I have been experimenting with panoramic photography for the last few weeks and I wanted to share some of the things I have learned and offer some tips for anyone wanting to learn how to take panoramic photos. This isn’t a comprehensive panorama tutorial, but it should cover the basics and point you in the direction of panoramic websites where you can learn more.

Panoramic photography can be breathtaking. Even really wide angle lenses can’t come close to showing the range of view that you can get with a true panorama. The shot at the top of this page shows a 360 degree panoramic shot. Another method is to take a 360 degree shot by 180 degrees that results in a complete view of your surroundings. Once you have a 360×180 image there are some really interesting things you can do with them. For example, the shot to the right demonstrates a stereographic projection that is created from a panorama. Anther applications for a panorama include Quicktime VR’s which allow you to scroll up, down, and around the image as if you were standing in that spot. So how do you create panoramic photos?

Step 1: Taking the Photos

The first thing you need to know about panoramic photography is that it usually involves taking multiple photos and “stitching” them together into a single shot. While there are expensive cameras with swinging lenses, most panorama photos are made with ordinary cameras. You take lots of photos until you have taken a photo of your complete surroundings. Rather than just going crazy shooting photos in every direction it is a good idea to use a system that will make it easy to assemble the photos later.

In order to improve your chances of having images that will work optimally for stitching together you should definitely consider purchasing a high quality tripod. It is possible to hand hold your camera, but this really increases your chances of having images that don’t stitch together nicely. A normal tripod should work well for single row 360 degree shots. If you are taking multiple row, 360×180 shots you should consider purchasing a panoramic head.

A panoramic tripod head will allow you to move your camera in specific increments until you have completed the full 360. Each photo you take should overlap the shot you took previously. The overlap is important because this redundant data is what the software will use to stitch the photos together later. With my Panasonic Lumix LX3 (which has a pretty wide lens) I can capture a 360×180 degree image by taking 38 photos. That translates into 3 rows of 12 images and a photo for the ground and another photo of the sky straight above. I use the markings on my tripod to know how to turn the camera 30 degrees.

A panoramic tripod head can be an expensive investment. The Nodal Ninja tripod heads get great praise, but they are cost hundreds of dollars. A cheaper option is the Panosaurus that costs about $80. If you are the do-it-yourself type like me, you can build your own. I had some old tripod parts lying around so I decided to build my own panoramic tripod head.

The photo below shows my DIY panoramic tripod head.

This looks intimidating, but once you understand how a panoramic head works it isn’t that bad. The purpose of the head is to position your camera so that the “nodal point” of the camera stays in the same place no matter which direction the camera is pointing. What is a nodal point you ask? You can read the technical definition on wikipedia, but in general terms, this is the point of the camera lens that your camera will rotate around to produce images that aren’t distorted. If you simply rotate a normal tripod the nodal point will be different for each shot causing distortion. You can find the nodal point of your lens following the tutorial here. Don’t obsess over this, because as long as you are close you should be in good shape. Most likely, the nodal point of your camera is towards the front of the lens. There is a good thread on Flickr where you can see a bunch of DIY panoramic tripod heads that should give you some inspiration.

Step 2: Stitching the Photos Together

Once you have the photos taken it is time to create the panorama. Stitching multiple photos together presents some challenges. First of all you need some software. I use Hugin because it is free and has some advanced features. I haven’t used any of the other panorama photo stitcher software options out there, but search the internet and you should be able to see some of the other options out there.

Before you commit to learning Hugin, I should warn you that it wasn’t very easy to get it working for me. I am on a Mac running Snow Leopard and it took some work getting it installed and running. I ended up using MacPorts to help install the autopano-sift-c software required to run Hugin.

Once I had Hugin installed, learning Hugin presented its own challenges. I am the kind of person that jumps right into software without much training, so if you follow some tutorials online you might pick it up quicker than I did. Check out the Hugin Flickr group for additional info.

