Review Digital Camera World 08-08-2014

Digital Camera World

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How to eliminate camera shake: practical tips for avoiding blurry photos Aug 7th 2014, 23:01, by Marcus Hawkins Start taking sharper handheld photos, whether you're using a heavy lens or shooting in the dark! In this tutorial we share our best tips for avoiding camera shake and leaving blurry photos behind. We start by answering some of the most common questions photographers have about camera shake and then show you a few simple methods for controlling it. Why are my photos blurred? There are a number of reasons why images end up being nowhere near as sharp as they should be. The quality of the lens attached to the camera plays a part, as of course does the accuracy with which it's focused. However, the chief culprit for soft shots is more than likely to be camera shake. Whether this shake is the result of a heavy camera and lens or a long exposure in low light, the effect is the same: a picture that lacks bite. The extent of the blur largely depends on the shutter speed used at the time: sometimes a slight loss of definition will only be apparent when you magnify the picture during playback. Why is shutter speed so important? As we learned last issue, the choice of shutter speed dictates how long the camera's imaging sensor is exposed to light in order to record a picture. Naturally, if there's not much light available, such as when you're shooting at sunset or indoors, the exposure will take longer and this increases the risk of blurred pictures. While it may seem obvious that it's hard to hold the camera steady for a five-second exposure, it might be surprising to learn that even an exposure measured in fractions of a second – whether that's 1/10 sec or 1/100 sec – can also show the effects of camera shake. To minimise the risk, you need to consider the focal length of the lens when working out what your 'safe' handholding speed is. SEE MORE: Using slow shutter speeds – how to achieve consistent exposures every time How does the choice of lens make a difference? Shorter lenses are typically easier to hold steady than longer lenses. As well as being heavier and more cumbersome, lenses with longer focal lengths also offer greater magnification. This means that even a slight movement will be equally magnified: look through the viewfinder as you hold a 20mm lens unsteadily and you'll see a little movement; do the same with a 200mm lens and chances are that you'll lose the subject from the viewfinder altogether. The rule of thumb to achieve sharp photos is to ensure the shutter speed doesn't drop below the effective focal length of the lens. For example, if you attach a 50mm lens to a full-frame camera, you wouldn't want the shutter speed to be slower than 1/50 sec. SEE MORE: Minimum shutter speeds for shooting handheld (free cheat sheet) What do you mean by 'effective' focal length? Most digital SLRs use an APS-C sized sensor that's smaller than a full-frame one, and consequently a smaller part of the subject or scene will be recorded. You'd need to fit a longer lens to a get an equivalent view with a full-frame SLR, so this should be factored in when working out the minimum handheld shutter speed to use with an APS-C SLR. By multiplying the focal length by the 'crop factor' of the smaller sensor – usually x1.6 (for Canon cameras) or x1.5 (for Nikon cameras) – you get the effective focal length. A 100mm lens used on a full-frame camera should give sharp pictures at 1/100 sec or faster, but the same lens fitted to an APS-C camera would need a shutter speed of at least 1/160 sec (100 x 1.6) in order to reduce the effects of camera shake. Click on the graphic to see the larger version. How do I get a fast shutter speed? The more light there is, the more likely it is that you'll be able to use a fast shutter speed. However, you can also achieve shorter exposure times in low light by dialling in a higher ISO sensitivity or a larger aperture. High-end lenses offer maximum apertures in the region of f/2.8 or f/1.2, making it easier to eliminate camera shake – on paper at least. In reality, these lenses are actually often much heavier than 'consumer' lenses, so good handholding technique is still required. SEE MORE: Common mistakes at every shutter speed (and the best settings to use) I've got an image-stabilised lens – does that help? Yes, it does. An image-stabilised lens features gyroscopic sensors that detect which direction the lens is shaking in, and continuously adjust the position of some of the internal lens elements to compensate for this movement. Image stabilisation has come a long way, and the latest stabilised lenses offer up to four stops of correction. In other words, you may be able to get sharp results at shutter speeds that are four stops slower than the recommended handheld shooting speed. SEE MORE: What is image