If you are buying used cameras and second hand camera accessories there are a few things you need to be aware of, and I will try to list and explain how to avoid getting stung by would be fraudsters that lurk in many corners of the internet.

Firstly, use a site that will give you access to a sellers details without having to be a member such as Cam-Trader for all Second Hand Cameras People intent on using fraudulent means to grab your money dont like these kinds of site because they cannot remain anonymous and therefore the risk of being caught by law enforcers is very high. People that are genuine sellers have no qualms about giving contact details. Make sure that to be a member of such sites, that the seller is validated and cannot place items for sale unless they are validated. This is a safety backup if things do go wrong and action needs to be taken against a seller.

Secondly, do NOT part with any money until you are totally satisfied that the seller is genuine, that you have the right answers to questions you asked, and that you are prepared to accept that the item IS as advertised. The typical fraudster will ask for money orders or cash transfers because they are virtually untraceable. Find sellers that have a proper outlet or have paypal accounts that are verified. Its easy to trace
these people if things do go wrong in the transaction and you will have a paper trail leading to the person should you need to take any legal action.

Ok, so now you can trust the seller, but, is the item he/she is selling exactly as advertised? Is it in the condition as stated, is the price a fair one for the item?

Don’t know? … well ask! Genuine sellers have no objection to answering questions about the item they are selling. Not sure if the images provided are of the actual item? Same answer, Ask! Watch out for the “stock photo” ads, they could just be lazy or they could be trying to hide a huge dent in the camera body. Ask for additional pictures if you are not satisfied. Ask if the images are of the actual item being sold.

Once you are happy that the item is as described, look at delivery costs. Some sellers will deliberately keep the item price a little lower and then overcharge for delivery of the item to make it appear a very good bargain. Again, if costs of delivery are not stated, ask before you commit yourself to buy. The ask yourself, could I go to my local outlet and buy this item for less than the total price including delivery?

Bear in mind that no person in business is likely to be giving an item away without making a small profit at least.

When buying Used photographic Equipment or any other Photographic Item, there are a few direct questions you can ask the seller to determine whether it is a good buy or not.

1) Why are you selling it? (if an individual)
2) Are there any scratches on the glass of the lens?
3) Does the camera have a shot counter ?
4) What year was it made?
5) Does it come with a case or bag?
6) Is it refurbished and do you give any guarantees?
7) What are your returns ploicy, terms and conditions?

Of course, when you ask questions you will need to know the technical specifications to ensure that the answers are correct. You can look up camera reviews and read them carefully. Alternatively take some guidance from a friend who knows something about photography and camera equipment.

If you intend spending some of your hard earned cash on Used Camera Equipment it is well worth taking the time to check out what you should be getting for your money. If you have doubts about a seller or the item they are advertising then walk away.

Remember this phrase… Buyer Beware, is the seller being fair?

There will be plenty of other items to choose from so whats the rush? If you believe that the seller is not
as he describes or his item is not described correctly, then look for a “Report this item to Admins” link like the one on Cam-Trader for all Second Hand photographic accessories

I hope that I haven’t put anybody off buying Used camera Equipment or any accessories, as this is a growing market where even the most basic amateur can get a lot of enjoyment from taking photographs.

Enjoy your hobby

John Jones
Joint CEO
Cam-Trader

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The photgraphy market has become huge over the last few years and now most people have a camera, or phone camera in their pockets on a daily basis. In fact I dont perdsonally know anyone now who can’t take a snapshot at will, albeit, some are very poor in quality. From the avid amateur to the consumate professional, they all have one thing in common, the need for cameras, camera euipment and camera accessories. That is an expanding market by any stretch of the imagination, somewhat akin to the TV revolution of the 1950’s and on. Everyine has a TV and everyone has a camera.

I will tell you a short story about my step-son called Jim who is an avid amateur photographer. Jim wanted to buy an additional lens for his Nikon D60 camera. So, he set about the internet using search engines and came up with lists of camera shops, traders and shop sites, BUT after 3 days of searching he gave up. He wanted a second hand lens of a specific type as his budget wouldnt alow him to buy new.

