Digital cameras have proliferated in hour homes to the point where you will probably own more than one. If you know all about digital photography, then please read and give me some feedback. I'm certainly not a know-it-all, but since there's not much written about digital firework photography, I thought I'd at least make a good attempt.

Why a digital camera after all? Some things to consider:

Here is also where you'll find out why I choose to use a Minolta DiMAGE A2 camera. (My most recent camera is a Nikon D200. As time advances, so do digital camera refinements. This is a truly great camera for the price.)

Size Matters (Sort Of) - "What's the one thing that makes one camera better than another?" People will usually respond that the higher the pixel count of the camera, the better it is. Let's dispel this myth right now. There's no one thing that makes a camera better than another - it's usually an assortment of reasons. And what does it mean "better"? Are the colors better? Sharper? Image size bigger? Faster file save/transfer? Ease of use? It's all these things - and more. And it's too much to deal with in this forum.

BUT - the one thing that people always seem to harp on is "How many mega-pixels is the camera?" In the digital realm, an image size/resolution is measured in 'mega-pixels'. A camera rated at 2.3 mega-pixels means that it has a picture whose size can be measured as 2 million, 3 hundred thousand pixels. Does this mean a picture is sharper? The film world would respond that lens and film type is what matters, not how big a picture is. The digital realm would counter that the higher the pixel count, the finer the detail. And both are right. An image with a similar lens would have more detail on a 5 mega-pixel field than a 2 mega-pixel field, because the "dots" (pixels) would be 'smaller'. But a computer screen can only view images in a set 72 (or 96) pixels per inch. What results is an image that appears much larger on a computer screen, thereby exposing in greater detail any flaws or shortcomings of your camera equipment. The dots on the computer screen can't change, but on the camera side, a dot represents a much smaller area. (Film - think of pixel count similar to film grain.) It really depends on what your final picture size will be. If you are making pictures for web pages, a larger pixel-count camera would be a waste of time. If you are aiming at 8x10 printouts, then you'll need a high pixel-count camera. (In this case, bigger IS better.)

However, I have found sharper pictures taken with a 2 mega-pixel camera when compared to a 5 mega-pixel camera simply because the lens on the 5 mega-pixel camera wasn't up to par. This is where the photographer is the most important tool. When I went to research digital cameras, I looked first at the picture quality, then the lens, then the pixel count. (I highly recommend Digital Camera Reviews and News for *very* in-depth reviews of different kinds of digital cameras.) The Nikon D200 (and previously the Minolta DiMAGE A2) camera is the best kind of camera for my needs *balanced* against the costs. I estimate I will continue to use these cameras for another year or two. At that time, my needs will have advanced beyond the capabilities of the camera. (BTW - that's what makes a camera obsolete: it's inability to meet your needs. Not because there's another, better camera out there, or it isn't being made anymore. If you can still use it, then it ain't obsolete.)

So how many mega-pixels should my camera have - especially for shooting fireworks? Consider that a 35mm film camera's equivalent shooting ASA64 film in the digital realm would be a 26 mega-pixel camera! If you want high-quality fireworks shots, you'll need to spend A LOT of money to get similar results in the digital world. My camera is an 10 (D200) or 8 (A2) mega-pixel camera, and it comes fairly close.

So why did I pick a Nikon D200 and the DiMAGE A2? It fulfilled the following requirements:

1. All controls can be manually overridden. This was one of the first requirements I had of a camera, and is absolutely mandatory for night-time photography. Too many digital cameras are made for a "point-n-click" mode where it's all automatic. (I wanted one that I could use like my old Minolta SRT-102.)

2. The A2 lens is rated as 28mm x 200mm optical zoom, with a 2x digital setting. How many times have you seen a camera with a "3x optical zoom"? 3 times what??? How much a lens can telephoto is secondary to how wide it can go. It's easy to make a lens that will start at 100mm, but this camera had a fantastic lens that can go out to 28mm with very little barrel distortion. The 200mm zoom is very adequate. The lens optics is some of the best in it's class. I purchased the 18-200 telephoto lens with the D200. With the 1.5x multiplier, that puts the wide-side of the lens at 27mm. Even at this wide area, I will have to purchase a 10.5mm lens for those times I am close, or the show has huge displays.

3. Digital Zoom - The DiMAGE A2 has the ability to double the focal length, but at the expense of pixel count. In other words, it didn't just digitally magnify the image. Many cameras are rated as "3x optical, 4x digital for a 12x zoom range". However, when you start to bump up the digital zoom ratings, the pictures turn out "pixelated" (stair-steps instead of smooth lines) and unusable. Minolta made the camera to use all available pixels when shooting in the digital zoom, so the overall size of the image may shrink, depending on the camera setting. This is a good thing - the picture quality is maintained when the camera has been digitally zoomed. Digital zooming in this case works best when the camera is NOT set on it's highest image size. The D200 does not have this 'feature', and you will not find it on any current camera worth it's salt.