I hope this post was enough to get you interested in panoramic photography. There are plenty of great resources online if you are looking for more information. My advice would be to join Flickr and plug in to the many groups and passionate users creating panoramic images. There are lots of tutorials on Flickr and most people are more than willing to help out other photographers. Good luck!

There are plenty of articles online praising the technical prowess of this camera praising it as a point-and-shoot that can compete with an SLR. The only other camera that might give the LX a run for its money is the Canon G10. So rather than rehash the technical specs of the Panasonic Lumix LX3 I thought I would throw out some ideas that might get you thinking how to “hack” this camera to create non-traditional digital photos. If you have some ideas of your own, please add them in the comments.

1. Long Exposures Switch the Panasonic Lumix LX3 over to manual mode and you can control the shutter speed. Try it at night, or in situations where a long exposure can give you unexpected results.

2. Multiple Exposures The Panasonic Lumix LX3 allows you to create multiple exposures in camera. You have to scroll through some menus to get to this setting, but it can give you some really fun and interesting results.

3. Street photography The LX3 is small and quiet so it is a great camera for street photography. Some times I like to “shoot from the hip” and take photos by just pointing the camera in someone’s general direction and snapping a shot. Every once in a while this technique can create some real gems.

4. Manual Focus You paid good money for the fancy focusing technology of the Panasonic Lumix LX3, but why not turn it off? The manual focus of this camera is another way to get back to basics with your camera. Or add some creative blur to your shots.

5. Macro It’s amazing how much things change when you get really close to them. The macro ability of the Panasonic LX3 is pretty impressive and opens a whole new world of possibilities.

6. Black and white I find that unless color really adds something to a photo, I typically prefer the image in black and white. Why not save yourself the trouble of converting to black and white in Photoshop later and shoot in black and white mode. Another advantage of shooting in b&w is that it puts you in a different mind set. I feel like I am looking at the world differently when I have black and white film in my camera.

I hope you found these ideas inspiring. As always, follow me on Flickr if you are curious about what my latest work.

Here are some of the auctions for Panasonic Lumix LX3 cameras and accessories on Ebay that you might be interested in:

Soft Case for PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-LX3 Digital Camera

US $10.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:23:24 PST Buy It Now for only: US $10.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 with Enhanced CCD

US $175.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 14:34:35 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

DMW-BCC12 Battery + Charger fit PANASONIC Lumix DMC-LX3 CGA-S005 CGA-S005E

US $9.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 17:46:55 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

USB Cable for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 DMC-LZ1 DMC-FX580

US $1.98 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 20:14:13 PST Buy It Now for only: US $1.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

2X CGA-S005 Battery for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 DMC-LX3

US $7.49 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 9:59:42 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

52mm Flower Lens Hood+UV Ultra Violet Filter for Panasonic Lumix DMC LX5 LX3 G2

US $5.69 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 13:58:19 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.69 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Camera Bag Case for Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3 FZ28 FX150

US $3.63 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 14:32:22 PST Buy It Now for only: US $3.63 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB Cable for Panasonic Lumix DMC LS1 LS2 LX1 LX2 LX3

US $5.99 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 17:55:51 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

SELF-RETAINING AUTO LENS CAP FOR PANASONIC LUMIX LX3

US $11.87 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 18:45:29 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13.11 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

US Panasonic Lumix LX2 LX3 EVER READY CAMERA CASE BAG

US $25.99 End Date: Thursday Feb-09-2012 19:36:06 PST Buy It Now for only: US $25.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

After setting up my Eye-Fi card I have literally never had to plug my camera into my computer again. Just by turning my camera on the card will detect my wireless network and start transferring photos. I don’t have to carry cords around with me. I have it set to send photos to my Flickr account as well as iPhoto. You can set it up do that the photos are private when they go to Flickr which is nice so people never have to see your junk shots. Then you can go back into Flickr and name, tag, and organize your photos before making them “live.”

