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Features to look for in a digital camera

How to Select a Digital Camera for Jewelry Product Photography

NOTE: Points 1 and 3 are essential and we do not recommend proceeding beyond this point if a camera does not provide these options.

1. Manual Aperture Setting

This allows you to control Depth of Field. Try to find a camera that has a minimum Aperture setting of f8.0. F16 would be better and F22 would be ideal.

2. Manual Shutter Speed Setting.

If the camera sets the shutter speed automatically it will compensate incorrectly. For example, the brightness of a diamond would be interpreted as a camera being pointed towards the sun and the automatic exposure circuitry would darken the diamond accordingly. The opposite would apply to an Onyx. The camera's automatic circuitry would lighten the Onyx as it would be regarded as an insufficiently image.

3. Pre-set White Balance.

All digital cameras have automatic white balance. This allows a camera to capture images illuminated, for example, with yellow incandescent lighting without producing yellow pictures by eliminating yellow from the image. When a gold item occupies more that 50% of the image area, the automatic circuitry will try to eliminate yellow which it perceives to be a lighting condition.

Most digital cameras have White Balance 'Zone Settings' to overcome this element. These predetermined zone settings are approximate and will not provide perfect color with a lighting environment they are not properly matched to. These zones are generally: Automatic / Daylight / Fluorescent / Incandescent.

Look for a camera that has Custom Pre-set White Balance. This feature will allow the camera to be perfectly matched with a specific lighting environment it is able to record and translate.

4. Manual Focusing

Most digital cameras have automatic focusing. The auto-focus circuitry only operates between two brackets generally indicated in the viewfinder and LCD monitor.

It is impractical to forfeit the ability to compose all pictures aesthetically and to position items within two small 'Auto-focus brackets' to get them into focus. Manual Focusing removes these restrictions.

5. The Mega-Pixel Evolution

Do not buy a digital camera on its "Mega-Pixel" qualities. When digital cameras first came out they only had 1/3 of a million pixels, which could only produce a 3.5" x 5" postcard. Now days, 2.7 million pixels can easily produce an exceptional quality full-page image. This resolution is considered adequate for all a jeweler’s requirements.

The Mega-Pixel evolution has reached its practical peak. For example, 4, 5 or 6 million pixel cameras are excellent for producing 16" x 20" posters. Computers need a substantial "Ram" increase to manipulate large images sizes and extremely large hard drives to store these huge image files.

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6. Direct Image Transfer

The ideal situation is to have a Digital camera connected directly to a computer and to be able to preview, adjust, and take the picture from a computer.

The second best alternative is to transfer the images using a memory card supplied with most digital cameras.

Direct transfer cables are provided with digital cameras, which generally are used with the camera’s proprietary software. This requires the secondary transfer of images from the camera’s software to the Custom Catalog or Management type programs used in most businesses.

Fire-wire cables are extremely fast but require the installation of special cards in a computer.
SCSI cables are also very fast but require the installation of a SCSI card.
USB cables are used with most cameras as most present day computers have USB ports. (USB ports do not function with Widows NT Operating System)
Serial cables are very slow and are seldom used.
Parallel port cables are extremely slow and are very seldom used.

7. Image Transfer using a Card Reader

As most digital cameras are supplied with memory card, purchase a USB Card Reader if the digital camera of your choice does not include a card reader.

8. AC Power Adaptors

The LCD Monitors included in most digital cameras use a lot of power. Some digital cameras are capable of exhausting 4 AA batteries in as little as 20 minutes. It is essential to purchase an external AC Power Adaptor if one is not supplied. (Ensure that you purchase an electronic switching power supply and not a reduction transformer)

9. LCD Monitors

LCD monitors are usually too small to effectively control image quality. They do provide a positioning, exposure and focus indication. Monitors with a diagonal measurement in excess of 2 inches are more practical. Video cables are generally included with all digital cameras to allow images to be previewed and captured images to be seen on a television monitor. We recommend the use of an external LCD Active Matrix monitor or a 13 inch TV set.

10. Remote Control Operation

Hand-held remote control units are ideal for preventing camera movement during exposure. If your digital camera is not supplied with a remote control, find out if a remote control is available.