Nokia Lumia 1020 41-Megapixel Camera REVIEW

Physical Features and Call Quality

nokia lumia 1020 hand on
Overall, the Nokia Lumia 1020 feels very similar in the hand to Nokia's Lumia 900 and 920; it's a large but not phablet-sized phone made of smooth, brightly colored polycarbonate that rolls around the edges to cradle a 4.5-inch, 1,280-by-768 screen. As you use it, the bottom half of the phone gets a bit warm, but not unpleasantly so; the polycarbonate seems to distribute the heat pretty evenly.
nokia lumia 1020 back

The 41-megapixel ubercamera projects out very slightly as a black disc on the back about an inch in diameter.
This isn't the Samsung Galaxy Zoom; the bump won't prevent it from sliding into your pocket, and it won't snag on things. It does, however, prevent the phone from lying flat on a table; when you set it down, it's at a slight downward tilt, and if you press on the top of the phone, it'll rock.
The phone's dual-core, 1.5-GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 processor plowed through apps well, with one disappointing exception: I actually made the camera app crash so hard I needed to reboot the phone.

The Lumia 1020 feels like a massive slab of a phone, in the spirit of the Lumia 920. At 5.1 by 2.8 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and 5.6 ounces, it's actually lighter than Verizon's Lumia 928, and shorter than both that phone and the Samsung Galaxy S 4. The 1020 is an unusually wide phone, though, and the camera lens bump on the back tends to make it float over a table rather than sit directly on it, making it appear even thicker than it is. If you push down on the phone while it's sitting on a table, it wobbles a little like a see-saw. The phone's width made it difficult for me to use it entirely one-handed, but I have small hands.

The 1020 is clad in now-traditional Nokia matte polycarbonate, coming in black, white, or yellow. The 4.5-inch, 1,280-by-768-pixel Gorilla Glass 3 AMOLED screen has crazily oversaturated colors, and I saw a little visual color bleed when scrolling quickly back and forth. The touch screen can be used with gloves.
nokia lumia 1020 webpage
The 1020 is a good voice phone. It has a sharp, slightly harsh, but loud-enough earpiece and a very loud if tinny speakerphone. Noise cancellation was adequate if not total, reducing construction and traffic noise to a background hiss. Transmissions through the speakerphone had a tendency to sound a bit distant, but nothing too awful. The 1020 doesn't measure up to the Galaxy S 4 on voice quality, but it'll certainly do.
Like all Windows Phones, the 1020's voice dialing is fine, as long as you stick to dialing; I haven't had much luck with voice commands or dictation. The 1020 had no problem connecting to Jawbone or Plantronics Bluetooth headsets.

The Lumia 1020 operates on AT&T's LTE and HSPA+ networks, and roams on foreign HSPA networks. AT&T has a decent international roaming package with 100MB of data for $25. I got excellent speeds on the Ookla Speedtest.net app, with downloads often exceeding 20Mbps and uploads around 5Mbps, as befits America's fastest wireless network. Don't try to move the 1020 over to T-Mobile, though, as the phone lacks one of T-Mobile's HSPA bands.

We're still testing the sealed-in 2,000mAh battery and we'll get back to you later on that. It's the same size as the Lumia 928's battery, though; we got 9 hours and 32 minutes of talk time on that device, and with the same processor, OS, and screen size, we'd expect this one to be similar.
The phone also packs 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, NFC, and GPS, although wireless charging requires a separate, extra cover ($39.99).

Performance, OS, and Multimedia Playback 

The Lumia 1020 runs Windows Phone 8 with Nokia's "Amber" updates (and plenty of other add-on Nokia and AT&T software) and the same 1.5GHz Qualcomm S4 processor that you see in the Lumia 925, 928, and for that matter a bunch of other Windows Phones as well. The phone benchmarked very similarly to those other devices. The UI is smooth and fluid, but the Internet Explorer browser doesn't render pages as quickly as the latest version of Chrome on Android superphones, according to the Browsermark browser benchmark.

Windows Phone's problem, as always, is not that it doesn't have apps, but that the apps are often different (and sometimes not as good) as the ones you find on iOS and Android. Most notably for photographers, there's no Instagram, although there's a bunch of third-party clients: Instance, Wpgram, and Metrogram. Vine and Hipstamatic are coming sometime in the vague future. Games are often just different; my daughter loves Ilo Milo and Max & the Magic Marker, both WP exclusives, but I can't play most of the Square Enix or Kemco RPGs I like on other platforms. And one major category, downloadable video stores, is just plain missing.

Nokia's major contributions are a slew of location-based and photography apps. The camera apps get a little overwhelming: There's not only Nokia Pro Camera, but Nokia Smart Camera, Cinemagraph, Panorama, PhotoBeamer, and Blink, each of which add special modes to the camera. From Nokia's mapping department comes HERE City Lens, HERE Drive+, HERE Maps, and HERE Transit. The driving and transit directions are excellent, but HERE Maps and City lens suffer badly from an out-of-date business database which turned up too many closed restaurants in my area; the search functions also aren't nearly as flexible as Google's.

The phone has 29GB of available memory and no memory card slot. Windows Phone uses a PC connector app to reformat music and video for the phone; it can handle most unprotected video formats, as well as music formats other than AIFF and WAV. Unsurprisingly, music and video sound good through wired or Bluetooth headphones, and Nokia offers a five-band equalizer if you like to tweak your sound. An FM radio works with wired headphones, and both Nokia and AT&T preload their own streaming radio apps. For video, you can go with Netflix or AT&T's own streaming video app, although there are no downloadable video options.

CAMERA

The Nokia 1020 doesn't have quite the same image sensor as the Nokia 808, and the camera app is vastly different, but the idea is the same. By capturing a huge amount of pixels the phone has lots of room to apply noise reduction, and can save photos as a full-resolution (38 megapixel) JPG, or as a downsized 5-megapixel photo. There are a couple of reasons behind this tactic. First, it allows for digital zoom without significant loss in image quality; second, downsizing the pixels allows the camera to fight digital noise, which can detract from image detail when shooting at the higher ISO sensitivities that are required to get a blur-free shot in lower light.
The image sensor isn't quite as large as the 1/1.2-inch chip found in the 808. Instead Nokia has opted for a 2/3-inch design, roughly the same size as found in the Fujifilm X20. That's a 12-megapixel enthusiast-oriented point-and-shoot with a comparatively massive lens, and when you consider that the sensor size and aperture at the widest angles are just about the same, it's impressive just how small the 1020's lens is. Unlike the 808, the 1020's CMOS sensor features a back-side illuminated (BSI) design. This moves the circuitry behind the light-sensitive pixels to reduce noise. The lens covers a wide-angle 27mm (35mm equivalent) field of view when shooting in a traditional aspect ratio; it's a bit wider, 25mm, when shooting 16:9 stills or HD video.

