Previewing, Reviewing, and Deleting
The LCD monitor allows you to get a good idea of the picture before you even take it, to see exactly what you just took, and to delete pictures you don't like. Being able to get a sense of the place, atmosphere, and available and ambient light before even taking a shot is a photographer's dream. You can even walk around before an event happens and try out different angles you might use for shooting.
Before you take a picture, the LCD screen allows you to see what the camera sees in real time. This means that before you even take a shot, you can judge, for example, the lighting, the depth of field and focus, and whether you will need a flash.
Different light sources can fool even the most experienced photographer because light-sensitive material records each light source with a characteristic color. Mixed lighting is notoriously difficult to work with. Yet the LCD preview in conjunction with the color balance control will quickly reveal the best setting for a particular situation.
The computer image will generally be darker than a standard setting on the LCD. However, you can adjust the brightness setting of the LCD so that its display is the same as the picture on the computer monitor. Look at the same image on your computer and on your camera to make the necessary setting.
The real power of the LCD monitor shines in the review mode. The easiest and most basic review control is to hold the shutter after taking a picture. In many cameras this allows the picture that was just shot to be displayed as long as the shutter button is held down. This control can give immediate feedback for every single picture taken if a photographer chooses. Smart photographers do this almost as a matter of habit because it allows a quick review of pictures as they are taken and can avoid mistakes that might crop up.
After the photographer takes a number of pictures or encounters a lull in activities during a picture-taking event, he can review the pictures he just took. Many cameras offer a picture-by-picture display in the sequence shot plus a quick thumbnail view that allows the photographer to rapidly find a particular picture and then switch to a full LCD screen display of that picture.
Zoom controls also allow a photographer to look at enlarged sections. A high zoom setting will allow the photographer to view the picture full size, but he will only be able to see a small piece at a time. This view should be enough to judge the quality of the photograph.
Memory cards can fill up fast, especially at the higher resolutions. In the review process, the photographer can delete pictures to make room for newer ones. Often, test pictures taken at the beginning of a photo shoot can be deleted along with those that have obvious flaws such as people blinking. And, of course, blurry and out-of-focus images can be deleted as well.
While deleting pictures is important, preventing pictures from being accidentally deleted is also important. Many cameras allow the photographer to lock a picture so that it cannot be accidentally discarded without permission. Typically, your LCD monitor will display an icon, such as a padlock, to indicate that a photo is locked.
