Frequently Asked Photo Questions for January

It's a new year, and a new set of questions have found their way to my inbox. Send me your questions about digital photography. I reply to as many as I can, and I round up the most interesting ones about once a month here in the newsletter.

You can also read more frequently asked questions online: check out reader questions from September, October, and November.

Beware of Shutter Lag

I'm an old SLR 35mm shooter from way back. I used to shoot action shots at our local car race track. I would hit the button, and the camera took the shot right away. I've hesitated going to digital photography because every digital camera I've seen has a terribly long delay between when you hit the shutter button and when the picture is actually taken. What cameras have a quick shutter response?
--Dickie Sanders, Lapeer, Michigan

That's a valid concern, Dickie. The effect is called "shutter lag," and it can be anywhere from a few dozen milliseconds to more than a second.

Shutter lag is most pronounced among inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras; pricier cameras tend to exhibit significantly less lag. In general, you'll find no discernible lag at all in digital SLRs, but you pay for the privilege, since these cameras start at several hundred dollars.

I highly recommend reading PC World's reviews; when shutter lag is a significant issue for a camera, we mention it. And there's no substitute for trying a camera yourself. Many camera stores let you handle various cameras and take sample photos before making the purchase decision. That's a smart way to assess shutter lag.

Protecting Inkjet Prints

There are companies that make spray-on protective coatings that are supposed to help protect and preserve artwork such as pencil and chalk drawings and paintings. Do you think that these sprays would help inkjet photos?
--John Ebmeyer, Warrenton, Virginia

If you've spend much time in the world of 35mm photography, you may be familiar with acrylic UV-blocking sprays that you can apply to prints. These sprays "fix" the print and give it a longer life before fading.

I'd avoid using products designed for traditional film-based prints on inkjet printouts. They seem to work, but I haven't been able to test a wide variety of ink and paper combinations--nor have I observed the prints for a long period of time. I've asked printer companies their opinion of these sprays, and for the most part, they were all a bit wary.

The Epson rep said, "We recommend avoiding UV sprays since the effect on lightfastness of one color ink could be different than another ink, and may actually lead to the visual acceleration of fading or color shifting."

However, a few companies make a special spray just for inkjet printers; these "inkjet fix" sprays are probably safer for your digital prints. Check out, for instance, Gepe Ink Jet Fix Spray.

Undoing Sepia Effects

I converted my digital photos to sepia and negative-effect images. How can I convert them back?
--Edgar Gratia, Philippines

I have some bad news, Edgar. If you convert a color digital photo to a black-and-white or sepia image and save it over the original file, you've replaced the color information with something new. End of story. That's why it's a good idea to always use your photo editor's Save As option to create a new file, preserving the original.

Resizing Photos for Digital Picture Frames

What is the best resolution and size to save photos for an 8-inch digital photo frame?
--Christina Kramer, Garland, Texas

It's okay to leave the photos at their original size, Christina--they'll display just fine in a digital photo frame. But if you're trying to resize photos to maximize the number of images you can fit on your frame's memory card, then the answer is pretty easy: Resize them to the frame's native resolution. You can find that information in your frame's user guide or on the manufacturer's Web site.

For example, the 8-inch Kodak Easyshare EX-811 has a resolution of 800 by 480 pixels. Sharper Image sells the Pure eMotion 7-Inch Digital Photo Frame, which has a resolution of 480 by 234 pixels.

One other thing: Be sure to save the resized photos as new files, so you don't replace the originals with low-resolution images.

Tweaking the Effect of Your Flash

I use an older digital camera to capture my kids' everyday antics, and I find myself spending copious amounts of time afterwards trying to compensate for the camera's tendency to overexpose every shot, regardless of the flash setting. The night setting won't freeze kid-motion; holding a finger over the flash results in a weird orange hue; and more flamboyant methods tend to distract the subjects. I'm no Victor Skrebneski, just trying to grab Kodak moments. Any thoughts?
--Jill Murtagh, Orange, New Jersey

Flash photography can be really tricky, Jill. But if your camera is consistently overexposing your photos, then there's an easy way to compensate.

Check your camera's user guide to see if there is a flash compensation control. If so, lower the flash's power setting by about one stop and take some test photos. If it's still overexposing, reduce the flash power a little more. Vary the flash's power until it seems to expose your photos properly. If there's no flash compensation control, then you can try doing the same thing with the camera's main exposure compensation control.

Hot Pic of the Week

Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality, and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.

Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.

This week's Hot Pic: "North Light," by Mark Davis, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Mark writes: "I took this photo with my Canon Digital Rebel XT on a recent trip to Block Island, which is a small island 14 miles off of the Rhode Island coast. It's quite a popular summer tourist spot. This is North Light, one of two lighthouses on the island. Located on the northern tip of the island, you can reach this lighthouse by walking along the beach and it is nestled at the end. There was a great sky that day!"

This Week's Runner-Up: "Desert Sunset," by Scott Cassio, Stationed in Kuwait

Scott writes: "We were in a flight of Blackhawk helicopters after a long day of transporting soldiers to Iraq. We were heading back to Kuwait for the night and to prepare for the next day's missions. I took this picture from the front seat of the chase aircraft. I had brought along a Canon SD750 because it's small, takes good pictures and fits in a flight suit pocket. A hobbyist photographer, I enjoy taking pictures that are less ordinary."

See all the Hot Pic of the Week photos online.

Have a digital photo question? Send me your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself. And be sure to sign up to have the Digital Focus Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.