The lossless digital zoom (a zoomed image is shown above) is about 2.8x for stills and 4x for HD video—this means that 4:3 stills cover a 27-74mm range, and 1080p HD video covers 25-100mm.
Nokia has introduced a new camera app, Pro Camera, which gives you much more control over shooting controls when compared with the basic camera app included with Windows Phone devices. Its interface is not too far off from what Samsung has put into its Galaxy Camera. You can tap icons to change the white balance, ISO, focus setting, shutter speed, and exposure compensation settings. Serious shooters will notice one crucial control is missing—aperture. There's no way to change the f-stop of the 1020's lens; it's fixed at f/2.2.

You can tap an area of the frame to focus and take a picture, and there's a physical Shutter button as well. I found it to be adequate, but the 1020 proves just as challenging for me to use as other cell phone cameras. I prefer to capture photos with straight lines when possible, and holding the phone perfectly plumb and parallel to my subject is challenging with such a slim device. This is where the optional camera grip ($79) comes in handy. It adds a bit of depth to the camera, without sacrificing the ability to slide it into a pants pocket. I was able to hold the device more comfortably with it attached, and was better able to avoid the keystone distortion that can show up when taking a photo with the camera slightly up. The grip offers the added bonus of delivering a larger Shutter button with a two-stage release (a half-press locks focus and a full-press takes the photo), a standard tripod socket, and a micro USB port (so you don't have to remove the grip to charge or sync the phone.) What's missing from the grip is a zoom control; you'll still need to slide your finger up the screen to zoom in, and down to zoom out.

The Camera: Image Quality 

The image quality the 1020 is able to muster is pretty impressive. We used Imatest to check its performance at ISO 100, and found its sharpness results to be excellent. At 5-megapixels it manages a solid 2,121 lines per picture height, which is in excess of the 1,800 lines that we require of a sharp photo. At 38-megapixels its score is 2,218 lines; the extra pixels will give you an advantage in quality if you plan on printing your photos. If you only plan to share on the Web, shooting at 5-megapixels will be sufficient, and won't eat up as much space. Full resolution shots were around 13 megabytes on average, compared to just 2MB apiece for the downsampled images.

The lens is not sharp from edge-to-edge, however. It's quite impressive in the center and midparts of the frame, but as you reach the outer edges and corners things get a bit muddy. Edge sharpness hovers around 900 lines when shooting at 5-megapixels, and is weaker still at full resolution—just 700 lines. Chalk the more impressive edge performance at the lower resolution up to the success of the downsampling technology.

We performed our tests in the 4:3 aspect ratio, which puts a bit more stress on the corners of the lens. If you shoot photos at 16:9 the corners will be cropped out of the image, but edges will still appear a bit soft. When looking at photos at Web resolution you're likely not to notice this; but if you plan on using the 1020 as a more serious photographic tool the limitation will be more obvious in prints or at large screen resolutions. This is one area where the lack of aperture control comes into play; edge and corner resolution can be improved by stopping a lens down, but since that's not possible with the 1020, you're limited to the quality the camera can deliver at f/2.2. The lens is prone to flare when shooting a backlit subject, moreso than the compact cameras with which I've shot.

Imatest also checks images for noise, which makes photos appear grainy and robs them of detail. We consider a photo to be acceptable if there is less than 1.5 percent noise, but we always take time to view images on a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W, as sometimes a slightly grainier image captures more detail than one that has had excessive in-camera noise reduction applied.

The 1020 handles noise differently in 38-megapixel and 5-megapixel images. When shooting in the lower resolution, it only manages to keep noise below the 1.5 percent threshold at its base ISO of 100; it jumps to 1.7 percent at ISO 200 and hovers around there through ISO 800. At ISO 1600 the noise jumps to 2 percent, and it hits 2.6 percent at its top sensitivity of ISO 3200. Detail is crisp through ISO 800, and colors are accurate. I noticed some issues with exposure at ISO 1600 and 3200 when shooting under the bright lights in our test studio; normally you won't be using such a high ISO in bright conditions.

We snapped some low-light shots outside of our studio and found the image quality at the upper ranges of the ISO spectrum to be relatively free of color noise, but there was a bit of luminance noise (graininess), and detail did suffer. Be aware, if you're shooting in dim conditions the camera tends to default to a slower shutter speed, rather than bump the ISO up to its maximum. Shooting some objects on my living room bookshelf using only window light, the camera defaulted to a 1/9-second shutter speed at ISO 2000. The optical stabilization system did an impressive job at preventing blur, but that would not have been the case when shooting a moving subject.
In 38-megapixel mode the noise results are a bit different. The 1020 keeps noise below 1.5 percent through ISO 200, and only records 1.6 percent at ISO 400. At higher ISOs, noise is higher than the downsampled photos—1.9 percent at ISO 800, 2.5 percent at 1600, and 3.1 percent at ISO 3200. It's easier to zoom in and see what kind of pixel-level detail you're getting with the larger files. At ISO 100 the detail is very, very impressive, but it starts to suffer as soon as you increase the sensitivity to ISO 200. I'm happy with the results through ISO 800. But at ISO 1600 the fine lines of a foreign banknote in our test scene start to turn to mush. Our Editors' Choice compact camera, the Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS, does a noticeably better job at high ISOs. It controls noise through ISO 1600 and delivers acceptable results for Web sharing at ISO 3200.

Where the 1020's camera really suffers when compared with a good compact camera is speed. It takes a full 6.1 seconds to launch Pro Camera and capture a photo. Focusing and firing a shot results in a shutter lag of about 0.7 seconds, though if you are shooting in manual focus mode or you half-press the shutter to prefocus, the lag dips to a much more usable 0.1 second. Shot-to-shot time varies based on the file size, but expect to wait about 3.6 seconds between 5-megapixel photos and 4.2 seconds between 38-megapixel shots. There's no dedicated burst mode or self-timer in the Pro Camera app, but holding the shutter down will cause the camera to continuously focus and fire.

