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Modern dSLRs are technological wonders. They are crammed with components, sensors, LCDs and advanced circuitry. They do everything but talk — and a few are working on that.

Despite all this technical wizardry, the average dSLR is fairly dumb. It can’t think. It knows nothing about art, composition or lighting effects. It doesn’t care if you are photographing a beautiful sunset or the local garbage dump. It doesn’t see the difference and wouldn’t care if it did.

Yet, far too many dSLR owners allow this non-thinking, non-appreciative hunk of electronics to rule over their photographic endeavors. “The camera knows best,” is their motto and the more automatic controlled features their cameras have the better the like it.

True photographers know better. They can appreciate the wonderful features camera designers have incorporated into their hardware, but they remain the master of the thing. They aren’t afraid to use manual modes, and more importantly, they know when they should. They are smarter than their camera and their work shows it.

Under perfect conditions — bright, overcast day with no shadows and lots of reflected diffuse light — any camera can capture wonderful images. The problem is those perfect conditions don’t come along very often and they don’t exist indoors. Or in a shady forest. Or at night. Or…well you get the idea. Most of the time, you and your camera have to work together to get the best images. You have to be a team –and in any team there has to be a leader. You have to step up, overrule your camera and force it to capture the images you want.

The more I use my digital cameras, the more I find myself reverting to some sort of manual control. That doesn’t mean I never shoot in a fully automatic mode — it’s just that more and more often I find that my knowledge and experience lets me make better decisions than my camera. Sometimes I’m wrong and the camera actually knows best. Much of the time, however, my images show a marked improvement when I take control.

How do you develop this knowledge? It can start gradually, by occasionally experimenting with manual settings. If you always shoot fully automatic, in the program mode, try a few of these suggestions next time you are shooting.

Turn off auto focus.

Auto focus is useful and can be a lifesaver many situations. However, if you always let your dSLR select the focus you may be missing out on some great images. You might prefer part of your subject be out of focus. Its an artistic decision and your camera can’t make that decision for you. In addition, no matter how fast camera makers make their AF systems, pre-focusing will always be faster. So try using manual focus when it is appropriate.

Switch out of the program mode

I am finding less and less use for the program mode when I shoot. Since I understand what type of image I am trying to capture and the camera can’t read my mind — I find I am far better at selecting the best combination of aperture and shutter speed to get what I want. Camera makers have gone to great lengths to add program modes like sports, night, portraiture and the like. The idea is you can set your camera to the appropriate mode and forget about it. Sometimes this works, but I find I get better results when I determine the optimal settings. lately, I have been shooting almost exclusively in aperture priority. I set the F-Stop and the camera selects an appropriate shutter speed. Occasionally I will use shutter priority — especially if the light is shifty and I want to make sure I don’t fall below a certain speed. Sometimes I will use full manual — when I want to ignore the camera’s meter in order to get exactly the shot I have in mind.

Of course you don’t have to use any single mode for an entire shoot — many times I will find myself shifting between all four modes during a busy session. The thing is, you have to learn which modes work best for which situations. So next time you are out, switch out of program mode for at least part of the time. Once you learn how to make decisions your dSLR could never make on it’s own, you may find the program setting will become your least used mode.

Play around with exposure compensation

Most dSLRs offer some form of exposure adjustment, which will allow you to override the actual meter reading by a set number of stops. Much of the time, the default setting will be very close, but if you are attempting a special effect or the light is tricky, exposure compensation can be your best friend. Learn how to use it to your advantage.

Experiment with contrast

If your camera offers contrast adjustment, learn how this can improve your images in varying lighting conditions. If you are shooting outdoors at noon on a bright, cloudless day, normal contrast may make your images appear awful. See if toning down the contrast will soften the shadows and eliminate hot spots. If the light is weak and dull, can you improve the image by cranking in some additional contrast?

Vary your flash settings

It’s true. camera makers have created some wonderfully intelligent flash units. Even the built in flashes can produce stunning results under the right conditions. But there are plenty of times when the flash should be overruled. Start with flash compensation. Try more or less compensation to see how the light changes. Experiment with different shutter speeds to see how that affects the background. If you have a separate flash unit, get a cord and try shooting with the flash off the camera. Experiment, You’ll get some duds, but you will also get some wonderful images. And you will never allow your camera to dictate how your flash should be used in the future.

