One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long and historical journey. Olympus digital cameras are being used all over the world today. Let us take a look at the glorious history of Olympus here.
Olympus was started way back in the year 1919 under the name of Takachiho Seisakusho. In fact, the first optical product made by the company was not a camera, but a microscope! The name 'Olympus' was introduced in 1921 as a trade name for the company's optical products.
There is an interesting story attached to the name of Olympus. It has a deep, deep meaning attached to it as well. According to Greek mythology, Olympus is the mountain where the Gods live. And, Takachiho is the mountain where the Gods live according to the Japanese texts. In fact, all the names associated with Olympus cameras have a hidden meaning to themselves. For example, the first product made by Olympus for photographic purposes was the Zuiko 75mm/F4.5 lens in 1936. This is an abbreviation coined from the name of Olympus optical plant (Mizuho Kogaku-kenkyujo) and also has a hidden Chinese meaning.
In the '30s, Olympus introduced many different types of cameras. Due to the world wars, production suffered from time to time till the '40s. The Twins Reflex camera was introduced in 1950s and became instantly popular. In fact, hundreds of models based on this technology were developed by several manufacturers. But it was the Olympus Rolleiflex which set the standard for these cameras in the industry.
However, it was the Olympus PEN which was launched in 1959-60, which established Olympus as the manufacturer of small cameras in the market. The PEN was light, small, innovatively designed and could take 72 shots in one roll! It became increasingly popular and helped Olympus to gain hold of the market. After this, there was no looking back for Olympus and it went from strength to strength.
As far as digital cameras are concerned, by the 80's and '90s, the video camera and the consumer digital cameras were already present in the market. However, they were not of very high quality and could only used for web publishing or low-res prints. But, by the late '90s, technology had advanced greatly and prices had also dropped, hence consumers were now going in for digital cameras more and more. It was at this time, in the year 1996, that Olympus introduced its P&S style cameras which had a resolution of 810.000 pixels. Slowly and steadily, Olympus came up with a 2 mega pixel and then a 3 mega pixel camera by the year 2000. At this time, one of the significant launches of Olympus was the 2.11 mega pixel model C-211 which also had an in-built Polaroid printer.
Today, Olympus is considered to be one of the well-known digital camera manufacturers in the industry. The latest digital cameras by Olympus are:
D-Series: Simple point-and-shoot cameras for beginners.
C-Series: Digital cameras for advanced photographers.
Stylus: Stylish cameras in attractive colors and designs.
E-System Digital SLR's: Professional SLR's for digital cameras.
Selasa, 14 November 2017
Senin, 06 November 2017
Sony Digital Cameras - Always on the Innovation Frontier
Sony was the first company to introduce digital cameras into the
market. Today, Sony is one of the leaders in the digital revolution. Its
historical journey began in 1946 in a small room. Let us see the rise
of this company in this article.
Did you know that the first product manufactured by Sony was a rice-cooker! Yes, that is true. Started in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in a small room, Sony entered the market by making a rice cooker. It was in 1950, after the war had ended in Japan, did Sony create a tape recorder called the G-TYPE recorder. But it was not until the year 1957 that Sony was able to gain market leadership when it launched the world's first pocket transistor radio.
Up till this time, Sony was operating under the company name of Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. However, when Morita planned to take the firm to the USA, he thought that the name should be much simpler so that people could easily pronounce it. Hence, the term 'Sony' was coined -derived from the combination of the Latin word "sonus" which means sound and "sonny" which means little son.
It was not easy for a Japanese firm to establish base in the USA. And, Sony being the first to do so, the company had to overcome quite a few challenges. However, despite all odds, Sony came up with several new products such as the Trinitron colored television in 1968 which became a landmark in design and technology at that time. In fact it was with the Trinitron that Sony entered the USA.
After this, one of the biggest hits of Sony, the Walkman was launched in the market. It was not very well received in the market by retailers since it did not have any recording capabilities. But after its lukewarm reception, the Walkman slowly picked up... and the rest as they say is history. Then, another revolution in audio technology was brought about in 1982 with the introduction of the Compact Disc (CD).
As far as digital cameras are concerned, Sony was again the first company to introduce a digital camera in the market. Way back in the year 1989, the Sony ProMavica MVC-5000 was launched. The camera provided a 720,000 pixel image which was considered to be the leader in image quality at that time.
