disc. manuals, a USB compatibility tester, local contacts and the option
images for playback on your domestic DVD player (check first – a The Flashpath is an excellent concept, and downloading to register your purchase, as well as the drivers. If you do have
few older players can’t read Video-CDs), and backs up high- from your SmartMedia card is extremely easy. The big drawback any problems getting the reader to work, the SanDisk website
quality images on the disc as an archive. is speed – floppy drives are almost prehistoric technology now contains some very user-friendly troubleshooting hints.
Read and write transfer rates are very good for all media, and and transfer rates are no match for modern USB connections. If you own only one digital camera, this card reader is
you can use both the top and lower slots simultaneously. Don’t The other concern is compatibility – Jessops warns that the fantastic value. But if you think you’ll ever need to read just one
be fooled by the down-market looks of the 6 In 1 reader – this Flashpath may not work on some models of PC and machines of the other seven card formats (counting the new xD card) out
really is a class act, excelling at everything like the iMac, which no longer come with a there at the moment, a multi-reader might
89% 66% 70%

from data transfer to ease of use. FINAL floppy drive as standard. FINAL make more sense. FINAL
SCORE SCORE SCORE
Verdict: Excellent functionality, good Verdict: Portable and flexible, but not the Verdict: Superb build quality and ease of
software and a superb manual. most modern solution. use. Good value for single format users.
4 4 4
Price £50 Price £50 Price £25
Contact Jessops www.jessops.com Contact Jessops www.jessops.com Contact Sandisk www.sandisk.co.uk
Reads CompactFlash Type I and II, IBM , Reads Smartmedia Reads Smartmedia
Microdrive, SmartMedia (not 5V), Connection Floppy drive Connection USB
MemoryStick, Multimedia SM, SD cards
Connection USB

NEXT MONTH
; 2 WE TEST 6 OF THE LATEST

CAMERA TRIPODS
FUJI IMAGE MEMORY OMNIFLASH SONY MSAC-US5

CARD READER DM-R1 UNOMAS MOUSE/READER
2 2 2
Apple’s FireWire connector has many advantages over The concept of being able to read seven different types of Time may be money, but space comes a close second for
USB, not least of which is its raw speed. Current FireWire memory card is an impressive one, and the Omniflash many digital imagers. Plug a digital camera, an A4
specs allow for data transfer up to 400 megabits/second (about reader certainly looks the part. It has four separate card slots – printer and a 19-inch monitor into your PC and suddenly your
20 times as fast as USB 1.1), and there are plans to push that to single slots for SmartMedia and Memory Stick, plus shared desk looks like the flight deck of a 747. For those of us really
multi-gigabit/second rates. That might sound like overkill for SD/MMC and CompactFlash/Microdrive slots – where other all-in- pushed for desktop space (or USB ports) comes Sony’s MSAC-
downloading a few snaps, but it’ll be necessary with the next one readers get by with just two. This means the unit is bigger US5, a combination optical mouse and Memory Stick card reader.
generation of digital camcorders. Even better, it uses isochronous than others on test, but does make it more convenient if you As a mouse, the US5 is suitably mouse-sized (62 x 36 x
transfer technology, which guarantees bandwidth for real-time want to leave a variety of cards in the reader at the same time. 110mm) and performs splendidly. Optical mice have the
AV streams. Like USB, FireWire is a plug-and-play technology but As each slot comes with a bright red LED that flashes when the flexibility to be used on almost any surface (except reflective
it also allows for daisy-chaining, enabling you to connect up to reader is busy, it’ll also make your PC looks suitably high tech. ones), so you can follow health and safety advice that the best
63 (!) devices together through a single port in your PC. The UnoMas is light and plasticky, it measures 107 x 116 x ergonomic location for a mouse is on your thigh. Sure, it looks a
The DM-R1 comes with four foot-pads to prevent slipping. If 33mm and has non-slip feet. little pervy, but try it and it soon feels natural. The scroll button
your PC has a normal 6-pin FireWire port, you can plug straight The UnoMas offers read and write capability to all seven (PC users only) lets you pan in all directions and zoom as well as
in, but 4-pin i.Link users will need a 6-pin to 4-pin connection formats via USB (the reader is USB 2.0 compliant), and we found scroll – handy for navigating large or zoomed-in images.
cable as well as an AC power adaptor (not supplied). A flip-up transfer rates to be very good. Note that if you’re using the Installing drivers for Win98+ and Mac OS 8.5.1+ is simple,
panel reveals the CompactFlash and SmartMedia ports. UnoMas with an IBM Microdrive with an Apple Mac, the extra although no other software is supplied. The card reader itself
Driver software for Windows 98+ and Mac 8.5.1+ is supplied, power required for the Microdrive means that you should avoid works well, a small LED access light tells you when it’s busy, and
but you will need the File Exchange Utility for the Mac. Transfer using the keyboard USB port – use one of the rear ports instead. with acceptable (USB 1.1) read/write transfer rates. The limitation
is straightforward, except for removing cards in Win2000, which Installation of drivers (supplied for Win98+, Mac OS8.6+ and of only reading a single format makes the US5 look expensive,
requires you to trudge through a Stop Hardware Device wizard. Linux, with Sun Solaris and Windows CE drivers available from its but the convergence freaks that Sony is targeting will love its
Disappointingly, the DM-R1 is also read-only website) is straightforward but no other build quality and functional integration.
84% 92% 83%

for Windows 2000 users. FINAL software was included. FINAL Verdict: This combo gadget is tailor- FINAL
SCORE SCORE SCORE
Verdict: Very fast, but it’s not cheap and Verdict: A first class specification and made for digital imagers – shame about
there are a few compatibility drawbacks. trouble-free ease of use. the single format.
4 4 4
Price £70 Price £55 Price £70
Contact Fuji www.fujifilm.co.uk Contact Omniflash www.omniflashproducts.com Contact Sony www.sony.co.uk
Reads CompactFlash Type I and II, IBM Microdrive, Reads CompactFlash Type I and II, IBM Reads Memory Stick
SmartMedia (some restrictions – check first) MicroDrive, Smart Media, Secure Digital, Connection USB
Connection FireWire MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick
Connection USB

IMAGE EDITORS LAB TEST
Labtest
Image editors
I
n an ideal world, you’d download your from the powerful Paint Shop Pro, PhotoPlus, Photoshop ON TEST
images from your camera and marvel at Elements and PhotoImpact packages, all of which offer a IMAGE EDITOR
the vibrant colours, perfect lighting and vast range of filters, drawing, layer and painting tools
stunning composition. Back in the real world, there are a and ‘smart’ selections. The leap to Photoshop at over ULEAD
thousand things that can go wrong, from exposure £500 is one of both power and ergonomics – it’s the PHOTOIMPACT 8
mistakes in the digital camera to that annoying carrier industry standard because it offers the widest range and Price: £65
bag in the middle of your idyllic landscape. One of the depth of features.
SERIF
best things about going digital is the wealth of creativity PHOTOPLUS 8
that your PC can unleash after your shooting trip. Five alive Price: £44
Modern image editors offer far more than just a No matter how extensive a list of flashy features or
digital darkroom – many enable you to organise a photo memory-hungry plug-ins it might have, the functions of ROXIO
PHOTOSUITE 4
library, create slideshows to display on your PC or DVD an image editor fall into five areas. Price: £33
player, and all come with at least some facility to upload First, it must give you some control over the hue,
your masterpieces to the web. But at the heart of all of saturation, lightness, focus, tone (‘levels’) and contrast ADOBE
them lies the ability to alter every pixel, and to paint, (‘curves’) of your work. PHOTOSHOP 7
combine, delete and copy elements of your images to Second, it should have selection tools that let you Price: £524
construct entirely new works of art. choose and alter specific areas of your image (subject, ADOBE
The good news is that digital-imaging software is background and so on). Third, it needs compositional ELEMENTS 2
Price: £68
much cheaper than hardware. Spend under £50 on tools such as layers, filters and masks to enable you
PhotoSuite and you’ll be able to correct exposure to build up your document from separate images
DIGITAL WORKSHOP
problems and red-eye, crop and resize your images for and effects. PAINT SHOP PRO 7
printing or web use, organise your pictures into albums, Next, you’ll want to add elements to your image, so Price: £40
and more besides. Another 50 quid lets you choose drawing, text and painting tools are essential. Finally, the

LAB TEST IMAGE EDITORS – COMPARISON
BEGINNER ADVICE Find out more at http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/imageediting/tp/beginphotoedw.htm
? EXPLAINED
PANORAMA STITCHING
ULEAD SERIF ROXIO
This function can help you to create
PHOTOIMPACT 8 PHOTOPLUS 8 PHOTOSUITE 4
seamless panoramas from your
standard 3:2 ratio images. The
software hunts for common vertical
or horizontal edges such as walls
and blends two (or more) images
into one. They’re rarely spot on but
can save you a lot of time.
SLICES
Slices are web objects that cut
an image into different sections PRICE £65 PRICE £44 PRICE £33
and enable you to apply rollover CONTACT Ulead CONTACT Serif CONTACT Roxio
behaviours, animation and links WEBSITE www.ulead.co.uk WEBSITE www.serif.com WEBSITE www.roxio.co.uk
to parts of the overall image.
They also speed up display of The latest version of PhotoImpact cements its This is one of the cheaper image editors on test, but While the underlying program is no less powerful than
large web images by loading each reputation as the strongest web-capable editor under you wouldn’t know that from some of its features – others around this price, Roxio has taken all the fear
slice separately. three figures. When used with daughter app, GIF adjustment layers, masks, a raft of web options and out of image manipulation by creating tasks to deal
Animator 5 (included), it’s almost a rival for the selection tools that include polygon cut-outs with with common problems and projects you might want
legendary Fireworks in terms of creating web page magnetic edge finders. The everyday basics are to tackle, from red-eye removal to colourising old
elements and graphics from scratch. Adding JavaScript covered well but, unfortunately, there’s no auto- photos or adjusting badly exposed images. However,
rollovers and pop-up menus is easy, and you can enhance feature. this task-orientated approach does mean a somewhat
integrate Flash before outputting it all to raw HTML. Its list of 3D and distortion effects is particularly overwhelming list of individual options, as well as
Traditional image manipulation isn’t neglected either, impressive. PhotoPlus’ neat interface includes a nifty ultimately being less creative than its tool-based
with its trademark EasyPalettes making adding filters thumbnail browser, but the lack of well-designed competitors. PhotoSuite has only basic web features,
(including camera filters new to version 8) as easy as palettes can mean you sometimes have to dig around but offers some neat printing options, including
drag and drop – albeit without the user-customisation the menus to find just what you’re looking for. It has multiple shots on a single sheet.
options that would make them truly great. The new extensive file and picture tube sharing with Paint Shop
Dynamic Range Extension does what it says on the tin, Pro, giving a good upgrade path. Verdict
combining exposure-bracketed shots to deliver more The typical PhotoSuite user won’t be too concerned
solid blacks and brighter highlights, but be warned, it Verdict about raw speed and power, so its rather sluggish
requires very accurate framing. Rotating a large (30Mb) file didn’t take PhotoPlus more performance at resizing and rotating large images
than a couple of moments, but it struggled with the isn’t too worrying. What’s much more of a problem is
Verdict resize request – it was the slowest on test. While its poor auto-enhance performance, with only hue,
PhotoImpact resizes and rotates hefty images without PhotoPlus offers a comprehensive list of image saturation and brightness controls. The colour cast
any difficulties. Subjecting our poor test shot to its adjustments – from Hue/Saturation/Lightness to was hardly improved and the levels remained
0 EXPERT TIP automatic-enhance function was a real mixed bag. The
auto-level feature adjusted the tone map well, but the
equalisation, selective (CMYK) colour and channel
mixing – it strangely lacks any auto-enhance options.
unaltered, with a dull, flat feel to the underexposed
image. Luckily, the red-eye removal feature worked
MARK HARRIS auto-colour was disappointing. The colours themselves The red-eye removal filter works very well, with a well, eradicating all traces of red without extracting
PHOTOSHOP EXPERT weren’t too bad, but the real problem was an simple dialogue box proving extremely effective at any of the life from the cat’s eyes. PhotoSuite doesn’t
ESSENTIAL FEATURES unpleasant colour mopping up red-eye have a dedicated
5 5 5
All of these editors are packed fringing throughout in our test photo. web graphic
PRO Great web tools PRO Up to date PRO Task-based interface
with features, but there are a few and modern interface the image. We didn’t pack for beginners that's PhotoPlus was less is instantly accessible optimiser, the Save
that are absolutely essential for like the auto-focus never patronising efficient at optimising As… JPEG merely
photographers. Image catalogue correction either. images – the JPEG it lets you choose
and album browsers (especially
those capturing EXIF data) can 6 CON Ease of use takes
priority over flexibility
PhotoImpact
redeemed itself
6 CON No auto-enhance,
and limited output options
created from our test
image had a larger
6 CON No web or
advanced features.
No manual
quality 1-10. The
Attach to Email option
organise even the most somewhat with a file size and more does let you specify a
79% 63% 68%

haphazard snapper. You must FINAL useful red-eye FINAL colour artefacts than FINAL target file size,
be able to alter brightness, SCORE SCORE SCORE
reduction feature – ones from the best however, which
contrast and colour balance
very easy to use. on test. might help in a pinch.
manually (a histogram can help
here), although auto-correct
features are surprisingly good
nowadays. Image repair features editor must offer output options for saving it as various per cent reliable. PhotoPlus, PhotoSuite and Photoshop All the editors except PhotoSuite have dedicated
can save you hours of fiddly kinds of files, printing it out or optimising it for use online. come with a useful tool that extracts objects from the dialogues to help you optimise your images for web
mouse work – red-eye removal is All the editors on test this month, except Photoshop, background, and Photoshop and PhotoImpact come with use. Elements, PhotoImpact and Photoshop also let
especially useful. If your editor have auto-enhance functions to spruce up your shots a Bezier option for selecting regular curves. you rename and save images to different formats in
uses standard Photoshop-
and remove red-eye, and all except PhotoSuite will let All the editors allow many layers in each document, batches. All packages except PhotoPlus offer the facility
compatible filters it’ll be easy to
download new ones. And don’t you adjust the five basic aspects manually. and all but PhotoSuite and Elements have full mask to print multiple images in various formats onto a single
forget outputting your work – a Selection tools make a real difference to how you functionality. All the editors have a range of painting and sheet of paper.
large range of crop and print interact with your images – all the packages on test vector drawing tools – PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro and
options will save you time and offer marquee, lasso, polygon and magic wand tools. Elements have impressive natural media brushes. On- Digital photography tools
money. Finally, digital Smart magnetic tools (found in Photoshop, Paint Shop screen text-editing, found on all packages but With the on-going explosion in digital camera sales,
watermarking your images helps
Pro and PhotoImpact) automatically find edges of PhotoSuite, simplifies the addition of captions, headlines software houses are falling over themselves to add
to protect your copyright.
subjects but, like the magic wands, aren’t always 100 and running copy to your images. features dedicated to the photo fan. All the packages on

DIGITAL
0
CAMERA
ADOBE
MAGAZINE
DIGITAL WORKSHOP EXPERT TIP

ADOBE
PHOTOSHOP 7 PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 2 PAINT SHOP PRO 7 MARK HARRIS
PHOTOSHOP EXPERT
OPTIMISE IMAGES FOR
THE WEB
If you want your images to be
seen by the largest possible
audience, there’s only place to
publish them – the web. But as
great as your 4MP TIFF images
look on your desktop, you’ll need
to do a lot of work to show them
at their best online. All these
PRICE £524 PRICE £68 PRICE £40
packages (except PhotoSuite) will
CONTACT Adobe CONTACT Adobe CONTACT Digital Workshop
let you optimise your work for
WEBSITE www.adobe.co.uk WEBSITE www.adobe.co.uk WEBSITE www.digitalworkshop.co.uk
web use, manipulating
The granddaddy of all image editors continues to set Realising that the full-fat Photoshop simply isn’t Paint Shop Pro’s reputation and success is based upon compression and colour depth to
the pace, with a range of new features that make it trade off quality and file size. But
suitable for all of us experimenting with digital it offering a competent and affordable alternative to
some go further, enabling you to
more desirable than ever. It’s nicked the File Browser photography and web design, Adobe has introduced the mighty Photoshop. Although this version is getting
create image maps, slices,
from little brother, Elements, making it easier to locate, this useful budget package. Incorporating the same File long in the tooth now, it remains an extremely
animated GIFs, rollovers and Flash
catalogue and retrieve images, and the Workspace Browser and some of the same tools as its bigger powerful and credible editor. Its list of tools is especially
animations. We like the JavaScript
function should keep your screen uncluttered. The new brother, it nonetheless retains its identity. Its excellent impressive, offering us photographers a digital
gallery functions that let you just
Healing tool surpasses the Clone Stamp in improving interface uses a palette docking bar that expands or darkroom in a language we can readily understand. drop self-contained slideshows
areas of your photos and a raft of new painting tools shrinks windows as you access each function. It even Highlights include full-blown vector graphics and a into your web pages. The most
give you an almost unlimited range of brushes and has the odd feature (such as a Panorama Builder) that great thumbnail browser. The interface is less powerful packages enable you to
textures. But it is Photoshop’s core features – scalable Photoshop lacks. A superb innovation is the clickable developed than Photoshop’s though, with sprawling create pages and even entire
capabilities and a comfortable, stable interface – that error messages, linking through to a glossary that helps Layers and Tools palettes that can quickly obscure your sites, although if you’re serious
mean it’s as essential for pros as ever. you understand where you’ve done wrong. Elements workspace. The bundled Animation Shop – while about web design, dedicated
does suffer from a smaller range of features than other offering image mapping, slices and rollovers – is a basic packages such as Macromedia’s
Verdict packages at this price, but you get industry-standard bitmap-only package, looking more like an Animation Dreamweaver and Fireworks or
We’d have been shocked if Photoshop did poorly in tools at a fraction of the price of Photoshop. Cornershop compared with Photoshop’s ImageReady. Microsoft’s Front Page offer far
any of tests, and it was only its lack of red-eye removal more flexibility.
tool that dragged it down at all. It handled large size Verdict Verdict
images with grace and speed, resizing and rotating Elements shares a chassis with Photoshop and had no We don’t know what’s going on inside Paint Shop
them faster than any other editor on test. The auto- trouble rotating and resizing large images – it was Pro’s guts, but it made a meal out of rotating and
levels and auto-colour functions also performed well, the joint fastest on test. Applying the auto-levels and resizing our large images, taking a few seconds
correcting a colour cast perfectly and evening out auto ‘color’ quickly gave a well-balanced image with a over tasks that Photoshop did in a flash. The auto-level
contrast on an under-exposed test image. While the good range of contrast. Colour balance was less function worked well, brightening highlights without
results weren’t perfect, they were better than any impressive but, again, Elements was best on test. losing any detail. Using the auto-colour feature was
package on test (except the almost identical Elements). The Quick Fix dialogue box is probably the most less successful, washing out the more saturated hues
* WEB LINKS
We had to rate it zero for red-eye removal – but accessible of any on test. Fixing the red-eye image isn’t and leaving the image a little dull. Fixing our cat’s
you’ve got all the so easy. The dialogue red-eye was
5 5 5
colour adjustment and box feels as though it uncomplicated,
PRO Still the most PRO Great performance, PRO A powerful
powerful and well- filters you need to fix flexible and ultimately has been thrown package with although it did leave THE PLUG-IN SITE
featured editor such problems user-friendly together at the last comprehensive features the eye a little greyer www.thepluginsite.com
manually. The Save moment and is too than we would This site contains thousands of
6 CON The price and

learning curve are what
reduce the score
For Web optimiser is
superb, enabling you
6 CON Few web tools and
little mask functionality
complex. The web
optimiser does a
6 CON Sprawling interface
and starting to feel
somewhat dated
have liked. Image
compression using
plug-ins (both free and commercial)
for you to download. Warning!
to set a target file size good job, but the Paint Shop Pro’s There are some truly ugly
89% 90% 81%

FINAL and compare different FINAL highest level of FINAL optimiser was effects here…
SCORE SCORE SCORE
levels of compression compression isn’t easy and gave
side by side. quite high enough. good results.
EPHOTOZINE
www.ephotozine.com
This great resource includes a
searchable software tips archive as
test offer at least a basic browser that displays PhotoSuite and Elements offer auto-straightening to But that’s not to say that the cheaper packages don’t well as the usual news, reviews
thumbnails of all the images (and often movie and correct wonky snaps and scans. have impressive photo tools, too. The stitch features of and forums.
audio files, too) in a folder. All except PhotoPlus and As well as the image-adjustment controls described Elements, PhotoPlus and PhotoSuite take a lot of the
Paint Shop Pro can sort and organise them, but the best above, all but Photoshop come with a dedicated red-eye pain out of merging your landscapes into panoramas,
on test are Elements, PhotoImpact and Photoshop. Not removal tool, and a few come with scratch removal and PhotoSuite features a fun photo-mosaic function.
only do these editors enable you to rotate portrait shots tools to help with your scanned prints. While the Paint Shop Pro offers a JPEG artefact remover that repairs
and batch-convert files, they also preserve and display packages all have Clone tools to copy areas of your over-compressed images – a god-send if you’ve gone
the EXIF data captured by your camera so that you have images, by far the most impressive are Photoshop’s out shooting without a large enough memory card.
a permanent record of the settings. amazing new Healing and Patch tools, which sample
Cropping and re-sizing is straightforward with all the texture and colour data from an area to mix in with the Creative tools
editors (we liked Photoshop’s ability to save certain crop luminance information in the problem area – the results The ability to apply variable transparency masks to
sizes) but PhotoSuite has limited crop options. are astonishing. selections (so you can apply effects to certain areas) is

LAB TEST IMAGE EDITORS – SPECIFICATIONS
TOP TIP When resizing images, always choose bicubic resampling rather than bilinear. It takes longer but gives a more natural result
SPECIFICATIONS
AT-A-GLANCE
1 ULEAD
PHOTOIMPACT 8
SERIF
PHOTOPLUS 8
ROXIO
PHOTOSUITE 4
ADOBE
PHOTOSHOP 7
Price £65 £44 £33 £524
Maker Ulead Serif Roxio Adobe
Tel 01327 844 755 0800 376 7070 0800 973 830 020 8606 4001
URL www.ulead.co.uk www.serif.com www.roxio.co.uk www.adobe.com
Album inc EXIF data? Y N N Y
Auto-enhance? Y N Y Y
Red-eye removal Y Y Y N
Natural media paint tools N N N Y
Masks Y Y N Y
Image extract N Y N Y
Panorama Y Y Y N
Slideshow Y N Y N
Web optimiser Y Y N Y
Image map Y Y N Y
Slices Y Y N Y
Rollovers Y N N Y
Multi-print Y N Y Y
Pressure-sensitive hardware Y Y N Y
Paper manual Y Y N Y
Pros Great web tools, modern interface Not patronising for beginners Task-based interface accessible Powerful and well-featured
Cons Not particularly flexible No auto-enhance No web or advanced features Price/learning curve daunting
Performance % 63% 40% 53% 90%
Features % 82% 65% 53% 88%
Ease of use 75% 75% 75% 70%
Overall 84% 63% 68% 87%
essential for building up complex images. You can a paper manual to refer to as well – all but PhotoSuite Many of its features are couched in the language of
find masks on all the packages except PhotoSuite come with one. The PhotoPlus manual is particularly photography rather than graphic design, flattening your
and Elements (although Elements does let you paint good for beginners. learning curve slightly.
masks on). Although the packages on test offer a similar set of Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop have the purest menu
Applying filters to your images is getting easier, and tools, they each provide a very different interface to and palette interfaces, and this is where Adobe’s
all the packages on test come with a bewildering array use. Probably the most unique is that offered by flagship editor really shines, with a logical structure and
of effects, enabling you to blur, sepia-tone or distort your PhotoSuite, which has an assortment of buttons reading the capability to squeeze large amounts of information
? EXPLAINED pictures, plus add artificial film grain, overlay 3D effects Get, Prepare, Share, Organise, plus submenus with into well-designed dialogue boxes. In contrast, Paint
and warm up skin tones. Some of these – particularly further options. This is supremely easy to use and is Shop Pro’s displays occasionally feel over-sized and
LAYERS the ones that duplicate traditional camera effects – are ideal for beginners, although more experienced users clunky, leaving you hunting for the feature you’re after.
Layers divide your document up
genuinely useful, while others are simply a waste of may find it stifling.
into discrete planes. If you’re
combining or manipulating your hard disk space. While they do have the occasional Quick Fix button, Universality
pictures in anything but the most the packages all provide primarily tool-based interfaces, The days when you had to worry about exchanging
simple way, your document will Ease of use with a variety of themed palettes containing tool icons image file formats between packages (or Mac and PC)
probably contain multiple layers, Something to consider before you part with any cash is and properties to interact with them. PhotoImpact’s are long gone – all the packages on test can open and
each of which can contain a whether to opt for a boxed copy or a copy downloaded innovation is its EasyPalettes, collections of media types save in common formats. As the industry standard, all
number of objects. Each layer can
from the manufacturer’s website. Boxed copies include and image elements that you simply drag and drop onto the packages can open Photoshop layered files (.psd),
have effects applied to it without
affecting the rest of the document. printed manuals and aren’t dependent on you having a your image or selection. They’re intuitive to use but but the reverse isn’t generally the case, so you might
Adjustment layers contain only broadband connection, whereas downloaded programs sometimes leave you wanting a little more control. want to avoid keeping your masterpieces in proprietary
filters, and apply effects to the are usually £10-30 cheaper and should be bang up to Elements keeps a traditional selection of palettes but layered file formats alone. Paint Shop Pro files can be
layers beneath them only. date. All the packages are simple to install. While online hides them in a docking well at the top of the window, opened by PhotoPlus 8, which also accepts Paint Shop
manuals are very quick and easy to use, we like having ensuring your window doesn’t end up too crowded. Pro’s Picture Tubes.

NEXT MONTH
; 5 ONLINE PHOTO-
DEVELOPING SERVICES
HOW WE TESTED
EACH IMAGE EDITOR
ADOBE DIGITAL WORKSHOP esting image editors isn’t beginners is Adobe Photoshop Elements, a
ELEMENTS 2 PAINT SHOP PRO 7
T straightforward because they each
offer a different approach to
super user-friendly package with the backing
of the biggest name in digital imaging.
£68 £40 working with your raw images. The reason Ulead’s PhotoImpact is absolutely stuffed
Adobe Digital Workshop why you prefer one editor to another is with features, and offers all you need to turn
likely to depend far more on the features list your downloaded images into great web
020 8606 4001 01295 258 335
and your opinion of the tools and interface pages and slideshows. King of the hill is still
www.adobe.com www.digitalworkshop.co.uk than differences in performance. Having said Adobe Photoshop, but you’ll need to invest
Y N that, there are certain automated tasks that plenty of time and money to get the most
Y Y you’ll probably be using over and over from it – it’s really for the full-time digital
again, so we rated a selection of these for photographers only.
Y Y
speed and results. We chose to assess the
Y Y packages auto image-adjustment (levels and
paint only Y colour), red-eye removal filters and web
N N optimisation. We also tried rotating and
resizing a large (30Mb) file to judge the
Y N
editors’ raw speed.
Y N We then rated the features on offer from
Y Y each package, weighting the ones that are
more useful to photographers (generally,
N Y
image-editing and enhancement functions
N Y got more points than painting and web-
N Y design tools). Lastly, we rated the packages
Y Y for ease of use, awarding points for logical,
intuitive functionality, good manuals and
Y Y
useful help and error messages. The final
Y Y percentage score for the editors takes all the
Great performance, flexible Powerful, comprehensive features above into account.
Few web tools Sprawling interface, feels dated
Conclusions…
90% 80%
There’s no one package that’s best for
85% 82% everyone, but each of our top three covers
85% 70% all the basics and all offers unbeatable
benefits for different users. Best for
90% 81%
Adobe dominates the plug-in format, too, and all the hardly improving colour and adding unsightly fringing. range of features prevents it from being a long-term
packages on test can use Photoshop-compatible plug- PhotoSuite is also unimpressive, leaving a colour cast choice. PhotoPlus from Serif has a superb manual and is
ins, although you will have to ensure you save them and poor exposure virtually unaltered. Paint Shop Pro a good introduction to image editing, but is also
into the correct program folder to use them. There’s no does a great job with levels, but colours end up washed hampered by missing functionality.
standard cataloguing system in use, so bear in mind that out and lifeless. Only Photoshop and Elements make a If you want to improve your digital image-
all the work you put into rotating, sorting and organising good job of it, with bright colours and a good tonal manipulation skills with packages that can also achieve
images will be lost if you upgrade your image editor – range. PhotoPlus suffers from having no auto-enhance pro results, we recommend Ulead’s PhotoImpact 8 and
the only exception being the identical File Browser used features but none are good enough to prevent you JASC’s Paint Shop Pro.
by Elements and Photoshop. having to make the odd change yourself. Both are competent editors that balance excellent,
Almost everything output for the web will be fully The red-eye reduction tools of PhotoPlus and wide-ranging features with superb ease of use.
exportable to any other editor, including images, PhotoSuite stand out as delivering a natural look with PhotoImpact is especially good if you’re thinking about
animation and slices. Of the packages on test, Adode’s very little effort, with only Elements having any trouble building a website and Pro is the stronger option for
Elements and Photoshop are also available for Apples. at delivering good results. Another process you really those interested in adding text, painting or drawing to
have to trust your editor to do is optimising images for their photos.
Results web use. Most are reliable but PhotoPlus is distinctly It’s almost a cliché that Adobe Photoshop wins image
Computational speed is less of an issue in the modern less efficient than others and PhotoSuite lacks this editor group tests, and there’s no denying that it is the
world of 2GHz+ processors, but PhotoSuite and Paint feature altogether. PhotoImpact and Photoshop has the slickest, feature-heavy package here. Its interface is
Show Pro are notably slower than others. The automatic handy feature of letting you set a target file size. logical and compact, there’s almost no limit to the depth
enhance tools (levels, contrast and colour especially) are of customisation and power it offers, and so it remains
very important – a trustworthy set of auto tools can save Conclusion at least one step ahead of the competition. But if you
you hours of tweaking sliders and graphs – so we Absolute novices might be tempted by the solution- want similar power (and a bit more fun) at a fraction of
weighted this test highly. PhotoImpact does poorly here, based approach of Roxio’s PhotoSuite 4, but its limited the price, Elements 2 is your best option.