CONCLUSIONS

The iPhone 5 has been the camera-phone choice for photographers for a while now. That isn't just because of the iPhone's lens, although it has a solid 8-megapixel shooter; it's because of the huge third-party app, service, and accessory ecosystem around iOS devices, along with its iconic cultural status in the creative community.
The Lumia 1020 takes better pictures than the iPhone, but it doesn't take them that quickly, and it exiles you from that cultural community. That's tough. We don't want to minimize the 1020's advantages: Pictures are sharp, the "live zoom" is useful, Nokia Pro Camera and Creative Studio give you great control over your images, and this is the only camera phone we've seen recently with a truly usable flash. That shutter delay, though, is a downer: You're going to struggle with the shutter lag, especially if you like to grab candid shots of family and friends, your children, or your dog.

We're conservative; we still recommend buying a standalone digital camera for your standalone digital photos. Even an inexpensive point-and-shoot like the Canon Elph 330 HS is going to deliver better performance at higher ISO settings, and also gives you 12-megapixel images, much snappier performance, and built-in Wi-Fi. For a truly connected camera, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy NX features a D-SLR-sized APS-C image sensor, interchangeable lenses, Android, Wi-Fi, and a microSIM slot for 4G connectivity.

Let's also note that at $299-659, the Lumia 1020 is more expensive than many competing smartphones, and even a smartphone/camera combination. With an AT&T contract, an iPhone 4S and that Elph 330 HS sum up to the same price, for instance.

The Lumia 1020 is a big step forward for camera phones, but the step isn't complete. Nokia's sensor and lens advances must be paired with a CPU and image processor fast enough to make shooting effortless, and Windows Phone's creative app gaps need to be filled in. We'll recommend this impressive camera phone, to be sure, but with those reservations at hand.
  • Pros Best camera ever on a smartphone. Excellent manual camera controls. Easy-to-use OS.
  • Cons Big. Expensive. Slow shot-to-shot times. Windows Phone is out of the mainstream for photo apps and communities.
  • Bottom Line The first viable 41-megapixel camera phone, the Nokia Lumia 1020 for AT&T is an impressive feat, but it's big, expensive, and doesn't run Instagram.
Ref : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2422136,00.asp

Nokia 808 Mobile Phone Photographers REVIEW

Nokia 808 PureView, aka the Highest Resolution Cameraphone, a new smartphone that can safely be called the highest resolution cameraphone ever. Nokia 808 built it 41 Megapixel Camera, I got some time with it this morning and it's impressive, but perplexing.

nokia 808 pureview

Key Features

  • 41 Megapixel Camera Sensor, Carl Zeiss lens, PureView imaging technology
  • Full 1080p HD video
  • Xenon flash and separate LED for video recording
  • HDMI and DLNA outputs
  • NFC and Wi-Fi technology
  • Preloaded Nokia Maps, turn-by-turn satnav for over 100 countries
  • 16GB of built-in memory
  • MicroSD memory card support up to 32GB
  • 4.0-inch nHD resolution (640 x 360)
  • OLED Clear Black Display
  • Corning Gorilla Glass
  • Capacitive touch
  • 16m colours; 160° viewing angle
  • Ambient light sensor to optimise display brightness and power consumption
  • Proximity detector
  • 2.5 D curved glass window with easy-clean coating
  • 4 Default home screens with live widgets
  • Stereo FM radio
  • Dolby Headphone for surround sound experience
  • Messaging: Email, MMS, SMS

41 MP Sensor with PureView Imaging

nokia 808 41 megapixel camera

The Nokia 808 PureView is equipped with a 41MP sensor and Carl Zeiss lens. What makes its camera exceptional is the large image sensor combined with incredibly powerful image processing technology. It boasts a 3x lossless zoom, which means you can take a photo and zoom in up to three times without any loss of detail. With PureView imaging technology you can create photos that exceed the usual output of the very best dedicated digital cameras. You can take pictures that can be blown up to large format poster sizes without any loss of definition or detail, or you can zoom and crop your pictures whilst maintaining superb quality images. It also features exceptional video recording capabilities, with high quality image and sound. Shoot video in 1080p Full HD, with up to 4x lossless zoom for smooth, consistent image capture with pin-sharp detail. Nokia 808 PureView offers a choice of shooting modes to suit all levels of photographic expertise and experience: Automatic, Scenes and Creative. Automatic is for people who simply want to point, shoot and share high quality photos and videos with minimal input required. Scenes is for photographers who want a bit more control over their end results, but perhaps lack the experience of an out-and-out expert. If you’ve got a specific creative vision in mind, this is the mode to choose. It gives you complete control over camera settings and shooting parameters so you can tailor them to suit any scene or subject.

Stay Connected

As well as helping you to create amazing high definition images and videos, your Nokia 808 PureView makes it easy to share the results, with HDMI and DLNA outputs, NFC connectivity, Wi-Fi and social networks. It comes equipped with NFC (Near Field Connectivity), a clever new technology that lets you share information with other NFC devices with a simple tap. Share your photos and videos to social networks and email in real time. Nokia 808 PureView cleverly optimises photo file sizes for uploading, which makes sending and sharing images much faster.

Navigation

Nokia Maps is free, turn-by-turn navigation for over 100 countries, and comes preloaded with Nokia 808 PureView. Whether you’re on foot or on wheels, it’ll show you where you are and help you to where you’re going – with plenty of expert help, and local advice along the way. It brings you weather forecasts and local reports specific to the places and routes you’re travelling with Nokia Maps. Nokia Drive is turn-by-turn voice navigation that’s fully optimised for in-car use, and complete with safety features like speed camera and limit warnings. With online access to over 70 million places and routes, Nokia Drive is designed for smart, effortless car navigation.

Sound

Wherever you are, it brings you an amazing entertainment experience, and is the first smartphone ever to feature Dolby Headphone technology. With Dolby Headphone on board your Nokia 808 PureView you can play crystal clear Dolby Surround sound from any stereo headphones. Watch movies or listen to music, and you’ll hear superb surround quality – up to 7.1 channels. It even works with YouTube videos. Packed into the Nokia 808 PureView is a Dolby Headphone virtualiser, which creates a surround sound experience through any stereo headphones when you play stereo or multichannel audio.

Vital Statistics

The Nokia 808 PureView weighs 5.96 ounces and measures 4.88 x 2.37 x 0.55 inches. Its 1400 mAh battery is rated at up to 6.5 hours of talk time, and up to 540 hours of standby time.

The 808 is a solid block of white plastic. It isn't slim, but c'mon guys, it's 41 megapixels. More importantly, it feels like a premium device, without loose or creaky bits. There's an HDMI port on top, a dedicated camera button, and of course that camera on the back: a relatively large lens with a big Xenon flash above it. The phone has a 4-inch, 640-by-360 touch screen–that's a standard Symbian resolution–as well as a 1.3GHz processor and 16GB of memory, plus a memory card slot.