Today, Sony is one of market leaders in the digital revolution. Always striving to be different from other players, Sony has led the market in terms of innovative technologies and high quality items. Not only has Sony surpassed others several times by being the first company to make several new products, but it has continuously strived to provide maximum services to its consumers. The company has launched several new services such as the ImageStation.com. This helps consumers to create, share and enjoy digital pictures and video. Also included as a part of this deal are free online albums and eCards, wherein members can share their favorite pictures as gifts, keepsakes and high-quality prints in a variety of sizes.
The latest digital cameras from Sony are:
Cyber Shot Enthusiast Series: These are powerful cameras with advanced optics and controls.
Cyber Shot Point and Shoot: Great cameras for snapshot photography.
Cyber Shot M: Full featured digital cameras with high quality video capture.
Mavica: Cameras which can record directly onto CDs and floppy disks.
Did you know that the first product manufactured by Sony was a rice-cooker! Yes, that is true. Started in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in a small room, Sony entered the market by making a rice cooker. It was in 1950, after the war had ended in Japan, did Sony create a tape recorder called the G-TYPE recorder. But it was not until the year 1957 that Sony was able to gain market leadership when it launched the world's first pocket transistor radio.
Up till this time, Sony was operating under the company name of Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. However, when Morita planned to take the firm to the USA, he thought that the name should be much simpler so that people could easily pronounce it. Hence, the term 'Sony' was coined -derived from the combination of the Latin word "sonus" which means sound and "sonny" which means little son.
It was not easy for a Japanese firm to establish base in the USA. And, Sony being the first to do so, the company had to overcome quite a few challenges. However, despite all odds, Sony came up with several new products such as the Trinitron colored television in 1968 which became a landmark in design and technology at that time. In fact it was with the Trinitron that Sony entered the USA.
After this, one of the biggest hits of Sony, the Walkman was launched in the market. It was not very well received in the market by retailers since it did not have any recording capabilities. But after its lukewarm reception, the Walkman slowly picked up... and the rest as they say is history. Then, another revolution in audio technology was brought about in 1982 with the introduction of the Compact Disc (CD).
As far as digital cameras are concerned, Sony was again the first company to introduce a digital camera in the market. Way back in the year 1989, the Sony ProMavica MVC-5000 was launched. The camera provided a 720,000 pixel image which was considered to be the leader in image quality at that time.
Today, Sony is one of market leaders in the digital revolution. Always striving to be different from other players, Sony has led the market in terms of innovative technologies and high quality items. Not only has Sony surpassed others several times by being the first company to make several new products, but it has continuously strived to provide maximum services to its consumers. The company has launched several new services such as the ImageStation.com. This helps consumers to create, share and enjoy digital pictures and video. Also included as a part of this deal are free online albums and eCards, wherein members can share their favorite pictures as gifts, keepsakes and high-quality prints in a variety of sizes.
The latest digital cameras from Sony are:
Cyber Shot Enthusiast Series: These are powerful cameras with advanced optics and controls.
Cyber Shot Point and Shoot: Great cameras for snapshot photography.
Cyber Shot M: Full featured digital cameras with high quality video capture.
Mavica: Cameras which can record directly onto CDs and floppy disks.
Senin, 30 Oktober 2017
Birthday Party Photo Tips - How To Make Yours Truly Stand Out
How many of the birthday party pictures you've seen are kept just because they are of someone's birthday, not because it is inherently a terrific photograph?
When was the last time you heard anyone exclaim: "THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO?" Can you say... NEVER?
And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldn't you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesn't.
So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on the horizon and not knowing how to improve on past "how hum" photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow the following 11 tips and you will need to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLE'S birthday parties.
Can't-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips
1) Prepare For the Party
Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you're going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening the axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you don't want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you?
So, what should you prepare for?
KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether the party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on the location's blueprint, prepare beforehand for the correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation.
2) Know Your Obstacles
What is going to be in your way at the birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that need to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where the optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up the main table someplace else. It's much easier to figure this out before the event than getting to the party and realizing that you need to "move the room a bit to the left."
3) The Main Table
If using rectangular tables, take the birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use the wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from the narrow end, use as large an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of the guests will probably still be out of focus (hence, the "shoot from the wide end" suggestion).