Trailblazers
Travel the world, see interesting things and shoot them
01
5 WINNER! CAVE OF MELISSANI, KEFALONIA GARY HUGHES
“What made me want to take the picture was the way the light was coming through the collapsed roof of the cave, and enhancing the
contrast of colours between the boat and the lake. The picture was taken with a Fuji Finepix 6800.”
02
202 Photographed by: 203 Photographed by:
Anna Ioannides Ean Proctor
Location: Saint Nicholas church, Location: Photo of a lizard at
taken in the port of Rafina, outside Orlando Zoo, USA
Athens in Greece Camera used: Sony Cybershot
Camera used: Fujifilm @xia ix-100 PS-71
Trailblazers 03

05
04
204 Photographed by:

Brian Woods
Location: An orangutan
sits and ponders life at
Chester Zoo
Camera used: Fujifilm s602
205 Photographed by: 06

Val Fordham
Location: This stunning view
was captured in New Zealand.
2 This month, you have mostly been to…
Camera used: Fujifilm
Finepix 1400
04
3
3
206 Photographed by: 3 05
Colin Worley
Location: Tourists catch a ride at 03 3 01
an elephant safari park sanctuary
in Bali 3
Camera used: Olympus
06 02 3
C-2100 UZ
3
207 Photographed by:
Helen Revell Trailblazers 07
Location: “I was travelling on
the Trans–Siberian train into
Beijing when I spotted these
= Get your picture framed!
people ducking under a train to Send them in and the best gets framed and returned. We’re looking for
change platforms.” landmarks, unusual events or just something fabulously composed. Start
Camera used: Sony DSC-S70 planning that trip away! ■ Email us at gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
07

YOUR PHOTOS THE RED ARROWS
EMAIL US! Send in your life – see opposite!
01
MEET JAN KONINGSVELD
Each issue we lend a camera

to a person with an
interesting job and ask them
to take some pictures.
This month, meet Evert Jan
Koningsveld, photographer
for the Red Arrows
Dutch-born Koningsveld
photographs aircraft from the
air – which is where his close
relationship with display
teams in general, and the Red
Arrows in particular began. Of
the 40,000 shots now in his
collection, over 5,000 are from
the Red Arrows and he
continues to produce official
images for them today.
y
Dayinthelife a
There’s a lot more to flying in one of the world’s best aerobatic teams
02
03
than meets the eye – as Digital Camera Magazine discovers…
W
ith just 100 public performances a year you combined. By 9.15am, the Hawker Hawk training craft
could be forgiven for thinking than being a in red and white livery, are already being refuelled,
member of the Red Arrows air and ground while at the same time, the rest of the nine-man
crews was easy. In fact, it’s a year-round exercise. flight team begins its pre-flight briefing before taking
From 7.30am every morning, until 11pm at night, to the air at around 9.45am.
winter and summer, someone is briefing, fixing, By 1pm, the seven-man sortie will have already
learning, teaching and practising. been in the air twice and while they stop for lunch,
The day generally kicks off with pre-flight checks the Synchro Pair takes to the skies again for another
and routine maintenance by the Red Arrows’ 75- 30-minute stint of Opposition Barrel Rolls and
strong ground crew, The Blues (so-called because of Carousels. One more flight by the main seven-man
the serge-overalls they wear). By 9am, two members team in the afternoon sees the manoeuvres, servicing,
of the Red Arrows’ crews have undergone their pre- and post-flight checks concluded for the day.
briefing and are completing the team’s most thrilling At 4pm the second engineering shift arrives to carry
and potentially dangerous manoeuvres. The Synchro out major maintenance tasks on the Red Arrows’ ten
Pair fly closer to the ground, pull more loops and aircraft, the hangar doors finally closing one hour
experience more G-forces than the rest of the crew before the start of a brand new day.

Now it’s over to you: we want your life in our hands (or on these pages anyway). If
4
CONTACT you have a visually interesting job that you think might make a good Dayinthelife,
US please email us today at: [e] editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
T BE INSPIRED! www.raf.mod.uk/reds/redhome.html
Dayinthelife a
i h lif
201 The sky’s the limit
The world’s greatest display team
delivers around 100 performances
a year.
202 Preflight service

Members of the 75-strong
groundcrew service one of the
04 Hawker Hawk aircraft.
05 203 Preparation
There are ten aircraft: nine for
the display team, plus a spare –
usually used to transport the
commentator and flight safety
officer to each venue.
204 And relax

08 A member of The Circus, the
travelling team of engineers, takes
09 a well-earned rest between
display performances.
205 Loading up the dye

Tanks containing red and blue dye
are transported to the aircraft. The
dye is mixed with vaporised diesel
to produce the red, white and blue
vapour trail.
201 Final checks

The groundcrew go through pre-
and post-flight checks with the
team of crack RAF pilots.
06
207 Formation flying
07 The nine Red Arrows arrive in a Big
Vixen formation at the start of their
22-minute demo.
208 G-force
10 The Eagle 1/4 Clover break sees
crew members experience five
times the force of gravity (5g),
while the Synchro Pair can hit
8g – the point at which pilots can
black out during flight.
209 Concorde roll

The team line up into a delta-wing
formation for the crowd-pleasing
Concorde roll.
210 Inverted
Only the Synchro Pair are allowed
to fly upside down just 150 feet
from the ground.

Viewfinder
We want your letters! Email us at letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk and we ll print the best
Welco m e What examples?

I have just treated myself to your gorgeously
Star letter
glossy magazine and will be reading it bit by bit. I
To issue 3’s use the Olympus program which came with my I hate digital
Viewfinder. Many camera to do routine things with my pix, and the I realise this is not the best place to be writing this, but am I the only person who
thanks again to all file size I use quite a lot is JPEG 1280 X 960 which thinks digital cameras are a total rip-off – an excuse to con consumers into paying
those who wrote in to gives me a file for each pic of between about loads more money for lower-spec cameras just because they are ‘digital’? It’s just
us and to our website, 170K and 230K depending on complexity. like when CDs came in and LPs were phased out. The sound quality on LPs was
we’re glad you like However if I transfer them to Serif PhotoPlus better all along but no, we all had to go out and buy CD players instead. I still use
the magazine. I’m glad to say everyone has and then send them back to Olympus by either my old Canon SLR and I’m very happy with it. Digital still can’t match the
been very complimentary – even those of Save as Original or Export JPEG, they have quality I get at the price and I doubt that it ever will.
you who had a tough time with the Paint increased to 621K – all this without any work on Ian McCandless
Shop Pro software on last month’s disc. Rest them. Can you shed any light on this?
assured there’ll be no glitches this month. Susan Premru DCM Well, I m bound to disagree with you Ian. We think digital
You’ll notice that we’ve rejigged the is giving photography a massive boost, because it s easy to get
tutorials in favour of the cheaper image DCM What s happening is your Olympus good results by editing on-the-fly, then sharing images
editors due to popular demand and we’ll be program is compressing the JPEG more than electronically. Plus the running costs are lower too, so there s
continuing this as we move forward over the Serif PhotoPlus — part of the JPEG standard is a significant cost-saving over time. But maybe there are other
next few months. that users get to choose the amount of readers who still disagree? Are you a digital user who is
In the meantime, keep writing in! Now compression if they want. Essentially, the thinking of returning to film? Write in and let us know — we
write in, to letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk higher the compression, the more information like a good argument!
is thrown away, the lower the quality and the
Nick Merritt Managing Editor smaller the file sizes.
It sounds as if the default in your Olympus DCM Thanks for your comments. We re unlikely DCM While you don t need a PC to indulge in
software is set to compress more than in to carry many more SLR reviews in the digital photography, we reckon it s the best
PhotoPlus. Take a look at your program s magazine but we do have the odd one now way of getting the most from it. Look out for
options/preferences to see if you can change and again. Do look at our website at our review of all the online photo developing
the compression level — you should be able to. www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk for reader services next issue.
reviews and latest pricing information.
SLRs vs. compacts Where s the Mac stuff?
Please, please more detailed reviews of SLRs for Super stuff I’ve just bought your wonderful mag and signed
the likes of me. What a super magazine, it is just what is wanted up as a member of your site both of which are
I want to be seduced by a chunky full frame for the rapidly growing band of digital camera and great. However I am dismayed that a so-called
Nikon that I can use my existing lenses with and I computer buffs. “independent” magazine such as yours should be
will not be seduced by the vast array of compact Having seen it, I think that your website should so Windows-orientated
cameras (as good as some of them now are). make all readers feel a part of the magazine, I have a Mac and many of my friends at school
Otherwise I am impressed by the site (good especially as your team of experts is just an email and the ones on creative arts courses across the
article on mountain photography) and wish you away. Looking forward to seeing your next issue, country also have Macs. Your magazine also has
the best of luck for the future, best wishes to all. numerous screenshots from the Mac OS X version
Interact Richard Mansfield Ron Ham of Photoshop in its tutorial – so why do I see no
Get yourself over to Graham Hockaday answered Pete s

www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk and join What a shower Going digital question, saying that B&W in digital is just
in the discussions, swap tips and ideas and Nick (Ed) suggested staying up til 3am one Pete Riley says, I currently own a Pentax as good. He says: If you can t justify the
find out more about your next camera. It s morning in November to photograph the 6x7 but I really want to move into digital. Is high prices of SLR digital cameras it s worth
been very busy since our website went live— Leonid meteor shower. Reader Steve Spiller it still possible to take really good quality looking at the prosumer level eg. Fuji Finepix
over 4,000 people have registered already took up the challenge: I stayed up last night B&W in digital? And does anyone know S602 Zoom or the Minolta Dimage7i.
and 54 reader reviews have gone online. for the shower and it got cloudy just before where the best place is to trade in/sell my As far as selling your Pentax goes, I d go on
Here s some recent highlights: 3am! Er, sorry Steve. 6x7 and get a good deal? Ebay and advertise it there.

Inspired!
It s always great when you use our tricks to take better
pictures. Here s the best of this month s bunch of reader
photos — keep them coming, to gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
Slick panoramas the road) straightens out allowing the eye to

The ‘Montage 19’ image is a monumental see 180 degrees in a glance!
image inspired and created in part with Pete Bobb
mention of them at all in either the editorial or we are looking at making the coverdisc dual- Panorama Maker 3 software provided on CD
content? I can understand that there may be more format so you can access the 3D tours. 2 of the November 2002 issue of Digital Great image Pete. You could straighten
programs available for your coverdiscs but I would Camera Magazine. An unanticipated, but in out the fish-eye curved effect too in
like to make a plea to you that you don’t hide any Subscribing hindsight, not surprising side effect of using Photoshop/Elements — just use the
resources that could be dual format behind Just read the first issue of Digital Camera the Panorama Maker 3 software: When the Transform tool, below.
compacted .exe files as so many computing Magazine at a friend’s house and thought it was image is folded in the centre, (such as with
magazines already do. great. I am thinking of subscribing to the mag. I’ve a two page Digital Camera World spread),
Macs and the people who use them are just had a look on the website (also very good!) to and the two halves are at a right angle to
generally speaking more “into” digital photography see if it mentions what’s coming up in future each other, (such as when you hold the
and video than PC owners ... I say this in issues as this will help me decide on ending my magazine to read it), the perspective (and
proportional terms of course because there is no current subscription and changing over.
denying that 94 per cent of the market is Is there somewhere on the site that
dominated by Windows boxes... has previews of up-and-coming issues?
But of the six or so per cent Mac users many Pam
many more of them are into digital images than
the PC fraternity. DCM We re a bit wary of giving up
David J O Brien too many issue details too far in
advance because doing so gives the
DCM Funny you brought this up as we had a game away to our otherwise hopeless
good old debate about this one prior to competition. But there will be some
launching the magazine. You are right that very spectacular brand-name full
getting coverdisc software for Mac users is a big programs on our CD next month and
problem — there s simply not the quality or on issue 5 (can t give too much away
variety out there to make it worthwhile. but you will recognise them ).
But in terms of the content, every image We ll also be making an effort to
editing tutorial is Mac-compatible, so you flag forthcoming content online and in
shouldn t have too many problems there. And our email newsletter.
Tell us what you want!

Every issue, it s our aim to improve the magazine.
Write in to letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
Cool fireworks
He wante d She wante d He wante d I took this picture of our local firework
John Piper wanted video Susan Premru wanted Chris Bradley wanted a larger display in Lewes, using Getup&go to
tutorials to tie in with the some kind of type size in articles select the right exposure times.
relevant articles within acknowledge-ment so Mark Bedding
the magazine she knew if we’d He got
received emails. No change – sorry! We think the
He got type is readable already and the
Video tutorials appearing She got impact on word
from next Every email counts would take
issue on our now gets an too much value out Macrovision
coverdiscs. immediate of the magazine. Since you welcome articles and pictures
response from readers I am sending you a couple of
samples of close-up work. The toad picture
WRITE Every issue, we aim to improve some aspect of the magazine. Email
your suggestions to letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk and the Editor will
was scanned from an old b&w print and
retouched using the Paint Shop Pro
IN either don his Santa or Scrooge hat (Not at all sure I like this idea —Ed.) program given away with your issue no. 2.
TODAY! Andrew Palmer
WINTER ISSUE ON SALE NOW
SETTING UP IN 3D OUR INDUSTRY REPORT ON WHAT IT DIRECTOR MX IN-DEPTH PREVIEW OF THE LEADING
TAKES TO FLY SOLO IN THE DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD OF 3D MULTIMEDIA APP IN OUR 21-PAGE REVIEW SECTION
VECTOR PLUG-INS OUR DEFINITIVE GROUP TEST ON INDESIGN 2 PDF CREATION AND PREFLIGHTING USING
THE LATEST AND BEST PLUG-INS FOR ILLUSTRATOR ADOBE’S GROWING GRAPHIC DESIGN PACKAGE
SECTION #02 YOUR IMAGES
PROJECT PAGE
58
IMAGES FROM NATURE
Discover how to combine and resize images, plus
alter colours for an abstract, fantasy effect
ELEMENTS TECHNIQUES PAGE
70
HOW TO RESIZE AND PRESERVE QUALITY
Get your digital photos ready for printout or web –
we reveal how to avoid sacrificing image quality
NEW SERIES! PAGE
72
GET THE MOST FROM PAINT SHOP PRO
Prepare images for the web. Get your colours and
contrast right. Our new series shows you how…
ELEMENTS TIPS PAGE

PROJECT
76
20 WAYS TO GET MORE FROM ELEMENTS
IMAGES FROM NATURE Got Elements or Elements 2? We reveal the expert
SEE PAGE 58 ways to get the most from it
PHOTO CLINIC
SEE PAGE 64
PAGE PAGE
76 72
Your images
Making and creating better pictures
Tutorials you can trust! Contact our editorial team
f #
Our aim is to bring you creative ideas, expert tips and image files, and full or trial software so you can try the If you have a comment, suggestion, idea or
quick fixes you can use in your own work. tutorial for yourself, delivering a complete package. submission you would like to make, please
Authoritative A leading professional in his/her field Clear Our large page size means we can add extra email us at editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk Visit
writes every tutorial. Value-added We try to include elements, explanations and detail to each tutorial. our website at digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
PROJECT ABSTRACT EFFECTS
YOUR GUIDE SANDY GARDNER

A freelance digital illustrator and photographer, Sandy designs for magazines and
children’s books, as well as producing CD artwork and imagery for Amnesty
International, and exhibiting her work regulalrly around the UK
sandy@sandygardner.co.uk PORTFOLIO SANDY GARDNER WEBSITE WWW.SANDYGARDNER.CO.UK
Images from nature –

creating abstract effects
With an image editor and digital camera, you don’t need to confine yourself to literalistic compositions – that is, combining
images to simulate something that already exists. Why not combine elements and create items of abstract art instead?
T 7TOOL SCHOOL
here are several approaches to digital So before beginning an image it is always advisable to
PROJECT
photography. One is to approach it from the have a concept.
KEY DETAILS point of view of a pure photographer – use With the image Seahorses (opposite) I first set myself
2
GRADIENT TOOL
ON OUR DISC your camera creatively to interpret and capture a great a loose brief. This included which elements were to be
The gradient tool enables you to create a
■ IMAGE FILES scene, with image editing confined to tweaking what’’s used and what feeling I wanted the image to evoke. gradual transition between two or more
All the elements you need to there for the best result. The main elements I chose to use were the sea-horses colours. Gradient fills can be applied as
recreate the Seahorses image
Another is to use the image editor to create and the shell. I could see how they would work either a radial or a linear fill.
are on our discs
■ PHOTOSHOP 7 TRIAL something that could exist but doesn’t – replacing a grey together. By centring the small sea-horse’s eye in the
Give it a go! sky in an otherwise good photo, with a blue one from centre of the shell, the eye of the viewer would be led
2 SKILL LEVEL 1 another picture. But many photographers avoid this
approach as in many ways, it is the opposite of what
into this area and back out again.
I wanted the image to be magical as I think there’s
literal. The bubbles in the background give a feeling of
being at some depth while at the same time sparkle
7 great photography is supposed to be about. But that’s something mystical about seahorses. They seem very with iridescent colour that suggests wizardry or some
2 TIME TO COMPLETE
not to say you can’t use your camera and image editor
to create something more altogether original and artistic.
serene and to me give off an air of wisdom. I therefore
searched through my library for a selection of textures
kind of underwater fairy dust! The strands of undulating
hair suggest movement like the flow of water.
3-4 HOURS
But just capturing various images and throwing them
together to see what comes out is never a good idea.
that were enchanting and evocative of being deep in
thought but that also suggested water without being to
Creating this image may look very complicated it is in
fact very simply put together. Here’s how:
HOW WE
PREPARED
EACH ELEMENT
SANDY GARDNER
DIGITAL ARTIST
SEAHORSE NAUTILUS SHELL BUBBLES

A Seahorses are fantastic-looking creatures. The B Again, this was photographed using a Canon C These bubbles come from burning and heating
I USED A COMBINATION OF small one was photographed using a Canon EOS camera. This photograph is of the interior an old gloss photograph, giving some lovely
PHOTOS AND SCANS, AND EOS camera whereas the larger one was simply put of a nautilus shell. I especially like the way the spiral of results. I placed the burned photo directly onto the
SOME LIBRARY MATERIAL
directly onto the scanner – a surprisingly good way of the nautilus shell draws the eye in and out from the scanner. The gloss surface of the photograph reflected the
scanning real objects. centre of the image. scanner lights, resulting in areas of iridescent colours.

Everything you need to
create this image is on your CD
All the images, filters and plug-ins you need to
create this image are on your cover CD. All
BORDER BUBBLES FLOWER HAIR HAIR 2 HORSE 1 HORSE 2 SHELL TEXTURE
2
images are (c) Sandy Gardner
border.psd bubbles.psd flower.psd hair.psd hair2.psd horse01.psd horse02.psd shell.psd texture.psd
CDA/tutorials/
TOP TIP In most of my imagery I have a point of focus to which the eye is always drawn back to. Below, the point of focus is the centre of the shell on the eye of the smaller seahorse
STAGE 1 2
FOCUS ON SEAHORSES
To begin with you need to
remove the backgrounds
of the main focus of the image,
the seahorses.
0 EXPERT TIP
SANDY GARDNER
SELECT THE BACKGROUND SMOOTH THE SELECTION EXPAND THE SELECTION
ARTIST
01 Open the horse1.psd and horse2.psd files from 02 The selection you’ve made often appears 03 The wand tool tends not to select right up to
PHOTO LIBRARIES
I collect and photograph things the CD. To remove the black backgrounds from jagged afterwards. It must be smoothed out the edge, leaving a halo of background colour
constantly so that I have a huge the seahorses use the wand tool (set on tolerance 10 in so you can then expand it. Go to the drop-down menu as a result. If you expand the selection a little it helps. In
library of what I call source the magic wand options) click on the black background and hit Select8Modify8Smooth and set the sample radius the drop-down menu hit Select8Modify8Expand and
material ready at my fingertips and most of the black background will be selected. to four pixels. expand the selection by two pixels.
whenever I need it.
Simply scan the objects
directly – you will be surprised at
the results you get! IN FOCUS Sizing up the seahorses
FLIP SEAHORSE SCALE DOWN THE SEAHORSE OVERLAP THE TAILS
06 HORIZONTALLY Decrease the smaller seahorse Holding down Shift while you
Flip the smaller a little using the transform scale down the seahorse will
seahorse horizontally. Do this by scale tool until it’s half the keep the scale the same. Make
having the small seahorse layer height of the larger one. Go to the tails overlap at the bottom.
highlighted or active, then going to drop down menu Image Press return to set the
drop down menu Layer8 8Transform8Scale or use transformation. Put the small
Transform8Flip Horizontally and control T. Click and hold seahorse layer below
the small seahorse will flip over. the top right-hand corner the large seahorse.
of the transform.
SOFTEN THE EDGE
04 If you removed the background now the edge
would be a little sharp. Soften the edge by
going to drop down menu Select8Feather and feather
radius by 0.5 pixels. Press the delete key and you will be
left with the seahorse on a transparent background.
? EXPLAINED
LIGHTEN MODE
Several times in this tutorial I have
used the layer blending mode
‘Lighten’. The ‘Lighten’ mode looks
at the colour information in each
channel and selects the base or
blend colour – whichever is lighter –
as the result colour. Pixels darker
than the blend colour are replaced,
and pixels lighter than the blend
colour do not change.
REPEAT WITH SMALLER SEAHORSE

05 Now the edge will blend better with the final
image. Repeat all these processes to remove
the background of the smaller seahorse. Drag and drop
the smaller seahorse onto the same canvas as the large
one. Close the window containing just the small seahorse.

PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS PHOTOIMPACT
4
USING OTHER Apply colour gradients in Paint Shop Pro by choosing the Flood No problems – Elements has all of the Gradient tools, layer Apply Gradients like so: go to the Edit menu, then select Fill.
IMAGE EDITORS Fill tool then chooising Options, Gradient Fill Origin controls and colour tools described here, from the same menus in the box that apppears, click Gradient
STAGE 2 2
OVERLAPPING TAILS
Now you need to make the two
seahorses’ tails look like they
overlap by adding some
shadows. Also you need to
prepare some of the other
elements for use in the image.
SELECT TIP OF TAIL TAIL TIP SHADOW BLUR THE TIP

07 Select the tip of the tail that overlaps onto the 08 To enhance this effect you must create some 09 Blur the tail tip using the gaussian blur filter.
larger seahorse with the lasso tool and copy shadow. Duplicate the tip of tail layer using Go to drop down menu Filter8Blur8Gaussian
and paste onto a new layer, (which can be done by levels. Go to drop down menu Image8Adjust8Levels. blur and set to a radius of 5.6 pixels and click ok. Place this
pressing shortcuts ‘control C’ and then ‘control V’). Move Make the tail tip black by moving the far right slider all blurred, darkened tail tip layer between the large
this tip of tail layer above the large seahorse layer. the way over to the left (see above) and click ok. seahorse layer and the tail tip layer, slightly to the left.
* WEB LINKS
PHOTOSHOP PLUG-INS
www.boxtopsoft.com/plugpage/
Claims to serve over half a million
plug-ins for Mac and Windows –
worth a look for its mix of practical
and creative tools.
CREATE A SHADOW COPY AND PASTE THE EYE MERGE THE LAYERS
10 Set the layer opacity to 60 per cent. There 11 The large seahorse does not have as visible an 12 Place the pasted eye layer above the large
should now be a shadow beneath the tip. eye as the other so I copied and pasted the seahorse’s eye and select the layer blending
Now you must create some shadow at the lowest point eye of the smaller one onto it. Using the lasso tool mode ‘Darken’ to make the effect more convincing.
where the tails overlap. Use the airbrush and black colour roughly select the eye of the small seahorse. Copy using Merge all the layers and save file as ‘joined.psd’.
on a new layer between the small and large seahorse. ‘control C’ then paste using ‘control V’. Close the window.
FLOWER POWER SET THE GRADIENT TOOL SET THE GRADIENT TOOL
13 Next we’re going to work on the flower
14 Click on the left-hand colour square and then
15 Click on the square to the right of the slider on
image. Open file flower.psd. To change the click on the coloured rectangle to select a the gradient tool control and set that colour to
colour of the flower to a blue, use the gradient tool. Do colour. The colour picker pallet will appear. On the far right 86 Cyan (C), 34 Magenta (M), 45 Yellow (Y), 70 Black (K).
this by creating a new layer. Double-click on the gradient toward the bottom set the colours to 96 Cyan ( C ), 57 Click ok. Where it says ‘type’ on the third row down of the
tool. Click on Edit in the gradient control panel. magenta ( M ). Click ok. gradient tool options, set gradient tool to a radial fill.

ONE-CLICK FIX Make it easy to choose the right selection tool for your image. Visit www.arraich.com/ps6_tips_sselect1.htmfor some handy hints
STAGE 3 2
PREPARING ELEMENTS
Now you’re going to carry on
preparing elements for the
image and you’ll then begin to
put the images together…
APPLY GRADIENT TOOL REMOVE THE BACKGROUND TRIM THE SHELL

16 Now you’ll create some new colour. On the 17 Set layer blending mode to ‘Colour’. Merge the 18 Open file shell.psd. Remove background and
new layer use the gradient tool starting from two layers and remove the background in the the light coloured end of the shelll using the
the centre of the flower to about one third along. You same way you did with the seahorses so you’re left with straight-edged lasso tool. Zoom in close and carefully
now have a layer of colour that blends from a lighter blue just the flower on a transparent background. Save as select around the edge of the shell then press delete. You
in the centre outward to a darker blue. blueflower.psd and close the window. are now left with the main part of the shell as shown.
0 EXPERT TIP
SANDY GARDNER
DIGITAL ARTIST
CENTRAL ALIGNMENT
Pressing control and shift while
dragging and dropping an image
will automatically centre it on the
new canvas.
CHANGE THE COLOUR BALANCE MAKE THE SHELL BLUE CREATE A NEW CANVAS
19 To achieve the final result you must now 20 Secondly, you must go to the colour balance 21 Create a new canvas. Go to drop-down menu
change the colour of the shell to blue. The first options and select ‘Midtones’. Now set the File8New and set the size 26cm x 30 cm at
step is to use the colour balance tools. Go to the drop- colour levels by typing in -9, + 58 and +100 in the value 300dpi and fill it black. Drag the shell so the middle of the
down menu Image8Adjust8Colour Balance and this will boxes. Click ok. You should now have a blue shell. Save spiral is in the centre of the canvas. Set layer blending
bring up the colour balance options. this as blueshell.psd. mode to lighten at 80 per cent opacity. Close the window.
3 IN DETAIL
MAGIC WAND
The magic wand tool selects
similarly coloured areas. The
tolerance can range from 0 to 255.
Set the tool to a low tolerance to
select colours very similar. Enter a
higher tolerance to select a broader
range of colours.
COMBINE SHELL AND SEAHORSES ADD THE FLOWER INVERT THE HAIR
22 Now you’re going to put the images together.
23 Open blueflower.psd and drag and drop onto a
24 Now it’s time to add some hair to the
Open joined.psd (the two seahorses) and drag new layer and place in the top left-hand equation. Open file hair01.psd from the CD. Go
and drop them onto a new layer above the shell so that corner. Copy the layer and move this flower to the bottom to drop-down menu Image8Adjust8Invert and Invert it
eye of the smaller seahorse is where the centre of the right-hand side of the flower. Set opacity of both to about which gives you a negative of the image. Now we’re
shell is. Close the joined.psd window. 60 per cent. Close the blueflower.psd window. ready to play around with the image.

PAINT SHOP PRO
4
BLENDING Alter blending modes via the Layers>Properties menu option.
MODES Find out more at www.hypergurl.com/pspblending.html
WWW.THINKDAN.COM/TUTORIALS/PHOTOSHOP/BLENDINGMODES/ T ADD TO FAVOURITES
STAGE 4 2
FINAL TOUCHES
It’s getting easier now and all
we need to do is add some
finishing touches and some
background texture.
CHANGE THE COLOUR BALANCE MAKE HAIR BLUE REPEAT THE PROCESS
25 Now you’re going to prepare the hair for some
26 Drag and drop onto the image in the bottom
27 Open file ‘hair02.psd’ Repeat the process of
colour enhancement. Use the colour balance left-hand corner onto a layer above the inverting and colouring as before and drag and
tool to get t ready for some blue tinting. In the colour seahorses and the flowers. Set the layer blending mode drop the image onto the top right-hand corner of the
balance option box set the colour levels to -15, +58, +67 to lighten at 58 per cent opacity. Now you can close the image, on a layer above the seahorses and flowers on
on midtones and then click ok. hair01.psd window. layer blending mode Lighten. Close the window.
? EXPLAINED IN FOCUS Final touches

SELECTIVE COLOUR
I quite often use selective colour to
adjust the colours of photographs ADD THE BUBBLES FINISH OFF THE IMAGE
and textures for my images. 30 Open the file bubbles.psd. Drag and Open the file border.psd. This came from another
Photoshop help says Selective
drop this onto the image one layer image I have created in Photoshop called Mantra. I
Colour is “a technique used by
high-end scanners and separation
above the last texture layer. Press down control selected the outer edge of the image and feathered
programs to increase and decrease and shift while doing this to centre it (you can the edges. Drag and drop the border onto the image
the amount…” and so it goes on. I do this for the previous colour texture step too). on the very top layer top while pressing control and
just really like it ’cause it gives great Set the layer blending mode to lighten. Close shift to centre it. Set the layer colour blending mode to
control and you can get the colours the bubbles.psd window. ‘Lighten’. Set the layer opacity to 78 per cent. Flatten
you want easily.
the image and you have finished!
CREATE THE BACKGROUND

28 Open file texture.psd. Go to the arrow to the
right of layer options and click on duplicate
layer. Rotate the layer by 180˚ (drop-down menu Layer8
Transform8Rotate 180˚). Set the layer blending mode to
lighten on the rotated layer and merge the two together.
@ WIN!
We want your creative efforts!
Send them in and the best image
wins a great 128Mb CompactFlash MAKE TEXTURE PURPLE
card, courtesy of Crucial 29 Use selective colour on menu Image8Adjust8
Technologies. (Find out more about
Selective colour. Choose ‘neutrals’ set on
Crucial at www.crucial.com/uk
method ‘Relative’ and move the sliders to Cyan -13%.
gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk Magenta +26, yellow -10%. Drop the texture on the
image one layer above the black background.