More than likely, the next round of digital cameras will all have wireless capabilities built it. If I had to make a guess I suspect wireless will probably be the next “buzz” feature for consumer cameras. With the Eye-Fi card you can turn your camera into a wireless machine instantly. Visit the Eye-Fi website to learn more.

Here are some of the Eye-Fi auctions on Ebay that you might be interested in:

Technics Hi-Fi EYE RARE Ad, 1973, mint! Article,Awesome

US $8.00 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:03:10 PST Buy It Now for only: US $8.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW EYE-FI 8GB EXPLORE X2 SDHC WIRELESS MEMORY CARD

US $89.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:32:55 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Eye-Fi Connect X2 4Gb+Wi-Fi

US $25.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:25:45 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Sarah Vaughan In Hi Fi Columbia 6 Eye logo Mono w/ Miles Davis

US $11.00 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 10:20:06 PST Buy It Now for only: US $11.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

BORIS SARBEK- TANGOS IN HI-FI- 1957 COLUMBIA # CL-1029-6 EYES LABEL !!

US $7.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 11:42:00 PST Buy It Now for only: US $8.50 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

5 DVD lot - Horror/Sci-Fi Movies - It, Hills Have Eyes, Matrix, 28 Days Later...

US $5.76 (6 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 14:16:03 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

DUKE ELLINGTON AT NEWPORT LP Original Columbia 6 Eyes Hi-Fi 1956

US $9.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 15:04:58 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

DUKE ELLINGTON A Drum Is A Woman LP Original Columbia 6 Eyes Hi-Fi 1957

US $7.50 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 15:10:24 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

DUKE ELLINGTON Anatomy Of A Murder LP White Label Promo 1959 Hi-Fi 6 Eyes

US $9.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 15:23:16 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Eye-Fi Pro X2 Wireless SD SDHC Memory Card 8GB NEW

US $94.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 16:12:43 PST Buy It Now for only: US $94.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

When it comes right down to it you need a practical manual if you want to take better pictures. You need a book that you can turn to when you want to know “how did they do that?” Whether you are learning the fundamentals for the first time or are just looking to expand on what you already know, a browse through this book can’t help but improve your photos. Your photos will improve when you understand light better. It will improve when you understand how your camera works. It will improve when you learn the history as well as the latest advancements. It will improve when you know what to do with your image after you take the picture. All these things are covered in this book and it is written in easy to understand language.

In many ways, this is a book that couldn’t have been written five years ago. The digital revolution has been a whirlwind and I think we are just finally starting to understand the implications. Digital isn’t something to rebel against, and film isn’t something to throw out the window.

Being the kind of person who would rather hack together pieces of old cameras than baby an expensive piece of machinery, you may be surprised that I would endorse a traditional kind of book that focuses on the fundamentals of photography. Actually, I find an easy-toiread manual really inspiring. A firm grasp of the basics is essential before you can improvise and dance. The Fundamentals of Photography is a welcome addition to my photo library and I recommend you pick it up. It’s available from Amazon for about $17.

Also, I have a copy of the book to give away. Leave your name in the comments of this post and I will randomly pick a winner at the end of November. Just make sure to put a real email address in the comment form and I will contact the winner at the end of December. To make it a little more interesting, tell us what kind of camera you are learning with or what camera you learned the fundamentals of photography with. Mine was a Pentax K1000. What was your’s?

UPDATE: Congratulations to Amod Rahatkar, winner of the drawing for this book!

Here are some of the auctions on Ebay for photography books that you might be interested in:

HUGE ART Encyclopedia 5 Book Lot Photography Modern

US $33.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 5:05:04 PST Buy It Now for only: US $33.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Books - Photography - The Essential Darkroom Book

US $14.04 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 5:19:29 PST Buy It Now for only: US $14.04 Buy it now | Add to watch list

ARTPRICE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY PRICE book auction results

US $9.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 5:45:44 PST Buy It Now for only: US $9.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

GINKGO German photography 1987 art book

US $40.00 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:03:12 PST Buy It Now for only: US $40.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Photography For The Sportsman Book CD 1904 many photos

