Beginner Digital Camera

Beginner’s guide to going digital DIGITAL photography offers some distinct advantages over film photography, not the least of which are instantaneous pictures and ease of manipulation, storage and transfer of image files. This article is aimed at practitioners with little or no experience of digital photography, who want to explore the possibility of using digital images in their day-to-day practice. It includes tips and techniques applicable to a variety of clinical disciplines, and considers how best to present the resulting images. EQUIPMENT KEITH BARRAND Various media, including CDs, data sticks and Zip disks, make it easy to store and use a wide range of high quality images MANY vets take photographs in their practices, whether of interesting cases or for specific purposes such as inclusion within RCVS certificate and diploma case books. Photographs are always welcome, as they add interest, allow visualisation and convey a ‘feel’ for a case in a way that words cannot achieve. Until recently, for case report illustrations 35 mm photographs were required, but digital pictures can now be used if they are of sufficiently high quality. The general information provided for RCVS certificate candidates defines ‘high quality’ as ‘sufficient to clearly demonstrate their content to a standard which would be necessary if submitting for publication in a professional refereed journal’; each journal will have its own specific requirements with regard to images, but some general considerations are listed in the box on page 46. around – the internet is a good place to compare prices. Cost A basic camera can be bought for under £100, while a top-of-the-range model may cost upwards of £800. Camera type greatly reducing picture quality. This is most apparent when images with a relatively small number of pixels are enlarged. Top-of-therange cameras produce images with in excess of 8 million pixels. Digital cameras come in three main forms: s Basic compact cameras, which are similar to very basic, instamatic, ‘point-and-shoot’ cameras; s Compact single lens reflex (SLR) type cameras, with built-in lenses; s Digital SLR cameras (‘DSLRs’), which are the equivalent of 35 mm SLR film cameras. These are very versatile and come with a wide range of accessories, including interchangeable lenses. Compact SLR type and DSLR cameras are best for veterinary photography. I use a compact SLR type camera now costing under £200, which is very versatile. This image of a dog’s eye has a grainy, ‘pixellated’ appearance. This loss of quality is due to excessive enlargement of the image after the photograph has been taken Zoom GETTING STARTED There is a huge range of digital cameras on the market. Bear in mind that the technology is evolving at a great rate and what is a state-of-theart camera today may be obsolete in a year. As with computer equipment, it is necessary to be prepared to upgrade at regular intervals. The price of digital cameras varies greatly from shop to shop, as do accessories such as batteries, memory cards, and so on. Do shop In Practice q JANUARY 2006 CAMERA FEATURES Pixels Digital photographs are made up of tiny ‘dots’ (pixels) in the same way as a television picture. The more pixels there are, the better the quality of the picture. A minimum of 4 million pixels is recommended for reasonably high quality images. If an image has too few pixels, individual pixels can become visible, There are two types of digital camera zoom, traditional optical and digital; some cameras have both. Optical zoom allows the field of view to be broadened or narrowed without any significant loss of picture quality. My camera has x10 optical zoom (the equivalent of 38 to 380 mm in 35 mm photography). Digital zoom, however, can reduce the number of pixels in a picture, making it look grainy. Modes Keith Barrand qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 1988. After four years in mixed practice in Norfolk he joined his present seven-vet mixed practice in Lincolnshire where he is now the senior director. He holds the RCVS certificate in small animal medicine and is an adviser to candidates. His interests include all aspects of small animal medicine and surgery. He made the transition to digital photography after many years of 35 mm photography. Most digital cameras come with a number of pre-set modes such as portrait, landscape or sports mode. These can be very useful, but should be capable of being overridden if 41 In Practice (2006) 28, 41-46 necessary. The most useful modes are portrait and close-up (‘flower’). Close-up modes are essential for photographing external lesions. Bear in mind that you may want to use the camera for other things such as holiday and family photos. Consider which modes you are likely to need (although most are present on many cameras anyway). Flash IMAGE QUALITY AND STORAGE Nearly all digital cameras come with a built-in flash, which is adequate for