There are many types of digital cameras on the market today and it would be difficult to create a specific tutorial for each camera out there to say the least. But don't despair, we'll  give you a detail looked a one camera so that you'll learn of the major steps that would apply to all digital cameras. You can refer to your unique manual for more information on the specifics, but we'll give you a good overview of the conceptual steps that apply to all digital cameras.

Digital cameras basically allow you to take pictures, save them without the use of traditional 35mm film and download them  into your computer for printing and viewing. In essence your images are saved in a camera memory card, not unlike  how you would save files on to a floppy or zip disk. You just take your pictures then use a cable to connect your camera to your computer via a serial or USB port and use the camera's software to download the images from your camera to your computer. Once in the computer you may use image editing software like Adobe PhotoDeluxe or Adobe PhotoShop to edit the images. Some cameras even allow you to remove the their memory card and put in in a card reader attached to the computer for faster transfer of images to the computer (see Downloading Pictures below). That's all there is to it! I know, I know, now that you've got the big picture of  how the process works, you want the nitty-gritty details. Ok, here we go.

There is also a manual for the camera that you can borrow which gives more detailed instructions than this quick tutorial.

Preparing To Take Pictures

Turning the Camera On

Holding the camera with the eyepiece towards you,  and gently remove whatever lens cap or cover is in place. This may involve sliding a cover to one side or squeezing tabs on a lens cap to remove it. This seems so simple, but I bet my bottom dollar that at some point in time you'll turn the camera on, look through the rear of the camera and say "Hey, how come I, don't see anybody through the view finder"?  

Special Note: Many cameras have a battery saving feature, so if you do not use the camera for a few minutes it will turn itself off. If this happens you'll just need to toggle the power button on again or close the lens cover and open it again to turn the camera back on, before taking a picture

Checking for Free Space

When the camera is ON you will see some information either on the back panel or atop the camera in a small LCD screen. The big number on this screen informs you how many pictures are left available to take. Most cameras have two or three resolution settings from which to choose the number of images you may take at any one time before downloading the images from the camera. If the camera is set say in a high resolution mode, something like Superfine mode (S) or Super High Quality mode (SHQ), you may only be able to take between 10-12 pictures at one time. If the setting on the camera is on low quality you may be able to take anywhere between 40-80 pictures before needing to download the images to your computer.

Be sure to determine how many pictures you'll think you want before starting to shoot and the needed quality of those pictures. If you need more to take more than 12 pictures during on sitting and are unable to transfer the 12 images to your computer before taking more pictures, you'll need to choose a lower resolution setting thus allowing more pictures to be taken at any one time.

Camera Resolution, Auto Focus, and Auto Flash Settings

Refer to your camera manual to determine what resolution settings match image dimensions. For example, if your camera resolution setting is in Low Quality (LQ) it may take pictures that are 320 X 240 pixels in size. If the camera is in Super High Quality (SHQ) it may take pictures as large as 1028 X 764 pixels in size. Determine the size image and number of images you need before doing a shoot!

Most digital cameras settings are changed using a LCD menu. Referring to your camera's manual, see which menu setting will allow you to either manually focus or auto focus your camera. When auto focus is set,  some cameras will have you press and hold the shutter release button halfway down to trigger auto focus for about 1 second before fully depressing the button to snap the picture.  This is the case for the Olympus D-600L shown here.

Finally, the auto flash is a function you'll want to learn how to use. This is really true for traditional film cameras as well, so no big deal right! I know this is getting old, but again, head back to your camera's manual for learning how to set this function. These three functions, image resolution, auto focus and auto flash are the only primary settings you'll need to know to be able to use your camera like a pro!

Taking a Picture

Be sure the camera is turned ON. Remove the lens cap if appropriate. Check how many pictures are available and set the auto focus and auto flash functions. Compose your photograph with the solid circle guide over center of your photo, using the zoom function if needed and available. Wait for light (most of the time it green) to appear in the view finder window. This let's you know the camera flash is recharged and ready to go if needed. Hint: All pictures indoors will need a flash most of the time.

