A Quick Start Tutorial for Using the Olympus Camedia Digital Camera
What you need to know before you start this tutorial:
- How to save and delete information from a zip disk.
- Basic operation of a Macintosh computer.
What you will learn in this tutorial:
- How to set up the camera for basic use.
- How to set the focus options.
- How to delete images from the camera.
- How to download images from the camera to a zip disk.
What to keep in mind while using the camera:
- Technology can not replace good photography techniques -- compose images in the view finder.
- Use studio lighting or outdoor lighting whenever possible -- the flash on the camera is bad news for quality photographs.
- When photographing models give the same amount of attention to the lighting and background and you did in the design of the model.
A step by step guide to using the Olympus Camedia
1. You will need to supply power to the camera. Two options are possible, an AC adapter and batteries.
A. If you have access to an AC receptacle you can use the AC adapter. The AC adapter can be plugged into a 120 volt receptacle at one end and to the camera at the other.
You can find the receptacle for the AC adapter on the camera under a flap located on the bottom of the left side of the camera. (Left side if you are looking at the back of the camera.)
Plug the AC adapter into the center receptacle.
Be careful with the flap as it is very fragile.
B. If you do not have access to a 120 volt receptacle (such as exterior photography) you will need to use batteries. It should be noted that the camera will use batteries very quickly. You have about 20 - 30 minutes maximum of power on time when using batteries in the camera.
You will need 4 AA batteries to run the camera. These batteries need to be fresh or new to work. Due to the ability of the camera to burn thorough batteries it is recommend that you purchase an eight pack when planning a shoot that will require batteries.
To access the battery compartment open move the lever on the bottom of the camera to access the batteries Place the batteries in the compartment as illustrated above and close the door and turn the lever back to the locked position.
2. In this step you will make sure the the memory card has been erased.
A. Press the power button on the back of the camera to turn the power on.
B. Set the dial on the back of the camera to the media card setting. (If you see a blank screen with a NO PICTURE message then your card is cleared and you can skip to step 2.)
C. Press the menu button on the back of the camera.
D. Using the jog dial move the courser down to SM setup.
E. Select the clear pictures setting with the jog dial.
F. Press the OK button on the back of the camera just below the jog dial.
G. Select the Yes button with the jog dial.
H. Press the OK button on the back on the camera just below the jog dial.
The smart media card in your camera has just been erased.
3. Now you will make some basic settings with the camera so you can take some pictures. The camera has advanced options to set aperture and shutter speed, but we will be using he "automatic" settings in this quick start tutorial.
4. Set the dial on the back of the camera to "P" for program mode. (In this mode your exposure is set by the camera and the focus is set to auto focus
5. You will now reset the camera back to the factory default settings for image resolution and file type. By completing this step you will be assured that any settings the previous user has set will be erased.
A. Press the menu button on the back of the camera.
B. Move the courser up with the jog dial until you reach the reset option. (You typically only need to press up with the jog dial once to reach this option.
C. Move the courser to the yes option with the jog dial in the reset menu.
D. Press the OK button on the back of the camera just below the jog dial.
E. Press the menu button on the back of the camera to turn off the menu options.
You will be taking pictures with the camera at 1712 X 1368 resolution and saving them in JPEG formats. You can save a total of 55 images in this format with he 32 meg smart memory card.
6. In this step we will determine the focus setting. The camera can take pictures with subject matter at distances from 2 cm (less than and inch) to infinity. By making the proper setting you will be assured that the picture will be in focus.
A. The current focus setting is auto focus that will allow objects between 2' and infinity to be in focus.
B. To change the focus so you can photograph models or close ups of materials you will need to change the default focus setting.
C. By pressing the focus button on the top of the camera you will scroll through the five different faces option. The focus options are displayed on the top of the camera in the black and white liquid crystal display.
Default Focus
The first or default setting for the camera a an automatic focus. This setting will allow you to take photographs from distances of 24" to infinity.
Macro Mode
The second setting on the camera is the Macro Mode is is represented by the flower icon. This mode is useful when photographing models and other items between 24" and 12"
Super Macro Mode
The third setting on the camera is represented by the S-flower icon. It is generally the best mode for close up model photography. This mode will photograph images from 12"- 1".