Pressing the camera button takes a picture within less than a second. So what can you do with 38 megapixels? You can zoom and crop. I took a shot of the Nokia booth and then zoomed in on a tiny little element, cropping it into what appeared to be a tidy image of 5 megapixels or so. That's the equivalent of a 3x lossless zoom at 5 megapixels, Nokia said. The camera has an f/2.4 aperture, which isn't as bright as HTC's new One X at f/2.0, but is still good for a cameraphone.
Nokia 808 Highest Resolution Cameraphone

You can digital-zoom within videos without losing resolution, too, capturing 1080p video at up to 4x zoom and 720p at 6x zoom. Audio recording is "CD quality," according to Nokia.
You can also refine. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the 808 can "capture seven pixels and turn it into one perfect pixel," pretty much eliminating noise from images. "You can take great images in low light, too,".

Now to the perplexing part. The PureView 808 runs Symbian, the awkward, decade-old OS that Nokia has said it's phasing out in favor of Windows Phone. Symbian is also not very popular among U.S. operators, making the PureView unlikely to come to a U.S. carrier. Nokia EVP Jo Harlow said the company has been working on the 808 for quite some time, implying that this device was in the works well before Nokia decided to move to Windows Phone. PureView technologies will come to "other devices" eventually, Harlow said.

The PureView I was playing with had plenty of apps on board, and the phone's home screens were set up with attractive imaging and social networking widgets. But like most Americans nowadays, I just find Symbian's interface unfamiliar, and it feels like it takes too many taps to get at things. Screens flicked smoothly, but Symbian's interface simply lacks the easy flow common to more modern OSes.
There's also some confusion around the size and resolution of the PureView 808's sensor. The phone says "41 Megapixels" on the back. Nokia EVP Jo Harlow said at its native resolution, it captures 38 megapixel images, that Nokia says are 7,152 by 5,368 resolution. When I looked at one of the images in the file manager, it was 5.2MB.
Some Internet reports are saying the camera is "interpolated," which isn't what's really going on here. The default mode records 5-megapixel images by condensing seven pixels into one, but you can turn off that default and get 38-megapixel pictures if you feel you can handle the file size. The 5-megapixel mode offers dramatically reduced noise and improved image quality because it's oversampling, though, and that's the mode Nokia thinks most people will be using most often.
In any case, this is absolutely amazing.

Top 10 Best Digital Cameras

Below is table and detail about top 10 best digital camera, the problem with buying a digital camera is not only that there are hundreds of models for sale at any given point in time, but you also need to figure out which type of camera is right for you. The good news is that we review lots of cameras—and these 10 are among the best we've tested lately.

Do you want a small camera that requires minimal effort, but takes great pictures? A pocket point-and-shoot is probably your best bet. Need to get close to the action without carrying a huge camera with a big lens? A compact superzoom model is likely for you. Or do you want a lightning-fast shooter that lets you swap out lenses and play with settings? Then you want a D-SLR or a compact interchangeable-lens camera. Plan on shooting on the beach or the slopes? You need a ruggedized waterproof model.

We picked winners from recent cameras we've tested in the aforementioned categories to make up our top 10. When there are multiple winners in a category, we pick models at various price points. For D-SLRs, we've chosen an entry-level, a midrange, and a high-end, full-frame camera. And this time around, we have four point-and-shoot models at various budget levels.

Remember, though, the digital camera market is a robust one; manufacturers release new products throughout the year, and we're continually testing and reviewing cameras—and updating this list. Before you buy, be sure to hit our Digital Cameras Product Guide for the latest reviews. But for now, the folowing are top 10 of our favorite digital cameras.
Top 10 Best Digital Camera
Click to Enlarge

A. Point-and-Shoot Cameras

Fujifilm X100S

Fujifilm X100S
  • Pros Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder. Superb high ISO image quality. 35mm wide-angle field of view. Fast f/2 lens. Excellent control layout. Fast focus. Continuous shooting at 5fps. X-Trans image sensor. Wide-angle adapter available.
  • Cons Bigger than some other large-sensor compacts. Lens suffers from edge softness. Macro shots at wide apertures have a soft-focus look. Video could be better. No image stabilization. Rear LCD could be sharper.
  • Bottom Line Don't be fooled by the Fujifilm X100S's retro exterior; it's a modern, full-featured digital camera that impressed us enough to earn our Editors' Choice award.
  • Price : $1,299.95

Olympus Tough TG-2 iHS

Olympus Tough TG-2 iHS
  • Pros Waterproof to 50 feet. Excellent high ISO performance. Fast f/2 lens. Snappy performance. Accepts filters and conversion lenses. GPS and digital compass. Macro LED light.
  • Cons Lens could be sharper. In-camera battery charging. Lens movement is audible on video soundtrack.
  • Bottom Line The Olympus Tough TG-2 iHS rugged camera is a very minor upgrade to the excellent TG-1. It comes in at a lower price and walks away with our Editors' Choice award. Price : $379.99

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
  • Pros Large image sensor. Superb image quality, even at high ISOs. Fast lens. Customizable controls. Large, extra-sharp LCD. Virtually no shutter lag. Raw shooting support.
  • Cons As expensive as some D-SLRs. No EVF option, GPS, or Wi-Fi. Limited zoom range. In-camera battery charging only.
  • Bottom Line The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 packs a relatively huge 1-inch image sensor into a point-and-shoot body, delivering close-to-SLR-quality images from a camera you can fit in your back pocket. It's expensive, but worth it.
  • Price : $649.99

Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS

Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS
  • Pros Sharp lens. Integrated Wi-Fi. 10x zoom range. Excellent high ISO performance. Short shutter lag. Includes external battery charger.
  • Cons Small-aperture lens. Lacks full manual controls. 1080p video limited to 24fps.
  • Bottom Line One of the best cameras you can buy for less than $250, the svelte, 10x-zoom Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS takes beautiful pictures and lets you send them instantaneously with integrated Wi-Fi.
  • Price : $229.99