US $9.95 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:06:21 PST Buy It Now for only: US $9.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

The Photography Book (2000, Paperback)

US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:44:03 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

COMPLETE BOOK OF NUDE AND GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY by Michae

US $15.50 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:55:46 PST Buy It Now for only: US $15.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

KLUTZ TRICKY PIX TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK CAMERA

US $19.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:33:41 PST Buy It Now for only: US $19.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

IMAGES OF YESTERDAY BOOK art photography many frameable pictures beautiful GORE

US $7.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:40:15 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

PHOTOANALYSIS Robert Akert Photography Psychology Book

US $9.98 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:46:02 PST Buy It Now for only: US $9.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Luckly, there are real professionals working to scientifically disprove the authenticity of photographs. There is an interesting article on wired.com that talks about methods that companies like Adobe are developing to spot altered photos. Adobe seems like the last company you would turn to lead the hunt for photo hoaxers considering they have made a fortune off of convincing everybody how easy/safe/fun it is to enhance and manipulate our photographs. Nevertheless, as the industry leader in photo manipulation they have to address a growing concern about the authenticity of photography. So Adobe finds itself in an interesting conundrum. How do you use a technology that is meant to alter photography to identify the people who are creating hoaxes? Where does harmless photo enhancement end and illegal photo manipulation begin? How do you convince a skeptical population to trust photography as the truth? They have a quote from Kevin Connor, who is senior director of product management at Adobe. He says,

“There’s much more awareness and much more skepticism when (people) are looking at images. That’s why we think that’s something we need to get involved in. It’s not healthy to have people be too skeptical about what they saw.”

Not healthy to question what you see? That is a shocking statement when you consider what he is implying, that it is healthy to accept what you see as real without questioning. Yikes! The article closes without really giving much hope that there will ever be a trustworthy way of telling whether or not a photo has been altered. While that may seem like a tragedy, it is a side effect of an advancing civilization. Think about the past when photos represented the “truth.” That was a more dangerous time because it ignored the editorial nature of photography. Think of all the manipulation that happens to an image in camera. Somebody has to pick the subject matter. The photographer isn’t an emotionless bystander. He composes his shot with an agenda. He choses the exposure and controls the focus. These are editorial decisions. You can make the same old lady look like a saint or a witch just by how you choose to take her picture. To accept an image as “truth” regardless of how it was originated is dangerous. Defense attorneys, law enforcement, news organizations, protective governments, conspiracy theorists, traditionalists and photography purists will continue to find ways authenticate and de-authenticate photos. I can’t blame them, but I firmly believe that a skeptical population is a better alternative to blind unquestioning masses.

For photos that come from my digital camera, I try to do as little Photoshop as possible. The first manipulation comes when I convert the photo from Raw format. Ideally, I would be able to get the perfect shot right after that conversion, but that is rarely the case. Usually I tweak the curves and sometimes so some minor dodging and burning.

When I get a photo from scanning a negative, I usually do a little more work due to the scratches and dust that inevitably gets introduced. Below you will see a typical example of the extent of my digital correction. The before and after shows the raw scan and the corrected final. You can see the curve tweaks, some burning and dodging, dust removal, scratch correction, and the ever so slight sepia introduction.

If I were to make the rules, I would put it this way: Digital manipulation should never introduce anything that isn’t in the original image. The goal should always be towards enhancing what is already there without destroying the integrity of the raw image. Without this basic commitment to truthful representation a photographer is little more than a liar, and that hurts all of us.

I was impressed when a computer crowd took note of my work, and now it looks like some science guys are having fun with my ideas, too. The Science Buddies website has taken my concept and tutorial and expanded it into a step-by-step tutorial perfect for a science fair project. Cool! When I was in grade school I remember the years alternating between science fairs and art fairs. I dreaded the science years and loved the art years, so I think it is great that I can finally contribute something to “the other side.” I even got an email from a student who tackled this project and got an “A” on the assignment. My sixth grade teacher Mrs. Luedloff would be proud of me.