stabilisation? A simple layman’s guide That 100mm lens? Instead of sharp pictures at 1/160 sec, you could potentially get shake-free shots at up to 1/10 sec by using image stabilisation. However, even an image-stabilised lens requires good handholding technique. It can only correct for slight vibrations rather than full-scale wobbles, and besides, everyone's mileage varies when it comes to keeping a lens steady. Some photographers can get sharp pictures using exposures that are longer than the 'safe' handheld shutter speed for a particular lens, while others can only get consistent results at a shutter speed that's twice as fast as the recommended one. How can I improve my technique? The key is to support the lens with one hand, rather than gripping the camera body with two, keep your elbows in and press the shutter release gently. Make use of any natural support you can find too. Resting the camera and lens on a fence post or bracing yourself against a wall will give you extra stability and sharper pictures, particularly when combined with image stabilisation to soak up any slight vibrations (see also More ways to hold a camera steady when a tripod isn’t possible). PAGE 1: Common questions about camera shake PAGE 2: Best camera settings to control camera shake PAGE 3: How to beat camera shake with sharper handholding READ MORE 10 reasons why your photos aren’t sharp (and what you can do about it 77 photography techniques, tips and tricks for taking pictures of anything Camera shake: the ultimate cheat sheet for using tripods, monopods and shooting handheld Getting sharp images: every technique you need to know starting out How to fine tune image sharpness using Live View Best free photo editing software: download these image editors today! Aug 7th 2014, 10:34, by jmeyer Don't want to break the bank on Photoshop? We’ve rounded up 11 of the best free photo editing software for you to try out, with links to download each app directly. Even the most basic digital cameras will often produce very detailed photos with great colours. However, you might still find that there are issues with white balance, red-eye, lighting or perhaps the odd cropping problem which need to be corrected. It’s therefore a good idea to have photo editing software on your computer. Those with very advanced needs (or those with lots of cash) will probably opt for Photoshop, and while there’s no doubt it’s a great program, there’s a lot of other great photo editing software out there, too – as well as a number of intriguing alternatives that won’t cost you a thing! Below we’ve rounded up 11 of the best free photo editing software that you can use to make meaningful edits to your images. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for something with sophisticated editing power or something easy and quick, there should be something here among these free photo editing apps to meet your needs. Best free photo editing software: 1. Gimp Just shy of 20 years old, GIMP (aka the GNU Image Manipulation Program), gets regular updates and is widely known as a great and fairly powerful free photo editor. With this program you can make corrections to colours, enhance contrast, brightness and much more. You can also sharpen or blur images, fix perspective problems, remove red-eye, add special lighting photos and experiment with effects such as making a photo look like an oil painting. Use the paint tools for lots of different effects, while there’s also support for layers and ways to extend the program. It’s not a program that’s quick to get to grips with, but if you put in the effort to learn its nuances and quirks, then it’s a very useful program indeed. If you’ve used an older version of Photoshop, but don’t want to pay to upgrade to the latest iteration, you’ll probably be familiar with GIMP pretty quickly. Click here to download Gimp Best free photo editing software: 2. Paint.NET If you’re looking for something a little more basic than GIMP, Paint.NET is a great alternative. You’ve got plenty of options for resizing and rotating photos, a good range of selection and paint tools, and there’s some great special effects too. Luckily, there’s support for layers which means you can apply edits to only certain parts of an image. Plugins mean that you can extend and customise the program to suit your needs. Perhaps most encouragingly, the basic interface of Paint.NET makes it easy to learn and get to grips with, even if you’ve never edited an image before. Click here to download Paint.NET Best free photo editing software: 3. PhoXo A simple but effective editing program, PhoXo is a useful editor which has some great fun applications as well as more serious uses. You can customise images with cartoons and the likes, while the ability to add a custom watermark to a group of images can be useful for edits in a hurry. There’s also drawing and paint tools along with image