These days most folk opt for either a digital single lens reflex camera [DSLR], or a compact digital camera.

Compacts come with good specs generally, but if you want full control over your shots, i.e., exposure and length of lens, then a DSLR is a recommended choice.

EXPOSURE BRACKETING: Recommended if you shoot jpegs as you can edit for your best exposure later. In the meantime you’ll know you have at least one correct exposure which enables you to move onto your next subject. I suggest bracketing two thirds of a stop either side of ‘normal’ as a third of a stop exposure difference isn’t sufficiently discernable. RAW files have more latitude, so exposure bracketing isn’t particularly necessary as any exposure discrepancies can generally be corrected when processing the file.

DRIVE/SHOOTING MODE: When firing off frames, your shutter release options are Single frame, Continuous drive mode, Self Timer, and Cable or wireless Remote. Continuous is useful for action such as wildlife and sport of course, but also useful when bracketing too. If both continuous drive and bracketing are selected, keep the shutter depressed, and continuous drive will cease after three frames have been exposed. Note that some cameras can be set for more than three frames of bracketing.

METERING MODES:
Evaluative – Evaluates the exposure from the entire scene in your viewfinder. Ideal for most lighting situations.
Center-weighted – One of the Canon manuals says:‘The metering is weighted at the center, and then averaged for the entire scene.’
Spot or Partial – Reads off a specific area in the viewfinder. Be wary of this metering method unless you know what you’re doing! For instance, it’s dawn in the mountains and the peaks are well lit, while the foreground is in shade. If you ‘accidentally’ meter off the foreground you’ll lose detail in the peaks, when you should be metering for the highlight, i.e. the peaks in sunlight.

EXPOSURE MODES:
A or Av - Aperture priority for control of depth of field.
S or Tv - Shutter priority for shutter speed control.
P - Program for normal or ‘point and shoot’ situations.
M - Manual for control of Aperture and Shutter speeds.
Of the other ‘auto’ settings on a DSLR, the Sport setting is very useful for ‘grab’ and action situations as it automatically selects a higher ISO, the servo ‘tracking’ focus setting, and continuous drive mode ... everything you need for grab shots of moving objects.

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION: I don’t care what they say!, if you’re going to photograph a black cat in a coal cellar or a Polar Bear in the snow you’ve got to compensate for what the camera meter thinks you’re exposing for. Learn how to set the compensation for such subjects, but also get to grips as to why one over-exposes for snow, and under-exposes for a black cat in a coal cellar situation ... a frequent occurrence of course!

EXPOSURE LOCK: Remember those sunlit peaks? Well, your exposure lock function is useful for locking the exposure read from those mountain peaks. You then re-compose the scene by tilting your camera down to include the foreground. You now have the correct exposure for that particular situation.

ISO/ASA: Being able to change the ISO for perhaps just one shot is the real advantage of digital. But beware! Frequently on our photo tours clients are shooting in low light late in the day at an ISO of 800 or even 1600. That serves its purpose, but the trick is remembering to put your setting back to 100 or 200 ISO, which we recommend for general shooting.

JPEG/RAW/TIFF: There are pros and cons about each option, and I can only suggest you read up on this subject and draw your own conclusion. Most importantly though, know which option you’ve chosen and why!

JPEG RESOLUTION: My suggestion is that you shoot at the highest resolution your camera permits as you’re sure gonna need the largest file you can get some day!

LOTS OF MEGAPIXELS FROM FEW?: If you wish you had a larger megapixel camera try this ... instead of exposing one image of say a ‘horizontal’ scene, switch to vertical, zoom in, and expose several frames to cover your original composition. You then use your image processing software to stitch the images together, thereby achieving a larger file size. Simple, huh?!

WHITE BALANCE: Adjustable for cloud, sun, indoor lighting and so on, but consider leaving this set on auto as it works well in over 90% of the situations you’ll find yourself in. In any case, forgetting to change it back after a particular shoot will get you in far worse trouble! If you opt to shoot in RAW, the white balance can be adjusted at the processing stage.

