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The White Paper
The White Paper is designed to answer many of the questions you have about Sony's terrific digital cameras,
the DSC-H1, H2, H5 and digital photography in general. If it works as intended, it will help you optimize your
experience with the camera and improve the pictures you produce with it.
Sony's H-Series cameras represent one of the great values
in photography today. Powerful and versatile over their remarkable range - from extreme macro to super-telephoto
- all of them produce high-quality images that once were the sole province of expensive professional cameras.
They're also easy to use, once you get the basics down.
There's just no reason why you can't produce beautiful, professional-looking shots with any of these cameras. The White Paper
is designed to help get you there.
The White Paper started out as a collection of responses I'd posted to questions on DPReview's Sony Talk
Forum. It has somehow evolved into something
much bigger, more like an online mini-book. Something that has absorbed much more of my time and resources than
I'd planned.
I've posted The
White Paper free of charge in the belief that it
should be available to any and all who need it. However, the requirements of hosting and updating The White Paper
have grown as The White Paper has, resulting in updates and additions that come out only when I have the
occasional free moment in my "day job" as a professional photographer.
So, at the suggestion of a number of The White Paper's
readers, I invite you to donate to the cause. If you find The
White Paper valuable, if it improves your photo
experience, if it helps you take better pictures, please click on the PayPal "Donate" button below and
help fund the continuation of The White Paper.
This is entirely voluntary. If you wish to help, great! If you don't or can't, that's just fine too. Please enjoy
the material and get what you can from The White
Paper.
If
you have a question, comment, correction, suggestion or contribution, I ask that you take it to DPReview's Sony Talk Forum
so that your questions, my answers (if I can answer!) and the contributions of the generous
folk on STF can be shared with all the other H-Series
owners. Above all, I hope that this White Paper encourages further discussion and contributions
to our knowledgebase, so please post regularly there!
You may wish to view some of the H-Series galleries on
my Web site. All the pictures with the "DSC0" prefix were taken with
the H1 or the H5.
And if you need to lighten up your day, click here to visit the H1 Duck Paper. A humorous take on the H-Series and H-Series photographers' penchant for duck pictures,
it's a parody of this White Paper. Just for fun.
Disclaimer
Let me start out with the following disclaimer: I am not an expert at camera technology, optics or digital imaging
theory. I am just a photographer with a passion for Sony's amazing H-Series cameras and about 40,000 pictures under
my belt with them as of January, 2007.
Also, let me credit the many people on DPReview who shared their knowledge and experience with me as I wrestled
(and still do) with getting the most out of my H-series cameras.
Any errors in these pages are mine, and mine alone.
I make no pretense to expressing anything but my own prejudices and biases. And, to the degree that they help you
get better pictures out of an H-Series camera, I am thrilled. But please don't accept what I write here as gospel.
Rules (especially in photography) are meant to be broken. So I encourage you to experiment, push your own boundaries
and let your own esthetics be your guide. In my humble opinion, the best way to learn how to take great photographs
is to take lots and lots of really bad ones!
The H1, H2 and H5
The H1 was a revelation to me. I've been shooting exclusively digital for about ten years. My first digital camera
was a Casio with a resolution of 320/240. That's .075 megapixels! We've come a long way. I believe in digital photography.
I love the immediate gratification. I love the freedom to shoot and reshoot without penalty or expense.
I have owned many digital cams including every single one of the Sony F-series, from the F505 to the F828, and
also own the Nikon D200 DSLR with a growing collection of lenses (sigh).
I came across the H1 (new at the time) while looking for a backup camera - a "toy" camera in case my
main camera went in for service. I was looking for a "loaner cam" that my friends could use when they
accompanied me on photo shoots.
I took my first shots. They looked pretty good on the H1's huge LCD, but hardly overwhelming. I went home and downloaded
to the computer. That's when the H1 blew me away - the shots were not just pretty good, they were awesome!
The engineering in this camera is superb. Brilliant layout, options, image stabilization, the huge zoom and, most
importantly, the exquisite tone curve they built into the H-Series that delivers such lush, saturated and realistic
midtones!
This camera took superb pictures.
In 2006, Sony extended the H-Series family with the DSC-H2
and the DSC-H5. I've used the H2, and own the H5.
As good as the H1 was, I find the H2 and H5 even better.
More megapixels and an astounding increase in image quality at higher ISOs. I use ISO 400 all the time, and ISO
800 when I get in trouble. The H1 was, generally, one-stop less effective, producing good ISO 200 and occasionally
acceptable ISO 400. What a relief to be able to take lower-light or higher-shutter-speed photos without compromise!
The flash in the two newer cameras is dramatically improved.
Much more responsive to the lighting situation, with much better control, that alone was sufficient reason to upgrade.
And Manual Focus Peaking is a unique approach to solving the electronic viewfinder manual focus problem.
Even the newer H-Series cameras are not without their shortcomings. A hot shoe would be a major improvement as
would an accessory port. All in all, though, I've found the H-Series to be the most productive and fun cameras
I've ever held in my hands.
Most importantly, they have caused me to significantly
improve both my photography skills and my photos.
I hope they (and The White Paper) have the same effect on you. -------- AAK
Table of Contents
If you're new to the H-Series and want some quick
help setting up the camera and getting started, you might want to click here for my
"Quick List".
Chapter 1 Autofocus Settings and Techniques
Chapter 2 Image Stabilization
Chapter 3 Exposure
Chapter 4 Aperture Vs. Shutter Speed
Chapter 5 Metering Modes
Chapter 6 Setting Exposure
Chapter 7 Contrast, Sharpness and Quality
Chapter 8 Esthetics: Zoom, POV, Depth of Field
and Bokeh
Chapter 9 Extending Your Reach: Add-on Lenses
Chapter 10 Extending Your Reach: Wide Angle
Chapter 11 Extending Your Reach: Telephoto
Chapter 12 Extending Your Reach: Close Up (Macro)
Chapter 13 Extending Your Reach: Close Up/Macro Lens Reference Guide
Chapter 14 Introduction
to Post-Processing (Coming Soon!)
Chapter 15 Quick List: My Recommended Settings
Chapter 16 Better
Flash Photography With Your H-Series Camera NEW!!
Chapter 18 Diffraction.
What Is It And Does It Matter? NEW!!
Copyright 2005-2007 Alan Arthur Katz
- All rights reserved
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