most purposes. Problems like ‘red eye’ can be fixed by manipulating the image later, but the flash should be capable of being overridden. Memory card Memory cards are very small and easily lost or damaged. A storage clip such as this blue plastic example is useful Most cameras come with a small (usually 16 megabyte [MB]) memory card, which may only hold about 20 high quality images. Invest in something larger: a 512 MB memory card can hold over 500 reasonably high quality images (see box below). Memory cards are small and delicate. It is best to keep them in the camera or a dedicated holder. The camera manufacturer’s own memory cards are usually the best option. Batteries When taking digital photographs, you should generally use the highest image quality the camera is capable of. It is possible to configure the camera so that this becomes the default setting; that is, the setting the camera defaults to when it is turned on. Lack of detail in a picture cannot be corrected by manipulating the image later. Most digital cameras record photographs as JPEG (pronounced jay-peg) files. Such files are given the suffix ‘.JPG’. This is an image format which compresses graphics to a fraction of their size without losing image quality. JPEG files are fine for most casebook applications. They can still be quite large, but can be compressed further (with some loss of quality, called ‘lossy compression’) to speed up internet downloads and to send as e-mail attachments. For a description of other file formats, see Lamb (2004), but a detailed knowledge is not necessary for storing digital images. Large files can cause storage problems. In the days of floppy disks and small computer hard drives, this created difficulties, but present-day large hard drives and other data storage facilities such as CDs, DVDs, Zip technology and data sticks have effectively solved the problem. Listed on page 43 is the storage capacity of popular storage media (note, 1 gigabyte [GB] = 1000 MB). The important point is that a huge amount of data can be stored easily, cheaply and safely – Manipulating images (left) An original image of a dog and (right) the same image manipulated to correct the ‘yellow eye’ and add a realistic glint to the eyes A rechargeable camera battery (left) with a dedicated charging unit One problem with digital cameras is that they are heavy on battery usage. Most cameras come with a rechargeable battery but these can ‘die’ with very little warning. Keeping a spare battery to hand is a wise precaution. As with memory cards, the camera manufacturer’s own batteries are usually the best option. How many pictures can I store? High quality images make larger files than low quality images, and can quickly fill up memory cards. However, with modern high-capacity memory cards, this should not be a problem. The table below shows how many photographs can be stored on different capacity memory cards. Number of pixels in each picture 3 million 4 million 5 million 6 million 8 million Memory cards 256 MB 512 MB 325 256 208 160 96 651 512 416 320 192 128 MB 162 128 104 80 48 In effect, it is possible to have the s Aim to present images as equivalent of a 35 mm darkroom you see them on your computer. Most image s It is acceptable to enhance manipulation software programs images for the sake of clarity are reasonably easy to use and s It is NOT acceptable to allow great flexibility. misrepresent images The majority of cameras come with basic software that allows manipulation of colour, contrast and so on, and basic cropping. Most programs have a very useful quick-fix or auto-smart-fix function. Red eye reduction can be useful, but animals usually have ‘yellow eye’ due to tapetal reflection, which needs more advanced software to correct. Some excellent intermediate software, such as Paintshop Pro 9, costs about £100. Adobe Photoshop Elements v3.0, available for both PCs and Macs, is a stripped-down version of Photoshop Professional at about one-tenth of the price (about £80), but still requires some experience to use well. This type of software is quite demanding in terms of system requirements and may run slowly on or crash older computers – check system requirements on the manufacturer’s website. At the other end of the scale is advanced software such as Photoshop Creative Suite CS2 (retailing at about £700). This is very good, but very expensive and requires time and effort to master. Intermediate software lets you add text (or labels) to images. (With 35 mm prints, the same effect was often achieved with Letraset!) The key is to try before you buy. Many trial versions of software programs may be downloaded free of charge (typically for 30 days). This also allows you to check whether the software is compatible with your computer. Some useful website addresses are given at the end of this article. 