Safranbolu Window

Window, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.

Old woman looking at window of yellow house at Saftanbolu, Turkey.

Rain and Clouds over Valley

Rain and clouds down over Kirmir Valley.
AFSAD Photography School. Photography trips.
Arkada Köroğlu Dağlarının etekleri, karşıda Kirmir Vadisi.

Flickr Picnik versus Adobe Lightroom

Abandoned Wooden Boat by the Lake, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.

I tried to cope with contrast and harsh light and shadows in this photo. I got above result with picnik of flickr using local contrast. (No HDR) And the below with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, changing basic parameters in develop mode:



You can try following values for basic parameters in Adobe Lightroom develop mode as a starting point, however you should try to change them until you get the best result you like.

Recovery: 100
Fill Light: 100
Blacks: 30
Contrast: 30
Clarity: 60
Saturation: -20
Sharpening Amount: 50

Sensor Size and Image Quality

Image sensors used in DSLRs come in a range of sizes. The very largest are the ones used in "medium format" cameras, typically via a "digital back" which can be used as an alternative to a film back. Because of the manufacturing costs of these large sensors are quite expensive.

With the exception of medium format DSLRs, the largest sensors are referred to as "full-frame", and are the same size as 35 mm film (135 film); these sensors are used in quite expensive DSLRs such as the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, the Canon EOS 5D, the Nikon D700, the Nikon D3, and the Sony Alpha 900. Most modern DSLRs use a smaller sensor commonly referred to as APS-C sized, that is, approximately 22 mm × 15 mm, a little smaller than the size of an APS-C film frame, or about 40% of the area of a full-frame sensor. Other sensor sizes found in DSLRs include the Four Thirds System sensor at 26% of full frame, APS-H sensors (used, for example, in the Canon EOS-1D Mark III) at around 61% of full frame, and the Foveon X3 sensor at 33% of full frame.

The sensors used in current DSLRs are much larger than the sensors found in digicam-style cameras, most of which use sensors known as 1/2.5", whose area is only 3% of a full frame sensor. Even high-end digicams such as the Canon PowerShot G9 or the Nikon CoolPix P5000 use sensors that are approximately 5% and 4% of the area of a full frame sensor, respectively. The one current exception is the Sigma DP1, which uses a Foveon X3 sensor.

Leica offers an "S-System" DSLR with a 30x45mm sensor containing 37-million pixels. This sensor is 56% larger than a full-frame sensor.

There is a connection between sensor size and image quality; in general, a larger sensor provides lower noise, higher sensitivity, and increased latitude and dynamic range. There is also a connection between sensor size and depth of field, with the larger sensor resulting in shallower depth of field.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_single-lens_reflex_camera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format