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Photographic Contributions for Guidebooks
Photos are best submitted as slides but digital photos are also acceptable (see below for technical requirements of digital photos), please do not email photographs. All slides will be looked after and returned in due course. As normal, photographers will retain copyright on their photographs - we are paying for their use in the guidebook.
The next SMC comprehensive Climber's Guide to be published will be a brand new edition of Scottish Winter Climbs.
If you have any decent photos for the above, then we would be keen to see them. Most folk still send slides but digital images are of course welcome. We prefer portrait (vertical) format but landscape (horizontal) format is ok if it’s a particularly good shot. Historical photos (first ascents, aided ascents, etc) are also useful. All slides will be carefully looked after and returned in due course.
If you have any suitable photos which you would like to see in print then please send them to me at :-
Grahame Nicoll
Cranstackie,
St. Mary's Road,
Birnam
Dunkeld
PH8 0BJ
Grahame Nicoll's email: Email
The payment depends on the final size of the photo used and there will also be one free copy of the book. We intend to include a lot of action photos.
Cheers, Grahame Nicoll
PS. The other guide in production is 'Scottish Sports Climb'. We are looking for photographs for this exciting new guide NOW
Guidance for contributing digital photos
Digital Photos
1) All digital photos must be supplied on CD and a printout must accompany every photo on the disc. Please do not e-mail photos.
2) Photos from 4 megapixel cameras are adequate, 5 megapixel and above are preferred.
3) We require the original RGB files exactly as downloaded from the camera. Please do not reformat, sharpen, colour or contrast adjust your photos. If you wish to do this to a copy to show us you have a picture with potential (enclose a printout), fine, but we do not need this photo file. We want the unadjusted photo, taken in TIFF or highest quality JPEG format. Photos taken in RAW format are acceptable.
4) Unfortunately CDs and printouts cannot be returned.
5) The following information is a review of five of the best compact digital cameras on the market just now - walkers and climbers may find it useful.
Digital Cameras, an Overview
Digital cameras are useful when you`re climbing, cycling, hiking or mountaineering because you can store large quantities of photographs and often adjust camera settings to different light-levels and weather conditions. They usually store images in JPEG format and JPEG images are made of pixels. The more megapixels a camera has the higher the size and resolution of photos. Try to get good quality pictures without them taking up too much space.
There are 2 different kinds of zoom with digital cameras, optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom magnifies images using a lens whereas digital zoom enlarges a part of the image. This results in a degraded image and isn`t good, so choose optical instead.
Here`s a guide to our 5 favourite digital cameras:
1. Pentax Optio W30, £152.95
If you love outdoor activities the Pentax Optio is the best choice because it`s water resistant. Pentax Optio survives depths of 3 metres for up-to 2 hours; as a result it`s used by the RNLI. It also has face-recognition, auto-focus, digital-shake reduction and Pentax colour rendition.
Specifications: 3x zoom, 7.1Mp, 2.5-inch LCD, SD/MMC memory, 107x54x23mm, 140g
Although waterproof and durable this thing isn`t indestructible so don`t drop it off a cliff.
2. Canon Digital Ixus 950 IS, £225
Image stabilisation makes shaky shots sharper, 9-point autofocus makes images clearer and the zoom is stronger than average too, so this is a good camera for wildlife photography. You can take 140mm photos with this and the image quality is impressive.
Specifications: 8.0Mp, 2.5-inch LCD, 4x zoom, SD/MMC memory, 90x57x26m, 165g
This camera is heavy so don`t drop it, it also doesn`t like getting wet or too hot.
3. Canon PowerShot G9, £267
This is a real `photographer`s camera` it`s also rather chunky. It`s got superb image quality, a 6x zoom lens, exposure and metering options, RAW image capture and more features than any other compact.
Specifications: 6x zoom, 12.1Mp, SD/MMC memory, 3.0-inch LCD, 106x72x43mm, 320g
It`s rugged but it`s also precious so it belongs in a camera case.
4. Nikon Coolpix S510, £110
Coolpix has a 0.7 power-up time and response-priority shooting mode, the shutter lag is a five thousandth of a second and it is good in tons of shooting conditions. With face detection and a slight reduction on shakes it`s a good all round camera; as useful in bars as it is up mountains.
Specifications: 3x zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, 8.1Mp, SD/MMC memory, 88x51x22mm, 125g
Don`t spill your mojito on it.
5. Fujifilm FinePix F50fd, £120
The Fujifilm FinePix has the highest resolution of any Fujifilm camera. It`s great for shooting dramatic shots at dusk because it performs well in low-light conditions. Fully automatic and manual exposure, image-stabilisation and high-quality images all make this a superb camera.
Specifications: 3x zoom, SD/MMC memory, 2.7-inch LCD, 12.0Mp, 93x60x23mm, 155g
The plastic tripod socket seems fragile so it might not last many mountings, be gentle.
If you`re still wondering what digital cameras are best for you, we`ve got other articles that might help.
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