42 In Practice q JANUARY 2006 but 3·5" floppy disks are impractical for storing images. Storage capacities The storage capacities of various media are as follows: s s s s s 3·5" floppy disk CD DVD Data stick Hard drive 1·44 MB 650 MB 4·7 GB Up to 1 GB 60+ GB In addition to storing data, the above media are useful for backing up (that is, making extra copies in case the original is lost or damaged). A copy on the hard drive of your computer should not be the only backup, as catastrophic hard drive failure can result in the irretrievable loss of picture files (as well as other data). BACKING UP memory card, but this does not allow image manipulation. If you need to manipulate an image, you can save it as a JPEG file and ask your local image processing service to print it, or send it to an online printing service, both of which are reasonably cost-effective options. Most printing is carried out on inkjet printers. Printers designed for photographic-quality printing are best, but the cost of ink cartridges can make them expensive to run. Use your printer manufacturer’s ink cartridges for the best colour fidelity. It is possible to print off photographs straight from the camera without needing to use a computer. Some printers permit cameras to be connected directly to them via a USB cable, while others allow memory cards to be inserted, and photographs printed as required. Some image manipulation is possible but such printers are relatively expensive as you are buying hardware and software. Camera retailers and sites such as www.amazon.co.uk are good sources to investigate. Paper Portraits and close-ups Whole-animal or animal head-shots, such as the rough collie pictured on the left, are easy to take. Close-up pictures of specific lesions are slightly more difficult – but can be taken with the right equipment. (top right) A collar entrapment axillary wound in a cat, clipped prior to repair, taken from a distant view for orientation, and (bottom right) a close-up view of the same lesion The general principle when dealing with any electronic data, including digital images, is back up, back up, back up! Some older computers may only be able to read CDs and not record information on (burn) them. However, relying on floppy disks as the sole backup is not practical, as each disk holds only one or two high quality JPEG files. The cheapest ways to upgrade such a computer system are: s Buy an external CD-R/RW writer (costing £60 to £80) with appropriate CDs (under £1 each); s Buy data sticks that plug directly into a USB port (often located on the front of the hard drive box). Data sticks may cost up to £150, depending on capacity, but they are relatively new and prices are falling rapidly; s If your computer has a floppy disk drive as its only means of saving data, it is likely to be quite old (in computer terms) and a complete upgrade may be a costeffective option. A good new computer system can cost anything from £500 upwards. Photographic paper comes in a range of qualities, and the prices vary accordingly. It is a good idea to buy small packs initially, until you find one that suits you. One concern is the tendency of prints to deteriorate over time. Using good quality ink and paper should minimise this. Digital photographs have a number of professional and leisure uses, as well as educational and academic. They may be placed on websites, in newsletters or in personal photo albums. However, due to the potential for manipulation, they are generally unsuitable for legal purposes. In the veterinary context, this is relevant with regard to cruelty prosecution cases, for which 35 mm prints are preferred. A data stick plugged into a USB port. Most modern computers have two ports on the front of the hard drive housing, often behind a small trapdoor WHAT ABOUT EXISTING PHOTOGRAPHS? DISPLAYING IMAGES PRINTERS AND PAPER Printers Many shops have machines that allow printing directly from a In Practice q JANUARY 2006 A number of options are open to you if you already have 35 mm prints or slides that you wish to incorporate: s Use the prints as they are by pasting them into the casebook. s Convert them to digital images using a scanner. This might be a flatbed scanner or a combined printer/ scanner/fax. Image quality is variable (although generally good), depending on the quality of the original image and of the scanner. Once saved digitally, these images can be treated like other digital photographs. s Some photographic retailers convert photographic prints or slides to digital images using high quality scanners. These are likely to give better results than trying to convert the images yourself. It is possible to embed images in wordprocessing or publishing documents, such as those produced in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher. This gives a very professional look to your report, although it does preclude the use of photographic paper, which is not suitable for text; hence, the quality of the pictures will not be optimised. However, for photographs in which fine detail is not vital this represents a good option. Alternatively, photographs can be printed onto photographic paper and mounted in the book, either in spaces between text or on separate pages. Double-sided sticky tape, photo-corners or paper glue can be used. If desired, the page can be laminated. 