PHOTO CLINIC RESTORATION
YOUR GUIDE ED DAVIS
Ed Davis is a London-based advertising and corporate photographer with many years
experience of studio and location photography. He specialises in image manipulation, and
delivers creative solutions that combine photography and digital technology. He is a member of
NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals)
Equipment used: a scanner and Adobe Photoshop 7
picdesk.dcm@futurenet.co.uk WEBSITE www.ed-davis-photography.co.uk
How to restore an old

tinted photograph
Last month we restored a colour photo from the 70s to its former glory. Our mission here is to resurrect a much
older black and white print that’s been damaged over time and was originally colour-tinted by hand…
W
hile it’s easy to restore colour and to bloom and later discolour the shot through chemical spotting from your snaps, and in this
eliminate fade from your family photos, oxidisation. Worse some old pictures may have had particular photo we’ve also used the techniques
some pictures are much harder to fix: the colours or tints added, presenting even more of a covered last month to restore colour and balance the
photo paper on to which they’re printed may be challenge to the would-be photo restorer. contrast in our shot. We’ve also used Photoshop to
creased, torn or even have sections missing. The Luckily none of this is as daunting as it initially improve the original’s poorly focused eyes, giving us
ravages of time and the environment will have appears. Photoshop’s Healing and Lasso tools can be a finished result even Granny would be proud to put
caused chemicals used in the development process quickly deployed to remove unsightly creases and on her mantelpiece.
BEFORE The photo is damaged, discoloured and

surface oxidisation is causing pink patches AFTER The photograph is restored
to its former glory
This hand-tinted black and white print needs its
colour saturation and balance restored. The eyes
are also a little out of focus.
■ IMAGE IS TOO DARK

Solution: Adjust tonal range in the layers palette.
■ CRACKS AND SCRATCHES

Solution: Copy sections of the image onto new
layers, move them into position over the damage
8
and blend them together.
■ COLOUR IS FADED
Solution: Make selections of the hand tinted areas
using the pen tool so that the colour of each area
can be enhanced separately.
■ EYES ARE OUT OF FOCUS
Photo Solution: Increase the contrast; make the white

areas brighter, and balance the dark areas using
Dodge and Burn.
Clinic ■ PICTURE IS THE WRONG SHAPE

Solution: Increase the size of the background; fill in
the missing areas with parts of the existing image.

In the tool bar, some icons have a black
4
MORE TOOL triangle in the bottom right corner. Click it for
OPTIONS extra tools. Or right click for options
STAGE 1
HOW TO LIGHTEN
THE IMAGE
2
As the photograph is dark, we
need to brighten the image to
enable us to see what needs to
be retouched.
BRIGHTENING THE IMAGE BALANCE THE TONES NOW READY TO BE RETOUCHED

01 We need to bring the tonal range to a level 02 The graph represents the tonal range of the 03 The original hand tinting is now visible. The
where the image is clear enough to work image. The small black triangle on the left colour of the dress and the skin tone of the
with. To do this, open the Layers Palette then go to: controls the shadow detail, the white one on the right subject, are more defined, the red of the lips is more
Image8Adjust8Layers. (Short cut CTRL + L), and a controls the highlights. Slide the black and white triangles noticeable. The tonal range is greater and gives a better
histogram will appear. using the red arrows. The image will lighten. starting point for the retouching.
STAGE 2 2
HOW TO REPAIR
THE DAMAGE
We need to repair the folds,
scratches and blemishes and
clean up the image.
AREAS TO BE REPAIRED CRACKS AND FOLDS COPY AND PASTE

04 The photograph has been scratched (2), the 05 Select the Lasso Tool from the Tool palette, 06 Copy the undamaged area underneath your
surface is cracked (1) and discoloured (3). (short cut L) and set the Feather setting to mimic shape. When pasted, it will appear as a
Although the photograph has been damaged, it is still about 3 pixels. Make a selection around the damaged new layer. Now drag it over the damaged area. The new
in good enough condition to be retouched. The colour is area to mimic its shape. Click inside the selected area and section can be enlarged or rotated to fit (use the Free
even but slightly faded. drag it to a part of the image that’s not damaged. Transform command: Edit8Free Transform (or CTRL T).
0 EXPERT TIPS
ED DAVIS
USING LAYERS
TRANSFORM OPTIONS
Right click inside the Free
SELECT THE HEALING BRUSH MAKING THE DAMAGE DISAPPEAR REPEAT. . . UNTIL DONE
Transform box, a menu will 07 First flatten the layers you have created using 08 When the cursor is moved across the surface, it 09 Move the point of selection around the image
appear enabling you to change
the method of transformation, Layer8Flatten Image. From the Tool Palette, will lighten the image. This may look wrong, to avoid getting a stepped effect. Repeat using
i.e.: Distort, Skew and select the correct size Healing Brush. Press ALT and click on but once the mouse button is released, Photoshop will the Healing Brush over the rest of the damage areas until
Perspective. an undamaged area, take the cursor over the damaged automatically balance the underlying texture and base the image is repaired. The eyes seem to be out of focus,
area, click and drag. colour of the image making the damaged area invisible. they will be restored at a later stage.

PHOTO CLINIC RESTORATION
ONE-CLICK FIX Burning and dodging can be used on any photograph to make it look sharper. This technique of lightning the eye whites and darkening the iris makes the entire portrait more lively
STAGE 3 2
MANIPULATING
THE COLOUR
The colour of this photograph
is even but has slightly faded
over the years. The face, dress and
lips colour need to be enhanced to
make it look as it did originally.
STARTING WITH THE FACE DEFINING THE LINE REFINING THE SELECTION
10 Firstly, you need to change the colour of the 11 With the cursor back at the starting point, click 12 To avoid overlaps from colour to colour, the
skin. Go into the Tool Bar and select the Pen the Pen Tool icon again, right click to open the selection of a colour has to be extremely
Tool icon. Right click to open the menu then pick the pen menu and choose Convert Point Tool. By pressing CTRL accurate. Click on one of the points and drag to create
tool. Go round the perimeter of the face and neck, clicking and selecting one of the points, the parameter of the two more points. Moving these points will change the
to create the selection. selection can be adjusted. shape of the line.
FINAL SELECTION SPLIT THE IMAGE DECIDING ON THE COLOUR

13 Right click on the face, click on Make Selection, 14 Create a new layer for each of the elements in 15 To change the colour, open the Colour Balance
choose Feather Radius of 1. The aim is to the photograph: the hair, the face, the dress, Pallet: Image8Adjust8Colour Balance. (Short
enhance the colour of the face without affecting the rest and the background. Once the selected areas have been cut CTRL + B), use the sliders to achieve the correct colour.
of the image. Click Edit 8Copy (short cut CTRL C) to copy separated, they can be altered independently of the rest Originally, the colour was applied as a wash over a sepia
the selected area, Edit8Paste (short cut CTRL V) to paste it of the image. Changing the dress colour to red does not toned print, if you make the dark areas too black the tint
on its own layer. turn the whole of the image red. will not show.
STAGE 4 2
GIVING THE EYES MORE
DEFINITION
Cleaning up the eyes by adjusting
the contrast makes them more
noticeable and draws the viewer
to the photograph.
MAKING THE EYES BRIGHT USE THE DODGE TOOL BURNING

16 As the eyes are quite dark around the iris they 17 Now select the Doge Tool from the Tool Bar, 18 To give definition, darken the lines around the
look flat, and one way of making them stand and pick a brush size that fits inside the eye as per the red guidelines. Select the Burn
out more is to lighten the white part of the eye. This trick selection you’ve made of those whites. On the Option Bar Tool icon on the Tool Bar. On the Option Bar set the Range
makes the eye look more in focus. Use the Lasso tool from set the Range to Midtones and the Exposure to 50 per to Midtones and Exposure to 20 per cent. Now it’s time to
the Tool Bar, set the feather to one pixel, and draw a cent. Next, click and move the brush over the selection go around the eye with a small brush. The area will
selection around the white part of the eye. and it will lighten. gradually darken as you do so.

If the eyes are damaged beyond repair, copy the eyes from
4
IT’S ALL IN another photograph of the person or a member of their
THE EYES family or someone whose facial features are similar.
STAGE 5 2
HOW TO RESHAPE
THE FRAME
The original picture was
probably much bigger. Using
Canvas Size you can easily
change the shape of it.
THE RIGHT SHAPE ADDING TO THE IMAGE CHANGE THE SHAPE

19 Most photographic frames are made to a ratio 20 To create the missing sleeve you can make a 21 To change the shape of your photograph, click
of 1 to 1.2, ie. 8 x 6, 10 x 8. The photograph selection using the Lasso Tool (image 16), on the Elliptical Marquee Tool in the Tool Bar,
was probably cut down or was part of a larger image. To Copy and Paste (image 13) part of the dress, then use the with a Feather setting of 5px, drag an oval shape over the
change the shape back to an 8x6 format open: Transform (image 6) to flip it over and match it to the rest image. Click Select8 Inverse on the Option bar, this will
Image8Canvas Size, change the width setting and click of the dress. You can use the same procedure to add the select everything outside the oval. Press back space to
OK. Just the background changes – the image will remain. background to go behind it. clear the selected area.
IN FOCUS Going further
CHANGE THE BACKGROUND

23 We are working with four layers: the hair, the
face, the dress and the background. Create a
new layer above the background layer, this will become
our new background: Layer8 New 8Layer (short cut is
SHFT + CTRL +N).
@ SEND YOURS!
We want your faded, damaged
pictures today!
Send them in, we’ll fix them up for
free, show everyone how we did it
and send them back restored! FINISHING TOUCHES FULLER PICTURE EXPERIMENT WITH
22 Once the retouching is finished Using the Transform COLOUR
The sort of pictures we’re after
we can still make some tool we’ve created a Once you’ve repaired
need to be decent photos which
have become damaged –
interesting changes. As we have split the fuller picture of the the damage, you can
unfortunately we can’t make badly photograph into different sections, each subject, free of start to experiment
composed/shot photos good. on its own layer, we can now change the blemishes, scratches with colour to create
colours in the photograph independently and discolouration some radical results
■ Contact us via email, with a small without affecting the whole of the image.
JPEG of the photo attached, and if
Have fun, download backgrounds from
it’s right for the mag, we’ll get in
@
the web or create your own. NEW BACKGROUND
touch. How’s that for a bargain?
Email the following address:
24 On the tool bar select Background and
Foreground colour, change the colour to your
picdesk.dcm@futurenet.co.uk choice, see examples. Click on Filter8Render8Clouds and the
background of the image will fill with a colour texture.

TUTORIAL ENHANCING YOUR PHOTOS IN ELEMENTS/PHOTOSHOP
YOUR GUIDE TIM DALY
Tim has written several books on photography, including The Digital
Photography Handbook, The Digital Printing Handbook and The Desktop
Photographer, and he continues to write for The British Journal of
Photography and AG. His photographs have been exhibited across Europe
tim@photocollege.co.uk PORTFOLIO TIM DALY WEBSITE WWW.PHOTOCOLLEGE.CO.UK
How to resize images and

maintain quality
If you’re confused about getting your digital photos ready for print-out or web use, then check Tim’s tutorial
on the best ways of going about it without sacrificing image quality
T
he physical dimensions of a digital image are scanned or captured with a digital camera. 1800x1200 or 72 ppi for commercial repro, inkjet and web output
TUTORIAL
not exactly straightforward and not as easy to pixels is the kind of image size produced by a mid-price respectively. At 300 ppi, an 1,800 x 1,200 image will
KEY DETAILS visualise as a 6 x 4 glossy photographic print. digital compact and by default, in line with all other make a 6 x 4 inch print and at 200 ppi, the same file
2 ON OUR CD Digital images are variously and confusingly described
as high resolution or low resolution, 2, 3 or more
digital cameras, this is packaged with a fixed 72
pixels per inch or ppi resolution.
will make a 7.5x6 inch print.
Preparing the right resolution for output needs to be
Find a trial of Photoshop
Elements 2 on your disc megapixels and even talked about in straightforward However, the higher the resolution of a picture, the the very first task you undertake using the Image Size
megabyte terms. Basically, how big a digital image is better the quality and you can change the resolution control, but most crucially, this needs to be done with
2 SKILL LEVEL will have an enormous bearing on the print size and using the Image Size Dialog box. This will alter the the Resample box left unchecked. If you leave this
4 quality you can reasonably expect to produce from it. physical size of the final image you produce (the higher switched on, this option will either introduce new pixels
The best way of describing the size of a digital image the res, the smaller your print out or web image will be) to your image to make it larger but at the expense of
2 TIME TO COMPLETE is in terms of its pixel dimensions. This measurement is but most importantly, your file size and pixel dimensions sharpness, or throw away original pixels and make it
3 MINUTES
PERIMAGE
the horizontal and vertical count of the image when first will remain the same. Resolution can be set at 300, 200 smaller and lower quality.
2 NEXT MONTH
CHANGING RESOLUTION The key element of the Image Size Dialog box is the
Sharpening your images
Resample Image checkbox set in the bottom left corner
? EXPLAINED
USING THE PRINT
PROOF PREVIEW
In Photoshop An advanced preview
function is offered via the Proof
Colours option found in Photoshop’s
View menu. This tool modifies the
monitor appearance of your image
to match the likely outcome from a
chosen inkjet paper type. You own
personal Proof Setup needs to be
created first by picking one of the
options under the Custom menu. PRINTING AT MAXIMUM QUALITY CHANGING THE RESOLUTION PREVIEWING THE PRINT
01 After uploading the image from your digital 02 Turn the Resample Image option off and in 03 Now you’ve altered the resolution, Click OK
In Elements The options are more camera or scanner, open the image in the Document Size half of the dialog box, and return to your image window. To
limited in Elements but there are
Photoshop Elements and do Image8Resize8Image change the Resolution from 72 to 200 pixels/inch. confirm your new print size, do File8Print Preview and
colour management controls – go to
File, Print Preview then Show More
Size. Here, you are faced with the image size dialog Notice the Pixel Dimension has remained unchanged, check that your image sits within the margins of the
Options, then the drop down menu. box that confirms the 1,800 x 1,200 Pixel Dimensions but the Document Size has shrunk because your pixels currently selected paper size and that it fits the
in the top panel, and the current file size alongside. are much more concentrated. portrait or landscape orientation correctly.

The Digital Photography review is an online resource centre dedicated to digital
4
FURTHER learning. Check out a great explanation of interpolation techniques on:
INFORMATION www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/Interpolation_01.htm
Remember that distortion can be a problem when you

ENLARGING OUTPUT SIZE enlarge your images. Take the necessary precautions…
0 EXPERT TIP
TIM DALY
ON FILTERS
USING THE UNSHARP
MASK (USM) FILTER
After enlarging or downsampling
your original image, some
sharpness will have been sacrificed
along the way. This can easily be
ADDING NEW PIXELS SETTING THE NEW PRINT SIZE CHOOSING THE RIGHT re-established using the Unsharp
01 Enlarging a digital image means adding new 02 Type in the desired size in the Document 03 INTERPOLATION MODE Mask Filter just prior to print out.
For very drastic reductions from a
pixels to your original ones. Stay in the Size text box and watch how both file size To the right of the Resample Image option high resolution file to a tiny Web
Image Size dialog box, but check the Resample Image and Pixel Dimension increase. Be realistic at this stage are two modes for introducing new pixels. Choose thumbnail, USM should be applied
option before starting. Ensure the Constrain Proportions and don’t enlarge your image by more than 25 per Bicubic for best results from photographic images and after each reduction if several
option is selected, or your picture will be distorted. cent or you may lose quality and colour saturation. Nearest Neighbour for hard edged graphic images. individual steps are made.
The important thing to consider for

REDUCING OUTPUT SIZE FOR WEB web resizing is monitor resolution
MATCHING MONITOR RESOLUTION THINKING IN PIXELS CHECKING THE SIZE

01 Reducing a digital image is called 02 Use the Pixel Dimension read out, rather 03 Confirm the exact size your new image will
downsampling – throwing away original than centimetre or inch scale, as monitor appear on the web by viewing it at 100 per
pixels to make it smaller for web only use. Start by resolution is based on pixels. Remember that even at cent or by choosing View8Actual Size. Don’t be
changing the Resolution to 72 pixels/per inch, as this 600 pixels wide, an image will look huge on a web disheartened if it looks poor quality at 200 per cent, as
matches the resolution of most monitor screens. page and download slowly. Set your size, press OK. it will never be seen at this magnification by others.
A less sophisticated method of resizing

USING PRINT PREVIEW DIALOG images but handy in a hurry!
? EXPLAINED
INTERPOLATION
Resampling, downsampling and
upsampling are all terms used to
describe interpolation: the process of
adding or subtracting pixels from
your image. The colour of new pixels
is based on an average taken from
surrounding pixels, but with a
VISUALISING YOUR RESULTS SCALING THE PRINT SIZE SCALING TO FIT MEDIA compromise in sharpness. If smaller
01 You can change your print size using the 02 The scaled print size option is a good device 03 Forcing your image close to the edge of the parts of your image are transformed
File8Print Preview option but you won’t be providing you’ve set your print resolution printing paper is the crudest solution to size to fit in a montage project, they
too are interpolated using the
able to choose your image res or interpolation method beforehand. It’s better than the percentage option in problems, but useful when time is limited. Check that
default interpolation mode as set
(adding or subtracting pixels). You should also use the most printers, because you see the result before your printer can print to the edges of the paper before
in the Preferences.
USM filter (see Expert Tip, above) before printing. printing out and your image will be interpolated. using this option though.

TUTORIAL PHOTOSHOP TOOLS
YOUR GUIDE SIMON DANAHER
Simon Danaher is a digital artist specialising in Photoshop, compositing and 3D. He
is also a consultant, trainer and author. Simon has been working professionally in
the graphics industry for over six years, and is currently writing his second book on
professional graphics techniques
letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk PORTFOLIO SIMON DANAHER
Going further with

colour correction
Getting digital photos to look good requires many different skills, and of course depends on your expectations.
Photoshop can always be pressed into service to improve things where colour and contrast is concerned.
C
olour correction is one of Photoshop's core photo-quality printers used today employ their own If the ultimate destination of your digital images is
TUTORIAL
strengths. In print Photoshop is the defacto colour correction methods contained in the printer online or onto DVD or CD perhaps, then things aren't
KEY DETAILS standard for colour correcting images, be they drivers. These can usually be adjusted as well offering quite so bad. Because the viewing medium is the same,
2 ON OUR CD
Discover our trial of Photoshop
scanned or digital in origin. There are a lot of different
tools on offerer as well making the process quite tricky
yet another set of variables for you to consider.
Either way, what you see on screen is rarely what
ie a computer or TV screen there is less that can go
wrong. For the web all you need to do is make sure the
7 on CD 2 to understand for the unexperienced since it's not you'll get when you print. Because of this it is difficult to images look OK on your monitor, there should really
2 SKILL BOOSTER
always immediately obvious which route you should
take. For the digital photographer printing out images at
give specific solutions for getting perfect prints at home,
but we can show you how to be in control of colour so
be only minor difference when viewing the image in
a browser, though you should still double check and
4 home things can be even more complicated. Often the that you can make adjustments yourself. adjust accordingly.
2 TIME TO COMPLETE
30 MINS
REMOVING CASTS Sometimes images appear tinted towards a certain colour, we'll show you
how to correct for this in Photoshop and Elements
2 NEXT MONTH
Selection options
? EXPLAINED
CORRECTION
The adjustment made to an
image to remove colour and HOW TO SPOT IT USE LEVELS EXPERIMENT
brightness imbalances. 01 This image has a mild yellow colour cast, 02 We can easily snap the colours back to 03 You're telling Photoshop that the pixel you
possibly because it was taken indoors neutral by using a simple part of the Levels click on should be neutral (ie gray, no
RGB without compensating for the difference in internal feature. Open the Levels dialog box by typing the colour) but it in reality it actually isn't the adjustment
A colour mode that describes the
lighting compared to sunlight. Both Photoshop and shortcut command-l. Select the eyedropper tool then for all the other colours will be wrong as you can see.
image using three channels, Red,
Green and Blue. RGB can describe a Elements use the same approach to help you sort move the eyedropper over the image to the bright Click a few times around different parts of the window
wide range of colours but not as this out. edges of the white-painted window frame and click and particularly the blinds until you get a more natural
many as LAB. on it. You willl see that the image now has a slight result. The window might have been off-white, but
purple cast to it. the blinds are white-gray so give a better result.

; 5
NEXT MONTH
SELECTION OPTIONS
* WEB LINKS
SEVERE CASTS It takes a different approach to to adjust
images with severe colour casts [w] www.adobe.com
[w] www.newi.ac.uk/computing/
modules/L1GII/PShop4Wk1.html
[w] www.rgbnet.co.uk/ilyons/
tutorials/tutorial_3_1.htm
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM A NEW APPROACH START WITH THE HUE/SATURATION

01 This image has a severe colour cast, but it is 02 Trying the Levels method used previously 03 Instead, open Hue/Saturation by typing
actually quite artistic. However, you can does not work successfully – every part is command-u. This panel allows you to control
adjust the image if necessary to tone down the heavy infected with the heavy orange cast. All you are doing the Hue, the Saturation and the Brightness levels in the
orange cast. here is shifting the cast from one hue to another. image. Drag the Saturation slider to the left.
; READ ON
PHOTOSHOP 7 COLOR
CORRECTION
ADJUST THE BRIGHTNESS BACK TO LEVELS… DO ANY FINAL TWEAKS

04 We can now adjust the brightness, but don't 05 Move the White Input slider to the point 06 At this point you can go back to the Published by Peachpit Press
do this with the brightness slider in the where the levels in the histogram begin to Hue/Saturation panel if you feel the image ISBN 0321124014
Price £35
Hue/Saturation panel, in fact never, ever use this slider rise (at about 216). To brighten the image drag the looks too desaturated. To readjust simply move the
Website www.peachpit.com
for anything (apart for reducing the contrast). Do this: gamma slider (the gray central one) to the left. Saturation slider to the right.
Written by top American colour
expert Michael Kieran, it’s a very
By making use of the different colour spaces in
USING LAB COLOUR
visually-orientated set of tutorials to
getting colour correction right.
Photoshop you can make correction quicker There’s 49 sample pages available
for free at www.amazon.com (go
there and type in the title).
CHANGING THE MODE ADJUSTING IS EASIER BALANCE THE COLOURS

01 The image from a digital camera is RGB. 02 Now when you adjust the gamma image 03 Change the popup to Red. Get rid of the red
However internally Photoshop offers other using Levels it does not affect the colour and halo: move the Hue slider to the right, and
ways to describe the colours in an image. Revert the vice verca making it easier to adjust the image. Once then up the Red Saturation to compensate for the extra
image back to its uncorrected state then choose levels are corrected open Hue/Saturation again. This Master desaturation. This reduces the yellow in the
Image>Mode>LAB. time we reduce the overall Master Saturation more. walls while at the same time boosting the skin tones.

NEW SERIES GET STARTED WITH PAINT SHOP PRO
YOUR GUIDE JOE APICE

Joe has been a keen amateur photographer for over 20 years and trains others in
basic camera techniques. His work has been exhibited in local galleries and he’s
an avid user of Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop
joseph.apice@verizon.net PORTFOLIO JOE APICE
Using Paint Shop Pro 7 to

edit colour and contrast
You wanted it, so now you have it. We begin our new monthly series on Paint Shop Pro with a selection of
essential ways to get the best colour reproduction from your digital photographs
P 7TOOL SCHOOL
aint Shop Pro has always been In this new series, we are going to show you how
TIPS GUIDE
overshadowed by its more illustrious Paint Shop Pro can help you improve any picture
KEY DETAILS Photoshop rival, partly because of without compromising on quality. Each issue, we will
2 ON OUR DISC
Full trial of Paint Shop Pro 7
Photoshop's industrial strength tools but also because it's reveal key tools and creative techniques and explain DIGITAL PHOTO TOOLS
The digital photo tools discussed in
the perfect package for power users and wannabe pros. how they work in a step-by-step fashion. this tutorial are available in the
Even in its Elements guise, Photoshop could hardly be This month we're going to take you through the Paint
2
Photo Tool Bar. They consist of the
SKILL LEVEL described as supremely user-friendly. Shop Pro editing basics from rotating an imported image Rotation Tool, Auto Colour Balance,
Which is where Paint Shop Pro 7 comes in. This £40 to adjusting the colour, contrast and brightness – all of Auto Contrast, Auto Saturation,
4 Unsharp Mask, Gaussian Blur,Sepia
software offers many of the familiar Photoshop tools which should help get you an attention-grabbing result.
2
Tone, Red Eye Removal and Print
TIME TO COMPLETE and is easy enough for even newcomers to digital Take a look opposite at Tool School for the specifric tools Multiple Images.
15 MINSPERIMAGE imaging to get to grips with. we will be covering in this tutorial.
2 NEXT MONTH
GET STARTED Before you begin serious tweaking, get your picture into a position you can work
Enhancing your photos
with, with optimum lighting conditions for the effect you are trying to create
8 8
THE IMAGE THE ROTATION TOOL AUTO COLOUR BALANCE

01 Start by opening the image that you want to 02 The first tool we would use for this image is 03 The overall lighting is a bit flat and tells us
enhance. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Rotation tool. The Rotation tool rotates the nothing of the time of day. I want to add a
these tools, I have chosen this photo taken at a stop I image in the direction selected by the user. To rotate in little warmth to the image with the Automatic Colour
made near Rutgers University. Before we jump in and start quarter circle increments click the 90, 180, or 270 degree Balance tool. Move the slider left for warmer
making changes, lets examine the image. The image is option. To rotate by any other amount type a degree temperatures and right for cooler temperatures. A setting
on its side, there is a reasonable amount of detail, and the value in the Free Box. For our image we want to rotate of 6500 is equivalent to daylight, 3500 for a sunset effect.
colours appear a little dull or subdued. the photo 90 degrees to the left. For this photo the sliders set to 5000 for mid afternoon.

The Freehand Selection Tool Resize (sometimes called the
4
ONE-CLICK lasso tool) is used to make freehand selections in the
FIX image. It is conveniently located on the Main tool bar here
FINE TUNING Paint Shop 7 has a multitude of filters and colouring techniques to help you get * WEB LINKS
contrast, detail and emphasis exactly the way you want it TUTORIAL WEBSITE
http://psp7tutorials.homestead.
com/index.html
AUTO CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT AUTO COLOUR SATURATION THE UNSHARP MASK

01 The Auto Contrast Enhancement adjusts the
02 The Automatic Saturation Enhancement feature
03 The Unsharp Mask is a filter used to sharpen
intensity of the pixels. Lowering the contrast is used to adjust colour saturation, or intensity. mid to high contrast edges without enhancing
reduces detail and makes the image flatter. Increasing it Here the Bias was set to More Colorful and the Strength to the noise normally present in digital images. For this
enhances detail so the image is snappier. Here the Bias is Strong. For people pictures, check the Skin Tone Present photo, the PSP default settings will work well. Set the
Neutral, Strength is Normal and the Appearance to Bold. checkbox to maintain the skin tones at the proper level. Radius to 2, the Strength to 100 and the Clipping to 5.
MAKING A FREEHAND SELECTION THE GAUSSIAN BLUR FILTER SEPIA TONING THE IMAGE
04 I want to alter the depth of field — that is, blur 05 I want to use the Gaussian Blur Filter on the 06 When applied directly to a colour image, the
the background to make the flowers stand out selected area. The amount of blur applied Sepia Tone produces an effect typical of colour
more. Ive selected the area to blur with the Freehand depends on what were trying to achieve. In this case its photographs from the 1940s. For this photo I applied the
Selection tool located on the Main toolbar. Then I set a to simulate the out-of-focus effect generally seen with a Sepia Tone and set the Amount of Age value to 50. Notice
feather value of 4 in the Freehand Tool Option window. large lens. See how the flower really stands out now. how the filter affects the image.
0 EXPERT TIP
JOE APICE
PAINTSHOP PRO EXPERT
CUSTOMIZING
GIVING PHOTOS AN OLD LOOK RED EYE REMOVAL PRINTING MULTIPLE IMAGES
07 You can also use the Sepia effect to create a 08 One tool that no image editing software
09 The Print Multiple Images tool enables you to
Use the toolbars customizing
feature to place the most
dutone effect similar to the sepia photographs should be without is the Red Eye Removal tool. position images anywhere on the page, in any frequently used tools in your
of the 19th century. Convert your image to greyscale and Select the area within the eye then choose a custom eye direction. Drag the image onto the page and right click to photo toolbar. This will speed up
locating the tools and cut time off
increase its colour depth to 16 million colors (24-bit). Then colour from the list. To make a quick fix, simply place the bring up a placement/direction window. You can print
your work.
apply the effect. Here, I set the Amount of Age to 30. cursor in the centre of the pupil and click the mouse. two or more images, or create multiples of the same one.

TUTORIAL GET STARTED WITH PAINT SHOP PRO
YOUR GUIDE JOE APICE

Joe has been a keen amateur photographer for over 20 years and trains others in basic
camera techniques. His work has been exhibited in local galleries and he’s an avid user
of Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop
joseph.apice@verizon.net PORTFOLIO JOE APICE
Enhancing your photos by

adjusting highlights
If your photos seem washed out or lack detail, there are some basic tools available in Paint Shop Pro that can
breathe new life into them. Joe Apice shows you some subtle techniques for changing colour and contrast
TIPS GUIDE
P
hoto enhancement, though sometimes
confused with photo restoration, is a process
complex lighting situation) then the enhancement tools
in Paint Shop Pro can help. You can bring back detail, 7TOOL SCHOOL
KEY DETAILS that adjusts the colours or grey tones in a increase colour saturation, and improve overall image CROP TOOL
2 ON OUR DISC photo to bring back a balance between the highlights
and shadows. If your photos look washed out, or lacking
sharpness, to bring back to life just about any photo. In
the first of this three-part series, I’ll adjust highlights and
The Crop tool, the Selection tool, the
Paintbrush tool and the Eyedropper tool
See our trial of Paint Shop Pro 7,
on CD 2 in detail (perhaps the camera metre was fooled by a shadows and selectively add colour saturation. are located here in the Tool Palette.
2 SKILL LEVEL
2
2 TIME TO COMPLETE FRAMING UP Before we work on adjusting the colour balance in this picture, we need to sort out
the perspective by rotating it and cropping unwanted areas
20 MINSPERIMAGE
2 NEXT MONTH
Enhancing your photos part 2
8 8
0 EXPERT TIP 01
THE IMAGE
This image is an example of how the metre in 02
ROTATE THE IMAGE
The first thing to do is to rotate the image 03
CROP UNWANTED AREAS
The Crop tool can now be used to remove the
JOE APICE a camera can be fooled by complex lighting slightly using the Rotation tool. Choose Image unwanted areas. Cropping will reduce the
PAINTSHOP PRO EXPERT
conditions that are composed of shadowed areas and on the Main menu bar and then select Rotation in the memory needed to edit the image and by removing
ADJUSTMENTS bright scenic backgrounds. The image has a washed out drop-down window. In the Rotation dialog box, click the extraneous areas of colour we will be able to make better
When adjusting shadows and
sky and there is little detail in the archway. The columns in radio button labelled Right and enter a value of 2 degrees colour corrections. Place the cursor in the upper left hand
highlights, make the changes
the archway tell us that the image is tilted slightly to the in the Free Box and click OK. With images requiring small corner and drag the rectangle as shown until you’ve
gradually and try to keep the
colours natural. left and there is a bright area on the right side to the degrees of rotational correction, use incremental values selected the area to crop. Double click the mouse button
photo that distracts the viewer’s attention. of 1 or 2 until you reach the desired results. to complete the job.