4) Flash Decisions
Don't automatically assume you should use the camera's flash all the time. If your camera has a "hot shoe" (this and many other useful terms are defined at If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser.
As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if the resulting photos are not too "noisy" (digital noise = film grain)
5) Better Safe than Sorry
Take multiple shots of the critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And, by the way, don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification).
6) The Background
What does the background look like? If it's neutral - use it. If it's ugly, maximize your depth of field (smallest possible F-stop) to blur the background. If you don't write this one down, I can guarantee that you won't remember it for more than 10 seconds once you start taking photos. Also, be aware of shadows that fall prominently on your background (hence the suggestions to consider using bounce flash and no flash with a high ISO setting).
7) The LCD Display
AVOID USING THE DISPLAY TO CHECK ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU CUT OFF ANYONE'S HEAD. LCD displays should NOT be used to confirm contrast, color, exposure, or any other critical factors. This is why the computer is needed to evaluate test shots prior to the party. If you are very experienced, you can tell certain things from the histogram, but to be safe - take test shots and examine the results on a computer (or, ideally a printer) way before the actual date of the party.
8) Equipment
Have fully-charged batteries, memory cards, chargers, external flash, lens accessories, and tripod ready.
9) Construct a Birthday Party Pictures List
Jot down MUST HAVE pictures, as well as the ones you would like to capture, if possible. And, what's the good of putting together a list unless you remember to take it to the party AND TO REFER TO IT.
10) Candids
If you're putting together a list, may I suggest including "Candids" on it. Very often the best birthday party photos will be candids. Since most birthday photos are generally posed, candids take on a special uniqueness.
Candid birthday party photos of sleeping children should always be a top priority. Why? On a purely emotional note, they are always cute, will typically produce a smile for the viewer, and sometimes even get a laugh.
11) Surplus Time
If it's your child's birthday party, they will never look better than they do JUST BEFORE THE PARTY STARTS. If possible, locate a spot where natural light is entering a window and POSE them and the cake for some big smiling photos. (The younger the child, the less chance for smiles, so don't go crazy.)
And, by the way, there will be plenty of opportunity later to take some birthday party pictures with cake and ice cream dribbling out of their mouth.
When was the last time you heard anyone exclaim: "THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO?" Can you say... NEVER?
And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldn't you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesn't.
So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on the horizon and not knowing how to improve on past "how hum" photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow the following 11 tips and you will need to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLE'S birthday parties.
Can't-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips
1) Prepare For the Party
Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you're going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening the axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you don't want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you?
So, what should you prepare for?
KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether the party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on the location's blueprint, prepare beforehand for the correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation.
2) Know Your Obstacles
What is going to be in your way at the birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that need to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where the optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up the main table someplace else. It's much easier to figure this out before the event than getting to the party and realizing that you need to "move the room a bit to the left."
3) The Main Table
If using rectangular tables, take the birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use the wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from the narrow end, use as large an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of the guests will probably still be out of focus (hence, the "shoot from the wide end" suggestion).
4) Flash Decisions
Don't automatically assume you should use the camera's flash all the time. If your camera has a "hot shoe" (this and many other useful terms are defined at If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser.
As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if the resulting photos are not too "noisy" (digital noise = film grain)
5) Better Safe than Sorry
Take multiple shots of the critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And, by the way, don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification).
6) The Background
What does the background look like? If it's neutral - use it. If it's ugly, maximize your depth of field (smallest possible F-stop) to blur the background. If you don't write this one down, I can guarantee that you won't remember it for more than 10 seconds once you start taking photos. Also, be aware of shadows that fall prominently on your background (hence the suggestions to consider using bounce flash and no flash with a high ISO setting).
7) The LCD Display
AVOID USING THE DISPLAY TO CHECK ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU CUT OFF ANYONE'S HEAD. LCD displays should NOT be used to confirm contrast, color, exposure, or any other critical factors. This is why the computer is needed to evaluate test shots prior to the party. If you are very experienced, you can tell certain things from the histogram, but to be safe - take test shots and examine the results on a computer (or, ideally a printer) way before the actual date of the party.
8) Equipment
Have fully-charged batteries, memory cards, chargers, external flash, lens accessories, and tripod ready.