43 Endoscopy images Microscopy images (right) A digital eyepiece camera (Woodley Equipment) inserted into a binocular microscope Clockwise from top left: a Damalinia species louse x 40, from an Angora goat; a fast-moving ear mite (Otodectes cyanotis) from a puppy’s ear – the image of the back legs suffers here from movement blur; a Cheyletiella species mite x 100, from a rabbit; and a cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) x 40. Large mites can be difficult to photograph, due to the limited depth of field Gastroscopy images of grade 1 (top) and grade 2 (above) equine gastric ulcers. Pictures, Jane Nixon, Nixon Equine Videogastroscope: video images recorded on this equipment can be used to make photographic stills but, at about £9500 + VAT, it is expensive. Picture, Kruuse UK Closed-circuit digital colour cameras can be attached to an endoscope. At £2170, this is another expensive option. Picture, Kruuse UK Endoscopic images require specialist equipment. Moticam cameras (£600 to £800, from Woodley Equipment) can be used to obtain images from endoscopes and have the advantage of connecting to most makes of microscope. There are three options for microscopic images: s Digital eyepiece cameras cost about £100 (including software) and fit most makes of microscope. The camera slots into the eyepiece of the microscope and connects to a computer via a USB cable (so it must be used next to a computer). Images are displayed on the computer and snapshots can be captured and saved as JPEG files. These can be exported and manipulated in the usual way. Although the resolution is low (0·4 million pixels), image quality is adequate s Digital microscopes have built-in cameras; one example, the Woodley Dig 30, costs about £1300 + VAT, and produces pictures of quite low resolution (0·4 million pixels) s Dedicated microscope cameras fit most makes of microscope and cost from £600 to £800, depending on picture quality. Examples are the Moticam 480, 1000 and 2000 (0·4 million, 1·3 million and 2 million pixels, respectively). They also fit onto most makes of endoscope and so can be used for endoscopic pictures. Note that Moticam cameras are not compatible with Mac computers Ophthalmology images Image of a normal canine retina taken using a Kowa RC-2 camera and scanned into a computer Image of the retina and optic nerve of a dog with papilloedema associated with a brain tumour taken with a Kowa Genesis-D digital retinal camera A meibomian gland adenoma in a 10-year-old Gordon setter Glaucoma in a Staffordshire bull terrier Pictures of the eye and adnexa are not difficult to take. Using a closeup mode with the flash on often produces unsatisfactory results. Better results are obtained as follows: s Take photographs in a dimly lit room with the flash on s Stand well back. Use the optical zoom to frame the area of interest s Crop images to the area of interest s Alternatively, take the picture outdoors with the flash off. This may result in unwanted reflections in the animal’s eye Photographs of the retina require specialist training and equipment. Retinal cameras such as the Kowa Genesis Digital Fundus camera (Keeler) cost around £10,000. Unfortunately, there is no inexpensive option. Buying a second-hand 35 mm retinal camera such as the Kowa RC-2 (1950s vintage), if you can find one for sale, and scanning the pictures into your computer is probably the cheapest option. As the price of digital retinal cameras falls, more Kowa cameras may come onto the second-hand market. The British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists has a website (www.bravo.org.uk) with links to suppliers of second-hand ophthalmic equipment. Due to the high cost, relatively few retinal cameras are owned by vets in the UK. Advisers to candidates of the certificate in veterinary ophthalmology may own a retinal camera or know of colleagues who do. Contacting your adviser for advice is a good idea. The images on the left were provided by Dr David Williams. For more examples of good ophthalmology pictures, visit www.davidl williams.org.uk. 44 In Practice q JANUARY 2006 Radiography images Digital radiography is a luxury enjoyed by only a few, largely due to the cost of the equipment. Most certificate candidates still use conventional radiography, which results in an ‘analogue’ image. Digitising radiographs by means of a digital camera is a cheap and convenient alternative for most people. For this, the camera can be set to black and white or fluorescent lighting mode, if available. If not, a portrait or close-up shot may be appropriate, with the colour being removed during image manipulation. The best way to photograph