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All that you need to know about Digital Cameras

Buying a camera

There are many factors to consider when choosing a digital camera and ultimately there is a compromise between performance and cost.

Points to consider:

• Higher resolution cameras produce better quality images than lower resolution cameras but are more expensive to buy.
  
  Images of 640 x 480 are good enough for general purposes and can be downloaded quickly. Although it is now possible to have images professionally printed on photographic paper, the quality of the printed image is limited by the quality of the printer and paper you use.
   
• Camera power supply can be a huge hidden cost. It is important to check whether the camera uses rechargeable batteries, and can be connected to mains power supply. It is worthwhile remembering that switching the camera on and off uses power, so keep the camera on if you are taking a number of pictures.
   
• Cameras will have an optical viewfinder and/or a LCD monitor. The optical viewfinder is like the viewfinder in a traditional camera. The LCD monitor allows you to view, change, delete and save images stored in the camera. It uses a lot of power, so remember to switch it off when possible, if you need to save battery power.
   
• Accessing images can be a tricky one. It is possible to download images from the camera onto the computer via a serial cable or USB port. This can be time consuming! USB is 30 times faster than the serial cable. In some cases the USB uses power from the computer, which will save your battery life as downloading can use a lot of power. Floppy discs can be inserted in some cameras and this is a really useful way of accessing images if the camera is shared by groups.  Each group can insert their own floppy when they use the camera, eject it when they've finished and pass the camera on!! The images can be instantly accessed on any computer, no need to have specialist software, the camera, wires etc. This also means the camera can be used somewhere else while you access your pictures. Other cameras contain a removable memory card which fit into a memory card adaptor. The adaptor looks like a floppy disc, is inserted in the a:\drive and is as easy to use as a normal floppy disc.
   
• Does the price include accessories? If accessories are not included in your package, you don't necessarily have to buy the manufacturers' accessories, e.g. for certain Sony cameras there are a number of accessories made by competitors that are of equally good quality but don't carry the premium that Sony products do.

Your digital camera should fit your lifestyle, interests, photographic needs, be easy to use, and give great results. You will have to decide on the physical size of the camera, number of megapixels (the resolution), zoom capability, type and amount of memory, and other features. Of course, a lot will be determined by how much you are prepared to spend but high quality point-and-shoot type digital cameras are now available for reasonable prices.
 
But above all, you need to be comfortable with the feel of the camera and make sure it is easy to use. This may only come after you spend some time using the camera and experimenting with various modes. But before you go shopping, do some research, familiarise yourself with some of the terminology, and find a knowledgeable sales person who can show you the features and comparisons of various models in your price range.

Some Pointers:

Here are some of the features to look for in a digital camera.
 
Size, weight: You need to understand the compromises between size and weight, features, performance and price.
 
Resolution: Start your camera search looking at a minimum of 3 Megapixels. 4 or 5+ Megapixels is preferred if you can afford it.

8 Megapixel cameras are very common today.

A good 4 Megapixel camera is acceptable if low price is the determining factor. Anything less than 4 megapixels is not worth considering.
 
Optical Zoom: Minimum 3 x optical. Digital zoom ratings are meaningless.
 
ISO - Equivalent Speed:
Capable of up to 200 ISO. 400 ISO or higher is nice but not essential.
 
Aperture: Look for a minimum of F2.8 at zero zoom. The larger the aperture (lower number) the better.
 
Memory Storage: The type of memory card used is not terribly important. Choose at least 2 Gigabyte capacity and if you can afford it carry another 2 GB spare card.  2 GB cards are now quite cheap - use one if possible.  Excellent for those little video shots.
 
File Format: Camera will have JPEG modes (in various settings). TIFF or RAW mode option is nice but not essential.
 
Battery: A standard format (like AA) rechargeable is preferred over a proprietary format. Always carry a charger and backup battery pack/cells in your kit bag. 

 I prefer to have Lithium batteries - usually smaller but can have a longer life - more expensive.  You may still need to carry a spare.
 
Flash: The built-in flash should be as far from the lens as possible to minimise red eye.
 
PC Interface: A USB interface is standard and does the job. A card reader is a handy accessory. A docking/charging station is nice but not if it comes not at a large premium.
 
LCD Monitor: As large as possible but should not be a determining factor in selecting the camera.
 
Modes: Review other modes the camera is capable of: such as flash settings, manual overrides, macro (close-up) and movie mode.

