Digital Cameras

Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide

It’s no wonder that the sale of digital cameras has exploded in the past couple of years. Priceless memories can be easily shared with family and friends around the world, whether you’re a professional photographer or simply a hobbyist. Digital cameras are also very popular because of their sleek design, superior images and video recordings, huge memory storage capabilities, and easy-to-operate features.

Although the digital camera has been a marvelous technological advancement, not all of them are similar. Some produce better results than others. In deciding on the best camera for you, there are several things you might want to consider before investing your hard-earned money in something that might not suit all of your needs. Here are the top nine features you’ll need to consider:

 

 

 

1. Resolution
2. Optical Zoom
3. LCD Display Size
4. Camera Type
5. Memory Type
6. Photo File Format or Compression Type
7. Video Resolutions
8. Flash Functions
9. Quick Facts

 

 

1-Resolution

Understanding exactly what “resolution” means is the first step every prospective digital camera buyer should take. Basically, “knowledge is power”: being informed will save you a lot of time and money. Wherever you go, you won’t be able to avoid dealing with words like “resolution” and “megapixels.” Let’s take a look at what these terms mean.

Digital images are made up of tiny dots called pixels. The more pixels you have, the sharper the picture will be. This sharpness is called “resolution.” Usually, camera manufacturers use the term “megapixels” to talk about how good the resolution is.  

1 Megapixel (MP) = One million pixels. Digital cameras come with resolutions that range from less than 1 megapixel to over 12 megapixels. The more megapixels a camera has, the higher the resolution will be. And the higher the resolution, the better the picture quality.

Although it’s always better to buy a digital camera that has the highest resolution, there are some aspects that you need to consider, such as your budget and your actual needs.

For instance, if you’re looking for a camera so that you can view images on a computer screen (like for emails or websites), you won’t need a high-resolution camera. But if you want images that can give you large prints and sharp pictures, a high-resolution camera is the best bet.

To make things easier, let’s take a look at a chart that shows print size and resolution ratio:

Resolution	For computer and Internet	Print size: 5″ x 7″	Print size: 8″ x 10″	Print size: 11″ x 14″
1 MP	Yes	-	-	-
2 MP	Yes	Yes	-	-
3 MP	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
4 MP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5 MP and above	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

This table will help you choose the best resolution for your digital camera. 

2-Optical Zoom

Here is another fancy term that is really pretty simple to understand. Optical zoom is used to bring the subject closer and depends on the quality of lens the camera has. The optical zoom will be different depending on the camera. The higher the zoom capacity, the greater the telephoto capability. In other words, this is what you need to know to take excellent close-ups.

The optical zoom capability is measured in millimeters (or “mm”). This shows the capability of a digital camera’s lens. The higher the mm, the better the quality of images the camera can take. Zoom is important as it allows you to change between close-up and wide-range shots.

Most digital cameras have two types of zoom features: optical zoom and digital zoom. Don’t get confused–it’s the optical zoom that is responsible for the best picture quality, even though both types of zoom work together. While optical zoom makes the lenses move on your camera, digital zoom lets you zoom in even more.

To see what your pictures look like after using digital zoom, you need to look on the LCD display of the digital camera. There are many different types available: from cameras without optical zoom to as much as 20x zoom cameras.

While optical zoom improves picture quality, digital zoom actually reduces the resolution of the image. If you print one of these pictures, it won’t have a very sharp quality. It’s better to have a camera with a combination of both zooms or, at least, the optical zoom feature.

3-LCD Display Size

Most digital cameras come with an LCD display. These are a type of viewfinder—what you look through in order to take your picture. This is similar to those on regular (non-digital) film cameras.

But the advantage of the LCD display is that it allows you to see your pictures instantly. The LCD display looks like a computer screen and uses the same technology as flat-screen displays.

Nowadays, LCD screens are one of most important features digital cameras have because they let you preview images before you take them. This way, you can know exactly how the picture will look. Now you can avoid mistakes like cutting off someone’s head or leaving something out of the shot.  

Before buying a digital camera, look for a camera with a focusable diopter in the optical viewfinder. This is important for adjusting the focus.

Some digital cameras don’t have viewfinders, but only LCD displays. The disadvantages of not having a viewfinder are:

1. It’s really hard to hold the camera still while looking at a small LCD display.
2. LCD displays use up a lot of battery power. So if a camera doesn’t have a viewfinder, you have to use the LCD display all the time. This will eat up a lot of batteries and you’ll also be left with the burden of having to keep extra batteries nearby–which will increase the cost as well.

