Cell Phone Arts
Author: admin
Presume you’re sauntering down the lane and you see that bizarre signboard which kindles your thirst to shoot. But then you realize that your sturdy SLR isn’t with you (be practical, who carries that heavy piece 24?7).
Well, this is exactly where your cell phone comes in handy. Nowadays, the pocket sized all-so solid mobile phone cameras have driven the point-and-shoot ones to near extinction (well, almost). We take a closer look on some tips that can help you get the best out of your cell phone camera.
CHOOSING THE SUBJECT
different present day phones offer megapixel counts above 5, but that doesn’t mean they are apt for every shooting scenario. For instance, if you are employing your phone to shoot a rock concert, more often than not you’d merely get dark blurry images. The fact is, camera phones are ideal for shooting still objects in well-lit scenarios, preferably in broad daylight.
Even if your phone offers Xenon or LED flash, night photography shouldn’t be its cup of tea.
So what is the remedy? Well, peek into your camera’s settings. You will find a number of scene modes (even with the most basic VGA ones) such as ‘night landscape’, ‘portrait’, ‘sports’, ‘fireworks’, etc. These presets automatically choose the ideal shooting options for the given scenario. Experiment with each and you are sure to see your photographs improve drastically. In the newer breed of Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phones (and in some of the Samsung phones too, though features on Samsung are country-specific most of the time), you will come across an option called Slow Sync Flash. Don’t hesitate to use it. Basically, Slow Sync tells the camera to shoot with a slightly longer exposure time thereby giving the Flash an enhanced duration of exposure.
Bluntly put, it helps to lessen the dark.
KEEP IT Stable
If you are getting blurry images with your phone, don’t fret on account of you are not alone. Most of the phones’ cameras have slow shutter speeds with no feature to vary the exposure settings. The advantageous thing one can do is to hold the phone as safe as possible, preferably with both hands while shooting. It is not confusing but does require some practice.
KNOW THE ‘CLICK’
Another passport to getting sharp photos is to know the camera’s shutter release. In no problem terms, how long does it take for the camera to pull off the task after you press the shoot button? If there is a lag, you will need to account for that. And if the shutter release is on a touch screen (such as on the Apple iPhone), the shutter presumably gets tripped after you lift your finger, not when you press down. Either way, you will need to hold the camera steady while the picture is in reality being exposed. This does not mean that you need to get a tripod for your phone. Just keep your hands still (or at least as still as possible).
OPTIMIZING THE CAMERA SETTINGS
Most camera phones today provide a few settings that you can use to optimize your exposures. All the standard rules and terms from digital cameras are pertinent. If there is an ISO setting, take it off Auto. When you are outdoors in daylight, you should set the ISO to its lowest grade to minimize the digital noise in your picture (which can be pretty grainy with a camera phone). In lower light settings, bump the ISO up as high as it will go (which notably should be at least 400 in a decent phone).
Likewise, the phone may provide you some control over the JPEG image quality. Always go for the lowest compression/biggest quality option available. After all, camera phone pictures are already compact enough to begin with – do not compound the quandary with needless photo-damaging compression.
If you are the owner of handsets with cracking optical zoom ratings (such as Sony Ericsson C903, Samsung Pixon or the newly released Nokia N8), use the zoom to the fullest. You will find zooming in at 3x or 4x on the object a better option as compared to yourself moving forward. However, be warned: this is fruitful with OPTICAL zoom only. If your phone is one of the 20x DIGITAL zoom types, bother not. Digital zoom won’t be helpful much and is at greatest used sparingly.
GET THE Bona fide TOOLS
Your photo editing software – whether it is Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Photo-Paint or even something like Google’s free Picasaweb – can help improve most of your camera phone photos. If you have an Android device or an iPhone, you are in great hands as tupbeathere are large applications and softwares available that put most of the image editors to shame. For iPhone users, the plethora of options from the Apple stable includes Free Photo Filters, SP Photo Fix Lite, Photobox and iRetouch Lite. If you are an Android user, well, the galaxy is filled with apps for you. Check out Picsay and FxCamera. Both of them, along with multitudinous other apps, are freely available from the www
FINAL WORD
When cameras where first assimilated into mobile phones, they were something of a gimmick, providing very low resolution and sad quality images. Today, cameras are an indispensable piece of the phone and the features just keep going higher. Even though your phone will stand nowhere in comparison to a mainstream camera, with some effort and implementation of the above said tips, you are sure to get great results. Happy shooting! respectable
Ben Rama is a Graphic Designer, CG Artist & Cinematographer from London.