9) Construct a Birthday Party Pictures List
Jot down MUST HAVE pictures, as well as the ones you would like to capture, if possible. And, what's the good of putting together a list unless you remember to take it to the party AND TO REFER TO IT.
10) Candids
If you're putting together a list, may I suggest including "Candids" on it. Very often the best birthday party photos will be candids. Since most birthday photos are generally posed, candids take on a special uniqueness.
Candid birthday party photos of sleeping children should always be a top priority. Why? On a purely emotional note, they are always cute, will typically produce a smile for the viewer, and sometimes even get a laugh.
11) Surplus Time
If it's your child's birthday party, they will never look better than they do JUST BEFORE THE PARTY STARTS. If possible, locate a spot where natural light is entering a window and POSE them and the cake for some big smiling photos. (The younger the child, the less chance for smiles, so don't go crazy.)
And, by the way, there will be plenty of opportunity later to take some birthday party pictures with cake and ice cream dribbling out of their mouth.
Selasa, 17 Oktober 2017
Top 10 Digital Cameras - What You Need To Know About Them
There are a large number of top 10 digital camera lists available on the Internet today. Each one of them is different and they all have different sets of criteria, on the basis of which these lists are compiled.
However, it is not necessary that a top 10 list by a particular site is the top 10 list for you. Since every camera user has his/her own preferences, it is not really correct to assume that one top 10 list works for everyone.
So, the best thing that you can do is to develop a set of top 10 criteria for yourself. Once you do this, then you will be able to develop your own top 10 digital camera list. So, now the question arises that how do you develop your criteria list.
The first and foremost thing to do is to determine the reason why you want to buy a digital camera. What are you going to use the camera for? How do you plan to use the photographs? And the most critical question of all, what is your budget?
Let us assume that you answer the above questions in the following manner :
You want a digital camera to take pictures of your family and during holidays.
You plan to use the photographs by printing them out to put into family albums, calendars and to post them on your web site.
Your budget for the camera is $200-300.
The above statements are enough to narrow down your choices quite a bit.
You specifically need to look at the battery life of the camera - since on vacation you will not be able to charge your digital camera at all times.
You also need to see the storage space available on the camera as it will not be possible for you to keep on transferring images at all times.
You need a camera with zoom options but whether you go for an optical zoom or digital zoom will get decided by your budgetary constraints.
You need flash since family photographs are normally taken indoors.
Your camera should be user-friendly, since it is likely that other/younger family members will be using the camera as well.
The camera should be sturdy as well, especially if you are on vacation with young children.
The camera should be compact and light-weight as it is not possible to carry big, bulky cameras while traveling.
A digital camera which can shoot good images to be put on a web site and in calendars needs to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. So this is another factor to be considered.
If you visit the beach while vacationing, then you might want to consider a water-proof camera. However, to fit this into your budget might be a bit difficult. Hence, there are digital cameras which come with water-proof cases and are cheaper. So, this might be the next best option for you.
You can also go for a digital camera which supports MPG files, so you can click mini-videos. This is a great option for those people who do not possess digital video cameras.
However, it is not necessary that a top 10 list by a particular site is the top 10 list for you. Since every camera user has his/her own preferences, it is not really correct to assume that one top 10 list works for everyone.
So, the best thing that you can do is to develop a set of top 10 criteria for yourself. Once you do this, then you will be able to develop your own top 10 digital camera list. So, now the question arises that how do you develop your criteria list.
The first and foremost thing to do is to determine the reason why you want to buy a digital camera. What are you going to use the camera for? How do you plan to use the photographs? And the most critical question of all, what is your budget?
Let us assume that you answer the above questions in the following manner :
You want a digital camera to take pictures of your family and during holidays.
You plan to use the photographs by printing them out to put into family albums, calendars and to post them on your web site.
Your budget for the camera is $200-300.
The above statements are enough to narrow down your choices quite a bit.
You specifically need to look at the battery life of the camera - since on vacation you will not be able to charge your digital camera at all times.
You also need to see the storage space available on the camera as it will not be possible for you to keep on transferring images at all times.
You need a camera with zoom options but whether you go for an optical zoom or digital zoom will get decided by your budgetary constraints.
You need flash since family photographs are normally taken indoors.
Your camera should be user-friendly, since it is likely that other/younger family members will be using the camera as well.