A complete camera kit will consist of:

Digital camera with 2 GBytes of memory
Spare 2 GBbyte memory card
Spare battery pack or rechargeable AA cells
Battery charger
USB cable
Camera bag
Table top Tripod (now available in some pound stores!) Very very useful for timed shots or video shots!
 
Optional
Slave flash
Memory card reader
Docking station  if available and affordable
Full tripod

Size and Weight
The camera should feel comfortable and secure in your hand. The controls should be conveniently placed and easy to use; the menu display should be easy to navigate. In essence, changing the camera settings should be almost intuitive. You will need to decide if you want the camera to fit in a shirtsleeve pocket, a pants pocket or no pocket at all. Aside from the cost premium you will be paying for miniaturization, some of the smaller cameras are amazingly capable and full featured.
 
Resolution
Resolution or the amount of fineness or detail the camera can capture - is measure in megapixels (millions of pixels). A pixel is a picture element. With each picture element capable of capturing (in a camera) or displaying (on a display) the full colour spectrum. The more megapixels, the higher the resolution and the more the photo can be enlarged or cropped without seeing any loss in picture quality.

How Many Megapixels Will Be Enough?

You can’t have too many megapixels, although you may never use them all, and cost isn’t nearly the factor it was even a few years ago. Some loose guidelines, however, based on your shooting/ printing habits, might help narrow things down.

If you want small prints (say, 4x6) or images for on-screen viewing, a 3MP or 4MP camera should suffice. If you’re a more general user who occasionally needs larger prints (8x10), go for something in the 6 to 8MP range. And if you like poster-sized prints, look at cameras 10MP and above.
 
Megapixels, Image Size and Quality Guideline

File types and file size
JPEG is a file compression for photo images and what (normally) comes out of your digital camera. Files saved in JPEG format will have a .jpg file extension. Compared to an uncompressed file, an image saved in JPEG result in a significantly smaller file size with minimal degradation in quality. However, JPEG is a lossy compression format, meaning that each time an image goes through JPEG compression, some quality or fine detail is lost that cannot be recovered.
 
You should set your camera for best quality JPEG format, usually called ?fine? quality. If necessary you can always compress the file to a smaller file size (for sending via email or posting on a web site) using image viewing or editing software.
 
A true photo ?pro? may want to capture and output images in TIFF mode ? an uncompressed format. The resulting file sizes are very large and your memory card may only hold a handful of images. But for anything but the most critical applications, you will not see any difference compared to a high quality JPEG. TIFF and other non-compressed formats are best left to professionals.
 
Zoom - Optical and digital
Most cameras in the 2 -10 megapixel a have zoom capability. Digital cameras have two types of zoom, optical and digital. Don't be influenced by the digital zoom rating of a camera. It is meaningless (useless?) since digital zoom can always be done after the shot is taken using your photo editing software.

Optical zoom is all that matters in the camera.  A 3 x zoom is a good choice though the price of 4 x zoom lenses is coming down. With a 3 x zoom something 30 feet away can be made to appear as if it was 10 feet away at maximum zoom.
 
Higher zooms are available, but once you get into a zoom of 6x and higher, camera shake can be a problem, and you will need to consider using a tripod or stabilizing method when shooting at these higher optical zoom settings.
 
Aperture
If you care about taking pictures in low light look at the maximum F-stop your camera can support. There is an iris in the lens and this is a measurement of the maximum it can open up, it affects the brightness of the image. F/2.8 is good and anything numerically less is better. Maximum F-stop can also vary somewhat with zoom. High F-stop zoom lenses have very large lenses at the front and would be heavier. F-stop also affects depth of field, the range of distances for which the subject will be in focus.
To get a general impression of light gathering performance look at the size of the lens opening. Some cameras have tiny lenses - this means that less light enters the lens and therefore the camera does not perform so well in low light level.

 
LCD monitor
LCD (Liquid Crystal Displays) are power hungry and will use up battery power very quickly if left on for extended periods. One tremendous advantage of digital cameras is that you can immediately review the shot you just took on the LCD and decide whether to keep it or re-do it. But using the LCD as a viewfinder to frame a shot only works under ideal lighting conditions. LCDs are a wash out outdoors in bright sunlight and may be dim in low light conditions. LCD size should not be a big determining factor in choosing your camera.
 