radiographs is in a darkened room with Digital photographs of radiographs: the radiograph on a viewer. Stray light from the viewer around the distal femoral fracture in a cat (above) and a similar fracture after treatment edges of the radiograph should be masked off. (right) with crossed K-wires These conditions can confuse the autofocus, so focus manually if possible. If this is not possible, focus on something equidistant from the plate, such as the manufacturer’s name plate on the x-ray viewer, and then use the camera’s focus-lock button to overcome this problem. The flash must be turned off, so long exposures may be necessary which can result in movement blur if the camera is hand-held. Using a tripod helps. Ideally, the timer function on the camera should also be used, as manually depressing the shutter can cause the camera to move slightly. A more detailed description of the technical aspects of digital photography of radiographs is provided by Lamb (2004). Manipulating radiographic images s Connect your camera to your computer with the cable provided. This will usually autostart the photograph manipulation software, which will guide you through uploading the images from the camera onto the hard drive s Radiographs are essentially monochrome (black and white) images. Photographs of radiographs often have a colour cast, usually yellow. This can be removed by converting the image to monochrome s Adjust brightness and contrast to achieve the desired result s Save the image (usually as a JPEG) to the hard drive s Crop to the area of interest, if required s Back up the image and print out the picture Ultrasonography images Colour-flow Doppler echocardiogram obtained from a dog with suspected heart disease. Picture, BCF Technology Histopathology images Photomicrograph of the proximal phalanx of a dog showing an interface dermatitis consistent with symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (haemotoxylin and eosin). This type of picture is best left to histopathologists to provide. Picture, David Shearer, Finn Pathologists Older diagnostic ultrasound machines are analogue, while newer machines are digital. s Analogue ultrasound machines. The easiest way to obtain images is probably to use a dedicated printer, but these cost in the region of £650. An alternative for analogue images is to use a video frame capture device, with the appropriate connections and software. They cost from £50 to £100 and plug into the back of the ultrasound machine. ‘Captured’ frames can be uploaded and manipulated in the usual way s Digital ultrasound machines usually have software for transferring images onto a computer in the form of JPEG or bitmap (BMP) files. It is also possible to attach a video camera, if the machine has a video input (found on more expensive models), to download ‘stills’ from it With both types of machine, you can freeze the ultrasound image and photograph it using a digital camera in the same way as radiographs (see above); some experimentation with settings may be necessary. Such images can be manipulated to produce pictures of adequate quality, but probably of inferior quality to those produced using the above methods. Obtaining images from diagnostic ultrasound machines can be complex. Contact the manufacturer of your machine for advice on obtaining the best image. Producing digital histopathological images yourself requires expensive equipment and training. Most pathology laboratories offer a photomicrography service at a reasonable cost – this is often the best option. Remember to acknowledge both the lab and the photographer when publishing material. Include a scale on the image or a magnification factor in the caption, along with details of the stain used. Many histopathology labs have high quality digital equipment and, for a fee, will photograph slides for vets. Results can be excellent and this can be the cheapest option. ECG traces Close-up of a single complex on an ECG trace (lead II) from a dog with suspected atrial standstill Electrocardiograph (ECG) traces can simply be pasted into casebooks. However, a better result can be achieved by photographing the relevant portion of a trace. In Practice q JANUARY 2006 45 Intraoperative photographs It is not possible to take pictures when gowned and gloved! Any suitable member of staff, such as a nurse, can take photographs at appropriate moments during surgery, but make sure that they know how to use the camera before the operation starts. The up-to-date requirements for the various RCVS certificates are available at www.rcvs.org.uk by following the links. Intermediate GOING SHOPPING? Beginner CASEBOOK REQUIREMENTS References and further reading ANON (2005) Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 Classroom in a Book. Peachpit Press, Berkeley, USA LAMB, C. R. (2004) Digital photography of radiographs. European Association of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Yearbook. pp 1-16 Most