The camera should be sturdy as well, especially if you are on vacation with young children.
The camera should be compact and light-weight as it is not possible to carry big, bulky cameras while traveling.
A digital camera which can shoot good images to be put on a web site and in calendars needs to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. So this is another factor to be considered.
If you visit the beach while vacationing, then you might want to consider a water-proof camera. However, to fit this into your budget might be a bit difficult. Hence, there are digital cameras which come with water-proof cases and are cheaper. So, this might be the next best option for you.
You can also go for a digital camera which supports MPG files, so you can click mini-videos. This is a great option for those people who do not possess digital video cameras.
Rabu, 11 Oktober 2017
Panasonic Digital Cameras - The History Behind Their Cameras
Panasonic is a world-renowned consumer electronics company today. Its digital cameras have recently entered the market. In this article, we will view the story of Panasonic and some of the latest cameras which have been launched by the company in the market.
The inception of Panasonic took place in the year 1918 on a small work table in the house of Konosuke Matsushita. At that time, Matsushita invented the two-socket light fixture. This product became a success and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. was established.
Panasonic is the largest manufacturer of consumer electronics in the world today. The firm produces a wide array of products which cater to several needs of consumers. Its policy of achieving hundred percent customer satisfaction and providing optimal quality goods, has led Panasonic from strength to strength. In fact, the name Panasonic is synonymous with innovation, quality, performance and ease of use.
As far as digi cameras are concerned, Panasonic has got several types of digi cameras which can cater to various audiences depending on their budget and needs. In fact, Panasonic has also entered into an alliance with German camera maker, Leica to develop still digital cameras. The reason for this alliance is the fact that Panasonic is a small player in the digital market today. This alliance will help both Leica and Panasonic to take over an estimated ten percent of the digital camera market share.
Panasonic's latest line of digi cameras consists of mainly three series. One of these is the Lumix digital camera series. The Lumix camera makes use of lenses provided by Leica. This helps in getting images which are extremely clear and bright. The Lumix is a highly advanced camera and also comes with manual control options. Its shutter interval is also less than 0.04 seconds, hence allowing the photographer to take shots quickly.
Another series of digital cameras are cheaper and smaller, known as the D-Snap digital camera series. These cameras are trendy and small. They are super-slim and come in different colors. These cameras can also record videos and play music. The D-Snap digital camera is aimed at teenagers and youngsters who are looking for something smart and trendy and which also fit into their budget.
Slowly and steadily, Panasonic is establishing a name for itself in the digi camera world. This company, which has always believed in putting the customer's needs first, is sure to make a mark in this arena as well.
The inception of Panasonic took place in the year 1918 on a small work table in the house of Konosuke Matsushita. At that time, Matsushita invented the two-socket light fixture. This product became a success and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. was established.
Panasonic is the largest manufacturer of consumer electronics in the world today. The firm produces a wide array of products which cater to several needs of consumers. Its policy of achieving hundred percent customer satisfaction and providing optimal quality goods, has led Panasonic from strength to strength. In fact, the name Panasonic is synonymous with innovation, quality, performance and ease of use.
As far as digi cameras are concerned, Panasonic has got several types of digi cameras which can cater to various audiences depending on their budget and needs. In fact, Panasonic has also entered into an alliance with German camera maker, Leica to develop still digital cameras. The reason for this alliance is the fact that Panasonic is a small player in the digital market today. This alliance will help both Leica and Panasonic to take over an estimated ten percent of the digital camera market share.
Panasonic's latest line of digi cameras consists of mainly three series. One of these is the Lumix digital camera series. The Lumix camera makes use of lenses provided by Leica. This helps in getting images which are extremely clear and bright. The Lumix is a highly advanced camera and also comes with manual control options. Its shutter interval is also less than 0.04 seconds, hence allowing the photographer to take shots quickly.
Another series of digital cameras are cheaper and smaller, known as the D-Snap digital camera series. These cameras are trendy and small. They are super-slim and come in different colors. These cameras can also record videos and play music. The D-Snap digital camera is aimed at teenagers and youngsters who are looking for something smart and trendy and which also fit into their budget.
Slowly and steadily, Panasonic is establishing a name for itself in the digi camera world. This company, which has always believed in putting the customer's needs first, is sure to make a mark in this arena as well.
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