Very dissappointed, Jim approached me and asked if it was possible to design a site that would help with this sort of shopping. I could not believe how few sites actualy had adverts directly leading to a seller. Most were directories or lists of oputlets from here to Timbucktoo. I love a challenge and set about designing the site.

Well, to cut a long story short, I designed Cam-Trader.com, a unique site for the introduction of buyers to sellers of Used Camera Equipment

After a couple of months developing a site that was easy to use, cheap to advertise and without any annoying final selling fees. Cam-Trader for Used Photgraphic Equipment was born. At the end of January 2010 We launched Cam0Trader.com and already dealers have started to put items for sale on the site.

Thats the why, now let me tell you about Cam-Trader.com. The site is a dedicated classified ads site for Second hand Camera Equipment The site is very easy to navigate and you can advertise Second Hand Cameras from only 19p for 30 days. Higher rates apply to longer periods and there are additional features that can be added to make your item for sale stand out in the crowd. Renewal options are availbale, so no need to repeat the ad submission.

I initially thought that this was a good idea for the UK, but I was wrong. We are getting enquiries from all over the world even though the site is new. A person in Australia contacted one of our Dealers and wanted the item shipped out. An Amercian buyer placed a deposit on an item and is collecting it when he comes to the UK later this year. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

So, what about the UK ? Well, after the first week of trading we now have many members who are currently putting items on the site for sale. Dealers and shops love the site, because we gave them a facility to place a URL link directly to their site or item, which gives them free backlinks and helps with their SEO too. Joining is a breeze too. It takes one minute and is TOTALLY FREE. You join even if you dont have anything to sell. Of course you can see the items for sale and buy them, without needing to be a member. To advertise you must register as a member.

And finally, to show our appreciation to the dealers and traders and individuals that join Cam-Trader.com we are giving a promotional code of pb100 which, makes advertising, at least until the end of March 2010 TOTALLY FREE (even with added photos,extended periods, bold, italics, and highlighted features.

Have a look at the site, you have nothing to lose.

John Jones
Joint CEO
Cam-Trader.com

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You will come across few terms which are used in telling you about how to bring the flash to your control. But unless you have the background of these terms (and how a flash works), it will be a guessing game for you (and land up in the… ‘ok just tell me the settings and I will shoot perfectly’ end of the road).

So in this article, I cover few (very) basics of terminologies and flash internal functioning (Just the ‘A’ of ABC). But these fundamentals will make your foundations strong and make you ready for the ‘real field work’. By the way, most of this terms and explanations are applicable to internal built-in pop-up flashes as well.

I. Internal functioning of a flash

A flash emits burst of light and the amount of light which is emitted is determined by the size of the flash tube and the energy of the electric discharge (compare lightning). The discharge is ‘quenched’ early, if full flash is not necessary.

II. Flash Metering System

The internal electronics inside the camera and the flash that determines how much light is present in the environment (scene) and depending on that how much flash power is required to properly illuminate the “subject”. The automatic flash metering system in the camera determines when the flash discharge needs to be stopped to give the correct exposure.

So you can understand, we are leaving “everything” to the camera and the flash in deciding starting from what is the subject to how much flash power is required. As you have guessed it, things may not be always be correctly estimated and then the photographer’s judgment comes in (or the dreaded M Mode).

II. TTL and ETTL (and the newer ETTL II) Metering Method

There are more than the above 3 methods of flash metering system available, but I will concentrate only on these as these are the most available and applicable throughout the SLR ranges.

TTL stands for ‘Through The Lens’ flash metering. This mode is used only with film cameras where the light reflected from the “film” is measured by electronic sensors in (or above) the base of the camera. When enough light has been received the flash is cut off. Since we are mostly in D-world, I will skip the detail explanation of this type of metering.