certificate boards welcome photographs of radiographs, ECG traces or endoscopic images, but discourage or do not accept original radiographs. Some certificates (eg, Certificate in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging [CertVDI]) require original radiographs, or accept ECG traces if pasted into a casebook (if you do this, do not laminate the page – the paper is heat-sensitive and lamination obliterates the trace). RCVS certificates are in a state of flux at present. Certificates in individual subjects will be replaced by a modular certificate in advanced veterinary practice, but existing certificates (and case report requirements) will probably be around for some time. The easiest and cheapest way to get good photographs is to buy a digital camera which comes with some basic image manipulation software. Buy a spare rechargeable battery and a large-capacity memory card. Using an online photograph printer, print-docking station or basic inkjet printer should give reasonable results. Vets who are ready to progress from the beginners’ stage, who use their camera for things other than their casebook, or who have a general interest in photography, should consider buying a mid-price camera with intermediate-level software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements. You may also like to use an online printing service or inkjet printer specifically designed to produce high quality prints. Advanced You don’t need me to tell you what to do! Consider a DSLR camera with advanced software. Good colour laser printers produce excellent prints. Acknowledgements Thanks to: Chris Lamb (Royal Veterinary College) and Jimmy Simpson (Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies) for reading and commenting on the manuscript; David Williams (Cambridge veterinary school) for pictures and for proof-reading the ophthalmology section; Paul Lymer, of Woodley Equipment, for the loan of a digital eyepiece camera; Gavin Mitchell, of BCF Technology, for advice on and proof-reading of the ultrasonography section; and Stuart Wilson, of Kruuse UK, for advice on endoscopic imaging. Useful contacts s Adobe Photoshop, www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html s BCF Technology Ltd, telephone 01506 460023, www.bcftechnology.com s British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (BrAVO), www.bravo.org.uk s David Williams, www.davidlwilliams.org.uk s Jasc Paintshop Pro, www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro/ s Kruuse Ltd, telephone 01977 681523, www.kruuse.com s Woodley Equipment Ltd, telephone 01204 669033, e-mail sales@woodleyequipment.com Images for publication Below In Practice provides some basic considerations for anyone producing electronic photographic illustrations to accompany an article or paper for submission to a professional journal. General considerations s Check whether the publisher requires printed as well as electronic images. Ensure any hard copies are labelled with the figure number and your name s Images embedded in wordprocessing (eg, Microsoft Word) documents are not suitable for print publication. The original JPEG or TIFF files are required (see below) s Avoid the temptation to crop pictures excessively during image manipulation. 2816 x 2112 pixels (~6 megapixels) This will allow a greater degree of flexibility in print s Name your electronic image files to correspond with the figure numbers in the text s If images require arrows, labels, etc, it is best to indicate the position of these on the hard copies only, so that the journal can ensure a consistent style in print s For histology/cytology images, include details of magnification and stain used s Retain copies of all images supplied, whatever the format s Beware copyright issues: obtain explicit permission to use other people’s images and include acknowledgements where appropriate Taking digital photographs s When taking digital pictures, choose the highest image quality setting the camera offers. For good quality reproduction in print, image size should ideally be in the region of 2000 x 2000 pixels (4 megapixels) or above, depending on the camera. Note that images of less than 1000 x 1000 pixels (1 megapixel) are only suitable for viewing on television and computer screens, and are not suitable for print publication s Submit digital images as JPEG or TIFF files Scanning prints or slides s Scan images at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) at a width of at least 15 cm (or approximately the size the image will appear in print) s Submit scanned images as JPEG or TIFF files These images were taken at different image quality settings. While they would appear very similar on a computer screen, note the difference in print quality 640 x 480 pixels (~0·3 megapixels) Specific requirements will vary. Refer to the published ‘notes for authors’ or check with the publisher direct if you have any queries. 46 In Practice q JANUARY 2006