LCD displays are available in many sizes: from less than 1.5 inches to over 2.4 inches. The wider the display size, the better view you will get. SLR digital cameras exist as well, so make sure to get the wider LCD display with the compulsory viewfinder.

Compare Digital Cameras by Viewfinder type: Digital Cameras with no viewfinder, Digital Cameras with optical viewfinder, Digital Cameras with optical through-the-lens viewfinder, Digital Cameras with digital viewfinders.

4-Camera Type

Compact, standard, SLR, professional, ultra-compact… Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes. Large and small cameras are available in a wide variety of models. Each type has its qualities and limits.

Compact cameras: These cameras are good for traveling and their quality can be excellent. There are many great kinds available that come with good resolution capacity, as well as other features. On the other hand, these smaller cameras are not easy to use as they have smaller buttons and are not easy to control. The LCD screen is also pretty small.

Standard-size cameras:  These digital cameras are the most commonly used. They offer the widest range of features and prices. Most digital cameras fall into this category. They are usually the top favorite since they have larger buttons that are easier to use as well as better optical zoom options.

SLR or Professional cameras: These digital cameras are comparatively larger than standard-size cameras, but offer many useful features. They can handle extra lenses easily and have many fantastic features for capturing every detail. If you’re looking for professional quality pictures, this is the camera to get.

5-Memory Type

Digital cameras use memory instead of film for storing images. These memory tools are reusable, which was never possible back in the days of traditional film.

Two principal types of memory:

1. Internal Memory
2. Removable Memory

Internal memory is built-in and is only found in low-end digital cameras. Generally, most popular digital cameras have removable memory in the form of memory cards. Removable memory cards allow you to upgrade the size of your memory to store more pictures. You can simply remove the existing memory card from your camera and put in a new one.

What are you storage options?

Before you buy a digital camera, carefully check the type of media that the camera takes. There are several types of memory options used by different manufacturers. Let’s compare the size, pros, and cons of each of these different media storage types:

1 - CompactFlash:  
Size:  The size of a CompactFlash is 0.13 x 1.6 x 1.4 inches. It’s mainly used in digital SLR cameras. Pros: CompactFlash memory is usually very large. These are very fast and available at competitive rates.
Cons: The size of the CompactFlash is relatively larger than other flash memory devices.

2 - Hitachi Microdrive:
Size: The size of the Microdrive is 0.2 x 1.7 x 1.4 inches.
Pros: The Microdrive has a large memory capacity and is very fast.
Cons: Unlike other devices, these are expensive.  

3 - Secure Digital/Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC):
Size: The size of the SD is 10.06 x 0.9 x 1.3 inches.
Pros:

• The SD is very popular with digital cameras and other consumer electronic devices.
• These are small in size and faster in speed.
• Secure Digital and SDHC comes with a large memory capacity.
• The price is also competitive.

Cons: Secure Digital High Capacity is not compatible with old SD slots.

4 - Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Duo Pro:
Size:  The size of the Memory Stick Duo is 0.8 x 1.2 x 0.1 inches.
Pros: The size of Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Duo Pro is very small, allowing users to use smaller devices.
Cons: The Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Duo Pro requires an adapter.

5 - Memory Stick Pro:
Size: The size of Memory Stick Pro is 0.06 x 0.8 x 2.9 inches.
Pros: Memory Stick Pro can store a large amount of data.
Cons: The actual size is relatively long.

 6 - XD-Picture Card:
Size: The size of the XD-Picture Card is 0.06 x 0.9 x 0.8 inches.
Pros: These XD-Picture Cards are the smallest, which means you can use smaller devices.
Cons: In comparison to SD, CompactFlash, and the Memory Stick, these are slower and take a little longer to load.

 

 

Most digital cameras come with a 16MB or 32MB memory card. The list below can help you have some idea of how many images can fit on the memory cards you choose:

Camera Resolution	16MB Memory Card	128MB Memory Card
1 MP	40 pictures	360 pictures
2 MP	17 pictures	140 pictures
3 MP	13 pictures	100 pictures

6-Photo File Format or Compression Type

Different types of digital cameras come with different types of photo file formats. Here are some of the most commonly used compression types:

1 - DPOF (Digital Print Order Format): DPOF allows you to decide which pictures on the memory you want to print, the number of copies to be printed, along with other information such as the size of the paper, image title, contact information, etc.