E-TTL stands for ‘Evaluative Through The Lens’ metering. In this mode the flash tube emits a pre-flash and the camera’s automatic metering system is used to determine how much flash power is necessary for proper exposure. This method results in more accurate flash metering as the exposure is determined prior to the main flash firing.

Note: E-TTL mode is required for DSLRs as the digital sensor does not reflect light in the same way as film does and so TTL metering cannot be used.

E-TTL II is similar to E-TTL with the addition of the feature of the camera body returning the focus distance to the flash which can be used in determining flash exposure.

Note: E-TTL II is a camera body based modification of E-TTL, hence all E-TTL capable flashes can also operate in E-TTL II mode if used with an E-TTL II compatible body.

BONUS TIP: The flash metering system works separately (and independently) than the camera’s metering system. This means with already other sources of light present (ambient light), the Av, Tv and P modes adjusts the camera setting appropriately (either by varying shutter, aperture or both respectively) solely based on the ambient light. This is camera’s metering system in work. Whereas, the flash metering system works when the shutter is half pressed and sets the best suitable flash power BASED ON the camera exposure settings.

Note: The P mode uses no slower shutter speed than 1/60sec when flash is on.

Bottom-line: The automatic flash metering system DOES NOT change your camera’s exposure settings. Your camera’s metering system DOES NOT take into account the presence of flash when setting the exposure settings.

III. Guide Number (GN)

Guide Number(GN) is a measure of the power of the flash in terms of aperture(A) in f-stop and distance(D) of flash from subject.

GN = A x D

It is normally expressed as x ft/m at ISO y at focal length L.

The GN assumes an undiffused direct path from flash to subject (and not bounce flash or using diffusers - a separate topic altogether).

This value can be used in different ways, one of them is to manually set the correct aperture for proper exposure when the distance D between the flash and the subjects is known provided the same ISO specified in the guide number is used.

If you use 4 times the ISO, then the GN value doubles. Alternatively you can also determine the maximum distance that will get properly illuminated at a given aperture.

IV. Sync Speed

By definition, sync speed = the fastest shutter speed at which the first curtain of the shutter fully opens before the second curtain closes.

Now let me explain this. When you press the shutter, an opaque screen (first curtain) opens up to let the light flow in. Then another opaque screen (second curtain) follows cutting out the light.

Say you have selected shutter speed x sec. So the first curtain will open and the second curtain will close at speeds to give the exposure of x secs. Now if x is too fast, the second curtain will have to start closing even before the first curtain has completely opened. This to allow only x secs of exposure. Thus you can imagine a slit is formed between the first curtain and the second curtain. This situation is absolutely a no-no for flash photography. The first curtain needs to be fully open before the second curtain comes down so that the complete scene is properly lit. For the proper exposure from flash source, we must select the shutter speed slower than x secs (the sync speed) where any shutter speed faster than x sec will cause the second curtain to start closing before the first curtain is completely open.

As mentioned earlier if the shutter speed is faster than the sync speed, the second curtain of the shutter starts closing and actually forms a slit which moves across the image. If the flash is fired during this time, then only a part of the image will be captured by the sensor as lit by the flash (which is quite sad).

Note 1: The faster the shutter speed, the narrower the slit.

Note 2: The sync speed is the property of the camera body.

Note 3: This topic definitely needs a second discussion in details (upcoming articles).

V. FP sync

FP stands for ‘Focal Plane’. If you DO need to use the flash with shutter speed higher than the sync speed (and do not want only a portion of your photo to be lit, the rest being black), you have to use the FP sync mode of your flash (if it supports it). In this mode the flash tube emits a series of very fast flash bursts so that it seems like a continuous light to the camera sensor (or film). This allows the use of fast shutter speeds (see illustration link below). Of course this mode reduces the effective power of the flash (GN) considerably and drains a lot of flash battery power. But, hey you get your job done.