4. Digital cameras have a CCD compensation scheme when shooting long "bulb" exposures. Many "pro-sumer" cameras have this feature, but not all of them! This is a little complicated, but will explain why some of your digital night shots may not look good. This camera uses a CCD or CMOS as the 'film'. It is an electronic device that is sensitive to light and works very well. However, when getting long, dark exposures, the sensor can develop 'hot' pixels - points where due to temperature, age, previous exposures, electrical levels, etc., a single point may appear to have been exposed to light and show up on your picture. You will see this as subtle mottling of a solid black background, or as single tiny bright colored points of light. When I take, say, a 10 second exposure on the DiMAGE A2, as soon as I let go of the shutter the camera then takes another 10 second exposure *with the shutter closed*. This results in a 'picture' of 'solid' black. The camera then applies this exposure as a filter against the image that was just shot - eliminating any hot pixels. It also means that any 10 second exposure results in an additional 10 seconds where the camera can't be used, but the end result is a MUCH better image. You could take an exposure of black (lens cap on and camera covered) and use that as a filter in PhotoShop, but then as the night progressed, the temperature would change, exposures would change, battery levels would change, etc, resulting in noticeable differences. Also - you would need a black exposure for *each duration time the shutter was left open*, because hot pixels would show up differently over different exposure times. This is quite impossible to do, and this camera compensates by taking a corrective frame for each frame shot. The obvious down-side is that you may have to sit and be patient while the camera is held up. This scheme is fine when shooting night-shots of a city, but when shooting fireworks, it can cause some irritation as you sit patiently by waiting for the camera to free up as that huge 16" shell has just been launched. This option can also be bypassed, but I found it's just not worth it. (The D200's dark exposure length not the same as the exposure time - it is greatly reduced, and is a big help. It's sensor is really quite good, and some people have found very adequate shots without the dark compensation applied. Bottom line? It's up to you.)

Are there 'better' cameras? Probably. What one would I recommend? Depends how much money do you want to spend. What are the requirements I would recommend? 1) Full manual mode, 2) Good optical lens, 3) No digital compensation for zoom, 4) Can shoot night shots. So what size (mega-pixel) should the camera be? Figure out your price range. Deduct from that a good tripod (if you don't already have one), a flash unit (for other kinds of shots), any additional filters, storage devices, batteries and software, see what you have left over, and purchase the best camera that still fits your budget. If you want to see what kind of pictures a particular camera takes, I'd refer you to the Digital Camera Review and News site.

Where would I buy the camera? I'd steer away from places like Office Depot and Staples. I've had bad experiences with the sales weenies trying to make you buy a camera based on the kind of commission they receive and what the latest sales promotion is. Their interest is less with your camera experience and more with their own pocket book. Watch out for internet sites that try to get you into their 'store' with a fantastic sales price, only to jack it up with over-priced camera bags and accessories. Especially watch out for 'specials' where they include filters that are not necessarily matched to the camera. If you buy from these places, then you will spend more money on stuff you won't need or can't use. I purchase almost all of my cameras and equipment from B&H Photo and Video in New York. They may not have the best prices, but they are fair, fast, and have very good customer service. (And while I have been known to buy accessories on eBay, I've never seen a new camera that hasn't had something added to it to really jack up the price waaay to high. On those times where a camera can be purchased as the camera alone, the final bid price is so high that B&H can usually beat these guys hands down. If you use an auction site, bit smart.) Best bet - be a smart shopper and look around.

For those of you inside of the United States, watch out for cameras that are sold as "grey-market". These are cameras (or other equipment) that were meant for sale *outside* the U.S., but are sold inside. While you may be able to save a few dollars, warranty repairs may not be available inside the U.S. This would result in extended down-time if you need any work on the camera. (I also have a DiMAGE 7 has been back for work a couple of times after several desktop high experiments verifying that yes, indeed, gravity is constant.) The supplied software, as well as firmware updates (updates to the actual camera itself) would be handled differently than cameras available for the U.S. market. Do yourself a favor - spend the few extra dollars and save yourself the headache.

What else should I buy? - Here is where the snake is finally let out of the bag on the true cost of digital camera ownership. Digital cameras usually requires a computer for viewing and storage. You don't necessarily need a big and fast computer for still pictures, but you may need some more storage space. As pixel-counts go up, file size increases, and free space on hard drives shrink at an alarming rate. You may need an additional hard drive, or some kind of back-up scheme to CD-R or DVD-ROM. You may also want to purchase some kind of device to assist in transferring images from your storage device (Compact Flash Card, SD card, Memory Stick, etc.) to your computer. These external devices usually can transfer pictures at a much higher rate than your camera can. As time goes on, you'll become familiar with whatever software comes with the camera, and will probably be on the hunt for a cheap version PhotoShop. Then you'll notice that your monitor isn't up to par, or that your printer doesn't do the job. Welcome to what I call "Upgrade Wars". Figure on spending some extra dollars in the months following a camera purchase.

So what are my camera settings? Let's see.

All information presented on these pages can be used for your personal use. If you want to publish or reproduce any or all if the info here, you must have permission from Tom Calderwood. If you find any information that is incorrect, please notify me and I will take care of it as soon as possible.

Page updated on: 12/18/2007

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