B. Digital SLRs

Canon EOS 6D

Canon EOS 6D
  • Pros Compact. Inexpensive for its class. Full-frame sensor. 4.5fps shooting. Superb image quality at high ISOs. Interchangeable focus screens. Integrated GPS and Wi-Fi. 1080p30 video capture. Battery grip available. Supported USB tethered and Wi-Fi remote control.
  • Cons Not the fastest camera on the block. Viewfinder only offers 97 percent coverage. Not compatible with EF-S lenses. GPS saps battery life. No flash. Slow focus during video recording. No PC Sync socket.
  • Bottom Line The Canon EOS 6D is a top-notch full-frame camera in a compact body. With a relatively affordable price, enthusiast-friendly features, and spectacular image quality, it's an easy Editors' Choice.
  • Price : $2,099

Nikon D7100

Nikon D7100
  • Pros Fast, 51-point autofocus system. Dual SD card slots. Large pentaprism viewfinder. Excellent control layout. Preserves details at high ISO settings. Shoots at 6fps. 1.3x crop mode available. Very fast startup. Vertical grip add-on available. Sharp rear LCD. Sensor design omits optical low-pass filter. 1/250-second flash sync speed.
  • Cons Limited burst shooting in Raw mode. On the heavy side. Some image noise at ISO 3200 and above. Lacks built-in GPS. No PC Sync socket.
  • Bottom Line If you're in the market for a serious D-SLR, but don't want to go full-frame, the Nikon D7100 is the way to go; it's our Editors' Choice camera in its category.
  • Price : $1,199.95

Nikon D5200

Nikon D5200
  • Pros Excellent image quality. Fast autofocus. 4fps continuous shooting. Sharp vari-angle LCD. 39-point autofocus system. Fast to start and shoot. 1080i60 video capture. Wi-Fi and GPS add-ons available.
  • Cons Small pentamirror viewfinder. Will not autofocus with screw-drive lenses. Noisy focus during video recording. Only one control wheel.
  • Bottom Line The under-$1,000 Nikon D5200 is a capable D-SLR that delivers impressive image quality and continuous shooting at 4 frames per second, earning it our Editors' Choice. Price : $799.95

C. Compact Interchangeable-Lens Cameras

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus OM-D E-M5
  • Pros Compact body. Fully weather sealed. Crisp LCD EVF. Articulating rear display. Sharp kit lens. Impressive high ISO performance. Fast autofocus. Shoots at 9 frames per second. In-body stabilization. Large native lens library. Optional grip available.
  • Cons External flash. Lacks a standard mic input.
  • Bottom Line The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the best Micro Four Thirds camera we've tested. It's got a top-notch stabilization system, is fully weather sealed, can shoot in all types of light, and ships with a sharp and versatile kit lens. Add it all up, and you have our new Editors' Choice for high-end compact interchangeable lens cameras.
  • Price : $1,299.99

Samsung NX300

Samsung NX300
  • Pros Sharp kit lens. Excellent high ISO performance. Retro chrome and leatherette styling. Tilting, touch-screen display. 7fps burst shooting. Short shutter lag. Wi-Fi. 3D lens support. 1080p60 video. Includes Adobe Lightroom software.
  • Cons No EVF option. External battery charger not included. Lacks built-in flash and mic input.
  • Bottom Line The Samsung NX300 is a speedy mirrorless compact that captures excellent images and offers well-executed integrated Wi-Fi for easy online photo sharing.
  • Price : $799.99

D. Superzoom Camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
  • Pros Fast f/2.8 zoom lens. Speedy performance. Sharp images. Excellent EVF. Hot shoe and mic input. Raw support.
  • Cons Expensive. Rear LCD could be sharper. Not the longest zoom in class. No GPS.
  • Bottom Line The 24x Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 doesn't have the most ambitious zoom ratio, but a sharp f/2.8 aperture lens and speedy performance make up for it.
  • Price : $599.99

Ref: http://www.pcmag.com/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369450,00.asp?obref=obnetwork

Tips to Buy a New DSLR Camera

Before you buy a new DSLR camera there are plenty of reasons to consider a D-SLR. These advanced shooters feature larger image sensors, superior optics, robust manual controls, faster performance, and the versatility of changeable lenses.
camera store

All this added functionality doesn't come cheap, though, as the cost of a D-SLR can add up, especially when you start buying lenses. And the cameras are understandably larger and heavier than their compact and mirrorless interchangeable lens counterparts. You also need to remember that you're buying into a camera system.
Tips to Buy a New DSLR Camera

If your first D-SLR is a Canon, chances are that your next one will be as well, simply for the fact that you'll be able to make use of existing lenses and accessories. Here are the most important aspects to consider when you're shopping for a digital SLR:

Understanding Sensor Size
Most consumer D-SLRs use image sensors that, while much larger than those found in point-and-shoot cameras, are somewhat smaller than a 35mm film frame. This can be a bit confusing when talking about a camera's field of view, as focal lengths for compacts are often expressed in terms of 35mm equivalency. The standard APS-C sensor features a "crop factor" of 1.5x. This means that the 18-55mm kit lens that is bundled with most D-SLRs covers a 35mm field of view equivalent to 27-82.5mm. If you're upgrading from a point-and-shoot that has a 3x zoom lens that starts at about 28mm, the D-SLR kit lens will deliver approximately the same field of view.

There are many inherent advantages to a larger sensor. It allows you to better control the depth of field in images, making it possible to isolate your subject and create a blurred background. This blur is often referred to by the Japanese term bokeh. Much has been written about the quality of the bokeh created by different lenses, but the general rule of thumb is that the more light a lens can capture—measured numerically as its aperture, or f-number—the blurrier the background can be. A lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 lets in eight times as much light as one of f/4, and can create a shallower depth of field at an equivalent focal length and shooting distance.

Another reason to go for the big sensor is to minimize image noise. A 14-megapixel D-SLR has much larger pixels than a point-and-shoot of the same resolution. These larger pixels allow the sensor to be set at a higher sensitivity, measured numerically as ISO, without creating as much image noise. Another advantage to the larger surface area is that changes in color or brightness are more gradual than that of a point-and-shoot. This allows more natural-looking images with a greater sense of depth.
Some higher-end D-SLRs, like the Canon EOS 6D feature sensors that are equal in size to 35mm film. These full frame cameras are much more expensive than their APS-C counterparts. If you do see yourself moving up to a full frame camera in the future, be careful in buying lenses. Some lenses are designed to be used with APS-C sensors. Canon refers to its APS-C lens line as EF-S, while lenses that cover full frame are EF. Nikon takes a similar approach, calling APS-C lenses DX and full frame lenses FX. Sony, the only other manufacturer that currently offers a full frame D-SLR camera, adds a DT designation to its APS-C-only lenses.