The Freehand Selection Tool Resize, sometimes called the Lasso
4
ONE-CLICK tool, is used to make freehand selections in the image. It is
FIX conveniently located on the Main tool bar here
ENHANCEMENT Now we’re going to address the contrast between the light and dark areas of the * WEB LINKS
picture, and increase the intensity of some of the colours for emphasis TUTORIAL WEBSITE
http://psp7tutorials.homestead.
com/index.html
MAKE THE FIRST SELECTION ADJUST BACKGROUND BRIGHTNESS INVERT THE SELECTION
01 We want to darken the scenic background to
02 The Curves command lets us adjust brightness.
03 Now we need to adjust the foreground. On the
saturate the colours better. To do this we select On the Main menu choose Color8Adjust Main menu bar choose Selection8Invert to
the Freehand selection tool (click the Lasso tool icon). In 8Curves to bring up a box. Select the centre of the graph select the foreground. By inverting the selection, all the
the tool option palette choose the Freehand mode and set and drag the line down and right until the image in the shadowed areas inside the archway will now be affected
the feather value to 2. Now select the background area. preview window is at the desired brightness level. by changes in brightness values.
USE THE LEVELS COMMAND ADD HIGHLIGHTS SELECT FOR COLOUR

04 The levels command is similar to the Curves 05 Adding colour pixels in the background will 06 To make the bushes and the flowers stand out
command but is less intimidating. To adjust the create an illusion of flowers. Select the color more, we must saturate them. We must first
brightness of the selected area move the centre diamond picker tool and choose a colour that’s consistent with the select only the area we want to work on. Choose the
to the left or right. The preview windows display a before flowers in the image. Use the Paintbrush tool with a size Lasso tool in Freehand mode and set the Feather value to
and after view of the image as you adjust the value. of 5 and place colour pixels sparingly in the front bush. 2. Trace around the area of the frontmost bush.
? EXPLAINED
UNSHARP MASK
The unsharp mask, perhaps oddly
COLOUR SATURATION FOCUS AND IMAGE CLARIFICATION THE FINISHED RESULT
07 Go to the Main menu and choose 08 The Clarify filter adds a crisp, focused look to an
09 When we compare our final image to the
named, is a tool which comes from
the printing industry. It is less
Effects8Enhance Photo8Automatic Saturation image so that objects in the picture stand out. original, we can really see the power of PSP. affected by noise than a standard
Enhancement. In the Auto Saturation dialog window Go to the Main menu bar and choose Effects8Enhance Using some basic tools, mostly in their default settings, sharpening filter and because of
this usually produces more
choose More Colorful for Bias and Strong for Strength. Photo8Clarify. I find the default settings work quite well. we were capable of transforming a less-than-perfect
natural-looking results.
Leave the Sintones Present checkbox unchecked. Larger values can sometimes introduce unwanted noise. image into one that could be proudly displayed.

TIPS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
YOUR GUIDE NICK MERRITT

Nick has edited, managed and launched some of the UK’s leading
technology magazines, and has been writing about and using computers
for longer than he wants to admit
editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk WEBSITE www.futurenet.co.uk
20 ways to get more from

Adobe Photoshop Elements
Got Elements or Elements 2? Then you don't need to be told how good it is. But that's not to say you can't use it
better. Nick Merritt shows you 20 ways to get the best out of it…
P
hotoshop is the preferred image-editing Photomerge, which enables you to create panoramas an ICC-compliant profile for your monitor, which helps to
TIPS GUIDE
program of professionals the world over. from a sequence of separate images. Support for the standardise the images that will be displayed between
KEY DETAILS However, its myriad of features and price tag web comes in the form of Optimization, which will help different monitors and will ensure that you’re
2 ON OUR DISC make it overkill for someone at home who just wants to
retouch photos and prepare a few graphics for the web.
make the most of your images prior to uploading. You’ll
also find Web Photo Gallery – useful if you have a library
maximising visual quality. Use the Adobe Gamma Utility
in the Control Panel once Photoshop Elements has been
Trial of Photoshop Elements 2
and Photoshop 7 This is where Photoshop Elements comes in. It’s of images that you would like to display online. Our tips installed, double-click on it, select Step By Step and
Find it on the front of this mag
powerful enough to give pro results, yet simple to use at this month focus on some of the tools contained within follow the calibration instructions.
2 SKILL BOOSTER the same time. the program and how to get the best out of them.
4 If you have a scanner or digital camera you can 02 Using the tools
import your images directly into the program. It comes 01 Calibration There are so many different tools and functions within
2 TIME TO COMPLETE with all the usual image-editing tools, including red-eye Before you start using Photoshop Elements, it’s a good Photoshop Elements that unless you have a very large
1.5 HOURS removal, together with innovative ones, such as idea to calibrate your monitor. By doing this, you can set display area you’re never going to be able to display
2 NEXT MONTH
20 ways to make more of
PhotoImpact
03 SPECIAL EFFECTS One of the more unusual filters in the program is the
Liquify effect...
8 8
USE THE TOOL BRING UP A TOOL DO IT!

01 The Liquify filter can make some quite 02 Next, click on Filter8Liquify to bring up the tool 03 Once you've decided on the style you're going
extraordinary changes to an image and gives window. On the left-hand side there's a to use and have defined your brush settings
the impression that the subject matter has been melted vertical row of buttons, each providing a different kind of you're ready to start. Hold down the left mouse button
or reduced to liquid. Click on File, Open and locate the effect. On the right you'll see Tool Options, where you can and drag the brush around the screen to alter and 'Liquify'
image that you would like to make changes to. set the brush size and pressure. the image.

BY WEB www.adobe.co.uk/support – support in the form of top technical issues and reference
4
INSTANT documents BY PHONE 0131 451 6888 – available to users in the UK and Ireland from Monday to Friday
SUPPORT 9am to 5.30pm BY EMAIL techdocs@adobe.com – put ‘instructions’ in the subject header for help
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS’
4
GETTING HELP AND ADVICE
Get all the help you need and publish your images with Adobe Online PICTURE EFFECTS
What it is: Pretty much all applications nowadays Where to find it: To begin using it, make sure
Create ‘paintings’ with Photomerge
provide a link from the main software program to you’re connected to the net and click on Help, and the Impressionist brush
an area of the main website as extension of the Adobe Online. Click on Refresh to download the
help system. Photoshop Elements follows this trend latest version of the Adobe Online Window. Next, There are plenty of image-editing packages out
with Adobe Online, a website where you’re able to click on Preferences, Setup and configure the there that enable you to add special effects and
find more help and advice on using the program. settings for the type of info you would like to get. filters to your pictures, giving them a more artistic
appearance. Photoshop Elements is no different in
What it offers: Adobe has all this available in the that respect. However, Adobe has managed to cram
form of technical documents, FAQs and upgrade in some new and interesting tools.
patches together with practical advice on using the It steals a march on the likes of Paint Shop Pro
program. Go to the tutorials section of the website and some of its other competitors with one of its
for step-by-step guides on using the tools and tools, Photomerge. This enables you to stitch
features of the program. You’ll find that trying a together a number of pictures to create a seamless
couple of these will help you get the hang of using panorama. Before now, if you wanted to achieve
the program a lot quicker. Also, look out for such an effect you would have to buy a specialist
ePortfolio – it’s for those who would like to piece of software or at least spend a little more on a
showcase their work online. different package.
Another excellent effect you can use is the
Impressionists Brush. This is usually applied to the
whole image by a filter, but Photoshop Elements
everything at the same time. A way around this comes box and you can make your own adjustments. You can gives you full control by enabling you to paint over
in the form of the Palette Well that sits at the top of the save predefined settings suggested by the program. the image yourself, giving your picture the
screen. Here you can conveniently locate and organise appearance of an early 20th century painting.
all the different effects and tool palettes. 08 View image information You’ll find the 3D rendering tool quite handy. Take
Having created an image in Photoshop Elements you a picture of a 3D object – for example, a ball or a
04 Conserve printer paper may want to protect its use by adding some information box. The 3D Transform filter enables you to move,
If you have several photos or images that you would like to it such as copyright details and a URL. With the image manipulate and resize it.
to print on the same page to conserve paper or for an open click on File, File Info. Click on the Section drop-
album, this is quite simple to achieve. Click on File, New down box and choose Caption to enter text that will be
and create an 11 x 8-inch image with a white displayed underneath the image when it’s printed.
background. Next, open the images that you would like Alternatively, select Copyright & URL to enter the
to print and copy and paste or drag them onto the new
image area. Once they have been copied across, use the
appropriate information. 3 IN DETAIL
Move tool to resize them and get them into the correct 09 Create a panorama RECOVERING
position for printing. If you’ve ever taken several photographs of a view or a YOUR SETTINGS
skyline in an attempt to recreate the panorama with the Sometimes when you start
05 Create your own art photos you get back from the developers, then you’ll Photoshop Elements, it might
come up with an error message
The more artistic among users will be pleased to know know how difficult it is to line them up and get it to look
saying, ‘Unable to continue
that you can use the program to produce your own like one continuous image. However, if you can get because of hardware or system
images from scratch. There are paintbrush, pencil and those same pictures onto your PC, then you can use the error. Sorry, but this error is
airbrush tools that can be used to produce and add Photomerge tool that comes with Photoshop Elements unrecoverable’. You can resolve
effects to your new image, each one with its own to recreate an impressive panorama and hide any joins. Create your own Renoir rip-offs with the this by recreating the Photoshop
adjustable settings. Impressionist Brush Elements Settings file. On the Hints
palette menu select Close Palette
10 Lighten or darken images to Shortcuts Well. Then restart the
06 Get some help You can use the Dodge-and-Burn tools to lighten or program and press [Alt] + [Ctrl] +
If you need a little help to get going with Photoshop darken an area of an image. To lighten an image you [Shift] until you see the prompt
Elements, make sure that you keep the Hints Palette would use the Dodge tool and to darken it you use the 12 Fix red-eye 'Delete the Adobe Photoshop
window open. Whenever you run the mouse over or Burn tool. Right-click the button on the toolbar to choose The camera flash reflecting off the back of the eye can Elements Settings File?' Click Yes,
click on a button in the Tool Palette, Hints will give you between the two. Once you’ve selected which you result in red-eye. Like most image editors, Photoshop then on the Hints palette menu,
choose Close Palette to Shortcuts
more information about that tool and how best to use it. would like to use, you can adjust its size and the extent Elements comes with a tool that makes the removal
Well. The Hints palette will then be
of its effect on the toolbar above. Then click on the area of this very simple. It will help you greatly if you
hidden. To show the Hints palette,
07 Preparing images for the web of the image you would like to change and drag the magnify your image first, then select the Red-Eye Brush choose Window, Show Hints.
The program comes with predefined settings that you mouse to add the effect. See p66 for more on this. tool from the tool palette and adjust the brush and
can use to optimise your image for the web – whether colour settings on the toolbar above it.
it‘s in JPEG, GIF or PNG format. Use optimisation, click on 11 Colour correction By clicking on Enhance8Variations8Photoshop
File and Save for Web. You can choose to go with the Making colour corrections to an image is easy in Elements will automatically make adjustments to your
settings suggested for you by the program. Photoshop Photoshop Elements. You can create duplicates of your image’s colour balance, contrast, and saturation.
Elements will suggest a file format and adjust the main image by clicking on Edit8Duplicate Image. Make
compression of the image to optimise it for your web several copies and try experimenting with settings such 13 Remove a background
page without sacrificing too much in the way of quality. as Hue Brightness and Contrast to see what The Background Eraser tool enables you to remove
Alternatively, click on Custom in the Settings drop-down improvements can be made. the background area of an image and make it 8

TIPS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
ONE-CLICK FIX Fix an error message about missing fonts. Click Layer, Type and Replace All Missing Fonts
18 Create the right file association

8
transparent. In the tool palette, right-click on the Eraser previews of all image files that are contained within a
tool and select Background Eraser Tool. The Limits drop- folder. A good tip here is to leave File Browser in the If you have a version of Photoshop installed on your
down box on the toolbar above it gives you the ability to Palette Well because if you drag it to, say, the centre of PC and you then install Photoshop Elements you may
set how the pixels are erased. There are two settings: the screen, and then double-click to preview an image, well find that your Photoshop files (.PSD) become
Discontiguous and Contiguous. The first erases whatever it will always be opened behind the File Browser. associated with Elements and their icons change
comes into contact with the brush; the other removes all as well. To rectify this, right-click on one of your PSD
pixels of the same colour that are joined. 16 Use PDFs files and choose Open with. Scroll down the list of
A good way to preserve the layout while securing your programs and locate Adobe Photoshop. Click on it to
14 Get help Photoshop Elements file is to save it in PDF format. This select it and make sure there’s a tick in the Always use
Photoshop Elements comes with plenty of tips and also makes it easier when sharing the file as well. As this program to open this type of file box. Click on OK
tutorials to help you get the most from the program. long as the person who opens it has Acrobat Reader and all your image files will be associated with
Apart from the Hints palette, something else you’ll find they will be able to view its contents. Click on File, Save Photoshop again.
useful is the Recipes palette. This provides you with as and choose PDF from the Format drop-down box.
guides for performing tasks using the program. It’s a 19 Use the Stamp tool
great place to start if you’re new to image editing. Click 17 Use batches Add subtle special effects to your images using the
on the Select a Recipe drop-down box, then choose a If you have a number of images that need to be altered Stamp tool. This is ideal for improving the appearance of
topic that you would like to learn more about. in some way – for example, converted to a different file any buttons or bars you may be creating for your web
format – you can use the Batch command to make the pages. From Pattern on the toolbar you can choose from
15 Preview thumbnails changes to all the files in one go. To do this click on File, a selection of designs. Click on the arrow on the open
Photoshop Elements comes with a tool called ‘File Automate8Batch. Locate the files that you would like to Pattern window and you’ll be able to choose designs
Browser’. This simultaneously displays thumbnail convert and then select your options. from two files – Patterns and Patterns 2.
Automatically produce a web page

20 WEB-BASED GALLERIES displaying thumbnail images
8 8
OPEN A PREVIEW GET THE FILES DECIDE THE FORMAT

01 Click on File8Automate8Web Photo Gallery. 02 Next, click on Source and navigate to the folder 03 Under Options for Gallery Thumbnails set how
Click on the Styles drop-down box and choose that contains the files, then click on OK. Next many rows and columns of images you would
one for your gallery. A preview of what the web page will click on Destination and choose a folder to contain the like displayed. Also, choose the font and name that will be
look like appears on the right-hand side of the Window. resulting HTML page and images for the gallery. used for the labels.
? EXPLAINED
MEMORY PROBLEMS
If you are trying to merge photos,
but keep getting the error message,
'Could not complete the
Photomerge command because
there is not enough memory
8 8
(RAM).' Try the following:
Click Edit8 Preference and choose
Memory and Image Cache. In the
Used by Photoshop Elements text
box, make a small change to the
value. For example, if its current CHOOSE THE COLOURS CHOOSE A NAME CREATE GALLERY
setting is 50% then increase it to 04 To choose the colour settings for the gallery 05 Click on Options8 Banner. Enter a name for 06 Click on OK and wait while the gallery is
60%. Then click on OK and then
web page, click on Custom Colors in the the site, the date, and choose which font you created. Your gallery will then be previewed in
restart Photoshop Elements. Now
try merging your images again.
Options box. Here you'll be able to define the colour to be would like to use as well. Next to Photographer you can a browser window. You can now make changes to the
used for different areas of the page. enter the name of the person responsible for the gallery. HTML code in the page or upload it to your website.

TUTORIAL TOOL SCHOOL
YOUR GUIDE SIMON DANAHER

Simon is a digital artist specialising in Photoshop, compositing and 3D.
He has been working professionally in the graphics industry for over six
years, and is writing a book on professional graphics techniques
letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk PORTFOLIO SIMON DANAHER
Cropping and framing

You’ve got the image just the way you want it – now it’s all about the presentation.
Simon Danaher shows you there’s more to cropping than a bit of rough trimming…
resenting a digital photo can be almost as important as actually taking the the resolution of the digital image file. In this case it’s always a juggling act – at least if
P
TUTORIAL
picture itself. To show off your work to its best advantage, you can choose you are on the move – to decide between quality/resolution settings and the number
KEY DETAILS from a near limitless variety of frames and vignettes. of shots you can hold in the camera. If you’re photographing at home or in a home
2 IMAGE EDITORS All image editors have lots of options for creating frames and otherwise showcasing
your work, but they might not always be obvious. Cropping an image, for example,
studio, or perhaps if you have a laptop, then you can afford to always shoot at the
highest quality and resolution and download the files to your computer’s hard drive
YOU CAN USE
can be a good way to improve composition, though of course you’re at the mercy of once the camera’s memory is full.
Every image editor offers the
tools outlined opposite
2 SKILL LEVEL
3
2 TIME TO COMPLETE
20 MINUTES
A FAMILY PORTRAIT CROP TOOL COLOUR OVERLAY EXPERIMENT

01 To illustrate our tutorial we’ve 02 With the Crop tool, select the 03 You can adjust the opacity of 04 Experiment with different
gone for a high resolution area around the little girl. the colour overlay so that it's crops. You can move the
image with a lot going on in it. There’s Elements frames the crop region by totally black, if you wish. There’s a region by dragging inside it, and
lots of opportunity here for aggressive making the area outside it darker. This slider in the options bar that enables change its shape by dragging the
0 EXPERT TIP cropping in to focus on smaller areas of helps to show the final composition you to adjust the overall darkness. You handles. Different crops can change
the picture. before you commit yourself to cropping. can also change the colour if you wish. the mood of an image.
SIMON DANAHER
Using colour
FILLING IN
To quickly fill with the foreground
colour use Option/Alt-delete, to
fill with the background colour
use Command/control-delete.
? EXPLAINED ZOOM NEGATIVE CROP FRAME COLOURS SOFTEN THE EDGES

05 Add a border to the image by 06 ‘Negative crop’ by Option- 07 Now as you accept the crop 08 Get a softer frame by creating
RESOLUTION using the Image8Resize8 Shift-dragging a corner to the canvas will be enlarged a new layer with the white
The pixel size of the image. A high
resolution image has more pixels Canvas command, or (more quickly) expand the crop region beyond the using the background colour to fill in the border on it (use the selection tools and
than a low resolution – in digital by using the crop tool again and image border uniformly from the centre. empty pixels. You can choose any frame fill with the same colour) then run Filter
terms it’s physically bigger. zooming out a little way so you can Even up the border by option-dragging colour by changing the background 8blur8Gaussian Blur. Duplicate the
see the gray of the extra-image area. the handles at the centre of the edges. colour before you use the crop tool. blurred layer to strengthen the result.

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SECTION #03 YOUR CAMERA
TECHNIQUE PAGE
84
FANTASTIC FLASH
Tim Daly talks red-eye, flash-fill and photography
after dark with this comprehensive guide to flash
TECHNIQUE PAGE
86
IMPROVING COMPOSITION
It’s a skill you learn through trial and error. We
explore colour, texture and perfect symmetry
Q&A PAGE
90
ALL YOUR CAMERA QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Your resident digital expert, Aidan O‘Rourke, solves
a whole host of technical queries
TECHNIQUE
FANTASTIC FLASH
SEE PAGE 84
PAGE PAGE PAGE
84 86 90
Your camera
Expert guides to taking better pictures
Tutorials you can trust! Contact our tutorials team
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TECHNIQUE USING YOUR CAMERA
YOUR GUIDE TIM DALY

Tim has written several books on photography including The Digital Photography Handbook, The
Digital Printing Handbook and The Desktop Photographer, and he continues to write for The
British Journal of Photography and AG. His photographs have been exhibited across Europe
Fantastic flash
A built-in flash is a great addition to any digital camera and can be
used for much more than low light scenarios
M
ABOVE The Flash Blur ost digital cameras have a built-in flash that further output by light reflecting back off the first object
technique illuminates the can be set to fire under a range of lighting it hits in its path. However, that object might not be
scene while keeping the conditions. The physical size of the flash unit the intended main subject, switching the light off
shutter open for longer, isn’t a good indicator of its power – this is best judged prematurely. A typical result from this kind of scenario
capturing these ghostly by the guide number, found deep within the camera is a dark and underexposed image with a strangely
motion effects manual. The guide number states the distance range burned out shape in the foreground.
which the flash can cover and with most digital
FAR RIGHT The flash can be compacts, this is rarely over five metres. Flash works by Avoiding common mistakes
used to help frame a firing a short burst of light lasting less than a thousandth Red eye occurs because in low light, the iris in the eye
picture by lighting objects in of a second – unlike natural daylight that is constant – is open wide to compensate, just like a wide aperture in
the foreground and so mistakes are easily made. a camera lens. When flashlight is fired into the eye it
All flash units are self-regulating and switch bounces off the eye’s red retina back to the camera in a
themselves off when enough light has been produced. straight line. On a better digital camera this can be
This works by a clever mechanism that quenches any solved by using an external unit set slightly to one side,

Check out the street scenes of Walker Evans at www.masters-of-photography.com NEXT MONTH
4
FURTHER /E/evans/evans.html. One of the most creative exponents of flash photography, British- 3 WE TAKE A LOOK AT CAMERA
PROGRAM MODES
INSPIRATION born Martin Parr is at www.magnumarchive.com/c/htm/Pa.aspx?E=29YL53DQ0MI
or by using the red eye reduction mode. Red eye

reduction works by firing a tiny pre-flash to narrow the
3 IN DETAIL
iris in your subject’s eyes before the main burst of light BOOSTING YOUR
is first off. A red eye reduction brush is found in most FLASH RANGE
consumer image editing software. Despite the distance limitations of
Very difficult to see at the point of exposure are flash your camera’s built in flash, there
are a couple of tricks you can use
hot spots caused when light reflects off a shiny surface.
to stretch it. Open your lens
Windows, picture frames or people’s glasses can often aperture its widest setting, as the
act like a giant mirror, making patches of white over the sensor needs much less light when
subject’s face. This is easily avoided by shooting at an combined with a wide value. Less
angle to any shiny surfaces rather than shooting straight light requirements can also be
on. If you can’t move your own position try changing manufactured if your camera has a
variable ISO speed setting. At the
the angle of the objects. The only method of removing
lowest value such as ISO100, your
hotspots afterwards is to use the Cloning Stamp tool and ABOVE Great subjects to shoot with the rear curtain flash range will be at its minimum,
patch the error from a non-affected area. sync technique are those set against a background of but if this is increased to ISO 400 or
bright lights like a cityscape or nightclub even 800, your range is boosted
Flash presets considerably. You won’t shoot dark
In addition to red eye reduction there are three other outdoor landscapes, but you could
photograph a large indoor space.
flash modes found on digital cameras. Full flash mode is LEFT A quick burst of flash prevents the subject from
used when all other sources of light are found wanting, becoming a silhouette against the setting sun
such as a darkened room or at nighttime outdoors.
Full flash takes no account of any existing ambient
light and will fire at maximum power creating a stark found under strong sunny lighting conditions to much by a strong shadow. Fill flash is also used on location
result, shedding any naturally occurring atmosphere in more acceptable grey, the fill flash helps to reduce portrait shoots to create a catchlight in the sitter’s eye,
one fell swoop. As such, most full flash images lack the contrast and restore balance to objects that fall within that essential tiny white highlight that adds a liveliness
extra warmth of sunny daylight conditions. its limited range. to an otherwise dull and gloomy portrait. It can also be
Often called daylight flash, the fill-flash setting is a This is much used in press, public relations and used to increase the colour saturation of nearby subjects.
very handy tool for livening up all kinds of photographic wedding photography by skilled photographers aiming making colours sing out under dreary natural light.
subjects. Fill-flash works by firing a much-reduced burst to reduce heavy shadows cast on a portrait by On better cameras, a further fill flash setting is also
of light that mixes with natural daylight to form an overhanging eyebrows. Eyes are the most important available: the flash compensation dial. The flash
exposure. Great for reducing the dense black shadows feature of a location portrait and can easily be shaded compensation dial offers the chance to fire the flash
unit at specific power such as half power, quarter
0 EXPERT TIP
power or less. These settings can be used to reduce DIFFUSED FLASH
FILL-IN FLASH No matter the time of day, a quick burst

from the flash can liven up any picture
the visual impact of stark flash illumination when mixed
with daylight and if used cautiously, will remove traces
of flash use altogether.
A diffuser can soften harsh
shadows by modifying the
contrast of the light and reducing
its intensity. Flashguns can be
aimed at white ceilings that act
Rear curtain sync like a giant reflector and diffuser
One of the most exciting flash options is called rear rolled into one. As the flash
reflects downwards, light appears
curtain synchronisation or just sync for short and is
softer and covers a wider area.
usually found only on top price cameras. The shutter
stays open longer than with a regular flash and the
camera uses ambient daylight to record detail in the
background, while the foreground subjects are frozen
in motion by the flash.
In fully manual SLRs with external flash units, this
technique is sometimes referred to as flash blur and can
be a very stylish way of expressing movement and
frozen motion in one frame.
Great flash photography
External flash units hides the fact that flash
Better digital cameras have sockets so they can be was used, like in this image
synchronised with more powerful flash units. Two types
of units can be used, the bigger hammerhead flash and
the hotshoe flashgun. The universal hotshoe connector is
found on more advanced digital compacts and most
SLRs and permits the synchronization with the shutter.
@ SEND ’EM IN!
An alternative connector, sometimes called the x-sync Try out the techniques in this article
then send us your photos. We’ll
@
can be found on professional SLR cameras and enables
print the best each month. Email us
the camera to be hooked up to professional studio
at the following address:
NO FLASH FILL-IN FLASH lighting equipment. External flash units are much more
01 Without fill-flash this image looks dull, flat and 02 Colours are boosted and more sharp details powerful and permit the photographer to change light gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
a bit uninspiring. appear in nearby objects. direction, contrast and variable output.