2 - EXIF: EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is standard for storing information in image files that can be interchanged. These image files mostly use JPEG compression. Most digital cameras nowadays come with the EXIF format. This format is the part of the DCF standard that’s been developed to encourage interchangeability between imaging devices.

3 – DCF: DCF stands for Design rule for Camera File system. In this file format, the files are JPEG files with added information that may include details of the image.

4 – JPEG: JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is one of the most commonly used methods of storing photographic images. JPEG usually offers 10 to 1 compression and barely any loss in quality.

Apart from being a compression method, JPEG is usually considered a file format as well. JPEG is the most popular image format used by digital cameras. It’s also the most common format used to store pictures on the Internet.

5 – TIFF: Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is also a file compression format that is used to store images. It offers a flexible and adaptable way of saving them within a single file. The data includes header tags such as size and image data arrangement.

6 – GIF (The Graphics Interchange Format): GIF is one of the most commonly used file storage formats on the web due to its wide support and portability. The GIF uses up to 256 colors from the 24-bit RGB color range. It also supports animation, as it allows a separate palette of 256 colors for every frame. But GIF has color limitation, which makes it unsuitable for color photography purposes.

7 – BITMAP: Bitmap is a type of image file format that is used to store digital images. Many graphic user interfaces use the bitmap file compression format. Similarly, most of the image file formats such as JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and PNG also use bitmap images.

7-Video Resolutions

You may ask, “What do all of these strange terms about video display mean? What is VGA? What is QVGA? Want is SXGA?”

The quality of a screen image (or resolution) is measured in pixels. The more pixels the video screen displays, the more clear the images will be. To help you understand what all of these specifications for different monitor resolutions mean, here are some screen sizes (in pixels) for different specifications:

• VGA - 640 X 480
• SVGA - 800 X 600
• XGA - 1024 X 768
• QVGA - 1280 X 960
• SXGA+ - 1400 X 1050
• UXGA - 1600 X 1200
• QXGA - 2048 X 1536
• QSXGA+ - 2800 X 2100
• QUXGA - 3200 X 2400
• HUXGA - 6400 X 4800

For all of above screen sizes, the standard width-to-height ratio is 4:3. For many years, this was the standard ratio. However, with the growing use of wider screens, now you can find ones with either 5:4 or with 16:9 ratios. These are:

• WXGA - 1280 X 800
• WXGA+ - 1440 X 900
• SXGA - 1280 X 1024
• WSXGA+ - 1680 X 1050
• WUXGA - 1920 X 1200
• QSXGA - 2560 X 2048
• HSXGA - 5120 X 4096

8-Flash Functions

Nowadays, digital cameras come with several flash modes that you can choose from. Since the built-in flash is relatively small and not very powerful, make sure that you stay within the recommended range whenever you choose a specific flash mode.

On the other hand, external flash is more versatile and powerful. There are various external flash options available for digital cameras. These include:

§         Fill-in Flash: This flash mode keeps the flash on in situations where the auto flash mode would keep it off. It’s especially useful when you need additional light.

§         Slow Sync: This flash mode is used to capture a dim background at night. The slow flash fires for a brief moment to illuminate the foreground subject.

§         Rear Sync Flash: It’s similar to slow-synch flash, but it doesn’t fire light until right before the shutter closes.

§         Red-eye Reduction: This mode fires the flash several times just before exposing a photo. It reduces the effect of reflection that causes red-eye. The rapid-fire makes the subject’s pupils contract, minimizing the red-eye effect.

§         Auto Flash: In this mode, the flash triggers automatically.

Finally, here are some basic facts about digital cameras that will help you out when you go shopping for the perfect camera:  

1. One Million Pixels = 1 Megapixel (MP). Image quality depends on pixel size: the more pixels, the sharper the image. Usually for personal purposes, 2.1 MP is sufficient for a clear 5 x 7 inch photo print. If you need a bigger image, get more pixels.
2. Be careful about the confusion between optical zoom and digital zoom. While optical zoom is good for a better image, digital zoom can distort your picture. Make sure to read the fine print about these two types of zooms.
3. Though different manufacturers use different types of memory media, the two most popular are CompactFlash and SmartMedia.
4. Generally, a cheaper digital camera will have either an LCD display or a viewfinder, but it may not have both. Having both is the best.
5. It’s also better to invest in rechargeable batteries. If not, you may find yourself buying batteries way too often.
6. Generally, there are three camera sizes on the market: Compact, Standard, and Professional.
7. Before you buy a digital camera, understand its computer requirements.      

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