Choose a Camera That Feels Right
It's very important to choose a camera that feels comfortable in your hands. While most D-SLRs are similar in size and build, the styling of the handgrip, position of controls, and other ergonomic features can differ drastically. The camera you choose should be one that you are most comfortable using. If a D-SLR is too big or small for you to hold comfortably, or if the controls are not laid out in a way that makes sense to you, chances are you won't enjoy shooting as much as you should.

Get the Best Viewfinder
By definition, a D-SLR features an optical viewfinder that shows you the exact image that the camera's lens is capturing—but not all of these viewfinders are created equal. A mirror directs light from the lens to the viewfinder, which is one of two types. The first, the pentamirror, is generally found on entry-level cameras like the Canon EOS Rebel T3i and Nikon D5200. This type of viewfinder uses three mirrors to redirect the image to your eye, flipping it so that it appears correct, as opposed to the upside down and backwards image that the lens is actually capturing.

The second type of optical viewfinder is the pentaprism. This is a solid glass prism that does the same job as the pentamirror. A pentaprism is generally heavier and brighter than a pentamirror. The extra brightness makes it easier to frame images and to confirm that your photo is in focus. Pentaprisms usually start appearing in mid-range D-SLRs, like the Canon EOS 60D, and are standard issue on pro bodies like the Nikon D4. The Pentax K-30 is the lone entry-level model on the market to feature a pentaprism with 100 percent coverage; that affordable camera also boasts full weather-sealing for use on rainy or snowy days.

You should also pay attention to magnification and coverage numbers for pentaprism finders, as they give you an idea of the actual size of the finder and how much of the captured image can be seen. In both cases you'll want to look for a higher number.

Another Option: The EVF
A few cameras on the market offer a third viewfinder option—an electronic viewfinder. Sony cameras that feature fixed, translucent mirrors, like the Alpha 77, are referred to as SLTs. Rather than redirecting light to your eye, the semi-transparent mirror in these cameras redirects it to an autofocus sensor. If you aren't set on an optical finder, these cameras are worth considering. Even Sony's flagship full-frame Alpha 99 uses an OLED EVF, eschewing the glass pentaprism found in other full-frame SLRs.


Continuous Shooting and Autofocus Speed
D-SLRs have another big advantage over point-and-shoots—speed. The time that it takes between hitting the shutter button and the camera capturing a picture, referred to as shutter lag, and the wait time between taking photos—recycle time—are often concerns with compact cameras. D-SLRs generally focus very quickly and deliver shutter lag that is nearly immeasurable.
Continuous shooting is measured in frames per second. At minimum, you should look for a camera that can shoot 3 frames per second, although sports and nature shooters will want to look for a camera that can shoot faster than 5 frames per second. Of course, the autofocus system has to be able to keep up with the frame rate. Basic D-SLRs like the Nikon D3200 often only have a few autofocus points, which can slow performance. Continuous shooting and autofocus performance go hand-in-hand, so it is important to look for a camera that does both well.'

Live View and HD Video
Video recording, which was unheard of for D-SLRs prior to the release of the Nikon D90 three years ago, is now a standard feature. When shopping for a D-SLR, look for one that continues to autofocus while recording. You should also check its autofocus speed when taking photos using live view, as that can often be very slow. A microphone input jack is important if you plan on using the video function often—an external mic will capture much better sound than the camera's built-in microphone.

Be Realistic about Lenses and Accessories
Most first-time D-SLR users aren't going to purchase a whole bevy of lenses, but there are a few to consider to supplement the kit lens that ships with the camera. The first is a telezoom to complement the standard 18-55mm lens. There is usually a matching zoom, starting at 55mm and ranging up to 200mm or 300mm, that will help you get tighter shots of distant action. Plan on budgeting $200-300 for this lens.

Another popular lens choice is a fast, normal-angle prime lens. Before zooms were popular, film SLRs were often bundled with a 50mm f/2 lens. Because of the smaller sensor in consumer D-SLRs, a 35mm f/2 is the current equivalent. The normal-angle gives you a field of view that is not far off from that of your eye, and the fast aperture makes it possible to shoot in lower light, and to isolate your subject by blurring the background of your photos. Prices for these lenses vary a bit depending on your camera system, but expect it to run you between $175 and $350.

Even though consumer D-SLRs have built-in flashes as a rule, many photographers opt to use a more powerful external flash. These flashes emit more light and can often be repositioned so that you can use reflected light to illuminate a subject. Bouncing flash off of a ceiling to brighten a room is possible with a dedicated flash unit, but not with the ubiquitous D-SLR pop-up flash. Depending on your needs for power, recycle time, and movement, dedicated flash units can cost anywhere from $150 to $500.

Is a D-SLR Too Big?
Want speed and top-notch images, but don't want to haul a heavy D-SLR? You may also want to consider a Compact Interchangeable Lens (CILC) camera, like our Editors' Choice Samsung NX300. That camera packs the same APS-C sensor found in a D-SLR into a more compact package, but it lacks an optical or electronic viewfinder—you'll need to use the rear LCD to frame photos. This newer class of cameras, which launched by Olympus and Panasonic with the Micro Four Thirds standard, relies on live view rather than optical viewfinders. This makes it possible to pack larger sensors into smaller bodies, giving you many of the image quality advantages of a D-SLR without the added bulk.

You'll want to pay attention to sensor size, as they vary between formats—Micro Four Thirds cameras and the Nikon 1 system feature sensors that are smaller than those in a D-SLR, and the tiny Pentax Q10 uses a point-and-shoot-sized image sensor, but adds the benefit of interchangeable lenses. You won't save a ton of money on a CILC, as current models are priced between $500 and $900. But if you're willing to skip the traditional optical viewfinder, a mirrorless camera might strike the perfect balance between point-and-shoot and digital SLR.