He is the founder & innovative director
at Digital Empire with many years of experience in Graphic Design, Film & TV within London.
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Finding a scheme for auto insurance and car sharing
Author: admin
The ability to buy big ticket items even if you don’t have the cash available is an idea that everyone has now got used to. This may involve a loan or some other credit arrangement, or you can rent. We have moved from a society in which people used to save until they could afford to buy, to one where you can satisfy your wishes instantly with a good credit score and proof of your identity. When it comes to vehicles, it’s either been a case of talking nicely to neighbors to borrow their car in an emergency or go to a rental agency. Now we have moved beyond the carpooling arrangements into car-sharing. This is both good news and bad. At a community level, there are an increasing number of self-help groups who are making their vehicles available to each other. At the top end of the market, established renters like Hertz are making vehicles available on demand. New organizations like Zipcar also leave vehicles in designated places and anyone with a card can get in and drive them away.
The established renters are simply using the existing fleet in a more flexible way to generate money. Satisfactory insurance cover is already in place. But problems have been emerging in the less formal market. What happens to your own insurance cover if you place your own vehicle into a pool that anyone can drive? The answer is simple. If you do this on a regular basis and you are paid, this is a commercial use. As a private owner, this invalidates your policy.
To clarify the insurance situation states like California, Oregon and Washington are now producing laws. In Washington, for example, we now have HB 2384 which requires all organizations offering car-sharing services to carry a minimum of $180,000 liability cover, and at least enough comprehensive and collision cover to pay fair market value should the shared vehicle be a total loss. This protects vehicle owners who can make additional money during tough times without losing their own auto insurance cover. It also imposes tough new requirements on the sharing organizations to ensure the vehicles are properly maintained and safe to drive. The public not only need auto insurance cover, they need to know the vehicles they drive away are safe.
How Speeding Tickets Impact Coverage
Author: admin
You may be wondering what to do now that you were cited for speeding. It is not necessary to immediately contact your car insurance company although it is not a bad idea to give them a heads up if you have a decent relationship with them. The ticket alone may not impact your coverage, but when it is combined with other factors it can lead to higher rates.
Type of Car
Sports cars are often targeted by police who are on the lookout for speeders. For this and other reasons, drivers of these cars probably already have higher than average premiums. Adding speeding tickets to the mix is guaranteed to result in increased rates.
Speed
How much you were driving over the speed limit is important. If your ticket is for a speed that exceeds the limit by a small amount, it is possible that your insurance provider may view it as a minor infraction and not penalize you for it. This is particularly true as long as it is a random occurrence. However, speeds in excessive of 20mph over the limit cannot be overlooked. Speeding in school or construction zones will be viewed as especially reckless.
Accidents
Speeding that contributes to the cause of an accident will result in higher rates and possible loss of coverage. Drivers who speed in poor driving conditions and are then involved in an accident, with or without another vehicle, are seen as high-risk drivers by insurance companies and are rated accordingly.
Other Tickets
If you have more than one speeding ticket, you raise your chances of receiving an increase in your premiums. The documented speed on each ticket contributes to the insurance company’s decision. Not only do you lose any safe driving discount you may have received, you are now rated as a high-risk driver. The more tickets you receive in a short amount of time, the more likely your insurance provider will simply cancel your coverage because of the risk you pose to them.
Rate Increases
Rates do not increase overnight. Just because you do not see an immediate change in your premiums, do not assume you are scot-free. It may just take a few months for the ticket to catch up with you or your insurance company may wait until your annual renewal. Your insurance provider will have a policy in place that details how this is handled. Rate increases that result from speeding tickets stay in affect for up to three years, which is the amount of time the ticket stays flagged on your driving record.