I urge you to try all of these techniques when you get the chance. You might not use every one every time, but make it a point to try at least one of these each time you head out with your dSLR. If you do, and you ware willing to learn from your successes and your failures, you will quickly se your photographic IQ surpassing your cameras. When you are smarter than your camera, you will be well on the way to capturing some outstanding images.

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Tom Bonner
Alphatrtacks

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Sony has released another firmware update for the Sony Alpha A700, which will update the camera’s firmware to Version 3.

Sony says the new firmware will fix several issues with the A700. Sony discovered that occasionally an Alpha A700 SLR would stop responding with the Access lamp lit after capturing several images in quick succession. It was also discovered that turning the A700 off in the “MR” mode could cause some settings to carry over to other modes.

The new firmware resolves both of these issues, as well as

• Sharper images for pictures taken under low contrast conditions
• Reduced noise for pictures taken at ISO 3200
• Improved flash control for objects closer than 1 meter with non ADI controlled lenses

Sony suggests all Alpha A700 camera owners upgrade their camera if the firmware version is less than 3.

The serial numbers of the applicable A700 dSLR models follows:

• DSLR-A700 (body) with serial numbers 0500001 - 0508500
• DSLR-A700P (body bundled with 16-105 lens) with serial numbers 800001 - 800200
• DSLR-A700K (body bundled with 18-70 lens) with serial numbers 1100001 - 1105600

Unfortunately, Mac and Linux users need not apply. The upgrade utility is supplied as a Windows .EXE file, so you will need a Windows box (or an Intel Mac running Bootcamp) to prepare the upgrade.

I’m rather disappointed in this, as it appears the only thing the EXE file does is extract the upgrade application. I could be wrong, possibly it needs some system resources. But it seems you run the EXE file and it extracts a file called DSCA700.APP, which you then copy to a Memory Card. The actual upgrade occurs when you insert the Memory Card into the camera and follow a sequence of steps to upgrade the camera from the card. (There is also a provision to upgrade through a USB cable if you simply can’t afford a $7.99 card reader to upgrade your $1500 camera.)

Since the camera doesn’t need to be connected to a computer during the upgrade, I don’t understand why Sony needed to use an EXE file for this — couldn’t they simply have used WinZip or something similar? That way any computer capable of unzipping the file (which would include Mac and Linux boxes) could transfer the application to a Compact Flash card or Memory Stick and proceed to upgrade their camera. As long as you can extract DSCA700.APP, you’re in business. Why select an extraction model that will only run under Windows?

Hopefully, Sony will realize that a large number of professional photographers use a strictly Mac workflow. They aren’t going to be happy if they are forced to scrounge up a Windows machine every time they have to upgrade their camera’s firmware. Just put all the resources in the upgrade app, zip it up and provide it to the users.

You can find the Alpha A700 version 3 update at the Sony support site.

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Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

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Has anyone ever tried to prevent you from taking photographs in a public place? I’ve read about other photographers who have been harassed while they were capturing images even though they had every right to do so. For the last thirty years, I could say that no one had ever interfered with my photographic endeavors. After last week, that is no longer the case.

I had been asked to photograph a corporate Christmas event in Charlotte, NC. That went off without a hitch. It was a fun, festive event, but I was tired and hungry by the end of the day. I wanted to go home, eat something an relax before I started post processing my RAW images.

As I walked across the courtyard to reach my truck, I just couldn’t resist hauling out the camera to shoot the Christmas lights. The place was wonderfully decorated, and even as tired as I felt, I noticed a number of interesting photo opportunities.

Assault on freedom — the first guard

After about ten minutes, however, a uniformed security woman appeared.

“Sir, you cannot take pictures in this area.”

I was rather surprised — the property owners had gone to great expense to decorate the area with thousands of lights, a 80 foot artificial tree and dozens of lighted topiary plants that looked like dancing bears. Yet they didn’t want to allow photographs of the scene? So much for the “joy of the season” thing.

I wasn’t completely sure that they actually had the right to prevent me from taking photos in a public courtyard where the public is invited to visit shops and a food establishments. Still, I was on their premises, so I meekly packed up my camera and left.