If you do opt for a D-SLR, following our guidelines will help you to choose the camera and lens system that fits your needs and your budget. Just be sure to take time and research your purchase, and go to the store and pick up a couple of cameras to see which feels best. Finally, check out The Top 7 Best DSLR Cameras

Ref : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2348992,00.asp

Top 7 Best Entry-Level DSLRs Camera

The following are table of top 7 best entry level dslr camera, we've tested the current beginner-friendly models to help you choose the right one. see table below and also you can read more the information about it under the table
Top 7 Best Entry-Level DSLRs
Click to Enlarge

Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon EOS Rebel T2i

  • Pros : Top-notch images. 18-MP resolution. Low noise levels through ISO 3200. Largest and sharpest LCD available on a D-SLR. Multiple HD video-capture modes. Manual exposure control available during video capture. Compatible with SDXC memory cards. HDMI-CEC support.
  • Cons : Video recording is not as intuitive as with a dedicated camcorder. Frames-per-second capture is slower than the competition.
  • Bottom Line : The Canon EOS Rebel T2i pumps out beautiful pictures and boasts full-featured 1080p video recording options that were previously only available with D-SLRs twice its price.
  • Price : $899.99

Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

  • Pros : Superb still image and video quality. Excellent low-light shooting capability. Sharp, articulating LCD. Continuous autofocus during Live View shooting. Lots of useful in-camera effects.
  • Cons : Continuous autofocus in Live View is slow. Some lens noise when autofocusing in video mode. No 720p60 video recording.
  • Bottom Line : The Nikon D5100 offers a fantastic mix of still-image and video-recording quality, along with plenty of features including top-notch in-camera effects. This well-rounded shooter is an easy Editors' Choice for under-$1,000 D-SLRs.
  • Price : $899.95

Canon EOS Rebel T4i

Canon EOS Rebel T4i

  • Pros : Fast to start and shoot. Sharp, articulated touch-screen LCD. Compact. Nearly silent video autofocus when used with STM lenses. 5fps shooting. Good image detail at high ISOs. Fast autofocus.
  • Cons : Tiny viewfinder. Very limited burst shooting in Raw mode. Video autofocus is choppy with non-STM lenses.
  • Bottom Line The Canon EOS Rebel T4i delivers top speed along with excellent image quality, and supports smooth video autofocus when paired with the right lens. It's a laudable performer, but doesn't quite edge out the Nikon D5100 as our top pick for under-$1,000 D-SLR.
  • Price : $849.00

Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

  • Pros : Inexpensive. Great image quality. Large 3-inch LCD. Continuous autofocus during still and video shooting. Helpful Guide mode for new users. Small body (for a D-SLR).
  • Cons : Audible noise from lens when refocusing during video recording. No microphone input.
  • Bottom Line : Nikon's D3100 is an excellent entry-level digital SLR, and offers continuous autofocus during video recording for a true camcorder-like video-capture experience.
  • Price : $699.95

Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

  • Pros : Compact. Good quality at high ISOs. Guide Mode for beginners. Continuous video autofocus. Mic input.
  • Cons : Small pentamirror viewfinder. Fixed LCD. Kit lens could be better.
  • Bottom Line : The Nikon D3200 is a very capable and compact digital SLR. Its Guide Mode is perfect for beginners, and the camera offers enough manual controls to satisfy more advanced photographers.
  • Price : $699.95

Pentax K-30

Pentax K-30

  • Pros : Large pentaprism viewfinder. Weather-sealed body. 5.2fps burst shooting. Excellent control layout. Very customizable. Sharp kit lens. In-body shake reduction. Very good high ISO performance.
  • Cons : Fixed rear LCD. No mic input. Slow to focus when recording video. Standard kit lens is not weather sealed.
  • Bottom Line : The Pentax K-30 is weather sealed D-SLR with a large pentaprism viewfinder. It shoots at 5.2 frames per second, does well in low light, and ships with a sharp kit lens.
  • Price : $899.95

Sony Alpha 65 (SLT-A65VK)

Sony Alpha 65 (SLT-A65VK)</
  • Pros : Shoots at 9 frames per second. High resolution. Fast autofocus. Excellent OLED EVF. Built-in GPS.
  • Cons : No optical finder. Low-quality kit lens. Performance suffers with slower memory cards.
  • Bottom Line : The 24-megapixel Sony Alpha 65 is capable of shooting at a blazing fast 9 frames per second, but is held back by a kit lens that simply can't match the quality of the high-resolution image sensor.
  • Price : $999.99
That's all Top 7 Best Entry-Level DSLRs Camera, hopefully this article can help you when buying dslr camera!

9 Tips How to Taking Shot for Beginners Photographers

More people are taking more photos than ever before, and they're sharing them online with friends and family in record numbers. It's easy to place the blame on the camera if your images aren't as nice as some others you see online, but by following a few guidelines you can improve the quality of your photos—without having to shell out big bucks for a new camera.
How to Taking Shot for Beginners Photographers

Keep these 10 easy tips in mind next time you head out to capture the world around you. And if you have any tips that have helped you take better pictures, please share them in the comments section.

1. Choose the Right Mode.
Your camera is likely to have scores of shooting modes, ranging from fully automatic operation to very specific scene modes. If you're shooting fast action you can put the camera into Shutter Priority ("S") mode and increase the speed at which a photo is taken—setting it to 1/125 second or faster will help to freeze action. In lower light you can use Aperture Priority ("A") mode to make sure as much light is entering the lens as possible, or if you're shooting landscapes on a tripod you can close the lens's iris to increase depth of field, keeping everything in sharp focus from the foreground to the horizon. If you're a D-SLR shooter, you're more likely to use the A or S modes, while point-and-shoot cameras will often feature more specific modes that cater to activities like sports, low-light use, or landscape shooting.

2. Adjust Exposure Compensation.
As long as you aren't shooting in full manual mode, your digital camera is making decisions that determine the exposure of a photo—in English, how light or dark the shot appears. Generally speaking, a camera looks at a scene and tries to determine the appropriate exposure based on the correct lighting of an 18-percent gray card, which is why there are special scene modes for snow—without them, the camera would try to make the white snow gray.
If a photo is too light or dark you can either delve through the dozens of scene modes that are available in modern point-and-shoot cameras, or simply dial in a bit of exposure compensation. Many cameras have a physical button for this, identified by a +/- symbol. If your photo is too dark, move the scale up above zero; if too light, move it down a bit.

3. Get Basic Composition Down.
The heart of a photograph is its composition—the position of different elements in a frame. The easiest rule of thumb to learn and remember is the Rule of Thirds. Basically, you'll want to break your frame into nine squares of roughly equal size. Try and align the subject of your photo along these lines and intersections and imagine the main image divided over these nine boxes. This gives you a more dramatic, visually interesting shot than one where you subject is located dead center. Many newer cameras have a rule of thirds grid overlay that you can activate when shooting.

4. Watch Your White Balance.
Your camera will try and set white balance automatically based on the type of light in which's you're shooting. Different light casts different types of color—sunlight is very blue, tungsten lighting is yellow, and fluorescent is a bit green. In many cases, the camera will automatically detect what type of lighting you're under and adjust the color in photos so that they look natural. If you're shooting under mixed lighting, or if the camera is just having a hard time figuring things out, you can set the white balance manually. On most point and shoots you'll have to dive into the shooting menu to adjust this, but many D-SLRs have a dedicated White Balance button, often labeled "WB." You can correct color in iPhoto or Picasa later on, but you'll get better-looking photos if you get the white balance right in the first place.