If you are interested in pinhole photography, Ebay might be a good place to find a starter pinhole camera. Here are the pinhole camera auctions going on right now:

Mini SPY camera Video Audio micro Nanny pinhole 2.4ghz

US $40.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:41:03 PST Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Mini SPY camera Video SET PC Recording pinhole micro US

US $110.00 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 7:09:34 PST Buy It Now for only: US $110.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Wireless 1.2Ghz Mini Pinhole Color Camera +Receiver Full Kit

US $20.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:00:17 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

WIRELESS NANNY PINHOLE CAMERA SPY CAM SURVEILLANCE

US $21.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:05:17 PST Buy It Now for only: US $24.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

WIRELESS PINHOLE CAMERA SPY CAM NANNY SURVEILLANCE CCTV

US $27.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:20:30 PST Buy It Now for only: US $30.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

0.2mm DIY precision drilled Pinhole Photography Camera lomography lomo

US $5.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 9:43:59 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

DIY Photograpic Zone Plate SLR camera Zone Pinhole Photography lomography lomo

US $9.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 9:43:59 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Canon EOS Zone Plate Body cap camera lens Zone Pinhole Photography lomo

US $19.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 9:45:02 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

4GB Car Key with Motion Activated Pin Hole Color Camera

US $69.95 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 10:09:14 PST Buy It Now for only: US $69.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Air Venturi Video Recorder Sunglasses, 3 Mpx Pinhole Camera

US $98.50 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 10:21:10 PST Buy It Now for only: US $148.50 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

The Hanft family finally joined the rest of the world and got cell phones. I guess I should say I joined the rest of the world since Betsy has had a cell phone for years now. I did my research before making my purchase and wanted to get a good camera phone. I decided on the Sony Ericsson w810i. In addition to one of the best mp3 players on the market, this phone has (by cell phone standards) a terrific camera built in.

At two megapixels, the Sony Ericsson w810i may be at the low end of the camera market, but it is at the high end of the phone market. Two megapixels translates to about a 5×7 print at 300dpi, and you could probably stretch it to 8×10 if you really needed a big print. As you can imagine, you have to accept some limitations with a camera in a phone, but I have to say that I was impressed beyond my low expectations. In low light it was somewhat grainy, but still acceptable. In macro situations in performs wonderfully. The lens is a bit too wide so you have to get in close if you want your subject to fill the frame.

The camera is actully pretty full of features. It has auto focus, a self-portrait mirror, a light, self-timer, macro mode, effects (black and white, sepia, negative, solarize), white balance, different shutter sounds, and white balance. It has video mode for small video. It uses a removable memory card. I use a 4gb card (mainly for music storage) so there is plenty of room for photos. You can even change the shutter sound if you want a different click.

One fun feature of this camera is panoramic mode. Unlike the crappy cropping panoramic cameras of the past, this feature actually requires you to take three photos and the camera will stitch them together for you. Here is a quick example:

This is my basement, and the camera is hand held in this low light situation. You can see the slight double image at the one third mark next to the camera case due to me not lining up the second shot with the camera’s preview of the first image. You can click on the image above for a full resolution version. I didn’t correct anything, so this gives you an idea of what you will get straight out of the phone.

The biggest benefit of having this camera phone is that you always have a camera with you. The picture quality of most phone cameras is almost worthless, so if you plan on using the photos taken on your camera, get something decent. Right now the Sony Ericsson w810i is one of the best on the market.