Improving composition
Composition is another term for a
photographer’s skill in organising a
subject into a balanced and pleasing
position in the camera viewfinder.
Tim Daly takes you through the basics…
F
ABOVE Much better results or immovable subjects or those essentially a clear message. Strong colours and heavy textures will
occur when fewer things are out of reach like a spectacular natural dominate and swamp your main subject, as can
included – the ‘less is more’ landscape, composition is completely patterned backgrounds. If you can’t move these objects
maxim makes for much more influenced by your own shooting position, together with out of your frame, a good way to minimise their
memorable results. Emphasis your choice of wide-angle or telephoto lens. destructive effect is to blur them out using a wide-
on single features is best For more pliable and nearby subjects like people, aperture value.
achieved by giving it composition can be determined by direction and people- Visual weight can be described as the effect of a
surrounding space rather than organisation skills. Most amateur photographers place colour or tone pulling a viewer’s eye in a particular
making it bigger in the frame their subjects centrally in the frame and don’t take direction and, if used effectively, can act as a
advantage of dynamic compositional effects. The best counterbalance to the central subject. The best way
FAR RIGHT This off-centre photographers have a sense of adventure and are to get into this kind of thinking and picture taking is to
composition works, too, willing to experiment. look at books of great photographs and see how others
because the bright orange have used these rules to good effect. No photographer
is balanced by the trailing Balance and weight was born with innate compositional design skills, most
stems in the other corner of Experience only comes with shooting many were borrowed along the way.
the image photographic situations over time, and an intuitive
understanding of visual balance usually follow. When Symmetry
organising scenes in your viewfinder, each element in The easiest kind of balanced composition to make is a
your composition will vie for visual attention. symmetrical one. Symmetrical photographs are those
Over-cluttered compositions have too much emphasis which have near-identical elements on either side of an
in too many areas of the image, and lack emphasis and imaginary vertical or horizontal fold and are, as a

For more fine examples of the art of composition, check out the online gallery of Walker Evans’ work. NEXT MONTH
4
FURTHER His images of street scenes in the American Depression years still stand out as examples of how to 3 HOW TO FRAME A
PICTURE CREATIVELY
INFORMATION divide up the rectangular picture frame. Go to www.masters-of-photography.com/E/evans/evans.html
0 EXPERT TIP
TIM DALY
LENS CARE
ORGANISING PEOPLE
Large numbers of people can be
an ordeal to arrange into a good
composition, particularly if you’re
not assertive, but good group
shape is easy to set up and will
lead to successful end results. It’s
not essential to cram in every
ABOVE This moody landscape is enhanced
part of a person – facial
by the inclusion of a vista that takes your eye to
expressions do take priority over
the background feet ankles and shoes.
RIGHT Documentary photographer Walker Evans was

a master of balanced composition – as shown in this
classic image
consequence, very eye-catching. As a starting point,

place the main elements of your composition in the
centre of the frame until a balance is achieved along
the vertical or horizontal axis. Architectural and
landscape subjects work well with this kind of approach,
but you may need to pull in additional items in the to the very fact that they are imbalanced and totally that an image should be divided up into a grid of
frame to balance things out. These kind of images removed from everyday life experience. Most of these nine equal but entirely invisible sections and was
don’t need to be mathematically equal and can look sorts of pictures are produced as happy accidents rather adopted by many artists and painters in western art
very artificial if done so. than carefully stage-managed shots, and the best will movements. The idea of the rule of thirds theory
often have a certain element of humour about them. suggests that as long as elements are placed on these
Asymmetry grid lines (or at their intersections), a pleasing
Perhaps harder to define, because of the rule-breaking The rule of thirds compositional can be achieved. Next time you’re out
nature of the concept, is an asymmetrical composition. An excellent set of guidelines to base your landscape shooting in the open landscape, why not try some
Asymmetrical compositions are visually attractive – due photography on is the rule of thirds. This theory suggest variations on this theme?
Vista views
7 Composition is far from the mundane task of fitting
Rear-mounted LCD preview together objects into a kind of two-dimensional jigsaw
displays are a great boost to pattern. Great use can be made of diminishing distance
making strong compositions and depth within the photographic frame. The
limitations of natural light and your own viewpoint
rarely enable you to cram more than a few miles of
distance into a single shot at the best of times.
Open space sweeping countryside can be captured
to good effect with a vista view. Vistas are made
when a set of parallel lines merge into each other
at the vanishing point on the horizon and, in addition
to making a great graphic effect, lead your eye from
the foreground of the photograph to the background. * WEB LINKS
As so many photographic images are viewed and KODAK
dismissed within a fraction of a second, anything that http://prints@kodak.com/
makes the viewer dwell for a little bit longer can only global/en/consumer/education/
be a good thing. programs/composition/photoPro
gramCompMain.shtm
Expert advice from the Kodak Photo
Software composition Program’s Beginnings of
Digital images can be cropped and recomposed in a Photographic Composition.
digital imaging application like Photoshop. The best tool
to use is the Cropping tool which, on the latest versions PICTURES OF THE YEAR
of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, darkens down www.poy.org/59winners/
the areas you propose to crop off, so that you can index.html
Press photographers grapple
contemplate the consequences of your actions. Digital
with the complexities of
recomposition inevitably means the loss of some areas
composition on The Pictures of the
of original pixels, which reduces the potential to print at Year International website.
a larger size. 8

RIGHT Parallax error is greater when shooting close-
? EXPLAINED up and can result in drastic cropping
DIGITAL ZOOM
Many digital cameras have a More useful, perhaps, is the ability to remove
function called a digital zoom. This unwanted elements by using the Clone Stamp tool, by
works by enlarging a small central
painting out distracting parts of the image that went
section of pixels to make a far-off
subject appear larger than it is in unnoticed at the time of capture. (The introduction of
real-life. The process is called these and many other rescue processes should not
interpolation and works by mixing encourage the photographer to be lazier and less
new pixels with estimated colour concerned with finding perfection!)
values with original pixels. The
images can be unsharp and lower
quality than those shot with a
Framing in the viewfinder
conventional longer lens.
Great photographs are made at the moment the shutter
release is pressed, but the critical judgements are made
beforehand in the viewfinder. The viewfinder is the
preview window in a camera that frames your
composition. In addition to the image, most cameras
provide information in the display, such as focus and
exposure confirmation. Large viewfinders are easier to
use, especially if you wear spectacles and find it hard to
see through a tiny window.
With a digital camera’s rear-mounted LCD preview
screen, photographers can, for the first time,
contemplate a two-dimensional scene before pressing in closer or move your own position to crop out any As a result, unexpected crops can occur when
the shutter, and visualise exactly how the final print unnecessary details. Getting closer to your subject has an close focusing. This is called parallax error and is
will be balanced. With all the advantages of real-time additional advantage, too, because detailed backgrounds responsible for many disappointing family snapshots.
framing, holding the camera steady at arm’s length is far become more blurred and are a lot less distracting to SLR cameras use a clever arrangement of mirrors
from easy. With a tendency to wobble and tilt, only the eye. called a pentaprism to let the photographer focus and
tripod-mounted cameras will be certain of shooting an compose directly through the lens and don’t suffer from
accurate and predetermined composition. Parallax error the same problem. More expensive digital compacts
In older viewfinder film cameras, the optics were not offer a direct LCD preview directly through the lens, that
Big is best as sophisticated as they are today and there was also prevents parallax problems from surfacing. Next
Most amateur photographs – especially those shot on always the risk of cropping people’s heads off by time you flick through the family album, be less critical
unsophisticated and older film-based compact cameras – mistake. Without any way of previewing the final image, of your photographic predecessors, as many errors were
never get close enough to the subject. If you are the only alternative was to stand well back and hope down to bad camera design. See page 93 for more
worried about chopping off the heads and feet of for the best. With all viewfinder compacts, including about parallax errors.
your portraits, then you are probably standing too digitals, the viewing window is set to the left of the
far away. A tall and thin person doesn’t easily fit into camera lens and sees a slightly different image – Tight crops and surprises
the shape of your viewfinder, so you will have to zoom especially at close range. Just to compound the issue further, LCD previews,
viewfinder windows and SLR pentaprisms rarely
display the end result in its entirety. SLRs can show
marginally less around the perimeter edge than will
appear in the final image and viewfinder compacts can
show deceptively more than they should. To counteract
later disappointment, always avoid framing your subjects
too closely to the edge and always leave
a slight gap where possible. The hardest skill for an
emerging photographer to learn is to keep a close eye
on distracting backgrounds.
Caught up in the excitement of composing and
arranging the central subject, background details are
easily overlooked. Common mistakes are telegraph
poles sticking out of heads, or signs with inappropriate
wording appearing inexplicably in your frame. Small
details can be painstakingly removed later in your
@ SEND ’EM IN! imaging application, but it only takes a second to
recompose another shot, or choose a wider aperture to
Try out the techniques in this article blur out the background.
then send us your photos. We’ll
@
print the best each month. Email us
at the following address:
LEFT Images can be made even better by using an
gallery.dcm@futurenet.co.uk image editor’s Cropping tool. Distractions are removed
to make stronger and more balanced images

PHOTO HELP Q&A
YOUR GUIDE AIDAN O’ROURKE
Aidan O’Rourke is a freelance photographer who has been working with digital
imaging and photography since 1994. He created ‘Eyewitness in Manchester’
(part of Manchester Evening News), the largest online source of photos and
information about Manchester. He’s currently running seminars on digital
photography around the country. See opposite URL for more details
help.dcm@futurenet.co.uk WEBSITE www.aidan.co.uk/seminars/index.html
All your camera

questions answered
Send us your camera and image-editing queries and Aidan will do his best to help
2 QUESTIONS
ANSWERED
IMAGE CAPTURE
A
If you really have an aversion to
people downloading and saving
your photographs, then it’s probably
many free, local newspapers
publish low-grade images that have
been grabbed from the net and
PHOTOGRAPHING IN THE MIST .90 better not to publish them at all. If you blown up to a much larger size,
SHOOTING INTO THE SUN . . . . .91 share via the internet and people magnifying the JPEG compression.
FOCUSING ON TWO PEOPLE . . .91
like your photos, then they will save To stop people saving images, some
them. But is it really that bad for people photographers slap a huge © for
CAMERA USE
DOWNLOADING PICS . . . . . . . . .90 to download your pictures? copyright on top of every image on
In the first picture, the levels in the upper part of the photo are too high and have burnt out to
TIFF SETTINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 white. In the second picture, all the light levels have been contained within the picture In my opinion, it depends what their website. A copyright notice can
PIXEL SIZES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 they do with them. If they use them deter people from downloading your
2
WHICH RESOLUTION TO USE . . .92 The photographs above, are taken as desktop wallpaper or for a pictures – most offenders are too lazy to
ONLINE PICTURE PORTFOLIOS . .92
in morning mist in the Peak District. slideshow, and tell me how nice they remove it in Photoshop, or don’t know
PARALLEX ERROR . . . . . . . . . . .93
BUILT-IN FLASH . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 The left-hand picture shows how the are in an appreciative email, then I’m how to do it.
MINIATURE CAMERAS . . . . . . . .93 HOW DO I TAKE PICTURES camera has exposed for the average happy. But if they grab them off my Other photographers use a Javascript
IN THE MIST? light level in the centre of the picture, website and brazenly stick them on code that presents a pop-up message
MEDIA
PHOTOGRAPHY but hasn’t been able to handle the their badly designed pages without saying ‘Image copyrighted’ or ‘Stop! Do
BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
■■ INTERMEDIATE bright area of sky. my permission, then I get annoyed. not attempt to download this image!’
WEBSITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91, 93
I have tried to take photos in The solution is to reduce the light One of my online readers informed This technique can simply make the
Q morning mist, but they never entering the camera by setting the me that someone had used one viewer feel resentful – when they see a
come out well – they’re burnt out to exposure compensation to -1 or -2 or, of my images on a website. I found notice like this, some people just
white. Is there a remedy for this? as in the right-hand picture, zoom in it and sent a firm but friendly download it in another way, such as a
Stefan Novak on part of the scene so that the frame warning message to the culprit. He screen grab! Finally, some photographers
takes in a narrower range of levels to removed the image without even use digital watermarking, but this is only
It’s often very difficult to achieve a better exposure. replying to me (it even had my really useful to prove that an image
A achieve the best exposure in With digital cameras you can copyright notice on it). belongs to you.
misty weather conditions, especially experiment in the field like this, and Photographs are often downloaded Most mainstream publishers observe
if the sun shines through and causes make adjustments immediately. and used in print. I have noticed that copyright and will ask for permission to
light levels in parts of the picture to
2
go very high. Many digital sensors,
even in expensive cameras, have a
tendency to burn out to white above
certain light levels, whereas film CAN I STOP PEOPLE
Photo seems to be able to handle these DOWNLOADING MY PICS?

wider levels of light more effectively. INTERNET
The problem with shooting in ■■ BEGINNER
Help
misty conditions is that they present How can I stop people from
the camera’s exposure system with
Q downloading and using my
non-average levels that it finds photographs on the net? Which of these two copyright notices is more likely to engender a positive reaction in the viewer?
difficult to cope with. Jane Gaulter (photos of statues in Trinity College and O’Connell Street, Dublin)

Digital sensors have extra pixels that don’t form part of the
4
FURTHER output. The term ‘effective pixels’ refers to the pixel
INFORMATION dimensions and size of the images produced by the camera
8
FANSITE REVIEW www.lomo.com the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Content The Russian-built Lomo has become a cult object Verdict Go along to www.lomography.com – it’s a wacky
among its devotees, who love to shoot from the hip. but superbly designed website of the Lomographic
There are books and exhibitions devoted to work Society International, where it’s possible to upload your
produced with this camera, including a collection from own ‘lomographs’.
2 ; READ ON
use your photos. Photography is all
© Courtesy of Double Life Films

about sharing, so why not just post your
images and let people enjoy them? THE DIGITAL
2
HOW MUCH BIGGER WILL PHOTOGRAPHY MANUAL
PIXEL SIZES GET?
CAMERA TECHNOLOGY
CAN YOU TELL ME ■ BEGINNER
ABOUT TIFF SETTINGS? Are pixel sizes of camera sensors
FILE FORMATS Q ever going to reach an upper
■■■ ADVANCED limit, and what do you think the size is
What is the advantage of going to be?
Q using the TIFF setting on my Peter Clayton
digital camera?
Paul Newton Sensor sizes are getting bigger
A and bigger. Cutting-edge
Most digital cameras process cameras now produce image sizes of
A the image data from the 6Mb – that’s nearly 3,000 x 2,250
Published by Carlton Books
ISBN 1 84222 241 4
sensor and save it in the form of a pixels (I like to think in terms of pixel In this production still from the feature film, Derek, the camera has been aimed between Price £16.99
compressed JPEG file. JPEGs can be dimensions rather than megapixels). the two characters. The camera focused on the window and the effect, which is barely Written by Philip Andrews
noticeable, made the difference between a useable photo and a reject Buy from www.amazon.co.uk
interpreted by web formats and there It’s reckoned that this is equivalent to
2
are normally three levels of scanning a 35mm film frame – but sales managers, glamour models
This superbly presented book on
compression – low, medium and high. I’m not so sure. or nuns, you are really interested digital photography achieves very
Sometimes, you might want to Film is a deceptively subtle in the water cooler, rubber high standards of layout and picture
enlarge an image, and for this medium for the storage of picture HELP ME SOLVE MY plant or stained glass window quality, with lots of superb photos to
purpose many digital cameras have a information. My Nikon Coolscan FOCUSING PROBLEMS! behind them. inspire you. There are individual
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) film scanner will scan film up to PHOTOGRAPHY The autofocus targets a small reviews of image-editing products,
setting. A TIFF file will be larger than 3,600 x 2,400 pixels, but I still ■ BEGINNER area in the centre of the frame,
and chapters on ‘Why Digital?’,
‘Digital versus Traditional’, ‘Image
a JPEG and may take some time for think there’s extra picture information When photographing two and when you have two people
the camera to process, but the file in there and there’s only one way
Q people, the camera keeps on side by side, the autofocus Capture’ and ‘Image Manipulation’.
Verdict Highly recommended.
has much less compression than a to get it – to scan at an extremely focusing on the background. Is there doesn’t ‘see’ the off-centre
JPEG and consequently has fewer high resolution of around 6,000 x anything I can do? subjects close to you. The way
artefacts (colour faults or line faults 4,000 to give a file size of well over Alan Smith around the problem is to focus
that can be seen in the image). 20 million pixels. first on one of the two people by
TIFFs are the standard in the The increase in pixel sizes seems The fact is that camera depressing the shutter lightly,
printing industry, and the fact that I to be never-ending. Maybe some
A autofocus, like auto then turning the camera to
saved my photo of the Burj Al Arab new technology may come along exposure, doesn’t get it right include both subjects.
Hotel in Dubai (below) in that format that does away with megabytes and all of the time. Sometimes it In practice, however, this is
was a decisive factor in the hotel’s pixels – technology is notoriously thinks that instead of wanting often easier said than done and it
decision to use it. difficult to predict… to photograph a pair of smiling takes a bit of experimentation.
2
CAN I IMPROVE SHOTS
say: “Stand with your back to the
sun.” That is still good advice, even
when using today’s so-called
colours to be unsaturated and tones
shadowy; and the sky burning out to
white as you get closer to the sun,
? EXPLAINED
FOCAL LENGTH
TAKEN INTO THE SUN? sophisticated cameras, which are and the level of light increasing in Focal length refers to the field of
PHOTOGRAPHY view of the lens – 50mm is standard
supposed to be so advanced that they the sky.
■ BEGINNER enable anyone to take perfect However, often you have no
for 35mm cameras. Most digital
camera sensors have a smaller area
Whenever I shoot into the sun, pictures in any lighting conditions. choice but to shoot into the sun – for
Q the results are awful. Why is this But taking a photograph facing into instance, if you’re photographing
than 35mm film, and so the focal
length value is smaller, typically one
and is there anything I can do about it? the sun is more than even the most a north-facing building. It’s possible, third. The 8mm – 24mm zoom lens
Vincent Abbott sophisticated camera can handle. The through image enhancement, on the Nikon Coolpix 885 is equal to
In the inset, the top of the spike has been most common problems are: light to squeeze latent picture information 38mm – 114mm on a 35mm
enlarged, and some detail from the JPEG camera. The focal length of digital
As a child, taking photographs shining directly into the lens, causing out of an apparently badly exposed
version has been placed next to it. The vertical A with the Kodak Brownie lens flare; surfaces in front of you photograph, or add bits from
cameras is usually given as the
line is smoother and there is greater contrast in 35mm film format equivalent.
the TIFF file, but otherwise the quality is similar camera, my father always used to going into shadow, causing the other photographs.

PHOTO HELP Q&A
TOP TIP If close-ups of friends and relatives are over-exposed using flash, trying using a white piece of paper or hankerchief to reflect light onto their faces instead
2
WHICH RESOLUTION
enough resolution to print at a
reasonable size. But there’s another,
more subtle reason why it’s a good
SHOULD I USE? idea to start from a larger image.
IMAGE OUTPUT When resampling from a large to a
■■ INTERMEDIATE small size image, you may notice that
Do I really need a high resolution a larger original image often produces
Q camera if I’m only going to print a better smaller image. Even when
at small size? you’ve resampled to a smaller size,
V TECH FOCUS
Mary West the more detailed picture data from
the larger image seems to remain
If you’re only printing at 6 x 4 present in the smaller image – or at
THE IPIX A inches, then a 1,200 x 900 least some of it.
PHOTO FORMAT pixel file is more than adequate, so It’s the same effect as when you
What is it? iPix is an innovative why spend a fortune on a camera see images on a web page that have
photo format that exploits the that does 2,560 x 1,920 or larger? been scanned at high resolution from
possibilities of digital image display.
There are two reasons why it is still a medium format film.
It’s similar to the Quicktime
panorama effect, but goes one good idea to have more pixels than So, you don’t need a higher quality
stage further and enables you to you need. camera for smaller size prints, but it’s camera that has at least one-and-a- Capture at 640 x 480, zoom into the canvas 3x
and what to you get? Pixellation. Capture at
look up and down as well. First, it’s nice to be able to crop very nice to have picture information half times the output of your final 2,560 x 1,920, zoom into the canvas 3x and
part of a picture and still have in reserve. We recommend choosing a print size – say 1,800 x 1,350 (2.4MP). there's plenty of detail
How it works: to make an iPix
picture, two photos are taken with
2 ONLINE PICTURE PORTFOLIOS

a fish-eye lens, one pointing up and
one pointing down. The two
images are combined in iPix’s
proprietory software and viewed
You may wish to make your own online picture portfolios, so here are a few basic ideas
using the iPix viewer.
When to use it: the iPix format is

less than convincing as a serious 04
medium for capturing general
subjects, but it can be useful for
specific creative purposes. For Finally, go
instance, you could capture the back to the
interior of the Sistine Chapel from a To display the medium- thumbnail page
point midway between the floor 03 size photos we can create and put a link
and ceiling. The view would be
an HTML page for each from each
weird and interesting, providing a
view upwards, that would be one. The photo can go on the left thumbnail to
Using a Photoshop action, Create a table 500 pixels and the text on the right. Duplicate each of the 12
similar to the one that
Michelangelo saw.
01 save large, medium and
02 wide with four columns this page 12 times, naming the files pages that have
For more conventional subject small size versions of each and three rows. Insert 01.html to 12.html corresponding to been created.
matter we’re less keen – the picture. Typical sizes are 500 x 375, each thumbnail into each cell. You the image files 01.jpg to 12.jpg. At We now have a functioning gallery.
experience of viewing an iPix
200 x 150 and 100 x 75. You can now have what looks like a contact the top we can create links to the (An alternative to individual pages is
image is similar to looking at the
world dangling upside down
make them larger or smaller as you sheet. You can adjust the colour next and previous page. One by one, to put five or so pictures on each
strapped into a harness. We also wish. Save the images using the scheme to your taste – we prefer a insert the picture onto each file and page. This is the arrangement I use
find that zooming in is pointless same file names into three folders. black background. write the text. for ‘Eyewitness in Manchester’.)
because there isn’t the resolution to
reveal extra picture detail. But this is
really a shortcoming of the small
image sizes found on the internet.
More info: www.ipix.com
Another possibility is to Now link to the large size Alternatively, create an Pictures can be put in a
05 place thumbnails and 06 version of each picture. 07 HTML page for each 08 password-protected folder.
short pieces of descriptive The easiest way to do this picture and insert it on This enables you to hold
Using an IPix camera in the Sistine
Chapel would provide a similar text on a preview page. is to link directly to the image file. the page, centred. To have it appear back your content. Your Internet
view to the one Michelangelo The picture is displayed in the top left in a new browser window set the Service Provider (ISP) should be able
saw – but without having to use all on a white background. link attribute ‘target = _blank’. to provide info about this.
that scaffolding…

The Digital Leica M3 camera is a one-third size replica of
4
GET THAT the classic Leica from the 1950s, but with a digital
SHRINKING FEELING interior. Go to www.minox.com for more info
8
MANUFACTURER SITE www.nikon.co.uk Verdict I particularly liked the ones of London Fashion
Content The Nikon website has changed. Gone are the Week and the London Underground. Plenty of camera and
black background camera buttons and sounds. Instead it product specs to drool over. Should you experience a rise in
has a much bigger and more comprehensive site, with temperature, a visit to the British Refrigeration Association
extensive galleries of superb photos. website www.feta.co.uk/bra website may be advised…
2 MINIATURE CAMERAS
sensor will record (sunlight-allowing). going to provide the necessary light,
It’s not just a question of parallax isn’t it? Well not quite.
error though – the viewfinder also If you are photographing in a
sometimes seems to crop the frame stadium at night, using 100ASA film Shamelessly jumping on the James Bond bandwagon? Us?
severely. For this reason, we nearly or its digital equivalent, have the
always use the screen. There’s no shutter set to 125th of a second, and
easy answer to the problem of the aperture at f5.6, then it’s likely
parallax error – just be aware of it, that nothing is going to be visible in
and zoom out a little to leave some the photograph – apart from the
margin for error. backs of spectators’ heads.
A successful photo will only result
2
if the camera is using fast film or its
digital equivalent, if the lighting is
very bright, or if the camera is set to
WHAT’S THE LIMIT OF MY ‘slow synch’ where, in addition to
BUILT-IN FLASH? firing the flash, the camera also
PHOTOGRAPHY leaves the shutter open to make a
■ BEGINNER long exposure (see below, or last
At night-time sporting events, month’s feature on photographing at
In the top picture of the Orthodox Church in Q you see thousands of flashes night). And it’s important to note The German manufacturer, Minox (www.minox.com) specialises in miniature
Leipzig, the way in which the viewfinder crops cameras. Here are its 35mm Minox ML and Minox spy cameras
the frame has been simulated, showing a going off. Can I assume that most that most current digital cameras
smaller area than the camera sees. Picture 2
pictures won’t come out properly? don’t handle low light as well as Last month we wrote about The idea of a miniature camera
shows what would appear on the LCD screen
Julie Dawson high speed films. candid photography. Using a is not new. In the 1920s, there
2
I’d love to have an exhibition of miniature camera is a great way were many small format and
If lighting conditions are dark, those underexposed photographs to take photos, and there are a novelty cameras for sale – some
A then it’s assumed that you taken at sporting events – a room full number of tiny digital cameras concealed in watches, keyrings
WHAT IS have to use flash. The flash comes on of carefully framed prints, each one currently on sale. The smallest and even in flowers to put on
PARALLAX ERROR? automatically anyway, so the flash is completely black. include Digital Dream’s L’Espion your lapel. Maybe some time in
PHOTOGRAPHY Xtra keychain camera, the Nisis the near future miniature cameras
■■ INTERMEDIATE Quickpix 2 and Casio’s WQV10 will provide true professional-
Why, when I take a photo, does Watch Camera (see DCAM#01). quality images – imagine, a 6-
Q the final image I’ve taken, and These cameras produce a very megapixel camera smaller than a
the initial view from the viewfinder, small picture, similar to a matchbox but still good enough to
not quite match? webcam. If you want small use for professional use.
Simon Ruddle camera dimensions, but large Wouldn’t it be great to turn up
picture size, the Minolta Dimage X to a wedding as the official
This is parallax error and occurs is a good choice. It is currently the photographer and shoot it with
A for the same reason a scene lightest and most compact 3x the super-miniature camera? For
looks different when you view it optical zoom digital camera, credibility, you’d probably have to
though your left eye with the right producing images of up to 1,600 x take a battered non-functional
eye shut, then vice-versa. 1,200 pixels, and is small enough medium-format camera and tell
It isn’t a problem on SLR (single to go in your shirt pocket. them you’re using it instead!
lens reflex) cameras, which use the
lens as the viewfinder, but it is on Minox recently
launched its desirable
compact cameras, which have a Digital Classic Camera
separate ‘window’ next to the lens, Leica M3
which is used to frame the picture.
The problem with parallax error is
that the closer the subject is to the
camera, the greater the difference
between what the viewfinder sees
and what the lens sees – this is
because the angles are greater.
On compacts, the solution is
You don’t always need a flash at night! In this picture, a number of shorter exposures were made,
simple – use the LCD screen, which capturing light trails and combining them using layers in Photoshop. This photo shows the Al-Madheef
shows almost exactly what the Roundabout, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates

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SECTION #04 YOUR PC
USING YOUR PC
SEND PHOTOS BY EMAIL Section highlights…
SEE PAGE 96
USING YOUR PC PAGE
96
HOW TO PRINT AND SEND PHOTOS BY EMAIL
Tips and tricks to make the most of your printer,
and send photos by email using Windows XP
ONLINE TUTORIAL PAGE
98
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE
With the right software, you can design a functional,
stylish website to showcase your photographs
PRINT TECHNIQUES PART 3 PAGE
100
CALIBRATING YOUR PRINTING PAPER
The paper you use has a real impact on your
finished prints. Make sure you get it right
PAGE PAGE PAGE
96 98 100
PC & Internet
Using a PC to make the most of your digital photos
Tutorials you can trust! Contact our Reviews team
f #
Our aim is to bring you creative ideas, expert tips and image files, and full or trial software so you can try the If you have a comment about our reviews, or a product
quick fixes you can use in your own work. tutorial for yourself, delivering a complete package. you would like us to test, please email us at
Authoritative A leading professional in his/her field Clear Our large page size means we can add extra editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk. Visit our website at
writes every tutorial. Value-added We try to include elements, explanations and detail to each tutorial. digitalcameramagazine.co.uk for reader verdicts
TUTORIAL USING YOUR PC
YOUR GUIDE JOE CASSELS
Joe Cassels writes regular tutorials for a wide range of computer magazines. He
is an enthusiastic digital photographer with a track record of helping many
people get more from their PCs
joe@cassels.org.uk PORTFOLIO JOE CASSELS
How to print and

send photos by email
It’s time to show other people your photographs. This month, Joe Cassels shows you how to print photos
either at home or via a professional outlet, and send them by email
O
ne of the criticisms some conventional market. Printer manufacturers spend millions of pounds your films to the chemist – you get top-quality prints on
TUTORIAL
photographers level at their digital formulating ink and paper products so that they work high-quality paper for a fixed price. And you can choose
KEY DETAILS counterparts is that they can only look at their together. Although they are more expensive, if you want only to have the best ones printed, leaving out those
2 SKILL LEVEL pictures on screen. Nothing could be further from the to get decent quality prints, it’s best to use the ink and you don’t like.
truth. One of the great strengths of digital photography paper that’s recommended by your printer manufacturer.
1
is the many different ways you can share your pictures Sharing your pictures
2 TIME TO COMPLETE with other people. Professional services
If you’ve ever used a printer at home, you know that
Emailing pictures is a great way to share images.
Windows XP makes pictures smaller so they can be sent
30 MINUTES
Printing at home
The technology behind inkjet printing has advanced in
mistakes can happen. And when you’ve paid a premium
for the correct ink and paper, it’s frustrating to see any of
over a modem. Large pictures take a lot longer to send,
so unless you know the recipient has a broadband
2 WINDOWS VERSIONS
Windows XP
recent years. Most printers turn out decent photos these it wasted. If this concerns you, why not try an internet connection, it’s probably worth resizing them – consider
days – even those at the bargain-basement end of the printing service? These work in a similar way to sending both their patience and their phone bill!
2 NEXT MONTH
Archiving, indexing and
burning photos to CD
Use the Photo Printing Wizard to get the best
PRINTING YOUR PHOTOS results when you print your photos
8 8
? EXPLAINED
ATTACHMENT GET STARTED SELECT THE PHOTOS TO PRINT ADJUST THE PAGE LAYOUT
This is a computer file sent 01 Click Start, My Pictures and double-click the 02 You’ll see all the photos in the folder. Tick 03 Select a layout for your page. You can have
alongside an email message. The
folder containing the pictures you want to the ones that you want to print (click Select just one picture per page or save paper by
attached file can be a document,
picture or anything else generated
print. Launch the Picture and Fax viewer by double All if you want to tick them all). Click Next to select doubling, tripling or quadrupling the photos per page.
on a computer. clicking one of the pictures in the folder. Click the the printer you want to use (if you have more than You can even print a contact sheet of all the photos
printer icon to launch the Photo Printing Wizard. one printer) and specify print and paper settings. you have selected. Click Next to start printing.

You get far better printing results if you buy photo-quality
4
FURTHER paper for your printer. It worth remembering that some
INFORMATION printers need photo-quality ink, too
EMAIL YOUR PHOTOS Send your pictures to anyone you

like – but don’t forget to resize them
SELECT THE PHOTO RESIZE THE PICTURES SEND THE MAIL

01 Click Start, My Pictures and browse to the 02 Click Email this file under File and Folder
03 You’ll see an email window from your
image that you want to send. Click it. Move Tasks. Choose Make all my pictures smaller default program. The picture is attached to
to the File and Folder Tasks pane on the left-hand side in the next dialog and click OK. This resizes the this message. Add the addresses you want to send it
of the window. If it’s not shown, click the Folders pictures being emailed, not the copies you hold on to, plus your message. Click Send. You’ll need to
button on the toolbars to reveal it. your hard drive. connect to the internet, if you’re not already online.
PRINTING ONLINE Use a service like the Jessops Internet Printing Service to buy
prints of your digital photos
8 8
GET THE SOFTWARE INSTALL THE SOFTWARE LAUNCH THE PROGRAM

01 Browse www.jessops.com. Follow the link 02 Wait as the program downloads. Once 03 Once your PC has restarted, double-click the
to Internet Printing. Click Download Now complete, browse to the place where you Jessops Print@net icon. Click Start to begin
and choose Save in the dialog that follows. Choose a saved it and double-click the file called setup. Accept creating a portfolio of photos for printing. Now choose
suitable place to save the software and click Save. the software licence and the default install location. the size of photo you want to buy.
* WEB LINKS
MICROSOFT
www.microsoft.com/windows
xp/default.asp
8 8 JESSOPS
www.jessops.com
NEWSGROUP
microsoft.public.windowsxp.
photos
SELECT PHOTO PRODUCT CHOOSE YOUR PICTURES CONNECT AND PAY

04 A list of products is available such as 05 You can choose different folders in your 06 Click Next to enter delivery details and then
different sizes of print and novelty items. you’re my Pictures folder by selecting them go online to arrange payment and upload
Select one of the options and click Next Step: Browse on the left-hand pane click on each of the pictures you the pictures. This may take some time. Your photos
Pictures to choose the photos you want to use. want to use and click Add selection to order. will be posted to you shortly afterwards.

