Introducing the Your First Digital Camera audio workshop

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks. As I mentioned earlier, the response to my series of articles on "Your First Digital Camera" were astounding. The number of letters we got with questions about cameras and the number of encouraging notes strongly supporting our idea of starting a camera magazine numbered well into the hundreds.

In fact, I got so many questions from so many readers that I dispaired of ever being able to answer them all before Christmas. I would have had to have written a book to get them all answered. Questions like:

• What camera should I buy?
• What's a megapixel?
• Should I print my pictures at home or use a service bureau?
• Which memory card format is the best?
• How does a digital camera differ from film?
• Are those under-$100 cameras any good?
• What will it really cost me to get a digital camera?
• My spouse/child/friend wants a digital camera; what should I get?
• What do all these terms mean?
• Can I buy a camera from a mail order house or on the Internet?

And the questions often involved complex answers, because simple ones weren't going to be helpful. I thought, if I could get everyone in a room and go back to being a teacher, I could get through everything everyone needs to know in three or four hours.

Hmm... Why don't I? Of course, we couldn't get all of you to fly here to ever-colder Central New Jersey, but I could do a class. What if we created an audio workshop? And so, we did.

The more articles we ran, the more it became clear that there was a need for a comprehensive course in what, exactly, a digital camera is, what it can and can't do, and guidance in how to purchase the right one. Rather than providing a set of reviews for cameras that change each week, we decided to create a program to help you truly understand digital cameras, how they work, the tradeoffs involved in any purchase, and how to get the most productivity and enjoyment out of them.

In this program, I take you on a tour of the camera, first exploring the individual components that make up a digital camera, then helping you understand how your camera choice will determine the sorts of pictures you can produce, walking you gently through component after component, camera subsystem after camera subsystem, stopping to explain the tougher concepts using my always-unique mix of humor and, uh, battle-tested (or at least, college-kid tested) teaching skills.

After an almost non-stop two weeks in the studio, it's done! We've completed a 4-CD series containing 20 detailed chapters about digital cameras, as shown in Figure A.

Here are some clips:

• <A HREF="http://remote1.zatz.com/connectedphotographer/samples/sample-clip-01.wav">Why a digital zoom is a poor buy</A>
• <A HREF="http://remote1.zatz.com/connectedphotographer/samples/sample-clip-02.wav">The right lens for eBay pictures</A>
• <A HREF="http://remote1.zatz.com/connectedphotographer/samples/sample-clip-03.wav">When to use a tripod</A>
• <A HREF="http://remote1.zatz.com/connectedphotographer/samples/sample-clip-04.wav">Safeguarding your digital photos</A>
• <A HREF="http://remote1.zatz.com/connectedphotographer/samples/sample-clip-05.wav">About photo editing programs</A>

And then we hit the next issue: what about MP3s? Clearly, MP3s are here to stay and it doesn't make sense to stick our heads in the sand and pretend they're going away. So we created an MP3 Edition (a total of 104 megabytes!) of the very same material. We even had to go out and set up a new high-bandwidth OC12 server just to handle the download load! Whew!

Here's a short overview of the chapters in the workshop:

• Chapter 1: Digital camera overview
• Chapter 2: Program introduction
• Chapter 3: Film vs. digital cameras
• Chapter 4: Parts of the camera
• Chapter 5: Megapixels, part I
• Chapter 6: Megapixels, part II
• Chapter 7: Megapixels and cropping
• Chapter 8: Compression
• Chapter 9: Storage cards
• Chapter 10: Stealth photography
• Chapter 11: Optics
• Chapter 12: Shutter speed
• Chapter 13: User interface
• Chapter 14: Battery life
• Chapter 15: Accessories
• Chapter 16: PC uplink
• Chapter 17: Printing, paper, and mounting your photos
• Chapter 18: Backup, PC resources, and Web sites
• Chapter 19: Recap
• Chapter 20: Closing

Shhh, don't tell anyone. There's also a bloopers track (of which, I have to say, I'm quite embarrassed).

Concepts that may have baffled or bamboozled you in the past are presented clearly, step-by-step, one concept at a time. Without a doubt, after listening to this program, you will be far better informed about digital cameras than almost any camera salesperson. If you want to sell items on eBay, this program will help you understand just what you need for digital image success.

We've decided to sell the program at a pretty aggressive price, considering the production cost. The 4-CD set (at http://shop.zatz.com/customer/product.php?productid=18) is $49.95 (plus shipping) and the MP3 edition (at http://shop.zatz.com/customer/product.php?productid=20) is $39.95, because you can download it right away.

By the way, not sure what camera to get as a gift? Want to save a few bucks? Give the Your First Digital Camera CD set (it's in very nice packaging) instead of going out and buying the camera. You'll save a lot of money and the recipient will make a much, much smarter purchasing decision when he or she eventually goes out to get the camera.

Before I close out this topic, I want to suggest that you stay tuned for Connected Photographer Magazine. We're working hard on it, as well, and should have it launched very soon.

See ya next week!