VI. Conclusion

As you can see there’s a LOT of things involved when you are shooting with a flash at different levels, so this topic needs to settle down in your brain and photography as your second nature bit by bit. I have explained the basic terminologies here. If you haven’t got hold of any flash photography books yet to read more in details, I would highly recommend getting one (from library or book store).

To see diagrams used to illustrate 1st curtain sync, 2nd curtain sync and FP Sync please visit: Flash Photography Terminologies

Sudipta Shaw is a software professional and a self-made photographer. He likes to teach and mentor as well. Visit his website Pleasure Photography to explore more about mastering Photography skills

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/flash-photography-terminologies-1775554.html

Knowing how to wash a camera lens is a top concern. A little bit of dust or grime on your optics could cause all sorts of problems.

Powerful light will show up dust and mud in your footage, while general dirt will affect image sharpness, so it’s necessary you keep them clean.

Before you wipe the front of your lens, shed any dust or grit which will scratch the glass. A good quality soft brush or air blower is ideal. Clean all of lens constantly, guaranteeing that the external moving parts are free from dust and mud, particularly sand which can cause tons of issues and scratches.

It’s excellent for wiping moisture and muck off your kit and if you sling it over the top of your lens it can even keep your gear dry in light rain. Bike and car photographers regularly throw a chamois leather over camera and lens to protect them from flying mud.

It can stop flare spoiling your photographs, but also protect the front part against impact damage.

Or, try the classic DIY solution - rip a hole in the bottom of a plastic bag and slip it over the lens and camera, held in place with two elastic bands!

It’s best to take a position in a screw-in skylight filter for every one of your lenses. They’re much less expensive to replace than a whole lens if you accidentally scratch it.

To learn more tips and techniques for better pictures check out, Understanding Digital Photography

Taking beautiful pictures is my hobby and my passion. I hope the information you read here will help you take beautiful pictures. Check out my lens, href="http://www.squidoo.com/understanding-digital-photography"
target="_top">Understanding Digital Photography!

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With the advent of electronic cameras, the price of photography has plummeted considerably, with the result that there was a flood of interest in the field. Greenhorns in this area needn’t fret. Sharpening up on your digital photography skills is simple, provided you have the basics at the end of your tongues, or is it, at the end of your lenses!

Mastering the basics of digital photography, first and foremost involves knowing all about pixels and resolutions. These are the parameters possessing a direct bearing, and quite a lion’s share on the standard of the images being generated. The more the pixel count, the better the resolution or clarity of the picture and the better it turns out when enlarged. So it is plain that the fastidious photographers prefer robust pixel values. However , with the market flooded with electronic cameras of varied makes, you can hope for a good bargain. Let us discuss a few basics of digital photography.

Zoom And Tele Lenses

Going digital has additionally meant that you can click away merrily at everything under the sun. This will only help you get well up on the nitty-gritty of the zoom modes. The Optical Zoom of a camera is worth tinkering with. The’Telephoto’ mode makes your subject appear larger while the’Wide Angle’ mode is all about cramming lots of a scene into your picture and therefore the parts of the picture appear smaller.

Focusing

Lighting

There’s no such thing as a photography gene.
Using the Flash

The flash is sort of a lure for the amateur cameraman but results are not always satisfactory. This is as wrong use of the flash function leads to the marring of good photos. In fact, the flash truly leads to underexposure, and thus ungainly shadows in night photography. While you are using this feature, in. nearer to your subject and thus make sure that all the areas of the picture are equally lighted up.

The shutter speed is one area that many newcomers to digital photography is quite unmindful to. The rule : fast shutter speeds’freeze’ the action, while slow values will result in a blur.

Taking beautiful pictures is my past-time and my keenness. I am hoping the info you read here will help you take gorgeous pictures.

Check out my lens, Understanding Digital Photography!
.

Taking beautiful pictures is my hobby and my passion. I hope the information you read here will help you take beautiful pictures. Check out my lens, href="http://www.squidoo.com/understanding-digital-photography"
target="_top">Understanding Digital Photography!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/mastering-digital-photography-learn-digital-photography-basics-1775727.html