Camera stuff

Capturing digital images and getting these images from a camera to an online service keeps getting easier. Yes, your phone takes a great photo and I admit my phone often does a better job of capturing what I see than my digital camera. However, there are some situations in which a camera really is helpful. A great case in point is the lens options you have available with a camera.

I just purchased a new camera - a Sony a6300. I have better cameras and better lenses, but the Sony cameras use a somewhat different technology and are much smaller. I actually invested in an additional camera because we are going to South Africa later this year and I cannot really pack my bigger and more expensive camera. I have been using this camera in Hawaii to become familiar with what it and I can do. The Africa trip is a once in a life time opportunity and I would hate to miss a great photo because I was unfamiliar with new equipment. I am not a master of photograpy, but I have had the opportunity to place myself in interesting settings and take a lot of photos. I know just enough that a few are interesting.

The newer cameras have wifi. This is really hard on battery life, but makes it far easier to get the photos off the camera. Some digital photographers pull the memory card out of their cameras and connect to a computer with a card reader. I have always used a cable to connect my camera and a computer. With wifi, I can use an app on my phone or iPad to gain access. I use this method to get individual photos because the storage capacity of the iPad or phone is so much less than a computer. For one shot, it is worth learning how to use this option.

This is a screen capture from my iPad of what it looks like accessing the camera. The following is a cropped image I just took. I think practicing on surfers should prepare me for lions and elephants. This is a cropped image as my telephoto only goes up to 200. This will have to be good enough.