FOCUS MODES:
Manual – Speaks for itself.
Auto Focus/One Shot – Your camera will not fire until auto focus system is able to lock onto the subject you specify in your view finder (see Focusing Points below).
AI Servo – Tracks the movement of your subject. Ideal for action.
AI Focus – Automatically switches between single and servo auto focus based on subject status.

FOCUSING POINTS: When using the auto focus option, learn how to adjust and lock the auto focus points within your field of view. This speeds up your response time, and you’re more likely to capture both a moving subject, or quickly adjust for the optimal focusing spot in a landscape.

FOCUS LOCK: This is most commonly done by depressing the shutter half-way down, but some camera models offer other options via various programmable buttons.

Before you buy, see what is new on the market first. Several manufacturers are now making an 18-200 mm lens for DSLRs, and it is a great all-purpose option with excellent macro ability at the 200 mm end of the zoom range.

In regard to lens quality, visit a website that does independent comparisons of the varying brands.

The debate continues in regard to the better of zoom lenses and fixed or prime lenses. Zoom lenses offer fabulous convenience, so it’s hard to ignore this option, right?! Fixed lenses are faster and sharper, right?! Do your homework then decide.

After a macro lens, your options in regard to getting close to your subjects are down to close-up filters, or extension tubes. The latter are placed between the camera body and lens, but despite the ‘inconvenience’, they are my preferred choice. Make sure your choice of extension tubes is compatible with your particular camera.

First off, keep lens changing to a minimum to prevent dust getting into the mirror box and sensor area.

When you must change lenses, pick a spot free of airborne dust.

To test your sensor for dust set your lens at its smallest aperture, and take a picture of something uniform such as a light sheet of paper. Enlarge the image, and if dust is present on your sensor you’ll see sharply defined specks.

There are several schools of thought on how best to remove dust from sensors, and my first course of action is to use a strong blower. If some dust can’t be dislodged with that method, I then move on to a soft statically charged brush, then follow up with the blower again to finish off. The trick is to have no or minimal contact with the sensor area. I recommend you look into this subject further as there are several other methods of sensor cleaning available, but do leave the Brillo pad under the sink where it belongs!

Compressed air is likely to leave some moisture on the sensor and isn’t recommended.

Before you attempt any method of sensor cleaning, make sure you understand the instructions in regard to the process, and know what your warranty covers.

One last thing, before cleaning the sensor blow away the dust around the rear element of your lens, and the mirror box of your DSLR. Even your rear lens cap. Not doing so is likely to trap dust just where you dont need it.

It must be said that the need for some filters has declined of late in view of what can be done in PhotoShop or similar software. However, I do recommend at the very least that you own a polarizer, with your next choice being a graduated gray/split neutral density filter. OK, go ahead and add a normal neutral density filter to that short list, as they’re useful for creating long exposures in bright light.‘Slowing down’ a waterfall comes to mind. I personally use the Cokin-type filters, but when it comes to a polarizer I recommend the threaded types as the Cokin polarizers are prone to dropping out of the filter holder.

When using threaded filters combined with wide-angle photography, avoid using more than one or two or you’re likely get vignetting.

TRIPOD HEADS

Pleeeeeease, do yourself a favor by not using a tripod with a plastic head!

Heads with quick release plates are highly recommended.

I dont recommend older style 3-way heads unless your camera and lens combination is very heavy. Theyll slow you down.

I recommend a ball head for purposes of quick set-up and flexibility.

A two button/knob head works better than one. Youll need the second for panning left and right. If accurate registration of stitched images is important to you, youll know what I mean.

Try before buying if possible.

TRIPOD BASES

Don’t use an extremely lightweight tripod as you’ll defeat the object of owning one, which is for stability, not convenience.