Infinity Mode
This mode is represented by the infinity icon. This mode locks the focus on infinity or very distant objects.
Manual Mode
The manual focusing mode will not be covered in this tutorial but it is represented by the MF (Manual Focus) icon.
7. Now you can be take an image with the camera. The shutter button is on top of the camera and is located in the center of the zoom lever. While looking thorough the view finder you can use the zoom lever to zoom in and out of the subject matter. To take a picture press and hold the shutter release button. You will hear a beep when the camera has focused and then you will hear the shutter.
Once the camera has taken the images you can look at the screen on the back of the camera to see the image. The image is only up for about 5 seconds. The number in the top right corner of the liquid crystal display on the top of the camera indicates the number of remaining images on the memory card.
A note about the use of the built in flash on the Camedia camera. The flash on this camera is fine to use when taking "candid" shot of people at a party or on vacations. But you should not use the flash when photographing architectural models, materials, or flat artwork. You should always use the a copy stand or studio photo lights for the best results.
8. You may wish to erase poor images while you are in a photo session. You can view and erase individual images on the camera by completing the following steps.
A. Set the dial on the back of the camera to the media card setting.
B. Use the jog dial on the back of the camera to scroll thorough the images. Stop at an image that you wish to erase.
C. Press the red delete key located on the top of the camera.
D. Using the jog dial on the back of the camera move the courser to yes.
E. Press the OK button on the back of the camera located below the jog dial.
F. The picture is now erased from the memory card. Erase other images if necessary by repeating the above steps.
G. Move the dial on the back of the camera to the P setting to take more photographs.
9. Once you have completed taking photographs you will need to download the images from the camera to a zip disk.
TURN THE CAMERA OFF BY PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON ON THE BACK OF THE CAMERA -- NOT TURNING OFF THE CAMERA MAY DESTROY THE SMART MEDIA CARD!
A. Turn off the power to the camera by pressing the power button on the back of the camera. Check to see if the camera is off by looking to see if any information is visible on the liquid crystal screen on the top of the camera.
B. Plug in the the Olympus Camedia Smart Media Reader-Writer to the USB port on a Blue and White G-3 Macintosh Use the USB port on the side of the keyboard if it is available. Start up the computer.
C. Remove the Smart Media card from the camera. Make sure that you push down on the card to eject it from the computer. ONLY REMOVE THE CARD FROM THE CAMERA WHEN YOU ARE READY TO INSERT IN THE SMART MEDIA READER To access the card open the door on the right side of the camera.
Do not touch the gold contacts on the bottom of the card.
D. Place the Smart Media Card in the Media Reader so the gold contacts are facing down.
E. The computer will take several second to read the card. When the card has been read you will see the following icon on the desktop of the computer.
F. Double click on the Smart Media Card icon.
G. A window on the desktop will appear.
H. Open the DCIM folder in Media Reader window.
I. Insert your zip disk in to the zip dive on the computer.
I. Drag the 100OLYP folder to your zip disk. This will copy the images from the Smart Media Card to your zip disk. Close all open windows on the computer desktop.
J. Drag the 100OLYP folder from the smart media card to the trash. Empty the trash by selecting the "Special" pull down menu and selecting "Empty Trash". This will erase all of the images from the smart media card.
J. Drag the Icon of the Smart Media Card to the Trash. YOU MUST DRAG THE ICON SMART MEDIA ICON TO THE TRASH BEFORE YOU EJECT THE CARD.
K. Remove the Smart Media Card from the Smart Media Card Reader. Immediately place the Smart Media Card back into the camera.
10. You can now access the images you downloaded from the camera by opening the 100OLYP folder on your zip disk. You can use photoshop or any other application that recognizes the JPEG format to view your images. It is recommended that you rename your 100OlLY folder as soon as your can. Renaming your folder will prevent an accidental erasing of your images if you repeat this process a second time.
This completes the Olympus Digital Camera tutorial.
Related Tutorials that may assist in further:
Constructing a webpage (including how to add images to webpages.)
Introduction to Raster Graphics
Using photoshop Automated Web Photo Gallery.
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