When you are ready to take a picture, press the round button on the top of the camera halfway down to set the auto focus, hold for about a second. Now press the shutter release button completely and firmly. You will hear the camera  shutter snap and see the flash through your eyepiece. This means a picture was taken and is now being stored. The large number on the back  or top LCD panel will flash briefly and then decrease by a value of one.

Downloading Pictures

Once you take all the pictures that you desire or all the camera will allow, you'll need to download those pictures using a software program that comes with the digital camera. Downloading means moving the pictures from the camera's memory chip or card to your computer's hard drive or a floppy disk. The software program must be installed on the your computer to be able to download. Also, you need to connect a cable from the camera to the back of your computer (modem port for Macintosh and serial port for PCs). This cable is provided with the camera. See the image to the left for PC serial connection. 

If you have a newer computer and/or camera you may be able to connect via a USB port as well. USB cameras allow for faster downloading of images as compared to your serial port. This port is a rectangular opening that is approximately 1/2 inch by 1/4 of an inch in size and located either on the front or back of your computer.

After you've connected the cable to both the camera and the computer, start the software program for downloading images from the camera and follow the steps provided. When downloading and saving the photos, you may need to give each picture a unique name. Some camera provide generic names for downloaded pictures like pic1, pic2, etc.

Some cameras need to be turned on prior to launching the download software program and set to the "Play" viewing mode. Be sure to check the particulars for your specific camera.

Using a Card Reader to Download Images

Technology is a wonderful thing and the latest batch of digital cameras have incorporated removable media memory cards. Now instead of having to attach a live cable from your camera to your computer you can just insert the memory card into a separate reader that is attached to your computer. Yea, I know what your saying, so what's the difference. Well, for one thing, when you insert a Smart Media memory card like one shown to the left, to download the images to your computer you need only open the double click the SmartMedia Card, select all the images visible in the window and drag the image to a location of your choice. This is extremely fast when compared to downloading images via a serial port cable. One high resolution image downloading via a serial cable may take as long as 2 minutes!

There another large advantage to working with a digital camera that uses removable media cards. Can you guess what it is? That's right, you now don't have to stop your shoot in mid stream and download your images to your computer. You can just pull out the memory card, insert another and your off to the races again! Now you can take Super High Quality (SHQ) images and not have to worry about only being able to take 10-12 pictures.

To remove the memory card open be sure the camera is turned off. Open the flap on the side of the camera physically pull the card from its slot. Now simply insert the Smart Media Card or Compact Flash card into the card reader connected to your computer. See images to the right and below.

Downloading Images via Camera Software

Each camera will have it's own brand of software for downloading images via a serial or USB cable. All you need to do is follow the directions provided with your camera manual. It sounds crazy doesn't it, read the directions! I know you're probably saying "If I have to read the directions, then why am I going through this tutorial"? Well, this tutorial is provided for those who absolutely refuse to read technology manuals, and those who want a quite and simple overview of the process.

 Provided below is a screen snapshot of the software provided with the Olympus D-600L (can you tell which camera I'm using to create this images for this tutorial or what). After connecting the cable to the camera and the computer I turn on the camera. Olympus then instructs me to launch the software and go to the "Camera" file menu, selecting "Download All Images" from the pull down menu (see image below). Could it get any simpler? I think not!

The real trick is editing the image once you have it in the computer. We'll save this lesson for another time. But you should take notice of the image editing tools provided within the camera downloading software. When we talk about scanning in images, we'll go into more detail on how to edit them. I bet you can't wait.

Congratulations you just completed the first tutorial on how to use a digital camera. We hope you enjoyed learning about how a digital camera works, the three essential camera functions (auto focus, auto flash, and resolution), and how to download the pictures to your local computer.  Before you proceed on to learning about scanners, it might not be a bad idea to practice what you've learned. That's right, go on, get out there and take some digital pictures. As Thomas Edison once said, ingenuity is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. So go out there and start sweating!

Below are a few links to detailed functions of several different types of digital cameras if this bad boy wasn't enough for you.

Come back soon now, ya hear!

Detailed Online Tutorials

Other Online Tutorials exists that provide in-depth explanations of other digital cameras:

Nikon Coolpix E-900, E-700 and E-950

Click Next to learn about scanners.