About a 150 feet away, however, I found myself standing on a sidewalk. A public sidewalk, paid in part by taxpayer dollars. Out came the camera again. It was not as convenient as shooting from inside the courtyard, but I was able to capture some nice holiday light images.

“Sir, you cannot take pictures in this area.”

Security guards: two — Freedom: Zero

A different security guard, standing within the courtyard, started yelling at me.

I ignored her.

“SIR YOU CANNOT TAKE PICTURES HERE!”

Sigh. I don’t know which bothered me more; the fact this woman was haranguing me or that a security guard working in the United States of America actually thought she had the right to prevent me from taking photos of a lighted building while standing on a public sidewalk.

I am not a lawyer, but I have been taught through the years that in the USA, a photographer has the right to photograph nearly anything while in a public place. The only exceptions are certain military and nuclear facilities. Otherwise, no one has the right to prevent you from photographing while in public.

The problem is that the security guards I ran into probably never read any of this material. They had obviously been instructed that photographs were not allowed, and were zealously attempting to carry out their duties, failing to realize that they had no right to prevent me from photographing anything I could see while standing on that sidewalk. In fact, strictly speaking, they were breaking the law.

There rather large gray area when it comes to a photographer’s legal rights. Most photo books I have read on the subject insist that (in the USA) a photographer has the right to photograph in any public place. Some even claim that if someone invites the general public into a place — such as a shopping mall — they can’t prevent a photographer from taking photos in that place.

Gray areas allow private guards to violate photographer’s rights

I’m not altogether sure about that. This is were the law gets rather gray — most concerts and theaters have restrictions against photography. I suppose you could make the argument that these events are not “public” since only those who buy a ticket or receive a pass from the owner can attend.

Still, the law is rather clear about photographs in true public places such as streets and sidewalks. Under federal law, no one has the right to prevent you from taking pictures in these areas.

States, counties and cities probably have the right to pass ordinances preventing street photography, but very few have done so. Unless there is a specific ordinance of this nature, no security guard has any legal right to keep you from using your camera while in a public area. But it appears that many guards and property owners are unaware of this fact.

The anti-photo law that made photography legal in New York

Ironically, the clearest rule about photography in public came about when the City of New York attempted to prevent photos from being taken in the NY Subway system. Citing security, the city was set to enforce a strict law that would have required a permit to photograph anywhere in the subway.

Fortunately, there was great hue and cry and the city quickly backed down. In doing so, they made it abundantly clear that all photography or cinematography was permissible in the subway, provided the camera user does not interfere with those using the subway. Thus, because NYC attempted to block photography, then reversed themselves and made it clear it is legal, everyone, including security and police officers now know that a photographer has the legal right to use his camera in the subway. There is no gray area any longer, the city has gone on record that it is legal.

Despite this victory, I am becoming quite concerned about photographer’s rights in the US. Unless photographers speak up and challenge those attempting to make photography a crime, it might become accepted fact that many places are off limits to cameras. The freedom to use your camera in public will be greatly curtailed — creating a great void in the photographic record of US life.

Thomas Hawk’s DIgital Connection blog has a series of lively posts on photographer’s legal rights (or lack of them).

An older post, archived on BoingBoing, describes a freelance photographer’s encounter with security guards in San Francis’s MUNI public transit back in 2005.

Bert P. Krages II, Attorney at Law has prepared a guide entitled Your Rights and Remedies When Stopped or Confronted for Photography

Has this happened to you?

Has this happened to you? Have you ever encountered a security guard, police officer, property owner or anyone else who attempted to prevent you from taking pictures when you had a perfect legal right to do so?

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Tom Bonner

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There is intense interest in the yet unnamed and unannounced full frame Sony Alpha (possibly to be called the A900?) among Alphatracks readers. I recently received another e-mail suggesting further ideas regarding the full frame sensor with in-camera image stabilization problem. Or non-problem, depending on which theory you wish to follow.

This time around, Marek Kaszycki weighs in with his analysis of the situation.

Past posts in this series:

• http://alphatracks.com/archives/81
• http://alphatracks.com/archives/82
• http://alphatracks.com/archives/83

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