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Using a digital cameraLearn how to use a digital camera and what you can do with the photos.

What can digital cameras do?Digital cameras have several advantages over film cameras. On a digital camera you can:• Frame the photo you’re taking using the camera’s display screen.• Check the photo straight away, and take another if the first didn’t work well.• Store photos on a memory card and transfer the photos easily to a computer.• Store and edit digital photos on a computer, rather than sending them away to be developed.• Use an online service to print the photos and deliver them to you.

Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes, and are available at different prices. • Larger, more expensive cameras

usually take better pictures but can be complicated to use. They are good for keen photographers.

• Smaller, less expensive ones are easier to use but not quite as flexible.

• Camera resolution is measured in megapixels. Almost all digital cameras have more than ten megapixels, which is plenty for most needs.

• Most cameras have both optical and digital zoom. Optical zoom provides much better quality.

Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes

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Using a digital camera

How do digital cameras work?Let’s take a tour of the different parts of a digital camera. • At the front is the lens. It will focus automatically.• On top is a flash. It might pop up when

required and the camera will work out how much flash is needed for the picture.

• On top is usually a dial for different shooting modes, such as automatic and manual.• Also on top is the shutter button. Press this to take a photo.• At the back is the viewfinder screen you can use to frame your photo,

and check the photos after you’ve taken them.• Some more expensive cameras might have a traditional viewfinder.• At the back of the camera are navigation buttons for zooming the

picture and using the camera’s menus.

Learn how to use a digital camera and how photos captured are stored on a memory card.• A modern memory card can hold many hundreds, often

thousands, of photos. • Even so, it’s a good idea to save pictures regularly to

your computer in case you lose or damage the camera, or the card fails.

Photos captured are stored on a memory card

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How can you get the most out of a digital camera?When you have photos on your camera’s memory card, you should move them to your computer.

Here are the steps:1. If your computer has a memory card reader, take

out the card and put it in the computer.2. If it doesn’t, connect the camera to

the computer with the cable that came with the camera.

3. After the photos have been put on the computer, they can be deleted from the card to make

space for more.

Once your photos are saved onto a computer, you can:• Print them if you have a colour printer.• Forward them to a printing service to have physical prints made.• Share them by email or by using a social networking site, such as Facebook.• Improve them by editing, such as cutting parts off (cropping), improving the

lighting and removing problems like red-eye.

Using a digital camera

Move photos to your computer