TUTORIAL SHARING YOUR PHOTOS
YOUR GUIDE MATTHEW RICHARDS

Matthew Richards reviews digital cameras for worldwide specialist press, as well as being
a keen photographer using both conventional 35mm outfits and digital systems. His main
areas of interest are sports, landscape and people photography
matthew.richards1@ukonline.co.uk PORTFOLIO MATTHEW RICHARDS
Building a website gallery

For effectively sharing your photos online, a custom-designed website is impossible to beat. Matthew Richards shows us
how to build a quick, easy and inexpensive way to create and maintain your own site as a showcase for your photos
I
n the first issue of the magazine, we looked that takes your fancy, and build in links to other sites or Another alternative is to use a DTP program, like
TUTORIAL
at how to share your photos online using a offer feedback facilities. Best of all, though, building your Microsoft Publisher, recent versions of which have built-
KEY DETAILS photo album or community service, like those own website can be almost as quick and easy as using in tools for designing web pages and entire sites as well
2 ON OUR CD
A Smaller Image will help
offered by MSN Communities (http://photos.msn.co.uk)
and PhotoBox (www.photobox.co.uk).
a community service, thanks to the range of web-
creation programs now available.
as pages for print. For higher levels of interaction,
though, it’s best to get a proper web-design package.
optimise your pictures before While services like these are both simple and very These don’t come much simpler than Serif Web Plus,
putting them online fast to use, they have their limitations. For starters, Choosing software but if you want to add some power to your site design,
2 SKILL LEVEL
you’re limited to the design and layout offered by the
service itself, even though some offer a few variations.
The first step is to choose some software for creating
your new site. If you don’t want to get into any HTML
while avoiding HTML coding, we suggest Microsoft
FrontPage or, best of all, Macromedia Dreamweaver.
3 And if you want to include more information about your programming, there are plenty of programs that do all
photos, create themed sets and build in some the hard work for you, behind the scenes. You can lay Design issues
2 TIME TO COMPLETE interactivity, it can be difficult or even impossible. your pages out just as you would do in a basic DTP Unless you’re confident, the quickest and easiest way to
3 HOURS If you create your own site from scratch, you can
design the site exactly as you want, supply extra
package. Programs don’t have to be expensive either –
in fact, IMS Web Dwarf (www.virtualmechanics.co.uk)
design a website is to use one of the ready-made
templates, collections of which are built into almost
2 NEXT MONTH
Optimising photos for web use.
information about yourself and your photos, group shots
together by category, subject matter or anything else
and Netscape Composer (www.netscape.co.uk) are both
completely free to download and use.
every web-creation package. Of course, you can change
some of the elements to customise templates to fit your
Plus we rate all the main
online photo developing
services in our Lab Test
EASY WEB DESIGN A simple DTP or web-design package is all you need. Here’s
how it works in Microsoft Publisher
8 8
? EXPLAINED CHOOSE A TEMPLATE ADD PAGES AND ELEMENTS ADDING PHOTOS

FTP 01 Designing an effective web page from 02 Microsoft Publisher includes styled 03 From pages of thumbnail images to larger
This stands for File Transfer scratch can be an arduous process. You can pages for order forms, sign-up forms, photos, add sets of pages for each category
Protocol and is the universal
short-cut the procedure by using a template, which feedback pages and various other types of web page. to your site. Insert the photos you want to use, then
system for uploading and
already has a full layout and coherent style, then Simply choose the ones you want and add them to add effects like drop shadows, and include captions to
downloading files on the internet.
customising it for your exact requirements. your site. get the message across.

Want to organise your web page? Why not use some of the
4
FURTHER pro photographer sites for inspiration? Our favourites are
INFORMATION www.glynedmunds.com and www.anseladams.com
01
2 UPLOADING
YOUR WEBSITE 02
06
If you’re looking for your own
domain name and good web-
For uploading all the HTML, picture hosting services, you can’t go
and other files to your online web 05 wrong with www.easily.co.uk
space, you can’t beat a program like
WS_FTP Pro 03
01 Toolbar 04 07
As with most Windows programs nowadays, the
WS_FTP Pro toolbar gives you quick, point-and-click
access to the most commonly needed tools.
02 Local system
Once you’ve designed a website on your PC, all the
necessary files should be contained in a folder,
which may have a collection of sub-folders. The
program refers to this as the ‘local system’. IMS Web Dwarf is one of the
03 Files and folders easiest web-design packages
All the files and folders for your website that are around, and it’s free for personal
initially held on your PC are available for selection
and viewing in the Files and folders pane of the 08 use, at www.virtualmechanics.co.uk
program’s main window.
04 Command buttons
You can create new sub-folders, rearrange files, view
their contents and even delete unnecessary files by
using the centre strip of command buttons.
05 Upload and download 06 Remote system 07 Remote files and folders 08 Status bar
Simple left and right arrow buttons provide one- The remote system is the FTP site that you Once you’ve navigated to and selected a Quick reference point to what’s going on
click operation for uploading selected files to your are logged onto. You can use the remote web address, all the folders and within the program, and what tasks are
web space, or for downloading online files from an navigation options to browse and select the files contained on the site will be displayed running, while a secondary button bar
FTP site. site that you want to create or maintain. in this pane of the main window. gives access to more tools and options.
exact requirements, but at least all the ground work is text to let people know what they’re looking at, and and easiest to use. It runs an excellent online service,
done for you. encourage feedback by placing hyperlinks on the site which includes free technical help.
To make your site look its best, avoid using very large that will launch email forms.
fonts, or collections of different fonts, and make sure As your site grows, you might even want to build Uploading your site
you retain as much consistency as possible between pages for selling your photos online, providing Once you’ve designed your website, tested it on your
different pages or sections of the site. It’s also best to
avoid highly textured backgrounds as these can add
catalogues of your shots and more besides. Another own PC and decided where you’re going to put it online
* WEB LINKS
hugely to the download time required for each page of ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE
your site, which is a real turn-off for your visitors. Websites that just contain a bunch of photos There are plenty of good web-
creation software packages around,
Naturally, the main emphasis of your site will be the
photos themselves. Here, you’ll probably have to use can end up being predictable and tedious, as well as programs for uploading
your site. On top of that, you’ll
large images, but that doesn’t mean that the file sizes
have to be huge. You don’t need such high resolutions no matter how good the shots happen to be need to choose a domain name
and web hosting for your site,
for on-screen display as you do for printing, and you unless you’re sticking with your
don’t need to fill the whole screen if photos are forming great thing about websites is that they’re easily (whether with your own ISP or with independent ISP’s free web space. Here’s the
part of a complete web page. Experiment with saving adaptable, so you can change anything you want, hosting), the next thing to is to upload it. There can be a shortlist of software and services:
your photos on a sliding scale of quality versus file size, whenever you feel like it. surprisingly large number of files to upload, containing
IMS Web Dwarf (free)
by altering the compression ratio for JPEG images. You all the HTML and picture file and so on, and even some
www.virtualmechanics.co.uk
might be surprised at what you can get away with. Find a host of the major ISPs and hosting companies make a meal Serif WebPlus 7 (£30)
We’ll be covering this in-depth next month but, in The chances are that the ISP you’re already with offers of the uploading process. AOL has always been www.serif.co.uk
the meantime, it’s also good to supply thumbnail an amount of free web space for your personal use. This particularly difficult in this respect. Microsoft Publisher 2002 (£99)
images of your main shots on the site, so that visitors varies greatly, from just a couple of megabytes up to However, you can get software that takes the chore www.microsoft.com/uk
can choose what they want to look at closely without maybe 30Mb or more. It makes sense to utilise this free out of this – one of the best programs is WS_FTP Pro, Microsoft FrontPage 2002 (£125)
www.microsoft.com/uk
long download waits. web space for as long as you can, and certainly while which you can download from www.ipswitch.com.
Netscape Composer (free)
you’re experimenting with getting your initial site There’s a free trial version online, and the full package
www.netscape.co.uk
Optional extras online. However, as you progress, you might want to costs around £29. It enables you to update specific files Macromedia
Websites that just contain a bunch of photos can end up sign up for your own domain name, which will be online, after you’ve made changes to your site, rather Dreamweaver MX (£299)
being predictable and ultimately tedious, no matter how independent of your ISP, and rent a larger web space for than having to upload the whole site from scratch after www.macromedia.co.uk
good the shots happen to be. One of the powerful hosting your site. every change. All in all, creating, maintaining and WS_FTP Pro (£30)
elements of building a website is that you can add There are many companies offering domain name running your own photo website can be a fantastically www.ipswitch.com
Easily.co.ukp (prices vary)
interactivity, enabling visitors to navigate the site and registry and hosting online but we’ve always found rewarding experience, as well as being surprisingly easy
www.easily.co.uk
discover your shots as they explore. Add commentary Easily.co.uk (www.easily.co.uk) to be one of the best, to achieve.

Once familiar with the technicalities of adjusting Output values,
TUTORIAL PRINT TECHNIQUES PART 3
4
FURTHER you can save them as Curves or Levels recipe files using the
INFORMATION printing paper as a reference filename
YOUR GUIDE TIM DALY

Tim has written several books on photography including The Digital Photography Handbook, The
Digital Printing Handbook and The Desktop Photographer, and he continues to write for The
British Journal of Photography. His photographs have been exhibited across Europe
Calibrating printing paper

Shadow gain and highlight spread is a common problem when printing photographs on inkjets, but Tim Daly
demonstrates that if you’re prepared to spend a little time calibrating your paper you’ll get rid of the problem forever
T
he greatest impact on your image contrast left unselected in favour of an manual preparation in
TUTORIAL
can come from an incorrect selection of the Photoshop before getting to the printing stage.
KEY DETAILS paper type in your printer software. This is
2 SKILL LEVEL
usually the case when using a different paper brand to
the printer because, for obvious reasons, printer
Paper differences
There’s a world of difference between inkjet paper
8 manufacturers exclude competitors’ products from their bought in sheets of 500 from a high street stationers
list of media options. and photo-quality paper. Cheap papers never give you
2 TIME TO COMPLETE Confusion can grow more intense when good results, as they do not have the necessary coatings
15 MINUTES recommended paper is rebadged with a different name

that doesn’t correspond with any of the options in the
to cope with fine dots of ink. Cheap paper gets soggy,
lacks rich contrast and presents poor colour saturation
2 NEXT MONTH media settings dialog. It’s a much better idea to stick
with one media setting for glossy and one for matt
independently of the perfect image on your monitor.
Different papers respond to different printer software
Calibrating your monitor
paper and set your printer resolution to 1,440 or 2,880 settings, but may still need additional correction to
and leave it well alone. achieve a flawless print. The idea of testing your paper MONITORING VIA THE INFO PALETTE
beforehand is straightforward and in the long run very Get an idea of the danger areas in your image by using the
Info palette in Photoshop or Elements. Select Window8Info
Printer software presets cost effective. Testing involves finding the exact points at
and click on the dropper tool. Pick the Grayscale option from
Unexpected results often stem from the use of printer which the paper can’t separate dark grey from full black,
the pop-out menu, float the dropper over shadow, highlight
presets such as auto contrast or auto colour correction. and pure white from light grey. Once this has been areas and watch the readout change. Use this to judge your
You’ll never be able to predict exactly how these established and accounted for, your prints will no longer extremes before adjusting your Output values.
commands will change your image, so these are best burn out or fill in.
3 IN DETAIL The Variations dialog in Elements is the first place to start if you’ve
ADJUSTING A COLOUR
IMAGE IN PHOTOSHOP
TESTING YOUR PAPER never done any colour printing before
To repeat the same correction for an
USING COLOR JUDGING ADJUSTING A MONO IMAGE
RGB image, work on the composite
RGB channel in your Levels dialog
01 BALANCE 02 YOUR 03 Once you’ve realised the starting points
box. As colour is not described as a CONTROLS RESULTS of both highlights and shadows, you
simple 0-100 per cent, but on a 0- From the cover CD, open Look closely at the can amend your digital image to fit within these
255 scale, you’ll need to convert the image testwedge.tif shadow areas on the new boundaries. Let’s assume your image is a
your percentages to fit. Assuming
found in the Printing black step wedge and grayscale and your results showed highlights starting
that 1 per cent equals 2.55, adjust
the Shadow Output to 15 instead of Techniques folder. This has try to spot the point at 6 per cent and black appearing at 94 per cent.
0 and the Highlight Output to 240 been set with an ideal when the different Open the Curves dialog and set the curve to the new
instead of 255, as shown. resolution for inkjet steps merge together. points as shown. Two readouts are shown here
printers at 200ppi. Next, On all but the best instead of the
select a sheet of your inkjet paper this normal one, with
favourite printing paper occurs at about the 94 shadow Output
and send the image to per cent mark, shown on the
print using the closest changing any darker left as 94 per
media settings options found in your printer software. tones into pure 100 per cent black. Next, judge the cent and
It’s important to make a note of these settings on highlights on the black wedge and pick the step highlight Output
the reverse side of the paper when it emerges from before the first sign of detail. Note how each colour shown right as 6
the printer. stops and starts at a different point. per cent.

SECTION #05 RETAILERS
5 steps to safe shopping
To prevent or handle the unlikely event of receiving faulty or
damaged goods, why not follow our checklist below – you’ll
reduce whatever slight chance there is of problems:
1 CHOOSE YOUR SITE OR RETAILER

Online, it’s wise to stick to the bigger retail brands. On past experience,
we recommend Jessops.com, Dabs.com and Amazon.com for starters.
2
USE A CREDIT CARD
If you are buying goods worth more than £100 in total, use a credit
card. This is because in the event of any problems, you are entitled to
claim against the credit card company as well as the seller (you won’t
get your money back twice but the company is there to claim against if
the seller has gone bust.) You might also get extra insurance, so check
with your credit firm.
3 NEVER PAY IN CASH

If you can’t pay by credit card, use a cheque or postal order instead.
Don’t send cash through the mail, even by registered post. Apart from
the risk of theft, you can’t stop payment if you need to, and it’s
impossible to prove how much you sent.
4 KEEP A RECORD
Keep records if you’re paying by credit card over the phone. Print off
web pages after you have entered your details on them. Keep notes of
exact times and the name of the person who took your order, if you’re
paying by phone. Always keep your receipts.
5 DON’T USE A DEBIT CARD

Many debit cards don’t have the protection or insurance options
afforded to credit cards, so avoid using one.
Dealerbank
20 pages of the UK’s camera retailers
Contact our team

To advertise in our Dealerbank section contact
#
We can’t make guarantees on quality of service from our
advertisers, but if you do have problem – or have had
praiseworthy service – we’d like to know. Email us at
our sales team on 01225 442244 or email
letters.dcm@futurenet.co.uk dcamclassifieds@futurenet.co.uk
™
THE UK’s No1 INKJET COMPANY
Web. www.mx2.com
Tel. 01481 740200
Fax. 01481 740300
Email. sales@mx2.com
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CANON COMPATIBLE C-6615D BLK ....................£11.90 41264 A3+ Photo Matte 167g x50 ................£27.99
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Photo Glossy Papers C-BC02 BLK ..................£9.90......2 PK £17.80 41261 A3 Photo Matte 167g x50...................£17.99
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CPR0A3 A3 ICI Photo Glossy Paper 260g (20).......£17.75 C-BCI-5 C/M/Y ..............£3.99 41125 A3 Photo Paper 120g x20 ..................£14.90
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CPR020 A4 ICI Photo Glossy Paper 260g (20).........£8.50 C-BCI-11B BLK (x3) ...........£5.99......2 PK £11.00 & SAVE £££s 41071 A4 Photo Glossy Film x15..................£17.90
CPRO64 6x4” ICI Photo Glossy Paper 260g (20)......£5.50 C-BCI-11C CLR (x3)...........£7.50......2 PK £13.98 41332 A4 Premium Semi Gloss 251g x20 ......£9.50
CS26A3 A3 ICI Photo Satin Paper 260g (20)..........£17.75 C-BCI-21B BLK ..................£2.75 .....3 PK £7.50 41287 A4 Premium Photo Paper 255g x20 ....£8.99
CS2650 A4 ICI Photo Satin Paper 260g (50)..........£16.99 Black Refill Kit (50ml)....£4.90 (100ml)..£6.99 41140 A4 Photo Paper 190g x20 ....................£6.90
C-BCI-21C CLR..................£3.99......3 PK £11.00 Colour Refill Kit (75ml)....£7.90 (150ml)..£9.99 41126 A4 Photo Glossy 120g x20 ...................£5.99
CS2620 A4 ICI Photo Satin Paper 260g (20)............£8.50 C-BCI-61C CLR..................£7.99......2 PK £15.00
CP22-3P A3+ Photo Glossy/Photo Matte 220g (20) £17.99 C-BCI 62 PHOTO ............£8.99......2 PK £17.00 Black & Clr Refill Kit (125ml)......................£9.95 NEW 41560 A4 ColourLife Photo Paper 245g x20£11.50
CP22-A3 A3 Photo Glossy/Photo Matte 220g (20) .£15.99 Photo Refill Kit (150ml)...............................£9.99 NEW 41342 A4 Matte Archival Paper 192g x20 .....£9.50
CP22-50 A4 Photo Glossy/Photo Matte 220g (50) .£14.50 C-BJI201B BLK ..................£1.99 .....3 PK £5.50 41256 A4 Photo Matte 160g x50 ....................£7.90
C-BJI201M Mag...................£2.50 Black Ink (250ml)...£5.90 (500ml)£16.90 41106 A4 Photo Matte Adhesive x10 .............£7.90
CP22-20 A4 Photo Glossy/Photo Matte 220g (20) ...£7.99 C/M/Y Inks Each(250ml)..£6.90 (500ml).£16.99
CARDS A5 Glossy Greeting Cards 220g (20) ..........£7.99 C-BJI201C Cyn...................£2.50 41061 A4 Photo Matte Paper 90g x100 .........£7.90
CP22-A5 A5 Photo Glossy/Photo Matte 220g (20) ...£4.75 C-BJI201Y Ylw ...................£2.50 Photo Inks C/M/Y(250ml).£9.90 (500ml)£17.90 41154 A4 Iron-on Transfers x10 .....................£8.90
NEW CP1750 A4 ICI Photo Glossy Paper 170g (50).........£9.99 Cleaning Fluid (125ml).£3.99 (250ml)..£4.90 41176 Photo Stickers 5x4 ...............................£3.99
NEW CP1720 A4 ICI Photo Glossy Paper 170g (20).........£4.99 STORAGE MEDIA Ink Jector Kit (Kit without ink).............£2.90 41122 10"x8" Photo Card x30.........................£9.99
41121 8"x5" Photo Card x30...........................£4.90
CS50 A4 ICI Photo Satin Paper 170g (50)............£9.99 MEMOREX CDR
CS20 A4 ICI Photo Satin Paper 170g (20)............£5.99 80/700MB 24 Speed.each 65p/10 PK £5.99 41148 8"x5" Cards + Envelopes x10 ..............£5.90
©
Photo Matte Papers 80/700MB.............50 Pack Spindle £16.50
CDR Audio 80min..99p each /10 Pk £9.45
DIGITAL CAMERA FOOD 41134 6"x4" Photo Paper 190g x20 ..................£4.99
41144 A6 Photo Stickers x20..........................£3.90
NEW CM314 A4 ICI Super Heavy Artist Paper 310g (20) .£13.99
COMPACTFLASH CARDS 41054 A6 Photo Card x50................................£5.99
CDRW 650/74....99p each /10 Pack £8.99 16MB .......................£11.20 41147 A6 Cards + Envelopes x20...................£5.90
NEW CA240 A4 Artist Watercolour Paper 240g (10) ......£6.99 32MB .......................£12.90
NEW CM234 A4 ICI Photo Matte 230g (50) ..........................£9.99 Hewlett Packard CDR 64MB .......................£17.90 See website for full range of Papers
128MB .......................£42.00
NEW
NEW
CM1750 A4 ICI Photo Matte 2 sided 170g (50) ............£9.99
CM17100 A4 ICI Photo Matte 2 sided 170g (100) ........£12.99
80min/650MB.......79p each /10 Pack £7.50
MEMOREX MINIDISCS
256MB .......................£79.99
512MB .....................£179.00
EPSON COMPATIBLE
CANA3 A3 Canvas Photo Paper 140g (20)............£13.50
NEW 80min 5 Pack................................£6.75 SMARTMEDIA CARDS SAVE UP TO 70% ON EPSON INK
CANA4 A4 Canvas Photo Paper 140g (20)..............£5.99 16MB 3.3V .................£7.50 MX2 is the UK’s largest seller of EPSON
NEW CM120 A4 ICI Photo Matte 120g (100) ........................£7.99 USB KEY DRIVES 32MB 3.3V .................£9.49 Compatible Inks & Print-Rite Ink Products
32MB Key Drive ..............................£29.99 64MB 3.3V ...............£16.70 are our Best Performing Brand.
Specialist Products 128MB 3.3V ...............£46.99 EACH DISCOUNT
CMETAL A4 Silver Metallic Film (10)..........................£6.99
64MB Key Drive ..............................£49.99 SECURE DATA CARDS NEW C-T032440 YELLOW..............£5.90......3 PK £17.25
NEW CHOLO A4 Silver Holographic Film .........................£7.95 128MB Key Drive ............................£79.00 32MB........................£27.90 NEW C-T032340 MAGENTA ...........£5.90......3 PK £17.25
CTFR A4 Transfers for T - Shirts etc. (10)............£7.99 64MB........................£44.90 NEW C-T032240 CYAN ...................£5.90......3 PK £17.25
IOMEGA 128MB......................£69.00 NEW C-T032140 BLK......................£6.99......3 PK £20.52
CLING A4 Cling Film 720 Dpi (10) ...........................£7.50 CLIK 40MB ..............................each £7.99 C-T029401 CLR......................£6.90......3 PK £20.52
NEW CMAG A4 Magnetic Photo Sheets (5) ....................£7.90 MULTIMEDIA CARDS
ZIP 100MB PC or MAC............each £6.99 16MB ......................£11.90 C-T028401 BLK......................£4.99......3 PK £14.52
CLEAR A4 Transparencies for Projectors (20) .......£7.50 C-T027401 PHOTO ................£6.99......3 PK £20.52
CLAM A4+ DIY Laminate for Menus etc. (10).......£6.99 ZIP 250MB PC or MAC............each £9.75 32MB .......................£14.99 C-T026401 BLK......................£5.99......3 PK £17.52
CBUS DIY Laminate for Business Cards (50).......£5.99 64MB .......................£36.99 C-T020401 CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
NEW CDKIT CD & Zip Kit (50) Free CD Software.........£11.99 Maxell LS-120 120MB Super Disc ...£6.75 Memory Stick for all SONY equipment C-T019401 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
CDM2 Photo Matt CD Labels 2 per A4 (2x10) ......£5.99 IMATION 3.5” DISKS 32MB Memory Stick ......................£23.50 C-T018401 CLR......................£6.90......3 PK £20.25
CD2 Photo Glossy CD Labels 2 per A4 (2x10)...£6.50 64MB Memory Stick ......................£39.00 C-T017401 BLK......................£7.90......3 PK £23.25
CD3 Photo Glossy CD Labels 3 per A4 (3x10)...£6.50 NEW Black IBM 1.44Mb 10 Pack.......£2.99 128MB Memory Stick ....................£52.50 C-T014401 CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
CBC Glossy Business Cards 220g (10x10).........£5.75 NEW Neon IBM 1.44Mb 10 Pack.......£3.50 C-T013401 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
C-T009401 PHOTO ................£6.90......3 PK £20.25
NEW CAB Art Canvas Business cards 10 per A4 (10x10)£5.90 MEMOREX DVD STORAGE C-T008401 PHOTO ................£6.90......3 PK £20.25
CAD20 Address Labels (adh) 10 per A4 (10x10) ....£5.99 C-T007401 BLK......................£6.90......3 PK £20.25
NEW CMOUSEDIY Mousemat Kit (2) ..................................£5.90 NEW DVD-R 4.7Gb.................................£5.90 DIGITAL ACCESSORIES C-T005011 CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
NEW DVD-RW 4.7Gb.............................£9.49 Compact flash & Smart Media C-T003011 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
© C-T001011 PHOTO ................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
DIGITAL VIDEO FOOD NEW DVD+RW 4.7Gb.............................£9.99 accessories... C-20193
C-20191
PHOTO ................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
SONY DVM 60min Premium (no chip)..........£4.90 TDK 5.2Gb DVD RAM..................... £12.99
SONY DVM 60min IC Excellence (with chip)£7.90
C-20189 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
ePROMOCARD MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE NEW 6-in-1 Reader/Writer...............................................£26.90 C-20187 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
Panasonic AY-DVM 60min EK (no chip)........£4.90 C-20138 CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
FUJI Hi8 P5-90 Heavy Metal Particle............£4.99 NEW Multimedia Business Card kit £14.90 Dual Compact/Smart Reader/Writer.....................£17.99 C-20110 PHOTO ................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
FUJI 8mm P5-60 Metal Particle (2 PK).........£4.20 NEW Business Cards......................... £9.90 Smart Media PCMCIA Adaptor..............................£17.99 C-20093 BLK......................£2.50......3 PK £6.99
FUJI 8mm P5-90 Metal Particle (2 PK).........£5.95 NEW Business Card Labels (120)...... £7.90 Compact Flash PCMCIA Adaptor...........................£5.99 C-20089 CLR......................£3.99......3 PK £11.50
MX2 is the Best & Cheapest Place to Buy On or Off-Line Your DVD’S, MUSIC CD’S, GAMES & BOOKS...
Film Food FilmFood FilmFood FilmFood Game Food Game Food Game Food Music Food Music Food Music Food Food for Thought
NEW RELEASE NEW RELEASE NEW RELEASE NEW RELEASE
RED HOT PAPA ROACH OASIS NOW 52

CHILLI LoveHate Heathen Various
By The Way Tradgedy Chemistry
E.T GOLDMEMBER MINORITY BLADE 2 MONKEYBALL 2 MARIO SUNSHINE DEAD TO RIGHTS COMMANDO2 £8.99 £8.99 £8.99 £12.99
£15.99 £14.50 REPORT £14.50 GAMECUBE GAMECUBE XBOX PS2 THE BEST NEW COMPUTER &
£16.99 IMPORT £49.99 IMPORT £49.99 IMPORT £52.99 UK £34.99 UK CHART CD’S from Only £7.99 INTERNET BOOKS STOCKED...
P&P ONLY £1.95 PER ORDER. DELIVERY 3 - 7 WORKING DAYS

FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERIES, ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MONDAY 9TH DECEMBER
MX2 Computers Limited supplies to Home Users Only (sorry we do not supply Business to Business). Prices shown include any VAT & duties where applicable and are Accurate at time of going to Press E&OE.
MX2 Reserves the Right to Change Prices. Please check our Website or Phone Us for up-to-the-minute Prices. The above Trademarks are recognised and used for illustrative purposes only.
Merry Xmas & a Happy 2003 to all our Customers from Everyone at MX2
I N D E P E N D E N T E X P E R T A D V I C E
www. .co.uk
FUJI KONICA FUJI FUJI

Finepix S304 KD400 Finepix A202 Finepix 2600
£338 £338 £128 £198
CANON FUJI NIKON OLYMPUS

Powershot A40 Finepix 2800 Coolpix 2000 C220 Zoom
£208 £278 £178 £178
EVERY CUSTOMER GETS
D I G I TA L C A M E R A S
£2 OF DIGITAL PRINTING FREE
MAKE & MODEL CAMERA +32MB +64MB MAKE & MODEL CAMERA +32MB +64MB MAKE & MODEL CAMERA +32MB +64MB
CARD CARD CARD CARD CARD CARD
Canon Digital Ixus 330.................. £298 £314 £321 Kodak DX3700 ............................. £218 see website see website Olympus C700 .............................. £378 £389 £400
Canon Digital Ixus V2 .................. £278 £294 £301 Kodak DX3900 ............................. £268 £284 £291 Olympus C730 .............................. £428 £442 £453 EXTENDED WARRANTIES
Canon Digital Ixus V3 .................. £338 £354 £361 Kodak DX4330 ............................. £268 see website see website Olympus camedia c120 ................ £148 £159 £170 AVAILABLE FROM £20
Canon Powershot A200 ............... £148 £164 £171 Kodak DX4900 ............................. £268 £284 £291 Olympus E10 ................................ £798 £809 £820
Canon Powershot A30 ................. £188 £204 £211 Kodak LS443 ................................ £348 see website see website Olympus E20 ............................. £1,098 £1114 £1121
Canon Powershot A40 ................. £208 £224 £231 Konica KD 3000 ........................... £258 £274 £281 Oregon Scientiﬁc Dshot III .............. £68 £79 £90 FREE QBEQ
Canon Powershot G2 ................... £548
Canon Powershot G3 ................... £598
£564
£614
£571
£621
Konica KD100 ................................ £88
Konica KD200Z ............................. £218
see website
see website
see website
see website
Pentax EI100 .................................. £98
Pentax Optio 330GS ..................... £248
£114
£264
£121
£271
PHOTOGENETICS 2.0
Canon Powershot S30 .................. £378 £394 £401 Konica KD300Z ............................. £378 see website see website Pentax Optio 330RS ..................... £308 £324 £331 WORTH £24.99
Canon Powershot S40 .................. £468 £484 £491 Konica KD400 .............................. £338 see website see website Pentax Optio 430 ......................... £418 £434 £441 WITH EVERY PURCHASE
Canon Powershot S45 .................. £468 £484 £491 Kyocera Finecam S3X ................... £298 see website see website Pentax Optio 430RS ..................... £428 £444 £451
Casio Exilim EX-S1 ....................... £168 see website see website Kyocera Finecam S4 ..................... £348 see website see website Ricoh Caplio RR1 ......................... £468 £479 £490 COME AND MEET OUR
Casio GV10 Blue .......................... £208
Casio GV10 Red ........................... £208
£224
£224
£231
£231
Minolta Dimage 5 ........................ £398
Minolta Dimage 7 ........................ £688
£414
£704
£421
£711
Ricoh Caplio RR10 ....................... £248
Ricoh Caplio rr120 ....................... £168
see website
£179
see website
£190
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Casio QV2900ux .......................... £308
Casio QV4000 .............................. £398
£324
£414
£331
£421
Minolta Dimage 7Hi ..................... £958
Minolta Dimage 7i ....................... £678
£974
£694
£981
£701
Ricoh RDC-i500 ............................ £398
Ricoh RR30 .................................. £248
£414
see website
£421
see website
MISS PIXEL
Casio QVR 3 ................................. £288 see website see website Minolta Dimage E203 .................. £198 see website see website Samsung Digimax350SE .............. £288 £304 £311
Casio QVR 4 ................................. £328 see website see website Minolta Dimage F100 .................. £358 see website see website Samsung Digimax 410 ................. £328 £344 £351 £15 OF DIGITAL
Fuji Finepix 2600 .......................... £198
Fuji Finepix 2800 .......................... £278
£209
£289
£220
£300
Minolta Dimage X ........................ £288
Nikon Coolpix 2000 ..................... £178
see website
£194
see website
£201
Sony Cybershot DSC P2 ................ £328
Sony Cybershot DSC P7 ................ £368
see website
see website
see website
see website
PRINTS WITH ALL
Fuji Finepix 30i ............................. £278 £289 £300 Nikon Coolpix 2500 ..................... £248 £264 £291 Sony Cybershot DSC P9 ................ £408 see website see website ORDERS OVER £500
Fuji Finepix 6800 .......................... £398 £409 £420 Nikon Coolpix 4300 ..................... £398 £414 £421 Sony Cybershot DSCS75 ............... £468 see website see website
Fuji Finepix A202 ......................... £128 £142 £153 Nikon Coolpix 4500 ..................... £518 £534 £541 Sony Cybershot DSC-707 ............. £867 see website see website
Fuji Finepix A203 ......................... £218 £232 £243 Nikon Coolpix 5000 ..................... £698 £714 £721 Sony Cybershot DSC-31 ............... £178 see website see website COMPARE & CONTRAST
Fuji Finepix A204 ......................... £188 £202 £213 Nikon Coolpix 5700 ..................... £868 £884 £891 Sony Cybershot DSC-P5 ............... £408 see website see website DIGITAL CAMERA SPECIFICATIONS
Fuji Finepix A303 ......................... £268 £282 £293 Nikon Coolpix 775 ....................... £248 £264 £271 Sony Cybershot DSC-51 ............... £188 see website see website SIDE BY SIDE
Fuji Finepix F401 .......................... £328 £339 £350 Nikon Coolpix 885 ....................... £358 £374 £381 Sony Cybershot DSC-71 ............... £278 see website see website
Fuji Finepix F601 .......................... £458 £469 £480 Olympus C1 (c-you) Zoom ............ £168 £179 £190 Sony Cybershot DSC-85 ............... £498 see website see website
Fuji Finepix S304 .......................... £338 £352 £363 Olympus C220 zoom .................... £178 £189 £200 Sony Cybershot U-10 ................... £188 see website see website
Fuji Finepix S602 .......................... £548 £559 £570 Olympus C300z ............................ £258 £269 £280 Sony Mavica CD400 ..................... £738 see website see website FREE MINI TRIPOD WORTH
Kodak CX4210 ............................. £138 see website see website Olympus C3020 ............................ £338 £349 £360 Sony Mavica MVCFD200 .............. £428 see website see website £8 WITH EVERY CAMERA
Kodak CX4230 ............................. £178 see website see website Olympus c4000z ........................... £378 £389 £400 Sony Mavica MVC FD75 ............... £348 see website see website
Kodak DX3215 ............................. £130 see website see website Olympus C50zoom ....................... £468 £482 £493
READERS AND ADAPTERS C O M PA C T F L A S H ( T Y P E I & I I ) S E C U R E D I G I TA L