The greatest potential impact of a speeding ticket is that your car insurance coverage is dropped entirely. And if you are dropped by one carrier, it may be difficult to get another one to accept you as a customer. When you do get a new policy, you should expect to pay substantially higher premiums.
Auto insurance, separation and divorce
Author: admin
It’s a sad fact of our modern lives that the majority of relationships end rather sooner than the participants expect. In the case of a marriage, this is all the more embarrassing because there are words exchanged suggesting we will stay together until parted by death. The latest figures show that half those marrying have been married before. Ignoring the surge of people marrying in states which have legalized gay marriage, the overall percentage of people marrying has been falling. Nevertheless, it’s highly material to insurance companies to understand your household arrangements. When it comes to insuring vehicles, most companies give an additional 5 to 15% discount to people in a stable relationship. There are further discounts for multiple vehicles on the same policy and when you bundle auto and homeowners policies. So, with the premium rates depending on your family arrangements, you have to make a full disclosure when applying for the policy. If there’s any change in those arrangements that would be relevant to assessing the risk, you have to give notice. Failure to notify entitles the insurer to cancel your policy.
So let’s take this step by step. In most states, there are laws requiring you to give notice within thirty days of a divorce being finalized. However, even though the laws may be limited to divorce and termination of civil ceremony relationships, the same duty applies when any previously stable relationship ends. So who will move out and what will the new address be? What property will be taken? If this includes a vehicle, where will it be parked when not in use? Will only one person now be driving each vehicle? Will they now be driven more or less? Will they be driven at different times of the day and night?
All these and other factors affect the way your auto insurance rates are calculated. Even a change in your credit score because of a change in your level of debt can affect the rate. Finally, as soon as possible, change the ownership on the vehicles. The question of vicarious liability as a co-owner can add to your problems during separation. It would be unfortunate if your partner was driving after separation without full cover and had an accident. You might be included in the legal action to recover damages. Auto insurance requires careful management so make a full disclosure to your insurers.
Cool Cell Phone Tricks
Author: admin
Cell phones can definitely save you when you’re in a bind. They can keep you on schedule, call out in an emergency, and even map out your next roadtrip. Cell phones are just plain useful, but there are some cool tricks you may not know about.
Unlock your Car You can actually unlock your car from hundreds of miles away. If your car using a “keyless entry” remote and you left your keys at home or an office, you can actually call someone at that location and have them hold down the “unlock” key up to their phone. The signal will actually transmit through their phone to your cell phone unlocking your car! It’s a pretty cool trick for people whose keys go missing more than they’d like to admit.
Eavesdrop with Ease It’s no secret that cell phones can help you hear a conversation in another room by leaving your phone on “Record.” The only problem is that cell phones have a short recording time and you may not be able to catch the whole conversation or know when they begin talking.
The eavesdrop helps you time your snooping by using two cell phones. What you need to do is leave one cell phone in the room with a pair of earplugs plugged in. This will automatically answer the phone without ringing or vibrating. Since the phone will be hidden, you can call in and listen to the conversation and even end the call when it’s done.
Emergency Contact Of course we have 911 in the U.S., but what would you do if you needed help in a foreign country? It’s good to know that the International emergency number is 112. Pushing 112 in an emergency will find your area and search for the emergency line to connect you.
The coolest part about 112 is that you can dial it even if your keypad is locked, making it easy for you in emergency situations.
Disabling a Stolen Phone Losing your phone is a terrible feeling, you don’t know if someone has it or if it’s sitting in a dark corner of a movie theater. If you think your phone’s been stolen, you’ll want to disable it as soon as possible, so someone isn’t racking up hours of chat time on your dime. If you plan ahead, you can record your phone’s serial number by dialing *#06# and copying the 15-digit number. You can then easily disable your phone by contacting your service provider with your serial number.
Reserve Power Did you know you can actually activate your phone’s battery reserve? That’s right, all you need to do is press *3370# and your phone will be given a 50% increase in power.
For more cool phone tricks and tips, check out our call spoofing blog at Itellas.com.
Dave Smith is a Marketing Associate at Itellas, a leading provider of caller ID spoofing services. For more information about call spoofing, please visit www.itellas.com.