Most folk don’t want a heavy tripod, and an overly fragile tripod is not advisable. So, a compromise is necessary, i.e. the lightest available tripod, which is at the very least stable with a camera body and long lens attached. The best way to pick one out is to head to a camera store that offers a wide selection. Also see my suggestions below.

Select a tripod base that ascends to at least neck level, and is sturdy when a moderate to large lens is attached.

Try before buying if possible.

OK, SO I USE ...

I recommend Bogen/Manfrotto for choice, stability, and quality ... and no, I’m not paid to make such a suggestion! If you have to know though, I use their 3021Bpro ... the non-pro version of the 3021 has a different center column arrangement. I currently have an older 3055 ball head on top of that particular base but am considering the hydrostatic line with compatible quick release plates to those I already own.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Tripod heads for travel: Manfrotto 488 RC2 midi ball head. Two knob control. Sells for just over $100 at B + H Photo
Manfrotto 468 MGRC2 hydrostatic ball head. Sells for just over $300 at B + H Photo.

There are also alternative 468s and 488s that take quick release plates you might already be using.

Tripod bases for travel: Manfrotto 190X Pro B Tripod. No need to remove the center column to get low. It tilts. Sells for just under $150 on B + H Photo. Manfrotto 458B Neotec Pro Tripod: Fast set-up. One button release of legs. Sells for just over $350 on B + H Photo.

PURCHASING TIP: Before you buy anything, check out the store ratings at Reseller Ratings. Theyll help you detect scam artists such as these.

I don’t recommend the micro-drive types as they have moving parts, and you know what happens to computer hard drives!

Don’t be afraid of cards 1 gigabyte in size and larger, otherwise as file sizes get larger you’ll be changing cards all the time. That’s also a headache when it comes to downloading your images from several cards instead of just one.

I suggest you write on your cards:‘Reward for return’, and your e-mail address. This may be a blessing in the event of loss.

Oh, and to prevent a ‘blank’ disaster, make sure your camera provides a warning when there is no memory card present. To test yours, take the memory card out, turn on the camera, then try to take a picture. If you don’t get a ‘No CF Card’ message, change the setting so that you do receive that message.

Dedicated CD burners for up to 750 megabytes, and dedicated CD/DVD burners for up to 4.7 gigabytes. No computer is needed as these units burn discs directly from your memory card.

A laptop for burning 750 megabyte CDs, and 4.7 gigabyte DVDs. If your DVD burner can burn dual layer discs you can burn over 9 gigabytes worth of data to a disc.

A laptop with sufficient gigabytes of available space.

An external hard drive. There are now models on the market that are USB powered, and are lighter and smaller. You’ll need a laptop too for transfer and retrieval of files.

Digital Media Storage Devices with image review screens such as the Epson, Delkin, Jobo/NixVue, Transcend, and Nikon models.

Alternately, you could just leave your images on a large memory cards such as 4 gigabytes and above, but you may need more than you think.

Looks like a motor-drive, but holds a second battery for extended photo sessions, and adds additional controls when shooting verticals. Make sure you buy one that permits 100% of the camera’s functions, as some don’t!

Don’t rely on just one or two, but carry sufficient spares and the charger.

First off, look at the input on each of your devices you intend taking with you. If it reads something similar to 100v-240v then you do not require a transformer! You will just need an adapter for the country you are traveling to.

Leave your power strips at home wherever you may hail from, as those with a safety trip need the correct voltage. We suggest that you buy a power strip when you get to your destination, but remember that youll need an adaptor for each item if plugged in at the same time.

There are many options available for carrying your gear – hard and soft cases, back-packs, etc., but an interesting variation we’ve seen our clients with lately are the ‘hip packs’ used for day hikes and by sports enthusiasts. Usually there are two padded areas in the belt intended for carrying water bottles, and they appear to be the perfect size for holding and protecting a couple of lenses. Just an idea if you’re looking for something practical and light-weight for use in the field.