Here are some of the auctions on Ebay for Sony Ericsson s810i that you might be interested in:

Battery for Sony Ericsson W710i W800i W810i W550i Phone

US $6.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 8:49:42 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

For ATT Sony Ericsson W810 USB Data Sync Cable Link Tra

US $4.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 9:03:33 PST Buy It Now for only: US $4.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

LCD Flex Flat Cable Ribbon for Sony Ericsson W810

US $10.35 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 10:10:59 PST Buy It Now for only: US $10.35 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Battery for Sony Ericsson W710i W800i W810i W550i Phone

US $6.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 13:01:48 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

For ATT Sony Ericsson W810 Car Charger+Mount Holder Suc

US $10.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 13:15:19 PST Buy It Now for only: US $10.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

RUBBER BLUE HARD CASE COVER 4 SONY ERICSSON W810 W 810

US $4.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 13:38:27 PST Buy It Now for only: US $4.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Battery for Sony Ericsson W710i W800i W810i W550i Phone

US $6.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 14:11:00 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

SONY ERICSSON CELLPHONE BATTERY BST-37 W800 W810 Z300 2520 K610 W350 K750 Z710

US $5.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 14:52:25 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

10 LOT SONY ERICSSON BST-37 CELLULAR PHONE BATTERY W800 W550 W600 W800 W810 Z750

US $40.99 End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 15:03:15 PST Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

2x NEW Car Charger for ATT Sony Ericsson w350 w550 w810

US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 16:42:15 PST Buy It Now for only: US $1.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Hello Adrian,

I am physically disabled and I am hoping there is a technical person who would please advise me if it is possible to put an external switch on a good quality compact digital camera. I have been searching for a number of years for a camera that I can operate independently. What I mean is, without me having to have somebody set up a tripod or fit an extendable arm on to my power drive wheelchair or have to engage in any other elaborate preparation just to take a photograph.

I am a quadriplegic, a spinal injury from a fall from a tree in 1963. I can hold the camera up and look through the viewfinder but cannot press the shutter release button. I prefer to use the standard viewfinder because I have more control with my arms that way. I have no finger movement or wrist movement. I can raise my arms some what but I do not have much strength in them and not all my arm muscles work.

I have taken photos in the past with a Ricoh film camera using the timer function. The timer switch was a little slider button that was raised above the body of the camera and I could click it on with my teeth. Once it was triggered, there was a 10 second delay and the camera took the shot automatically. That camera got water damage unfortunately.

Besides I want a good digital, maybe 7 megapixel + several optical zoom. Canon, Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus one of those brands. It does not have to be one of them I know there are many others. I do a little with Photoshop so a digital camera is easier for me to download images.

Using a timer switch is really not suitable. I want to be able to just pickup the camera and shoot. Of course a setting or two might need to be set but I will sort that out some way. A good name brand digital with automatic everything is what I want. I realise it will cost but that is to be expected.

I have corresponded with a couple of technical type people and received the following advice. “Look for a camera, which has an infrared remote control. Then you have a separate remote which controls the shutter release. You are likely to still need some help to open the camera, set it up, and wake it up if it has gone to sleep. Once it is set up and ready to go, you can take pictures independently by just pressing the switch to activate the shutter release.”

Below is a copy of a letter I sent to Technical Solutions. A company here in Australia that specializes in making electronic equipment especially toys for disabled children. Their reply was “I suggest that you find a camera that has a remote shutter release as an optional extra. These are usually the more expensive “professional” cameras. Make sure that it is an “electric” shutter release NOT a “mechanical” shutter release – hopefully the camera sales person will understand this! You should send me the camera specifications sheet before buying the camera and I will comment on its suitability. Then send us the camera with remote release cable, which we should be able to adapt for use with a sip/puff switch.”

The “professional” cameras that he is referring to, would they be Digital SLR’s? Do you know any models with an “electric” shutter release? Technical Solutions have a large rang of switches I could use beside a sip/puff. Maybe if the cable was very short a switch that I could bite on might work.

Now this is maybe a possibility. My only reservation is that the “professional” camera might be out of my price range and might be big & heavy. $500-600 Aust. $ would be my range maybe a bit more.

Do you have any suggestions? Is putting a switch on a good compact digital camera impossible? Maybe there is different way of being able to activate the shutter.

p.s. I saw the article about connecting a Nikon Coolpix 5000 with a Palm.