USING A DIGITAL CAMERA TO CAPTURE IMAGES OF GENEALOGY
BOOKS, MICROFILMS, MICROFICHE AND TOMBSTONES
HINTS and SUGGESTIONS
CAMERA
You should have a megapixel camera with at least 3.0 megapixels.
It should have a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen for reviewing the images you capture.
It would be very wise to buy a camera with battery or batteries that can be recharged.
Have an extra "flash (memory) card".
If possible, place your forefinger on the camera button and thumb on the bottom of the camera and "squeeze off" each "shot".
Suggest you use a tripod for "move proofing" the camera when capturing images.
If you are not using a tripod, then lock your elbows and hold them against your chest, take a deep breath, hold it and quickly "squeeze off" a "shot".
Use "fine" or best resolution.
Use color to capture all images.
Get as close to the subject as possible and "frame" the subject very tightly in viewfinder or LCD screen.
Keep the LCD screen turned off most of the time. It drains the batteries Big Time.
Try to use the AC power adapter to learn the camera, downloading images and whenever possible to save the battery or batteries.
Do not mix batteries in your camera from different packages or manufacturers when more than one battery is require.
BOOKS
Using the flash might "burn" or reflect too much light off the paper. You might have to cancel the flash.
Look at Web site http://www.ulead.com/learning/dphoto12/page1.htm
MICROFILM AND MICROFICHE
Turn off the camera flash to capture these light images.
When viewing microfilm images on a reader that has the image projected onto a white board, a white spot and a halo of light is projected on the board. The spot and halo will ruin the captured image in the digital camera. Suggest you move the camera from a perpendicular or 90-degree angle to maybe a 60-degree angle until the spot and most of the halo are gone from the camera viewfinder.
An image may also be obtained for microfilm or microfiche when it is placed in a reader/printer that has the image viewed on a glass screen and then the image may be captured with your camera.
Using a tripod is strongly suggested.
TOMBSTONES
Look at Web site http://www.interment.net/column/records/digital/digital.htm
DIGITAL CAMERA WEB SITES
http://www.shortcourses.com/
http://www.rideau-info.com/genealogy/digital/
http://www.dcresource.com/faq/faq.html
http://www.tawbaware.com/
http://support.radioshack.com/support_tutorials/audio_video/digvid-3.htm
http://www.steves-digicams.com/microdrive.html
http://www.psism.com/camera.htm
http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/
http://www.flash-memory-store.com/san25comcar.html
http://www.rideau-info.com/genealogy/digital/project-2001.html
MANAGING AND EDITING YOUR IMAGES
The Presto! Mr.Photo program is great for managing, editing and printing your images. I use the version 1.5 that I get with my digital camera. The version 3 can be downloaded free at: http://www.ict.schools.nt.gov.au/softbank/software/presto_mr_photo3.shtml at upper right from "Support Material". I don't know if it only good for 30 days and than will cost $39.95 or ?. A tutorial for version 3 that covers most things is at a very long URL
A collection of free graphics programs is at: http://www.freebielist.com/graphicsprograms.htm Another collection of is at : http://www.shortcourses.com/
ARCHIVING THE IMAGES FROM DIGITAL CAMERAS
There are severe problems archiving for many years the images from digital cameras. The old-fashioned photographs might have lasted 200 years and the best that you can achieve with the ultimate materials and methods using a printer is possibly a life of 100 years and 200 years if stored on a CD if you want to try to have future generations use your 200 year computer, CD drive and CD.
To archive photos printed on a present day printer that will not fade and change color in only a few years, it will be necessary to use newly developed "lightfast" ink from Epson and archival paper. You should store the printed material in a dark environment and under 70 degrees F.
Use the original JPG images from the your camera as your archival copies.
Archiving the digital images on CDs is only safe for the life of the CD which is approximately 200 years according to the latest studies. You must buy the very best CD blanks such as Mitsui (MAM-A) Gold CD-R or Kodak Gold Ultima on eBay for $1.50 to $3.00 each. You SHOULD NOT use rewriteable ones. ID and date the CDs using only CD approved marking pens. Store the CDs in good cases and vertically. Also store them below 65 degrees F and out of direct sunlight.
CD WEBSITES
http://www.silverace.com/dottyspotty/issue12.html and http://www.mam-a.com/
ARCHIVING IMAGES WEB SITE
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/hd-back.shtmlWeb site made by Jon Schweitzer