transformations, effects and more. Click here to download PhoXo Best free photo editing software: 4. Funny Photo Maker If it’s effects you’re after, Funny Photo Maker is a great option. While you won’t advanced tools such as layer support or smart selection tools, you can turn someone’s face into a movie poster or bank note, transform still images into animations or add weather effects. Interesting frames, collages and other options are also available. Click here to download Funny Photo Maker Best free photo editing software: 5. Photo Pos Pro Probably one of the more dated looking options on the market, don’t dismiss Photo Pos Pro immediately. If you spend some time experimenting with what it has to offer you’ll find plenty of options including paint tools, colour corrections and selection tools. There’s also a degree of support for layers and masks, configurable effects (and lots of them), and a tool which allows you to automate editing tasks. Keep an eye out for some of the fun features too, like the "Magical" effects which allow you to add fireworks, stardust, bubbles and the like to your photographs. Click here to download Photo Pos Pro Best free photo editing software: 6. PhotoScape If all you want is something quick and easy to add a special effect to a photo, PhotoScape could be the tool for you. Those looking for layer support and the like should avoid it though. Here you’ll find hundreds of clipart images, the ability to add custom speech bubbles, great special effects and even the chance to create animated GIFs. You can even get a little bit creative with the options, with the ability to customise some of the artistic styles on offer. Click here to download PhotoScape Best free photo editing software: 7. IrfanView Despite what the name suggests, there’s also editing possibilities with IrfanView. For instance, you can rotate and resize and image as well as tweaking colours, brightness and contrast, add text captions and watermarks, sharpen your photos, remove red-eye and even apply a range of special effects. Click here to download IrfanView Best free photo editing software: 8. PhotoFiltre If you’re looking for something to retouch your photos, then PhotoFiltre gives surprisingly impressive results. Bear in mind that it’s only free for personal use, though. Use the PhotoMask tool to apply contour and transparency effects to your photos. There’s also paint tools, the ability to correct colours and add filters. Click here to download PhotoFiltre Best free photo editing software: 9. PixBuilder Studio If you want something to make basic, but useful, edits, then PixBuilder Studio has a fair amount to offer. You won’t find some of the fun and frivolous features here of other photo editing programs, but if you want to crop, resize, rotate or correct colours, then it’s a good option. There’s also some sharpness and blur filters, along with some practical print tools. Click here to download PixBuilder Studio Best free photo editing software: 10. Chasys Draw IES There’s lots of useful tools on offer with Chasys Draw IES. You’ll find quite an extensive set of painting and drawing tools, support for layers, smart special effects, the ability to adjust colour and lighting, Photoshop plugin support and more. You can also use it if you need to create CD or DVD labels, icons and so on. If you’re shooting in raw format, there’s also a processor, viewer and converter included for those files, making it a great and versatile program. Click here to download Chasys Draw IES Best free photo editing software: 11. Google+ From left to right: original image; image enhanced with Snapseed HDR Scape Edit your photos directly from the web from any computer (installed with Chrome) or on your Android phone using Google+. There’s a surprising array of options available here, simply upload your shot to Google+ and then you’ll find that you can click Edit to make changes. For starters, there’s basic edits such as cropping, brightness and contrast. And when you want to get a bit more creative, you can add special effects to give it an HDR look, make it look vintage or add lighting effects. There’s also frames to choose from and you can create a miniature scene using the tilt-shift simulator. Best of all, edits are non-destructive so you can go back to your original image at any time. Click here to get started with Google+ For more free downloads of everything from recovery software to antivirus and video editing programs, visit our sister site TechRadar’s Free Downloads page! READ MORE 13 photo editing mistakes every photographer makes (and what you can do about it) Best photo editing tips for beginners: 18 quick fixes to common image problems Stop wasting pictures! 10 simple ways to start boosting your hit rate Lightroom vs Photoshop: why you should be using Adobe Lightroom 9 photo editing cliches (and how to avoid them)

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