ISO Speed
Like conventional photo film, a digital camera uses the ISO rating to denote its speed (sensitivity to light). The higher the ISO number, the better the camera is of operating in low light, and the better it is with indoor flash (flash will work further from subject since camera has better low light sensitivity). But as the ISO number increases, picture noise or graininess increases. Just like conventional film, there is a compromise between film speed and graininess with digital ?film?. Your digital camera will most probably have a nominal ISO equivalent setting of 100. Most new cameras will allow you to manually set the camera to other ISO settings (200, 400 and higher), but these should only be used in situations with low light or when capturing high-speed action. Otherwise, leave the ISO setting on ?Auto? and let the camera do the work.
  
Battery
Battery life will depend on how much you use the LCD display, and how often you use the flash. With a little care, a fully charged pack should easily last a full day of shooting. Its a good idea to start each day of use with a fully charged battery. And remember that a charged battery pack does discharge (slowly though it may be) even if you are not using it. So get into the habit of keeping your spare pack or set of cells under charge, ready to use at all times.
 
Its nice to have standard rechargeable battery format such as AA so in a pinch you can use off-the-shelf alkaline cells. But if a proprietary battery is used, buy a spare, and charge/swap it alternately with the original battery pack.
 
If you are using a docking station, the battery in the camera is recharged when placed in the docking station. This is fine when working at home. But when travelling, you probably wont want to carry the docking station and need to have a separate battery charger and spare batteries.
 
Memory
There are many types of memory cards used. There is no one truly superior to the other but some of the newer types, such as SD and xD, are physically smaller and designed specifically for digital cameras using new storage technologies. Memory types include:
 
Compact Flash
Micro-drive (in a Compact Flash II configuration)
Smart Media
Secure Digital (SD) This format has proven to be very popular./ Multi-Media
xD Picture Cards (eXtreme Digital)
Memory Stick (Sony proprietary)
 
You can never have enough memory! I recommend at least 1 GBbytes  The  number of photos you can take can vary greatly depending on the actual level of JPEG compression your camera uses and the type or complexity of photos taken.
 
Flash
All point and shoot cameras have a built in flash, but this flash has limited capabilities. If the flash is too close to the lens, it is prone to create red eye. Even with red-eye reduction mode switched on, red eye is hard to avoid when shooting with direct flash. Not to worry as your image editing software can eliminate any remaining red-eye.
 
All cameras will have various flash modes such as auto, fixed-on, slow, red eye reduction, and none.
 
A valuable accessory is a slave flash. This is a standalone flash unit that is triggered by the built-in flash of the camera. You position the slave flash to the side of the subject or bounce light from it off a wall or the ceiling. The slave flash compliments the cameras main flash by eliminating harsh shadows and generally providing a better-lit scene. Some digital cameras fire a pre-flash prior to the main flash to allow the camera to set white balance. In this case you will need a slave flash that can be set to fire on the second flash pulse, but not all slave flashes have this option. Also, you may have to set your camera to slow flash for best operation with a slave flash. A little experimentation may be required.
 
Some high-end cameras have a hot shoe that allows you to attach a higher power flash directly to the camera. This is better than the weak built in flash but does not necessarily replace a well-placed slave flash fired from at angle to the subject.

Modes

Macro
Most cameras have a macro mode that allows you to focus on objects inches away from the lens. If you primarily take pictures of people and landscape this does not matter. But if you want to take close-ups of flowers or small objects, this is an important feature.

Manual Modes
Some cameras allow you to manual adjust the camera for ISO speed, weighted vs. spot exposure control (scene modes), and set aperture priority or shutter priority or full manual mode. Most of the time, youll probably leave the camera on auto and use it as a point and shoot camera but it is nice to be able to have some manual control over the settings. Whatever manual setting features are provided, it should be easy to switch back to full auto mode.
 
Movies
Some cameras have a movie mode that can capture a number of seconds of low resolution movies. If this is of interest to you, compare the capabilities of the cameras under consideration. This can be an interesting feature to use.
 
Burst Mode
Most cameras allow you to take a series of quick, low to medium resolution still shots to allow you to capture a sequence of fast-happening events or take these at slightly different exposures (called bracketing) to make sure you can a well exposed shot.
 
TV Out
In addition to the USB output used to transfer images to your PC, some cameras have a TV Out that allows you to hook up the camera directly to the video input of a TV. Again, this is a nice feature to have but should not be a big determining factor is selecting your camera.

My own camera requirements are constantly changing -

I needed a good quality Leica lens - at least 8 MP - at least 6 x Zoom and most of all it had to fit in my pocket!

I opted for the Panasonic Lumix TZ5 9 MP with 10 x zoom.  I managed to get it at a good price from www.7dayshop.com   I am delighted with it!