Fuji ZIO USB Smartmedia reader/writer .............................................. £29 Fuji 16MB ........................................................................................... £15 Sandisk 16MB .................................................................................... £22
Expert USB Compact Flash reader ...................................................... £24 Fuji 32MB ........................................................................................... £18 Sandisk 32MB .................................................................................... £30
Sandisk Compact Flash adapter ......................................................... £15 Fuji 64MB ........................................................................................... £26 Sandisk 64MB .................................................................................... £46
Fuji 128MB ......................................................................................... £48
SMART MEDIA IBM 340MB microdrive .................................................................... £110 MEMORY STICKS
Fuji 16MB ............................................................................................. £9 IBM 1GB microdrive ......................................................................... £238 Sony 16MB ......................................................................................... £29
Fuji 32MB ........................................................................................... £14 Sandisk 16MB .................................................................................... £15 Sony 32MB ......................................................................................... £42
Sandisk 32MB .................................................................................... £20
Fuji 64MB ........................................................................................... £26
Fuji 128MB ......................................................................................... £48 Sandisk 64MB .................................................................................... £28
Sony 64MB ......................................................................................... £62
Sony 128MB ....................................................................................... £98 share & print
Sandisk 128MB .................................................................................. £50
Sandisk 16MB ...................................................................................... £9
Sandisk 32MB .................................................................................... £15 Sandisk 256MB .................................................................................. £98 B AT T E R I E S A N D C H A R G E R S
NO LENGTHY DOWNLOADS
Sandisk 64MB .................................................................................... £28
M U LT I M E D I A C A R D S
4 X 1200 mAh ................................................................................. £6.50 TO GET STARTED
Sandisk 128MB .................................................................................. £52 4 x 1800 mAh ............................................................................... £11.50
Toshiba 128MB .................................................................................. £50 Sandisk 16MB .................................................................................... £19 4 x 1200 mAh & mains charger ..................................................... £16.50 1
Sandisk 32MB .................................................................................... £24 4 x 1800 mAh & mains charger ..................................................... £20.50 Upload digital images to on-line album.
Sandisk 64MB .................................................................................... £44
2
All prices include vat (and delivery for orders over £100). Prices subject to change Store, share or order prints.
3
Prints delivered direct to your door.
www. .co.uk FREE 50mb on line photo
FOR ALL THESE GREAT DEALS AND MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE album storage
FREE registration
call 0870 745 1036 FREE £15 worth of prints with
or fax 01484 845 947 or e-mail sales@internetcamerasdirect.co.uk
every purchase over £500
*Secure on-line ordering at internetcamerasdirect.co.uk we use a 128 bit model to encrypt your credit card details within the browser on your PC. The details are not
decrypted until downloaded onto our server. This is the most secure model. InternetCamerasDirect.co.uk, Unit 14, New Mill, Brougham Road, Marsden, Huddersﬁeld HD7 www.icdphotos.com
6BJ
16 The Broadway 115 Lower Church Road
H AY WA R D S H E AT H B U R G E S S H I L L
West Sussex, RH16 3AL West Sussex, RH15 9AA
FAX:01444 450200 Fax: 01444 245319
FOR ALL USED EQUIPMENT CONTACT
Te l : 0 1 4 4 4 4 1 2 1 8 1 Tel: 01444 245316
W H Y B U Y F R O M P A R K C A M E R A S ?
EOS AND DIGITAL
DIGITAL PRO DEALER - Fantastic Low Prices - Expert Advice (look at the proof!!):
DIGITAL
DIGITAL IMAGING DEALER THE ONLY UK DEALER WITH ALL
PROFESSIONAL DEALER
PIX DEALER THESE ACCREDITATIONS!!
GO CREATE
CREATE DEALER WINNER OF OVER THIRTY AWARDS!
EOS 1Ds EOS 1D D1X PRO KIT EOS D60 KITS D100 COOLPIX 5700 DSC F 717
N E W
N E W
PRO DIGITAL SLR PRO DIGITAL SLR PRO DIGITAL SLR - 6.3 Mega Pixel
- 5.47 Mega pixels - Accepts all Canon EF lenses - 6.1 Mega pixels - 5 Mega Pixel
- 11.1 Mega pixels - 4.15 Mega pixels - 5 Mega Pixel chip
- 35mm size CMOS chip - 8 Frames per second - Accepts all Nikon lenses D60 + 1GB
SRP £5499.99
deal 1 PRICE - low noise CCD sensor - 8 x Optical Zoom - 5x Optical zoom
- Accepts all EF lenses - 3 Frames per second SRP £2499.98 £1999.99* - built in speedlite - Carl Zeiss lens
- Accept all EF lenses - Full manual control
DCM PRICE SRP £5499.99Deal 2 PRICE
DCM PRICE DCM PRICE DCM PRICE DCM PRICE
SRP SRP SRP D60+grip+batt SRP SRP DCM PRICE
SRP
£6999.99 PHONE £5499.99 £3995.00 £4349.99 £3699.00 SRP £2499.98 £2075.00* £1899.99 £1560.00 £999.99 £869.99* £899.99 £729.99*
POWERSHOT G2 CAMEDIA C-50 POWERSHOT S45 OPTIO 430RS EXILIM EX-S2 OPTIO 330GS
- 4 Mega Pixels
- 3x Optical zoom
N E W
(Additional wide angle
and teleconverter lenses
available)
- Full manual control
UY
- F2.0-2.5 Aperture lens
- Full ETTL flash compatibility
S TA R B - 5 Mega Pixels - 4 Mega Pixels - 4 Mega pixels
- 3x Optical zoom - 3x Optical zoom - 3x Optical zoom - 2.0 Mega pixel - 3.0 Mega Pixels
- Direct printing to canon CP-10 & CP-100 printers - High Quality lens - Full manual control - 3x Optical zoom - 3x Optical zoom
- 3D Picture mode
- Small and lightweight - High speed CCD - Solid metal casing - 11mm thickness - 3D Picture mode
Black G2 + 1GB MD £669.98*
DCM PRICE DCM PRICE DCM PRICE DCM PRICE
DCM PRICE DCM PRICE
SRP SRP SRP SRP SRP SRP
£749.99 £489.99* £549.99 £469.00* £549.99 £469.00* £499.99 £389.99* £299.99 £259.99* £299.99 £258.00*
O T H E R D I G I T A L C A M E R A S M E M O RY C A R D S AT L OW P R I C E S ! !
Smart Media Compact Flash
A100 £134 2000 £179* C120 £149*
DB100 digibinos £239* U10 £169* DX3215 £120* Fuji 16MB £7.99
A200 £149 2500 £249 C220 £172* Fuji 16MB £11.00
230 £239 U20 £229 DX3215 + Docking Fuji 32MB £12.00
A30 £189 775 £229 C220 Luxury kit £222 Fuji 64MB £22.00 Fuji 32MB £16.00
C300 £259 330GS £258 F77 £349* Station £179 Fuji 64MB £23.00
A40 £209 885 £344* Toshiba 128MB £39.99*
C300 Luxury kit £295 330RS £309* FX77 £379* DX3500 £149* Fuji 128MB £44.00
IXUS V3 £349 4300 £399* Fuji 128MB £44.00
C4000 £376* 430RS £390* P31 £164* DX3700 £209*
IXUS 330 £279 4500 £529 DX3900 + Docking Sandisk 2 x 128MB £73.00
C730U+Case £424* P51 £190* Other Cards Sandisk 256MB £80.00
S40 £429 5000 £685 C50 £469* Station £229*
P71 £255* 64MB Secure Digital £49.99 Fuji 256MB £88.00
S45 £469 5700 £869* C5050 £585* DX4900 £259*
E20P £979 P2 £259* LS443 + Docking 64MB Multi Media £44.90
G3 £579* D100+MBD100 £1689* SD9 Digital SLR £1295 P7 16MB XD card £7.99
EOS D60 £1870 D1H PRO KIT £2949 E20P + 1GB £1169 £319* station £379* 32MB XD card £12.99
IBM Microdrive
Come and see the latest Olympus
SD9 + 17-35mm f/2.8-4 P9 £389*
EOS 1D £3995 D1X BODY £3499 Scanners 64MB XD card £21.99
digital cameras... £1699.99 S85 £405* Nikon coolscan 4 128MB XD card £39.99* 1GB £179.99*
EOS 1DS Phone D1X PRO KIT £3699 Olympus open day
December 19th 1pm - 8pm SD9 + 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 F717 £730* £499 Olympus 16MB XD Panorama £7.99
please phone 01444 245316 PLEASE PHONE 01444 245316 £1799.99 Nikon coolscan 4000
Olympus 32MB XD Panorama £12.99 1GB travel kit £199.99*
or view the website for more Olympus 64MB XD Panorama £21.99
for helpful advice and to order information £1079
D I G I TA L C A M E R A AC C E S S O R I E S Sony Memor y Sticks and Accessories

BATTERIES SRP OUR PRICE
MAINS ADAPTORS
Canon NB 1LH £29.99 Canon ACK-500 £35.00 Sony MSA 16mb Memory stick £49.99 £20.00
Canon NB 2L £35.00 Canon ACK-700 £35.00 Sony MSA 32mb Memory stick £79.99 £27.00
Canon BP511 £54.99 Fuji AC5V £29.99 Sony MSA 64mb Memory stick £129.99 £35.00
Fuji NP60 Battery £39.99
Nikon EH21 £39.99 Sony MSA 128mb Memory stick £249.99 £60.00
Nikon EN EL1 £39.99
Olympus CR-V3 £9.99 Olympus C6AG £49.99 Sony MSA 128mb Memory stick - deal for 3 x 128Mb sticks £749.97 £175.00*
Olympus CR-V3 twin £18.79 Pentax K-AC2E £39.99
Sony MSAC US1A USB Reader £69.99 £59.99*
Pentax D-LI2 £29.99 Sony USB Mouse and cardreader £84.99 £69.99
Sony NP FM50 £49.99* WIDE/ TELE LENSES
Hahnel 4 AA NIMH batts+charger £19.99 Canon WC DC58 wide (G2) £99.00
Canon TC DC58 tele (G2) £69.00
CARD READERS Fuji WL-FX9 wide (6900/S602) £99.99
Sandisk USB CF+SM dual reader
Olympus USB dual reader
£34.99*
£49.99
Fuji TL-FX9 tele (6900/S602)
Nikon WC-E63 wide
Nikon TC-E2 tele
£89.99
£105.99
£105.99
order on line at
Fuji DM-R1 Firewire dual reader £69.99
Fuji DPC-R1 XD Picture card and smart media card reader £35.99 Olympus WCON-08 (3020)
please phone/see web for others + adaptors
£99.99
w w w. p a r k c a m e r a s . c o . u k
FITTED CAMERA CASES
CALL FOR PRICES ON ALL
All prices include VAT @ 17.5% Opening times Monday-Saturday 8:30-5:30pm. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Switch. Alternatively, send cheque to Park Cameras Ltd,115 Lower Church Road, Next day delivery
Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AA. Figures in Brackets Indicates stock level held at unrepeatable prices at time of going to print. NB Goods will not necessarily have been sold at SRP for 28 days prior
Memory cards £3.99
to this. Prices correct at time of going to press, check on website for latest prices. E&OE. * = Please mention Digital Camera Magazine
Other £6.99
FOR ALL FUJI DIGITAL CAMERAS AND ACCESSORIES VISIT
www. p a r k c a m e r a s .co.uk
FINEPIX S602 FINEPIX S2 PRO
- 3.3 Mega pixel chip - 6.1 Mega pixel chip
- 6 Mega pixel output - 12.1 Mega pixel Output
- 6x Optical zoom - Compatible with Nikon
- 2.8-3.1 Aperture lens
- Full manual control BODY ONLY AF lenses BODY ONLY
- Full manual control SRP £1995.00
- 1cm Macro mode SRP £699.99 - ISO 100-1600
- Manual focusing ring OUR PRICE - Firewire download
- Continuous OUR PRICE
- Continuous shooting
autofocus
- MPEG Movie mode
£534.99 2fps for 7 shots £1660.00
In short supply - Phone or see website for availability
S 602 + 128MB CARD+ S 602 + TL- FX9 Teleconveter S2 PRO + S2 PRO + S2 PRO +
DUAL CARD READER S 602 + 1 GB microdrive NIKON AFS 24-85mm NIKON AFS 24-85mm NIKON AFS 17-35mm F2.8
SRP £889.97
SRP £1029.98 SRP £2395.97 + 1GB MICRODRIVE
SRP £799.98 SRP £3544.99
OUR PRICE OUR PRICE OUR PRICE SRP £2694.98
OUR PRICE
OUR PRICE OUR PRICE
£599.99 £ 624.98 £714.98 £1899.98 £2695.00
£2049.97
@xia Slimshot FinePix A204 FinePix A203 FinePix A303 FinePix S304 FinePix M603
S AV E
£££££££s
ON FUJI
PA C KA G E
D E A LS -
-
640 x 480 resolution
Autobrite lens
-
-
2 Mega Pixel CCD
3 x Optical Zoom
-
-
3 Mega Pixel CCD
3 x Optical Zoom
-
-
3 Mega Pixel CCD
3 x Optical Zoom
-
-
3 Mega Pixel CCD
6 x Optical Zoom
-
-
3 Mega Pixel CCD
6 Mega Pixel output
- Credit card size - XD picture card - XD picture card - XD Picture card - XD picture card - 3 x Optical Zoom
- 8mb built in memory - High quality lens - Small and compact - Small and Compact - 2.8-3.0 Aperture lens - Cradle included
camera only £64.99* £184.99* £219.99* £259.99* £344.99* PHONE
+ 64MB card n/a £204.99* £239.99* £279.99* £364.99* PHONE
+ 128MB card + card reader n/a £254.99* £289.99* £329.99* £414.99* PHONE
F U J I P R I N T E R PA P E R D E A L S F U J I D I G I TA L C A M E R A A C C E S S O R I E S
- Fuji A4 Glossy inkjet paper PAPER DEALS
30 Sheets 270gsm £15.99 FUJI MEMORY CARDS BATTERIES, CHARGERS AND AC ADAPTORS
- Fuji A4 Satin inkjet paper 10% Discount BK NH Fast charger + 2 NiMH AA Batteries £49.99
30 Sheets 270gsm £15.99 on 2 packs COMPACT FLASH BC 60 Fast Charger (for NP-60 batteries) £49.99
- Fuji A4 Glossy inkjet paper Fuji 16Mb £11.00 BC 80 Fast Charger (for NP-80 batteries) £39.99
10 Sheets 270gsm £7.99 15% Discount Fuji 32Mb £16.00 NP-80 Rechargeable Lithium Battery (4800, 6800, 6900) £39.99
- Fuji A4 Satin inkjet paper on 5 packs Fuji 64Mb £24.00 NP-60 Rechargeable Lithium Battery (F401, F601) £39.99
10 Sheets 270gsm £7.99 Fuji 128Mb £44.00* 2HR-3UF Twin pack of AA NiMH batteries £6.99
- Fuji A4 Glossy Inkjet paper Fuji 128Mb 20x speed £50.00* 5V Car Adaptor £29.99
30 Sheets 210gsm £13.99 20% Discount Fuji 256Mb £88.00* AC-3V Mains Adaptor £29.99
- Fuji A4 Glossy inkjet paper on 10 packs Fuji 256Mb 20x speed £99.00* AC-5V Mains Adaptor £29.99
30 Sheets 180gs £11.99 Fuji 512Mb 20x speed £199.98*
MICRODRIVES WIDE ANGLE AND TELEPHOTO
N X 5 0 0 P R I N T E R PA P E R D E A L S IBM 1.0GB + PCMCIA Adaptor £199.99* WL-FX9 (wide converter + adaptor ring for finepix 6900 / S602) £99.99
IBM 1.0GB £179.99* TL-FX9 (tele converter + adaptor ring for finepix 6900 / S602) £89.99*
Fuji NX 500 Printer paper (20 sheets) £7.99 SMART MEDIA AR-FX9 adaptor ring £27.99
Fuji NX 500 Printer paper - 5 packs (100 sheets in total) £35.00* Fuji 16Mb £7.99
Fuji NX 500 Printer paper - 15 packs (300 sheets in total) £99.90 Fuji 32Mb £12.00
FUJI SOFT CASES
Fuji 64Mb £22.00 SC FX9 Soft Case (for Finepix 6900/ 4900) £19.99*
Fuji 128Mb £44.00 SC FX602 Soft Case (for Finepix S602) £29.99
OT H E R F U J I D I G I TA L C A M E R A S
MULTIMEDIA Finepix 2800 Soft Case £10.99*
Fuji 64Mb £44.90 Finepix 2600/A204 Soft Case £14.99
Fuji Finepix F602 Black Pro with 340MB microdrive £699.99
Fuji Finepix F401 £319.99* XD PICTURE CARD CARD READERS AND SOFTWARE
Fuji Finepix F401+128MB Card £359.99* Fuji 16Mb £7.99 Fuji Zio! USB Smart media Card Reader £29.99
Fuji 32Mb £12.99 Fuji DPC-R1 USB xD-picture and SM Card Reader £35.99
Fuji Finepix A202 £129.99* Fuji DM-R1 Fire wire cardreader £69.99
Fuji 64Mb £21.99
Fuji Finepix A202+64MB Card £149.99* Fuji 128Mb £39.99* Fuji PCMCIA Adaptor for IBM Microdrive £24.99*
Fuji Utility software HS-S2 £129.99
All prices include VAT @ 17.5% Opening times Monday-Saturday 8:30-5:30pm. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Switch. Alternatively, send cheque to Park Cameras Ltd, 115 Lower Church Road, Burgess Next day delivery
Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AA. Prices correct at time of going to press, check on website for latest prices. E&OE. * = Please mention Digital Camera Magazine Memory cards £3.99
Other £6.99
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We welcome visitors to our new showroo m on the A40
• West of High Wycombe & free parking.
Look for your map on www.digitalfirst.co.uk
OLYMPUS P300E DYE-SUB PRINTER
NATIONAL MAIL ORDER £49.99 (WITH FREE SHIPPING)
FREEPHONE 0800 043 3344 GOOD WORKING ORDER • WINDOWS 95/98/XP/2000
Enquiries & Helpline: FULLY
CHECKED BY OLYMPUS TECHNICIANS AND COMPLETE IN EVERY WAY .
ALSO AVAILABLE WITH A SET OF PAPER/RIBBON SUFFICIENT FOR 60 PRINTS FOR ONLY
01494 88 33 99
FIRST FOR DIGITAL £69.99, SAVING A FURTHER £15 (AGAIN WITH FREE SHIPPING)
Secure On-Line Shopping 128-bit encrypted shopping basket THIS PRINTER USED TO SELL FOR £249.99.
www.digitalfirst.co.uk • Email info@digitalfirst.co.uk IT PRODUCES OUTSTANDING POSTCARD SIZE PRINTS IN JUST UNDER 2 MINUTES
Offices & Showroom: Unit 12 • North’s Estate • PIddIngton

HIgh Wycombe Bucks • HP14 3BE
External Battery Kit EBP-100 ..£189.99
Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm • Sat 9am - 1pm Flashgun 3600HS(D) ..............£129.99
• C50 Zoom £474.99 ........................................
Subject to Availability • E & O E • Prices Subject to Change without Notice

Flashgun 5600HS(D) ..............£249.99
......................................................................................
• C5050 Zoom £589.99 ........................
MasterCard/Visa/Switch/Amex/Cheque/Council or School/University Orders.

COURIER: Cameras £7.50 Scanners/Printers £9.95 • Jiffy Bags £3.95
•Dimage X ......£289.99 • E10P Zoom £749.99* ......................
CANON
Memory Cards & Cases £1.99 • Prices include Vat @17.5% Minolta Leather Case Dimage X£19.99 • E20P Zoom £1,099.99* ......
• FS4000US ..........£649.99
Lithium Battery Dimage X ........£29.99
• Dimage F100 £349. 99 • E20P Zoom Pro Kit*£1,299.99* HP
.... TCON-14B 200mm & WCON-08B 28mm lenses
Minolta Leather Case F100 ......£19.99 *Free Olympus P300 GWO Printer • Photosmart S20..£209.99
CANON Lithium Batteries F100................£9.99
Minolta Case 304/404 ..............£19.99
. E10/20 Accessories:
TCON-300 420mm lens ..............£579.99
MINOLTA
• Powershot G2 £499.99 ....
......................................................................................
• ScanDual 2 £279.99
NIKON Coolpix TCON-SA2 Support Arm ..............£179.99
.... ................
• Powershot G3 £589.99 ..
TCON-14B 200 mm lens ............£199.99 • ScanDual 3 £299.99 ................
99
• Powershot S30 £369.99 .. • 2000 £179.
................................................................ MCON-35 macro ......................£99.99 • Scan Elite 2 ....£469.99
• Powershot S45 £464.99 .. • 2500 £249.99
................................................................
WCON-08B 28mm lens ..........£179.99
• Scan Multi 2 £1,299.99 ..............
B-30LSP Li-Po batt/charger Kit£579.99
• Ixus 330 £349.99 ................................ • 4300 £399.99
..................................................................
Olympus General Accessories • Scan Multi Pro £1,899.99
• Ixus V2 £279.99 ..........................................
• 4500 £529.99
................................................................ AC Mains Adaptor ....................£49.99 MICROTEK
MINOLTA SCANDUAL • Ixus V3 £329.99 ..........................................
• 5000 £799.99
................................................................
Case to fit 1/2000/3000/1400 ..£27.99
• Filmscan 35 ....£119.99
35MM NEG&SLIDE SCANNER • D60 £1,949.99
................................................
• 5700 £874.99
................................................................
Case to fit 4/8/9 Series ............£12.99
• Filmscan 1800£199.99
Aqua Housing 8 Series ..........£129.99
Speedlite 550EX......................£269.99
£279.99 Speedlite 420EX......................£169.99
• D100 £1,749.99
.................................................... 16mb Panorama Card ..................£19.99 • Filmscan 3600£399.99
Speedlite 220EX......................£129.99 • D1H £3,199.99
..........................................................
32mb Panorama Card ..............£32.99 • Filmscan 4000£749.99
64mb Panorama Card ..............£64.99
NB-1L Battery for Ixus..............£29.99
NB-2L Battery for Powershot....£39.99
• D1H Kit £3,389.99
..................................
128mb Panorama Card ..........£139.99 NIKON
NB-5H Battery for S10/S20 ......£29.99 • D1X £3,575.99
........................................................
Card Case - Leather ..................£12.99 • Coolscan IV £549.99 ..............
Telephoto Lens 1.45x................£67.99
BP-511 Battery for D60......£49.99 • D1X PRO KIT ..£3,649.99 Wide Lens 0.8x ......................£119.99 • Coolscan 4000£1,149.99
SC-PS300/400/800 Case ..........£19.99 NIKON LENSES Macro Lens ..............................£68.99 • Coolscan 8000£2,299.99
BG-ED3 Grip for D60........£129.99
...................................................................................... AF-D 18/35mm ................£429.99 43mm Lens Protection filter ....£12.99
CANON LENSES: AF-S 17/35mm f2.8 ........£1,199.99 43mm ND 4x ............................£19.99
EF USM 20f2.8 ..................£1,169.99 General Nikon Accessories 49mm ND 4x (2100/700) ............£19.99
EF-L USM 16/35f2.8 ............£1,169.99 SB28DX Flashgun ..............£299.99 49mm Lens protect. (2100/700)£16.99 EPSON
EF USM 20/35f2.8 ................£329.99 ‘Accredited Stockist’
SB-22S Flashgun ............£119.99 Dimo/Power MO 640mb ..........£99.99
Perfection
CASIO SB-80DX Flashgun ..........£269.99 Flash Film Scanner ................£159.99
• 1260 Photo £89.99
EPSON PHOTO 925 • QV-4000 ...................................... £449.99 SB-50DX Flashgun ..........£159.99 Fast Charger incl 4 Batts ..........£65.99
External Flash FL40 ................£329.99
......................
MEMORY CARD SLOTS PRINTER c/w 1 Gig Micro Drive ................£599 99 SC-17TTL Sensor Cable ....£59.99 ...................................................................................... • 1640SU Photo ...... £269.99
£219. 99 FUJI Finepix Battery EN-EL1 ..................£39.99
Battery EN-EL2 ..................£39.99
PENTAX • 1640 SU .......................... £229.99
• A202 £129.99
............................................................
Battery EN-EL3 ..................£49.99 • Optio 430RS £379.99 ............ • 1660 Photo .................. £149.99
• A204 £189.99
................................................................ Battery EN-4......................£84.99 • Optio 330RS £309.99 ............
• 2450U Photo ............ £299.99
... • A203 £219.99
................................................................
URE 2-8 Lens Rings ..each £12.99
• Optio 330GS ..£269.99 .Expression
Case CS-E880/885 ............£19.99
. • A303 £269.99
................................................................
CS-P11 Case (5700) ..........£34.99 Optio Case ..................................£9.99

• 1600 .................................... £549.99
• A304 £349.99 Case 990/995/990..............£29.99 K AC-2E AC Adaptor ................£39.99
• 1600 PRO £719.99
................................................................
• A401 £319.99
................................................................ AC Adaptor EH-31/EH21 ....£49.99 DL-22 Battery ..........................£29.99
......................................................................................
......................
. • F601 £459.99
..................................................................
AC Adaptor EH53AC ..........£39.99
SONY • 1680 .................................... £639.99
• S602 £549.99
................................................................
Flash Bracket S K - E 9 0 0 ....£58.99
• DSC-P2 £329.99 • 1680 PRO ...................... £789.99
Wideangle WC-E24 ............£69.99
MICROTEK
..............................................
• S2 Pro ...................................... £1,799.99 W i d e a n g l e W C - E 6 3 ..........£99.99 • DSC-P5 £439.99

• ScanMaker 5600£199.99
..........................................
Fuji Accessories W i d e a n g l e W C - E 8 0 ........£119.99

AC Mains Adaptor ....................£29.99 Fisheye FC-E8 ..............................£209.99
• DSC-P9 £399.99 ..............................................
Including Neg & Slide Adaptor
OLYMPUS C4000 Case ............................£19.99/£29.99 Telephoto TC-E15ED ........£119.99 • DSC-S75 £399.99 ....................................
• ScanMaker 8700 S/F £599.99
NP100 Batt .................................£39.99
4MEGAPIXELS • 3X ZOOM NP80 Batt ..................................£42.99
Telephoto TC-E2 ................£99.99 • DSC-S85 ..............£43999
Telephoto TC-E3ED..............£209.99
£379.99 NP60 Batt ................................£34.99 • DSC-P20 £169.99
Slide Copier ES-E28..................£62.99
CANON
....................................
BC80 Charger ..........................£54.99 Nikon Filterkit (4) ......................£37.99 • DSC-P31 £179.99 ....................................
BC60 Charger ..........................£49.99 28mm Lens Protection Filter ....£12.99

• DSC-P30 £159.99 • Photo S330 .............. £74.99
SM R2 USB Reader ..................£69.99 MD-D100 Grip ........................£234.99
....................................
0.8x Wide (2900)......................£54.99 MB-E5700 Lenshood ................£17.99 • DSC-P51 £199.99 ....................................

• Photo S900 .......... £299.99
0.79x Wide Kit (4/6900) ..........£89.99 . HR-E5700 Grip ......................£119.99 • DSC-P71 £269.99 .................................... • Photo S530D ........ £219.99
1.5x Tele Kit (4/6900) ..............£89.99
......................................................................................
OLYMPUS Camedia • DSC-P717 £799.99 • Photo S820D ........ £269.9
KODAK
............................
• C220 Zoom £179.99 SONY ACCESSORIES • Photo S830D .... £279.99

• DX3900/Dock £329.99 ..............................
NP-F550 battery for Mavica . . £ 5 4 . 9 9

• Photo S9000 £399.99
..............
• DX4900 Camera £369.9 ..

