Hardware

Digital and film photography are far more alike than they are different, but digital image recording opens up many new, valuable and perhaps unanticipated opportunities.

* For starters, assume that everything you already know about getting good pictures still applies.

* You won't find it in the box, but every digital camera comes with a license to experiment, test, tweak and screw up to your heart's content. With the marginal cost of another shot now pegged at $0.00, why hold back? The pros typically take dozens of shots to land a few keepers. Now you can do the same—and there's no better or faster way to learn. Instant feedback is one of digital photography's most powerful advantages.

* Sit down with your camera's manual as soon as you can. (Note that some cameras come with a basic "getting started" printed manual and a much more extensive "complete" manual on CD, probably in PDF format. If that's the case with your camera, read both.) Digital cameras are sophisticated devices with capabilities you might not anticipate from your film experience. You might be able to fake some of the features some of the time, but you won't be able to take full advantage of your investment without a read through the full version of the manual. You won't regret it.

* Think outside the box. Digital cameras have more uses than you might have imagined.

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