Digital Camera In Action

The LCD screen is the tiny TV-like screen at the back of the camera. Use it to adjust the way your camera behaves subject to what you are photographing. The LCD screen will show what you are about to shoot and you can make any changes to the camera modes before shooting.

Sounds like paradise, does it not? Well, there may be problems even in paradise. We mentioned the LCD is like a mini TV screen… have you tried to watch television when the sun is shining bright and strong through the window? It is very difficult and it is equally difficult to view what is on the LCD screen under bright sunshine. If you are a wholly outdoors photographer, you may have to buy one of these protective hoods to prevent this problem.

Other way to prevent the difficulty bright light poses is an adjustable LCD. Some models come with adjustable LCDs that you can tilt and turn until you are comfortable with how you see the screen. Adjustable LCDs are good when you are trying to take a picture from a high or low angle: then you can view your subject through the LCD screen without the need to become a contortionist to do so.

Another consideration about using the LCD screen is that it will exhaust your batteries fast. Preserving battery power is the reason why many cameras turn themselves off if there is no activity.

Apart from pre-viewing your shots, the LCD screen will let you see the pictures you have taken. You can scan through all the shots and decide if you want to delete any of them. Many cameras offer a thumbnail feature and you will be able to see several images, reduced in size, at the same time. You can compare pictures easily.

If you have a compact digital camera, be warned that the LCD screen many not show everything the lens will capture because you are not looking directly through the lens. The more expensive DSLR cameras will let you look directly through the lens, unhappily, you may not be able to preview your shots on the LCD screen, only post-view them.

Shooting video

The LCD is invaluable when shooting video and that is a thing virtually every modern digital camera can do. Probably you will not be shooting video all the time – if you are interested in making movies, get a video camera – but it is a nice option to have and, sometimes, capturing a stand on a single frame is not enough.

You can view any video you shoot through the LCD screen – you can download to your computer and watch on a proper screen or through your TV screen too, as you would do with your pictures. The screen must update very fast or the video looks choppy, like a film from the 1920s.

Check how many frames per second your camera can capture – the more frames per second, the smoother the film. Most digital cameras can capture 30 frames per second when shooting video – and this is more than many TV programs.

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