9 .• C220 Luxury Pack* £209.99 NP-FM50 battery for Cyber-Shot£54.99 ..
...................................................................................... Leather case, 64MB SM card & 4 NiMh + Charger
M e m o r y S t i c k 8 M B ............£12.99 Canon Ink Cartridges
MINOLTA Dimage • C720 Ultra Zoom £369.99
...
Memory Stick 16MB ............£19.99 BC1-6C/M/Y/Blk/PC/PM each ....£7.99
• Dimage D7i........£69999 • C730 Ultra Zoom £429.99 BC13EC/EM/EY each ..................£6.99
CANON D60
....
M e m o r y S t i c k 3 2 M B .........£26.99
• Dimage D7Hi ..£929.99 • C300Luxury Pack* ....£299.99 M e m o r y S t i c k 6 4 M B ..........£34.99 BC13EBK ....................................£8.49
6.3 MEGAPIXELS • Dimage D5 ........£479.99 Leather case, 64MB SM card & 4 NiMh + Charger
P C M C I A A d a p t o r ............£69.99 BC124BK ....................................£5.49
£1,949.99 Case MB-D1 for D5/7 ..............£39.99 • C4000 Zoom ...................... £379.99 F l o p p y D i s k A d a p t o r ........£69.99 BC124C ....................................£11.99
1/2 PRICE ACCESSORY KITS WITH EACH CAMERA PURCHASED
64 OR 128MB PLUS USB C ARD READER PLUS TAMRAC
DIGITAL CAMERA CASE
FROM £34.99
HP 99
MS into CF..............................£39.99
Trio SD/MM/MS into CF..........£39.99
• Photosmart 100 £119. . CANON . PCMCIA 4 in 1
HP Ink Cartridges SM/MM/MS/SD ................£49.99
PS100 ......................C6657A £29.99 • CP100 .......................................... £209. 99
SM Adaptor
PS1115 • 1215/8 • 1315 Blk51645G £20.99 KP-36IP Paper (36)............£17.99 S M into PCMCIA ............£39.99
NiMH Batteries Kenko
Same ..............Colour C6578D£42.99
FUJI
EPSON • NX500 .................. £149.99
A6 Paper Cartridge (20) ......£8.99
2 x 1800mAH ...................£6.99
GePe 5hr Charger
Digital Camera Lenses
2xTele ........................................£34.99
‘Accredited Stockist’ & 4 Batteries 1800mAH ....£29.99 0.5x Wide..................................£32.99
• Photo 810 £79.99
...................... OLYMPUS GePe 1hr Charger 0.43x Fisheye..............................£39.99
• Photo 830 £89.99
...................... • P330NE ............£299.99 & 4 Batteries 1800mAH ..£39.99 Microtech Media Vault OLYMPUS C300
• Photo 890 ................ £159.99 • P300E Special ......£49.99 Ansman Digital Powerpack Kit CHOICE
• Photo 895 ................ £169.99 Bundled with 60 Paper/Ribbon£69.99
...................................................................................... Belt-fitting 3000mAH ..........£39.99
CF/SM/MS/MM/SD/PC ............£19.99 LUXURY PACK
• Photo 915 .................. £159.99 A6 Paper & Ribbon (60)............£29 .99
99
USB Express Ohnar Digital Slide £299.99
• Photo 925 .......... £219.99 • P400 .................................... £479 Intelligent Cable • DB25 or HD50 Duplicator................£69. 99
Ribbon for 50 A4 prints ..........£59.99 Lens Adaptors from £ 6.99

TV Monitor ..........................£79.99 A4 Paper (100) ..................................£79.99 SCSI to USB .............. £59.99
• Photo 950 £339.
................
99
A5+ Paper (25)............................£34.99 IBM Microdrive AVer Fotoplay
340MB £99.80
Images directly onto your TV £69.99
• Photo 1290 ..........£314.99 340MB Travel Kit £129.80 Cokin Digital Filter Kits
• Photo 1290s ......£329.99 Compact Flash 512MB £129.80 G300 ..................................£19. 99
• Photo 2100 £519.99
............
10 Year Warranty • Lexar Drivers
512MB Travel Kit
1GB
£159.80
£189.99
G350 ..................................£24. 99
G400 ..................................£34. 99
Epson Accessories (not included) 16MB..........................................£11.80 1GB Travel Kit £219.99
USB A-B Printer Cable 1.8m ............£6.99 32MB..........................................£15.99
Mindstor 1/2 Price Value Pack
USB A-B Printer Cable 3m................£9.99 64MB ........................................£24.99 Purchased with Camera
128MB........................................£39.99 10gig ......................£349. 99 (Prices in brackets if bought separately)
Parallel Port Printer Cable 1.8m ..£6.99
256MB........................................£89.99 20gig ......................£399.99 For CF or SM-type Cameras:
Epson Paper 64mb CF or SM memory Card
A4 (20) 141g....................SO41126 £5.99
Smart Media • 10 Year Warranty 30gig ......................£499.99 USB CF or SM Card Reader
16MB............................................£7.99
A4 (20) 194g....................SO41140 £6.99 32MB..........................................£13.99
Nixvue Album Lowepro Digital Camera Case OLYMPUS E10
A4 (50) 194g Archival...SO41342 £10.99
A4 (100) 102g .............SO41061 £7.99
64MB..........................................£24.99 10gig ......................£379.99 ONLY £34. 99(£39.99) 3.8 MEGAPIXELS • 4 X ZOOM
128MB ......................................£44.99 20gig ......................£429.99 w i t h .....................................................
1 2 8 m b £ 4 4 . 99 ( £ 4 9 . 9 9 )
A4 (20) Prem 255g..........SO41287 £9.99 Lexar MemoryStick • 5 Year W’ty Traveljack ..................£39.99 For xD-type Cameras: £749.99
A4 (50) Prem 186g..........SO41256 £8.99
A4 (20) Prem 255g ......SO41332 £11.99
16MB ........................................£19. 80 Nixvue Vista 64mb xD memory Card
USB xD Reader
3 2 M B .......................................£24.80
A4 (20) 215g Archival....SO41349 £10.99 6 4 M B ........................................£39.80
10gig ......................£399.99 Lowepro Digital Camera Case
20gig ......................£449.99
Roll 8x 0.1m 255g..........SO41303..£12.99
A4 (100) 89g ..........................SO41059 £5.99
1 2 8 M B ......................................£69.80
Multi Media • 10 Year Warranty 30gig ......................£549.99
ONLY £54. 99 (£59.99)
w i t h ....................................................
1 2 8 m b £ 6 4 . 99 ( 6 9 . 9 9 )
A3 (20) 141g ..................SO41125 £17.49 16MB..........................................£15.99 Printerjack ..................£49.99
32MB..........................................£29.99 For MMD/SD-type Cameras:
A3 (20) 194g ....................SO41142 £17.99 Firewirejack ................£69.99 64mb SD memory Card
64MB..........................................£39.99
A3 (100) 89g Special....SO41065 £14.99 Image Tank USB SD Reader
A3 (20) Prem 255g......SO41315 £24.99 Lexar CF USB • 5 Year Warranty Lowepro Digital Camera Case
10gig/Powerbank ........£259.99
A3 (20) Prem 255g ....SO41334 £24.99
A3 (20) 195g ArchivalSO41344 £24.99
32MB 8 x speed ........................£24.99
64MB 8 x speed ........................£34.99 20gig/Powerbank ........£299.99 ONLY £54. 99 (£59.99)
128MB 8 x speed ......................£59.99 1 2 8 m b £ 7 4 . 99 ( £ 7 9 . 9 9 )
w i t h..........................................................
A3 (20) 215g GlossySO41350 £24.99 30gig/Powerbank ........£349.99
256MB 8 x speed ....................£109.99 Spare Battery ..............£59.99 For Memory Stick-type
A3 (50) Heavy Matt ..SO41261 £19.99 Cameras:
A3+ (20) 141g................SO41133 £18.99
SD • 10 Year Warranty Case ..........................£16.99 64mb Memory Stick
32MB..........................................£29.99
A3+ (20) 194g ......................SO41143 £24.99 64MB..........................................£39.99 Hahnel Accessories USB SD Reader OLYMPUS P300 PRINTER •
A3+(20) Prem 255g ..SO41328 £34.99 128MB ........................................£5999 Universal AC supply..............£29.99 Lowepro Digital Camera Case
xD - Picture Card 99 GWO STOCK*
A3+(50) Heavy Matt ..SO41264 £29.99 HL80 Battery (Fuji, Kodak) ..£29.99 ONLY £59. (£64.99)
A3+ (50) 195g ArchivalSO41340 £33.99
A3 (100) 105g....................SO41068 £22.99
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A3+ (20) Prem 255gSO41316 £32.99 HL-511 Battery (Canon) ......£34.99 VL187 (440/460/640/660)
A6 (50) 188g ............SO41054 £5.99 Microtech CameraMate HL-200 Battery (Minolta) ..£19.99 VL093 (750/1200)
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WWW .digitalfirst.co.uk
On your discs
Two CDs every month! Here’s what we’ve lined up for you this January…
>
DISC A
This January…
FULL SOFTWARE FREE SOFTWARE
Smart Pix Manager 4.3 Centarsia 1.3
(Also contains camera Context Magic 1.0.b1
tours & test shots) DigiThumb 1.2
File Recovery 3.0
DEMO SOFTWARE Gallery Wizard
Welcome to Digital Camera Magazine’s interactive section. As usual we’ve got two Smart Pix Mihov Image Resizer
cover discs crammed with superb software… Manager 6.0 PixVue 1.4
RedEye 1.4
DISC B
O
n the CDs this issue you will find Image, which provides powerful JPEG optimisation, Splitz 1.2
three more full programs for you to is ideal for processing your hi-res pictures for use FULL SOFTWARE XnView 1.62
keep. Our main title is Smart Pix on the web or for emailing. A SmallerImage 1.0
Manager. If you need to maintain a large As always, full tutorials can be found for these Dreamy Photo DRIVERS
collection of digital photographs then this is the products on the next few pages, along with Kodak Easyshare
ideal tool to organise and view your images. It special offer discounts of the latest editions of the DEMO SOFTWARE
provides an advanced databasing system whereby software featured. Davory 1.03 PS PLUG-INS
keywords and descriptions can be attached to Magic File Renamer AFH Beveler
individual, or groups of, images, enabling you Jeremy Ford 5.02 AutoEye 2.0
to quickly find pictures simply by searching a Senior New Media Editor Paint Shop Pro 7.04 Color Pilot Plug-in 2.42
word entry. Jeremy.ford@futurenet.co.uk Photage 1.91 India Ink 1.7
Our other full products are Dreamy Photo and A PhotoCleaner 1.3 LIGHT 1.0
Smaller Image. Dreamy Photo is a image-effects ■ Don’t miss next issue. Again, we’ll have two PhotoImpact 8.0 OZONE
program that either works as a standalone packed discs full of essential resources for your PhotoMeister PhotoGraphic Edges
package or as a Photoshop plug-in; and A Smaller digital camera. On sale 16th January. Photoshop 7 ProJPEG 5.2
PictureMore 3.30 Spat
Dreamsuite Series 2 Web Image Guru 4.0
A SmallerImage 3.0
VIRTUAL TOURS Our virtual tour enables you to get a proper feel for the five
digital cameras we’ve reviewed this issue
How to run your CD
Simply place the CD in your PC’s CD drive.
The interface will run automatically. Please
read the user agreement carefully – if you
accept the terms, click ‘I agree’. Then use
the menu bar at the top of the screen to
browse your disc’s contents. Enjoy!
Reader support
We are careful to thoroughly test each
CD but in the event of a problem,
please call our reader support team on
FLY AROUND DETAIL SHOTS TEST SHOTS 01225 822743. In the event of your disc
01 Use the pink arrows to the left and right 02 We’ve provided nine detailed images of 03 We’ve taken test shots in four different being physically damaged, please see the
of each camera image to spin the each digital camera so you can have a lighting situations to enable you to view back of the disc case for details of how to
camera around. Rollover the outside arrows to auto- really thorough look at each of them. Zoom into the the image quality of the individual cameras. These get a free replacement.
rotate the camera in that direction or click the inside required close-up shot by simply clicking the include a detail picture, a skin shot, plus indoor and
arrows to manually rotate the camera to the relevant thumbnail image or pressing the number outdoor shots. See a large version of each shot by
position you want. key shown below each one. clicking the thumbnail or pressing the number key
displayed below each image.

Smart Pix Manager 4.3
Image database creator that could be the ultimate in photo management
* SOFTWARE
SPECIFICATIONS
PUBLISHER FIREGRAPHIC
PRODUCT STATUS FULL VERSION
CONTACT INFORMATION WWW.FIREGRAPHIC.COM
AS SOLD FOR $39.95
SERIAL NUMBER 6610-8aa5-4999-8668-8362-e9b3
S
mart Pix Manager is a remarkably
powerful image management and
viewing program and, as such, it’s
great at handling the sheer volume of images that
any keen digital photographer is bound to
accumulate. If you’re like most PC users, you’ll ADD A SOURCE DIRECTORY CONFIRM YOUR CHOICE ENTER YOUR KEYWORDS
have created multiple directories to categorise 01 Once you’ve read through the opening 02 Specify the folder you want to use as a 03 You shouldn't need to go into too much
your images, then multiple sub-directories for help box, specify a directory of images source directory. You’ll be asked if detail if you're simply managing a folder
further differentiation. as a source directory – just choose a folder of photos whether you want to add 'keywords'; these help of shots of your kids, for instance. Choose keywords,
Say you’re a car buff storing a collection of car you want to manage. you to track down the images later on. then confirm the database.
photos. You may have directories for sports cars,
racing cars and family cars, and each of these may
have a sub-directory for country of manufacture,
and further sub-directories for whether the car is
stationary, being driven, being rolled and so on.
But what if you only want to view pictures of
German cars, red racing cars or Japanese sports
cars being driven by your partner?
That’s where Smart Pix Manager steps in. It
uses a database to enable you to store multiple
keywords against any file on your PC and then
retrieve a list of all files that match a certain
search criteria. This means that our petrol-
head only needs to add references for the HAVE A SEARCH DISK BROWSE EDIT SHOTS
images to the Smart Pix database (assigning 05 Click the search mode and you can do a 06 Smart Pix Manager can be used to 07 With an image open in Disk Browse
default keywords). Later he might go through and search of all databases you’ve specified. browse and categorise any image on mode, right-click to discover more
assign extra keywords such as the car colour, All relevant results appear in the main window, in your PC. Select 'Disk Browse' mode and select the options. Basic editing tools are available, such as
driver and so on. It’s really powerful – find out thumbnail format. shot you want open. crop, rotate and resize. Fine for a quick fix…
how it works opposite.
Software
registration
Online registration is required at
www.xequte.com/offer/dcm-spm/. Enter your
registration key by clicking the ‘Enter Reg Key’
button in the
About Box. Select
your username
and click Copy
then paste it into SEND AN EMAIL SAVING OPTIONS GET IMAGE INFORMATION
the registration 09 Right-clicking an image also lets you 10 Go to File/Save As/Convert and you 11 Some of the icons running along the top
box. Do the same
send it as email. Select the option and can choose to save out the file in of the screen require further information.
for the registration
number. Click OK.
your default email program opens with the image different image formats and also to set it as your The symbol of the hand holding the paper reveals
attached. Make sure it's got a meaningful name... Windows wallpaper. more information about the image.

Free software plug-ins
Centarsia 1.3
More info: www.alhena-design.com/centarsia/
Created by Daniel Lewis, Centarsia creates photo mosaics
from supplied images. Daniel says: “It began as a
thought of inspiration that I had several months ago. I
3 IN DETAIL had seen photo-mosaics from place to place and

thought it would be great if there was a program out
FINE-TUNE YOUR IMAGES there that the average person could use with the 1000s
Once you've set up a few databases, of pictures they had taken with their digital camera.”
click 'Manage Databases' under the
Database menu to fine-tune your
image files. From here, you can
password-protect databases; handy if
Light 1.0
you want to stop the kids accessing
certain archives, for instance. This only More info: www.digitalfilmtools.com
works when the program's registered. The full version of this plug-in was reviewed in issue 1. It
adds shadows to your pictures, which you can use to
brighten up even the dullest image. If a picture is flat
SET SEARCH OPTIONS and lifeless, use Light 1.0 to cast a ‘sun shining through
04 You're given a fine degree of control over windows’ effect across your subject.
the search parameters. 'Match any This demo version places a white grid over your
selected for Search Options’ ensures easy searching, picture but you can upgrade to the full version of the
but you can go into as much detail as necessary. plug-in for £48.
Ozone 1.0
Upgrade to Smart More info: www.digitalfilmtools.com
American photographic pioneer, Ansel Adams, invented
a method of lighting a still image based on zones and
Pix Manager 6.0 luminescence values. Sound complex? Ozone 1.0 makes
it easy, dividing an image into 11 zones and them
Buy the latest version enabling you to adjust the lighting and colour values.
for just £13.25 This demo version places a white grid over your
picture but you can upgrade to the full version of the
O
rganising your media files is made plug-in for £48.
SET BOOKMARKS easy with Smart Pix Manager, with
08 You can right-click to save images as its impressive user-interface you
'bookmarks' – useful if you're working can make your digital camera image
through a large collection of images and want to collections simple to maintain, search through AutoEye 2.0
save the highlights for viewing later. and view your images.
A trial version of 6.0 is included on the CD More info: www.autofx.com/detail_pages/
and comes with no less than 20 new aedetail.html
enhancements to improve image This was created to automatically improve digital
management. Xequte is offering discounted images by rebuilding colour detail, sharpness and
upgrades of just £13.25 for Digital Camera image vibrancy. AutoEye does not use standard curves
Magazine readers along with offer special and histograms to adjust images on a global basis – its
offers on other software bundles. unique methods result in image enhancements that
Find out more at are easier to attain and which should yield a higher
www.xequte.com/offer/dcm-spm/ quality result.
USE 'FIND'
12 The binoculars icon brings up the File
function: note that you can also search
for instances of text within the name/description
of the photo.

THE MAGAZINE
WHOSE TIME
HAS COME...
…A magazine dedicated to style, connectivity & convergence.
Technology for life
INSIDE THE FIRST EDITION
SYNERGY& STYLE Enjoy seamless technologies
for smarter living SURROUND SOUND
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Order your copy direct (UK only):

TEL 0870 444 8657
FAX 01458 271146
ONLINE www.digitalhomemag.com/issue
BRAND NEW ON SALE DEC 19

Dreamy Photo
Give your photographs a dream-like look with this image editing tool
* P
lug-ins are a great way to spice up your The plug-in can add atmosphere to an image experimentation, the program can create various
SOFTWARE
SPECIFICATIONS digital photographs with a minimum of by giving it a dreamy, ghost-like feel. By merely ambient lighting effects. There are a number of
effort. Dreamy Photo is one such plug- adjusting the ghosting, blurring, blending and tint preset examples available in Dreamy Photo which
`PUBLISHER AUTO FX SOFTWARE
in, but has the added bonus that it can also be run of a photo you can quickly and easily give your will help to give you an idea of just what this
PRODUCT STATUS FULL PRODUCT
CONTACT INFORMATION WWW.AUTOFX.COM as a standalone program. images something of an eerie feel. With a little software is capable of producing.
AS SOLD FOR $50
SERIAL NUMBER ONLINE REGISTRATION
Upgrade to Dreamsuite
Series Two
SPECIAL EFFECTS Dreamy Photo has preset effects you can use, or options to create
your own original dreamy look manually
The module that appears on this month’s cover CD
is part of the DreamSuite collection. The suite
includes 12 new image-editing programs which can
be used as standalone programs or as plug-ins for a
range of image editing programs. The software can
be purchased for $149, and if you place an order
now you will receive a bonus module, Mosaic,
worth $50, free of charge. Visit www.autofx.com
or phone +1205 980 0056 to order, quoting the
code 32155.
More details
■ For more information on the effects
available with Dreamy Photo, see:
www.dizteq.com/dreamsuiteafx/
REGISTER THE SOFTWARE LAUNCH SPECIAL EFFECTS MODIFY YOUR IMAGES
dreamyphoto.html. 01 After you’ve installed the program,
02 Load a photo into Dreamy Photo by
03 You can choose a specific effect or
■ There’s also a full PDF manual at
http://www.autofx.com/freeplugins/ launch it then click on the Get Serial # clicking File and Open. To apply the manually alter the settings to get what
Dreamy_Manual.pdf button in the splash screen. Enter your email dreamy effect to the photo, click Special you want. Use the sliders to change elements of
address and a code will be sent to you shortly. Effects8DreamSuite Bonus8Dreamy Photo. the effect (see the preview in the main screen).
ASmallerImage 1.0
Shrink your photos ready for emailing or web publishing
* I
f you’re serious about
SOFTWARE
RESIZING Adapt your pictures quickly and easily so they’re of

SPECIFICATIONS digital photography, then
chances are that all your
`PUBLISHER TRIVISTA
photographs are taken at the highest
suitable size and quality for your online purposes
CONTACT INFORMATION WWW.TRIVISTA.COM resolution possible. Even if they’re
AS SOLD FOR $15 not, the resulting files can be huge –
SERIAL NUMBER NOT REQUIRED
too big to attach to an email or add
to your website.
Upgrade to TriVista suite This is where ASmallerImage can
Upgrade today and save 20%! help. This software enables you to
quickly resize your images and adjust
Readers of Digital Camera Magazine can upgrade the quality so that they are suitable
to the TriVista Suite for just $40. This suite includes
for adding to a web gallery or simply
a number of photo-specific tools which simplify the
process of publishing your images to the web, and emailing to friends.
Using a simple set of sliders you GET STARTED SET OPTIONS RESIZE IMAGES
creating your own thumbnail galleries. The package
comprises the five programs: ASmallerImage, can adjust the dimensions of your 01 Drag an image you want 02 Clicking the Options button 03 Use the slider at the top
Ultimate Online Photo Gallery, 3D ImageScene, 3D images as well as rotating them. In to resize to the left of the can configure the program. right to resize your image.
ImageCube and Paper PhotoCube. If you would like addition to all this, you can also alter ASmallerImage screen or click open Select the file format to save images You can rotate pictures using the
to take advantage of this offer, visit the special
the sharpness and contrast of images and navigate to an image. A smaller in, and use the slider to set the arrow buttons, and adjust sharpness
order page at www.trivista.com/futurepublishing.
to ensure perfect output. preview will appear to the right. quality level to be used for JPEGs. and darkness with the bottom sliders.

File Recovery 3.0
Deleted a picture from a card and think you’ve lost it? File Recovery is here to save the day
* SOFTWARE
SPECIFICATIONS
PUBLISHER CONVAR
CONTACT INFORMATION WWW.PCINSPECTOR.DE
AS SOLD FOR FREEWARE
SERIAL NUMBER NOT REQUIRED
I
t is a nightmare scenario. You’ve spent a
happy day snapping away, and filled
your camera card with scores of
photographs. While you’re browsing through
them, you accidentally hit the wrong button on
your camera and watch in disbelief as your prized GET STARTED SELECT YOUR DRIVE VIEW DRIVE CONTENTS
picture disappears before your very eyes.
01 When you launch the program you’ll see
02 To recover deleted files, click the top
03 Once you find the correct drive, highlight
Unintentionally deleting images from your this. It lists three different scenarios and icon. A quick scan will show all the drives it in the list and click OK. You will then be
camera is something that everyone has done at the steps that can be taken to recover your files attached to your computer. Choose the drive you greeted by a familiar Windows Explorer-style screen
least once. Now, thanks to File Recovery 3.0, it is depending on your situation. think is your camera card. Click Preview to check. which displays the contents of your camera card.
possible to try and recover these images that have
seemingly vanished. Thankfully, when you choose
to ‘delete’ a file, it is not actually completely
obliterated. Instead the space the file was
occupying is marked as available for use by other
files. Provided this space has not been
overwritten, you stand a good chance of
recovering your images.
The program can read files from your camera
card (whether you are using Smartmedia,
Compact Flash, or Memory Stick) that have been
deleted and enables you to restore them to a
location of your choice. To maximise you chances
of recovering a deleted file, you should stop taking VIEW DELETED FILES SELECT FILES TO RECOVER SET RECOVERY LOCATION
photographs immediately. This reduces the risk
04 Click on the Deleted icon to the left of
05 The last column of the list indicates the
06 Right click on one of the files you have
that your deleted file may be overwritten by a the window, and the folders and files on likelihood that files will be successfully highlighted, and select Save to. Browse
new image. your card will be displayed. You may have to recovered using the labels Good or Poor. Select your to a folder on your hard drive to save the files to, or
Although the program is very easy to use, it navigate through sub-folders to find your pictures. files by holding Ctrl and clicking on files in turn. click on Create to make a new folder.
comes complete with a detailed help file to guide
you through a number of different scenarios.
0 EXPERT TIP
FILE RECOVERY
File Recovery 3.0 has not been
designed simply for the digital
camera user. It is also capable
of recovering files from hard
drives and floppy disks, SAVE DELETED FILES RECOVER ‘LOST’ DATA VIEW YOUR FILES
although it should be noted 07 Ensure that the No FAT option is selected
08 If you have accidentally quick-formatted
09 If everything has gone to plan, your files
that it has not been designed
and click OK. Now sit back an wait for a your camera card, you can search for lost should have been successfully recovered.
to recover data from drives
which are physically damaged. couple of moments while your images are restored data by clicking Tools8Find Lost Data. After a scan Open up the folder you saved them to and double
to your chosen location. you can recover files from the Lost folder. click to check on them.

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NEXT STEPS
NEXT ISSUE On sale everywhere from 16th January
Wet camera gives trippy results

Future Publishing,
30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW
Customer services [t] 01458 271 100

[w] www.digitalcameramagazine.co.uk
Who needs an image editor when you can chuck your camera into a bucketful of water instead?
EDITORIAL & ART
Nick Merritt Managing Editor
he great thing about digital cameras is that [e] editor.dcm@futurenet.co.uk
T they're versatile. Up mountains, down mines,

across the seas – wherever there's a picture
Dylan Channon Senior Art editor
[e] dylan.channon@futurenet.co.uk
Richard Llewellyn Art Editor
to be taken, your camera is up to the job. [e] richard.llewellyn@futurenet.co.uk
Elizabeth Raderecht Operations Editor
Up until recently we thought that was about it. Until Vicky West Sub-editor
we read about the guy who discovered a hitherto
unknown digital photography technique – the one where EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Steve Bavister, Rob Mead, Aidan O’Rourke, Pete
you drop your camera into a pond of water and it Martin, Mark Harris, Will Smith, Sandy Gardner,
suddenly starts to produce creative weird, trippy effects. Joe Apice, Ed Davis, Tim Daly, Simon Danaher,
After accidentally dropping his Nikon Digital 990 into Joe Cassels, Matthew Richards
the chilled rapids of the Pecos River in the USA, retired PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTRIBUTORS
amateur photographer Farrell Eaves spent several days (Where not credited inside)
Future Network Photo Studio, Getty Images UK
cooking it in the sun during the day, and baking it in the
oven at night. Not even this drastic action was enough
to dry out the camera, so Farrell tied the camera to the The damage to the sensor has affected the way the camera records light intensity
ADVERTISING
windscreen of his car and spent a week driving around [t] 020 7317 2600
New Mexico instead. Michelle Blackwell Ad Manager
[e] michelle.blackwell@futurenet.co.uk
Eventually all this effort dried out the components Ben Shoesmith Sales Executive
and Farrell decided to see if it still worked. It did – sort [e] ben.shoesmith@futurenet.co.uk
of. The image on the LCD screen was revealing patterns [t] 020 7317 0259
of colours that were very different from his original
subjects. This radical departure from the original image NEW MEDIA
James Brown Group New Media Manager
produced some startling but beautiful results. To his [e] james.brown@futurenet.co.uk
great surprise, Farrell had found an unusual way of Jeremy Ford Senior Disc Editor
[e] jeremy.ford@futurenet.co.uk
creating totally unique photos. James Guest New Media Development
Farrell has taken his unusual photos on travelling [e] james.guest@futurenet.co.uk
exhibitions around Tennessee. "I never know what I am Steve Pashley Online Editor
[e] steve.pashley@futurenet.co.uk
going to end up with," he says, "and I'm always amazed
by the results."
CIRCULATION AND MARKETING
We don't recommend you try this one at home... See more of these unusual pictures at Farrell’s website, at www.kineticimpressions.com Clare Tovey Production Manager
Diane Ross Production Coordinator
Mike Thorne Team Buyer
Jamie Malley Circulation Manager
2 Next month – on sale 16th January

Fiona Tully Marketing Manager
START A
Marie Spicer Subscriptions Executive
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
NEW JOB IN Dave Taylor Group Publisher
■ Complete guide to portraits

John Weir Publishing Director
We show you how to capture your best-ever portrait photos with our
JANUARY! Colin Morrison Managing Director
Greg Ingham CEO
Printed in England
expert tutorial and post-shoot tips! Digital Camera Magazine © Future Publishing Ltd 2002/2003
is expanding and
■ Create this! increasing our team!
We show you how you can ■Are you a current or wannabe
easily create this fantastic editor, deputy editor, production
picture, in our essential editor, art editor or designer Disclaimer
Getup&go section, tear-out factsheets and gatefold covers
with photographic leanings?
2 PACKED CDs!
are published in UK editions of the magazine only. All
creative project contributions to Digital Camera Magazine are accepted
Then come and work for us! on the basis of a non-exclusive worldwide licence to
publish or license others to do so, unless otherwise
Plus 8 pages of events & ■Email the managing editor at agreed in advance in writing. We reserve the right to edit
■ Don’t forget to reserve a copy of Digital Camera letters. We cannot accept liability for mistakes or
ideas to Getup&go to, and nick.merritt@futurenet.co.uk in misprints, or any damage to equipment or possessions
Magazine at your newsagent, or subscribe arising from use of this publication, its discs or software
five new-format tips cards! confidence and let’s talk! ■ Due to unforeseen circumstances, it may sometimes be
See page 80 for full details! necessary to make last-minute changes to advertised
content, for mag and discs.

iPhoto
Developing your photography.

iPhoto on the new faster iBook Combined with service
Digital cameras are revolutionising the way we take pictures. Now Apple Our after-sales support service is designed to make your John Lewis experience
provides the missing link to the way we save, organise, share and enjoy even more positive. We have installation professionals on hand to help you set
them. iPhoto lets you import pictures from your digital camera, organise up your Apple computer, along with a free delivery service that saves you the
them, edit and improve them, and then share them in a number of different hassle of carrying your purchase home yourself.
ways. Once you see what iPhoto can do with digital pictures, you may never iPhoto is included with all OSX ready Macs
go back to using a film camera again. Apple trained
Regular customers know that they can talk to knowledgeable, helpful staff
All under one roof at John Lewis. This is because we ensure that our sales team are fully trained
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