5. Think About Lighting.
Pay attention to how much light you have and where it's coming from when taking your photos. If you're shooting outdoors, be careful not to take photos of a person when the sun is at their back. If you're grabbing a photo in front of a monument or landmark and don't have the flexibility to adjust your position you can use the camera's flash to fill in shadows. You may have to manually activate the flash, as there's a good chance that the camera will think that it's unnecessary on a bright day.

6. Use Your Flash Wisely.
Many a photo has been foiled by a flash firing too close to a subject. If your friends and family look like Casper the Friendly Ghost when you photograph them, chances are that you're too close when snapping your photos. If you need to activate the flash, back up a bit and zoom in to get the proper framing. If things are still to bright—or too dark—check and see if flash compensation is an option. Many cameras allow you to adjust the power of the flash, which can help to add better balance to your flash-assisted photos. Adding just a little bit of light makes it possible to fill in shadows, resulting in a more natural-looking photo.

7. Add a Flash Diffuser.
If dialing down flash power isn't an option, you can also add a diffuser to help spread the light out. Smaller flashes aren't able spread light across a large surface area, giving your subjects a deer-in-the-headlights look. Point-and-shoot users can tape a bit of wax paper over the flash to soften its output. D-SLR users are best served by using an empty 35mm film canister—the milky variety used by Kodak—with a bit cut out so that it fits snugly over the flash. Photojojo has a tutorial that will walk you through the steps. If you don't have any film canisters lying around, try asking at your local drug store or department store minilab—they're bound to have dozens sitting in a drawer, and will gladly part with one. If making your own diffuser doesn't sound like your cup of tea, consider the Gary Fong Puffer, a $22 accessory that will look a bit more professional when mounted on your camera.

8. Be Selective.
It's easy to take hundreds of photos in a few hours when shooting digitally. But don't just dump your memory card and upload all of the images to Facebook. You should spend some time going through your photos so you can eliminate redundant shots and discard photos that may be out of focus or poorly composed. It's better to post a few dozen great photos by themselves rather than the same good photos hiding among hundreds of not-so-good ones.

9. Use a Tripod or Monopod.
Sometimes, the best way to get your shot perfect is to take some extra time. Using a tripod will allow you to set up framing, and can come in handy—along with your camera's self-timer—for getting that shot of you and the kids in front of Mount Rushmore. You can get away with an inexpensive tripod if you're a point-and-shoot user, although spending a bit more on a brand like Manfrotto or Gitzo will result in much less frustration than with the bargain brands that you'll find at the local five and dime. D-SLR users should definitely put care into selecting a tripod, as a set of legs and a head that are sturdy enough to hold the camera are paramount.
If you're more of a run-and-gun shooter, a monopod—which is just like it sounds, a tripod with two of its legs missing—will help you stabilize your shots. Great for use at zoos and sporting events, a monopod is supplemented by your two legs in order to add stability to your camera—without the sometimes-cumbersome setup and breakdown required with a good tripod.
See you on the next tips!

What Is the White Balance Setting on Digital Camera ? Complete Article

White Balance Introduction

If you have a digital camera, of course you will see of the white balance.
Have you ever taken a picture of a beautiful winter scene and been disappointed to discover the crisp, white snow came out with a bluish tint?  This is the kind of situation your digital camera’s white balance is meant to prevent.
White Balance is an aspect of photography that many digital camera owners don’t understand or use,  but it’s something well worth learning about as it can have a real impact upon the shots you take.

The white balance is a sensor that analyzes the lighting conditions and colors of a scene and adjusts so the white in the picture appears white.  This helps insure the other colors appear as natural as possible. This is one advantage digital photography has over tradition film.  With film, you buy with a certain lighting condition in mind.  If that changes, you need to either change your film or hope you can fix any errors in post-production.
Your camera’s white balance control helps you to make sure that things that are supposed to be white actually look white in your final image. Different sources of light create different colour ‘casts’ – for instance, candlelight creates an orange glow, whereas twilight can give everything a cool, blue hue.
white balance on digital camera


Most digital cameras allow you to use either automatic white balance or choose between several preset conditions such as full sun, cloudy day and so forth.  Automatic white balance will work in most conditions.  There may be times, however when you want to “warm” up a picture to enhance the color, such as for portraits or sunsets.  The best way to do this is  set your camera’s white balance to “cloudy”.  This will deepen the colors and add a glowing quality to portraits.  It will take a beautiful sunset and enhance it to the point of incredible. 

Practice taking the same photo with different white balance settings to get a feel for the changes each setting evokes. Keep notes until you have a good idea of what each setting does.  In time, you will come to automatically sense which setting is best for your particular situation. 

7 Preset White Balance Settings

Here are some of the basic White Balance settings you’ll find on cameras:
  • Auto – this is where the camera makes a best guess on a shot by shot basis. You’ll find it works in many situations but it’s worth venturing out of it for trickier lighting.
  • Tungsten – this mode is usually symbolized with a little bulb and is for shooting indoors, especially under tungsten (incandescent) lighting (such as bulb lighting). It generally cools down the colors in photos.
  • Fluorescent – this compensates for the ‘cool’ light of fluorescent light and will warm up your shots.
  • Daylight/Sunny – not all cameras have this setting because it sets things as fairly ‘normal’ white balance settings.
  • Cloudy – this setting generally warms things up a touch more than ‘daylight’ mode.
  • Flash – the flash of a camera can be quite a cool light so in Flash WB mode you’ll find it warms up your shots a touch.
  • Shade – the light in shade is generally cooler (bluer) than shooting in direct sunlight so this mode will warm things up a little.
white balance picture result

white balance setting of color temperature and light source

White Balance Manual Adjustments

Some digital cameras (most DSLRs and higher end point and shoots) allow for manual white balance adjustments also.
The way this is used varies a little between models but in essence what you do is to tell your camera what white looks like in a shot so that it has something as a reference point for deciding how other colors should look. You can do this by buying yourself a white (or grey) card which is specifically designed for this task – or you can find some other appropriately colored object around you to do the job.

Manual adjustment is not difficult to do once you find where to do it in the menu on your camera and it’s well worth learning how to do it.
With White Balance Features You will no longer have to worry about faded sunsets or blue snow.  White balance is a small setting that can make big changes in your finished photos